118512166
Top-quark forward-backward asymmetry in Randall-Sundrum models beyond the leading order
We calculate the $ t\overline t $ forward-backward asymmetry, AtFB, in Randall-Sundrum (RS) models taking into account the dominant next-to-leading order (NLO) corrections in QCD. At Born level we include the exchange of Kaluza-Klein (KK) gluons and photons, the Z boson and its KK excitations, as well as the Higgs boson, whereas beyond the leading order (LO) we consider the interference of tree-level KK-gluon exchange with one-loop QCD box diagrams and the corresponding bremsstrahlungs corrections. We find that the strong suppression of LO effects, that arises due to the elementary nature and the mostly vector-like couplings of light quarks, is lifted at NLO after paying the price of an additional factor of αs/(4π). In spite of this enhancement, the resulting RS corrections in AtFB remain marginal, leaving the predicted asymmetry SM-like. As our arguments are solely based on the smallness of the axial-vector couplings of light quarks to the strong sector, our findings are model-independent and apply to many scenarios of new physics that address the flavor problem via geometrical sequestering.
118498826
Soft collinear effective theory for heavy WIMP annihilation
A bstractIn a large class of models for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), the WIMP mass M lies far above the weak scale mW . This work identifies universal Sudakov-type logarithms ∼ α log2(2 M/mW ) that spoil the naive convergence of perturbation theory for annihilation processes. An effective field theory (EFT) framework is presented, allowing the systematic resummation of these logarithms. Another impact of the large separation of scales is that a long-distance wavefunction distortion from electroweak boson exchange leads to observable modifications of the cross section. Careful accounting of momentum regions in the EFT allows the rigorous disentanglement of this so-called Sommerfeld enhancement from the short-distance hard annihilation process. The WIMP is described as a heavy-particle field, while the electroweak gauge bosons are treated as soft and collinear fields. Hard matching coefficients are computed at renormalization scale μ ∼ 2 M , then evolved down to μ ∼ mW , where electroweak symmetry breaking is incorporated and the matching onto the relevant quantum mechanical Hamiltonian is performed. The example of an SU(2)W triplet scalar dark matter candidate annihilating to line photons is used for concreteness, allowing the numerical exploration of the impact of next-to-leading order corrections and log resummation. For M ≃ 3 TeV, the resummed Sommerfeld enhanced cross section is reduced by a factor of ∼ 3 with respect to the treelevel fixed order result.
38251987
Solution to the flavor problem of warped extra-dimension models.
A minimal solution to the flavor problem of warped extra-dimension models, i.e., the excessive mixed-chirality contribution to CP violation in K-K ¯ mixing arising from Kaluza-Klein (KK) gluon exchange, is proposed. Extending the strong-interaction gauge group in the bulk by an additional SU(3), and breaking this symmetry to QCD via boundary conditions, the constraints arising from the ε(K) parameter are significantly relaxed. As a result, KK scales M(KK)~2 TeV are consistent with all flavor observables without significant fine-tuning. The model predicts an extended Higgs sector featuring massive color-octet scalars and a tower of KK pseudoaxial gluon resonances, whose existence is not in conflict with recent LHC dijet bounds.
119283621
Results from 730 kg days of the CRESST-II Dark Matter search
The CRESST-II cryogenic Dark Matter search, aiming at detection of WIMPs via elastic scattering off nuclei in CaWO4 crystals, completed 730 kg days of data taking in 2011. We present the data collected with eight detector modules, each with a two-channel readout; one for a phonon signal and the other for coincidently produced scintillation light. The former provides a precise measure of the energy deposited by an interaction, and the ratio of scintillation light to deposited energy can be used to discriminate different types of interacting particles and thus to distinguish possible signal events from the dominant backgrounds.Sixty-seven events are found in the acceptance region where a WIMP signal in the form of low energy nuclear recoils would be expected. We estimate background contributions to this observation from four sources: (1) “leakage” from the e/γ-band (2) “leakage” from the α-particle band (3) neutrons and (4) 206Pb recoils from 210Po decay. Using a maximum likelihood analysis, we find, at a statistical significance of more than 4σ, that these sources alone are not sufficient to explain the data. The addition of a signal due to scattering of relatively light WIMPs could account for this discrepancy, and we determine the associated WIMP parameters.
110822912
Monolithic systems design for the Silicon Electromagnetic Calorimetry Collaboration
A series of monolithic bipolar charge-sensitive preamplifiers and a companion monolithic 50-ns CMOS shaping amplifier have been designed, fabricated, and characterized for use with silicon calorimeters. The preamplifier topologies evaluated were current-mode, folded cascode, and differential. These three topologies were fabricated in the Harris Semiconductor VHF process and were characterized for noise, transient response, power dissipation and radiation hardness. Versions of each preamplifier have been designed to operate over a range of detector pad capacitance from 20-500 pF. The CMOS shaping amplifier specifications and test results are presented with emphasis on the system integration requirements for beam tests. >
15107359
Electron and gamma background in CRESST detectors
Abstract The CRESST experiment monitors 300 g CaWO 4 crystals as targets for particle interactions in an ultra low background environment. In this paper, we analyze the background spectra that are recorded by three detectors over many weeks of data taking. Understanding these spectra is mandatory if one wants to further reduce the background level, and allows us to cross-check the calibration of the detectors. We identify a variety of sources, such as intrinsic contaminations due to primordial radioisotopes and cosmogenic activation of the target material. In particular, we detect a 3.6 keV X-ray line from the decay of 41 Ca with an activity of ( 26 ± 4 ) μ Bq , corresponding to a ratio 41 Ca / 40 Ca = ( 2.2 ± 0.3 ) × 10 - 16 .
5911478
Phase transition with the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless singularity in the Ising model on a growing network.
We consider the ferromagnetic Ising model on a highly inhomogeneous network created by a growth process. We find that the phase transition in this system is characterized by the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless singularity, although critical fluctuations are absent and the mean-field description is exact. Below this infinite order transition, the magnetization behaves as exp((-const/square root of(Tc-T)). We show that the critical point separates the phase with the power-law distribution of the linear response to a local field and the phase where this distribution rapidly decreases. We suggest that this phase transition occurs in a wide range of cooperative models with a strong infinite-range inhomogeneity.
123589460
SIMULATION OF INELASTIC NEUTRON SCATTERING WITH GEANT4