118458603
Thermal relics in hidden sectors
Dark matter may be hidden, with no standard model gauge interactions. At the same time, in WIMPless models (WIMP: weakly interacting massive particles) with hidden matter masses proportional to hidden gauge couplings squared, the hidden dark matter's thermal relic density may naturally be in the right range, preserving the key quantitative virtue of WIMPs. We consider this possibility in detail. We first determine model-independent constraints on hidden sectors from big bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background. Contrary to conventional wisdom, large hidden sectors are easily accommodated. A flavour-free version of the standard model is allowed if the hidden sector is just 30% colder than the observable sector after reheating. Alternatively, if the hidden sector contains a one-generation version of the standard model with characteristic mass scale below 1 MeV, even identical reheating temperatures are allowed. We then analyse hidden sector freeze-out in detail for a concrete model, solving the Boltzmann equation numerically and explaining the results from both observable and hidden sector points of view. We find that WIMPless dark matter does indeed obtain the correct relic density for masses in the range . The upper bound results from the requirement of perturbativity, and the lower bound assumes that the observable and hidden sectors reheat to the same temperature, and is raised to the MeV scale if the hidden sector is ten times colder. WIMPless dark matter therefore generalizes the WIMP paradigm to the largest mass range possible for viable thermal relics and provides a unified framework for exploring dark matter signals across nine orders of magnitude in dark matter mass.
10829609
Halo-shape and relic-density exclusions of Sommerfeld-enhanced dark matter explanations of cosmic ray excesses.
Dark matter with Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation has been proposed to explain observed cosmic ray positron excesses in the 10 GeV to TeV energy range. We show that the required enhancement implies thermal relic densities that are too small to be all of dark matter. We also show that the dark matter is sufficiently self-interacting that observations of elliptical galactic dark matter halos exclude large Sommerfeld enhancement for light force carriers. Resonant Sommerfeld enhancement does not modify these conclusions, and the astrophysical boosts required to resolve these discrepancies are disfavored, especially when significant self-interactions suppress halo substructure.
119123919
Fermion Mass Hierarchy and Proton Stability from Non-anomalous U(1)(F) in SUSY SU(5)
We present a realistic supersymmetric SU(5) model combined with a nonanomalous U(1){sub F} symmetry. We find a set of U(1){sub F} charges which automatically lead to the realistic mass hierarchy and mixing patterns for quarks, leptons, and neutrinos. All gauge anomalies, including the [U(1){sub F}]{sup 3} anomaly, are canceled in our model without invoking the Green-Schwarz mechanism or having exotic fields. Proton decay mediated by dimension-5 operators is automatically suppressed in our model, because the scale set by the largest right-handed neutrino mass is much less than the GUT scale.
119114689
Gamma ray line constraints on effective theories of dark matter
Abstract A monochromatic gamma ray line results when dark matter particles in the galactic halo annihilate to produce a two body final state which includes a photon. Such a signal is very distinctive from astrophysical backgrounds, and thus represents an incisive probe of theories of dark matter. We compare the recent null results of searches for gamma ray lines in the galactic center and other regions of the sky with the predictions of effective theories describing the interactions of dark matter particles with the Standard Model. We find that the null results of these searches provide constraints on the nature of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter which are complementary to constraints from other observables, and stronger than collider constraints in some cases.
119119504
Constraints on Light Majorana dark Matter from Colliders
Abstract We explore model-independent collider constraints on light Majorana dark matter particles. We find that colliders provide a complementary probe of WIMPs to direct detection, and give the strongest current constraints on light DM particles. Collider experiments can access interactions not probed by direct detection searches, and outperform direct detection experiments by about an order of magnitude for certain operators in a large part of parameter space. For operators which are suppressed at low momentum transfer, collider searches have already placed constraints on such operators limiting their use as an explanation for DAMA.
59522874
Sommerfeld enhancements for thermal relic dark matter
The annihilation cross section of thermal relic dark matter determines both its relic density and indirect detection signals. We determine how large indirect signals may be in scenarios with Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation, subject to the constraint that the dark matter has the correct relic density. This work refines our previous analysis through detailed treatments of resonant Sommerfeld enhancement and the effect of Sommerfeld enhancement on freeze out. Sommerfeld enhancements raise many interesting issues in the freeze out calculation, and we find that the cutoff of resonant enhancement, the equilibration of force carriers, the temperature of kinetic decoupling, and the efficiency of self-interactions for preserving thermal velocity distributions all play a role. These effects may have striking consequences; for example, for resonantly-enhanced Sommerfeld annihilation, dark matter freezes out but may then chemically recouple, implying highly suppressed indirect signals, in contrast to naive expectations. In the minimal scenario with standard astrophysical assumptions, and tuning all parameters to maximize the signal, we find that, for force-carrier mass m{sub {phi}=}250 MeV and dark matter masses m{sub X}=0.1, 0.3, and 1 TeV, the maximal Sommerfeld enhancement factors are S{sub eff}=7, 30, and 90, respectively. Such boosts are too small to explain both the PAMELA and Fermimore » excesses. Nonminimal models may require smaller boosts, but the bounds on S{sub eff} could also be more stringent, and dedicated freeze out analyses are required. For concreteness, we focus on 4{mu} final states, but we also discuss 4e and other modes, deviations from standard astrophysical assumptions and nonminimal particle physics models, and we outline the steps required to determine if such considerations may lead to a self-consistent explanation of the PAMELA or Fermi excesses.« less
119222434
Quantum Modifications to Gravity Waves in de Sitter Spacetime
We treat a model in which tensor perturbations of de Sitter spacetime, represented as a spatially flat model, are modified by the effects of the vacuum fluctuations of a massless conformally invariant field, such as the electromagnetic field. We use the semiclassical theory of gravity with the expectation value of the conformal field stress tensor as a source. We first study the stability of de Sitter spacetime by searching for growing, spatially homogeneous modes, and conclude that it is stable within the limits of validity of the semiclassical theory. We next examine the modification of linearized plane gravity waves by the effects of the quantum stress tensor. We find a correction term which is of the same form as the original wave, but displaced in phase by {pi}/2, and with an amplitude which depends upon an initial time. The magnitude of this effect is proportional to the change in scale factor after this time. We discuss alternative interpretations of this time, but pay particular attention to the view that this is the beginning of inflation. So long as the energy scale of inflation and the proper frequency of the mode at the beginning of inflation are well below the Planckmore » scale, the fractional correction is small. However, modes which are trans-Planckian at the onset of inflation can undergo a significant correction. The increase in amplitude can potentially have observable consequences through a modification of the power spectrum of tensor perturbations in inflationary cosmology. This enhancement of the power spectrum depends upon the initial time, and is greater for shorter wavelengths.« less
119408784
Meson spectrum in Regge phenomenology
Abstract.Under the assumption that both light and heavy quarkonia populate approximately linear Regge trajectories with the requirements of additivity of intercepts and inverse slopes, the masses of different meson multiplets are estimated. The predictions derived from the quasi-linear Regge trajectories are in reasonable agreement with those given by many other references.
56302693
Position-dependent energy-level shifts of an accelerated atom in the presence of a boundary
We consider a uniformly accelerated atom interacting with a vacuum electromagnetic field in the presence of an infinite conducting plane boundary and calculate separately the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction to the atomic energy level shift. We analyze in detail the behavior of the total energy shift in three different regimes of the distance in both the low acceleration and high acceleration limits. Our results show that, in general, an accelerated atom does not behave as if immersed in a thermal bath at the Unruh temperature in terms of the atomic energy level shifts, and the effect of the acceleration on the atomic energy level shifts may in principle become appreciable in certain circumstances, although it may not be realistic for actual experimental measurements. We also examine the effects of the acceleration on the level shifts when the acceleration is of the order of the transition frequency of the atom and we find some features differ from what was obtained in the existing literature.
119828482
ON THE PROBLEM OF THE ISODOUBLET OF THE 2 3S1 MESON NONET
Employing three different and complementary approaches, chiral equal-splitting laws, Regge phenomenology and meson–meson mixing, we show that the mass of the isodoublet of the 2 3S1 meson nonet is in the range in 1530–1580 MeV.
15078379
Decay of massive scalar hair in the background of a black hole with a global monopole
The late-time tail behaviors of massive scalar fields are examined analytically in the background of a black hole with a global monopole. It is found that the presence of a solid deficit angle in the background metric makes the massive scalar fields decay faster in the intermediate times. However, the asymptotically late-time tail is not affected and it has the same decay rate of $t^{-5/6}$ as in the Schwarzschild and nearly extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m backgrounds.