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
119198751
Minimal flavor violation in the lepton sector of the Randall–Sundrum model
Abstract We propose a realization of Minimal Flavor Violation in the lepton sector of the Randall–Sundrum model. With the MFV assumption, the only source of flavor violation are the 5 D Yukawa couplings, and the usual two independent sources of flavor violation are related. In the limit of massless neutrinos, the bulk mass matrices and 5 D Yukawa matrices are simultaneously diagonalized, and hence the absence of FCNCs. In the case of massive neutrinos, the contributions to FCNCs in the charged lepton sector are highly suppressed, due to the smallness of neutrino masses. In addition, the MFV assumption also allows suppressing one-loop charged current contributions to flavor changing processes by reducing the size of the Yukawa couplings, which is not possible in the generic anarchical case. We found that the first KK mass scale as low as ∼ 3 TeV can be allowed. In both cases, we present a set of numerical results that give rise to realistic lepton masses and mixing angles. Mild hierarchy in the 5 D Yukawa matrix of O ( 25 ) in our numerical example is required to be consistent with two large and one small mixing angles. This tuning could be improved by having a more thorough search of the parameter space.
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.
16773975
The Correction Of Scattering Cross Section Led By Noncommutative Effects
Möller Scattering and Bhabha Scattering on noncommutative spacetime is restudied. A new result is reported. It is shown that the correction of scattering cross sections led by the noncommutative effects is not always enhancement with the total energy of colliding electrons, but there is an optimal collision energy to get the greatest noncommutative correction for noncommutative effect. Moreover there is a linear relation between the noncommutative threshold energy and optimal collision energy, so that the noncommutative threshold energy can be deterimed by experiment in the next generation collider.
119367982
An SO(10) GUT Model with $S4$ Flavor Symmetry
We present a supersymmetric grand unification model based on SO(10) group with $S4$ flavor symmetry. In this model, the fermion masses are from Yukawa couplings involving $\bf{10}$ and $\bar{\bf{126}}$ Higgs multiplets and the flavor structures of mass matrices of both quarks and leptons are determined by spontaneously broken $S4$. This model fits all of the masses and mixing angles of the quarks and leptons. For the most general CP-violation scenario, this model gives $\sin\theta_{13}$ a wide range of values from zero to the current bound with the most probable values $0.02-0.09$. With certain assumptions where leptonic phases have same CP-violation source as CKM phase, one gets a narrower range $0.03-0.09$ for $\sin\theta_{13}$ with the most probable values $0.04-0.08$. This model gives leptonic Dirac CP phase the most probable values 2-4 radians in the general CP-violation case.
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.
119220125
Can spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift be observable?
A bstractThe Lamb shift results from the coupling of an atom to vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields, so corrections are expected to arise when the spacetime is curved since the vacuum fluctuations are modified by the presence of spacetime curvature. Here, we calculate the curvature-induced correction to the Lamb shift outside a spherically symmetric object and demonstrate that this correction can be remarkably significant outside a compact massive astrophysical body. For instance, for a neutron star or a stellar mass black hole, the correction is ~ 25% at a radial distance of 4GM/c2, ~ 16% at 10GM/c2 and as large as ~ 1.6% even at 100GM/c2, where M is the mass of the object, G the Newtonian constant, and c the speed of light. In principle, we can look at the spectra from a distant compact super-massive body to find such corrections. Therefore, our results suggest a possible way of detecting fundamental quantum effects in astronomical observations.
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.
17177636
Quantum Gravity and Astrophysics: The Microwave Background and Other Thermal Sources
The problem of formulating a fully consistent quantum gravity theory (QGT) has not yet been solved. Even before we are able to work out the details of a complete theory, however, we do know some important qualitative features to be expected in any quantum theory. Fluctuations of the metric, for example, are expected and are associated with fluctuations of the lightcone. Lightcone fluctuations affect the arrival time of signals from distant sources in potentially measurable ways, broadening the spectra. In this paper, we start with a thermal spectrum and derive the form of spectral changes expected in a wide class of QGTs. We apply these results, valid for any thermal spectrum, to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The CMB offers two advantages: (1) deviations from a thermal spectrum are well constrained, and (2) the radiation emanates from the most distant source of light, the surface of last scattering. We use existing CMB data to derive an upper bound on the value of $\Delta t,$ the mean spread in arrival times due to metric fluctuations: ${\Delta t} < 2.1 \times 10^{-14}$ s at the 95% confidence limit. This limit applies to a wide range of QGTs, and falsifies those predicting a larger spread in arrival times. We find this limit rules out at least one QGT, the 5-dimensional theory in which the "extra" dimension is flat. Tests of other models may also be possible, depending on the results of calculations to predict values of \Delta t,$ and also a second time scale, $\tau_c,$ the correlation time, which is the characteristic time scale of the metric fluctuations. We show that stronger limits on the value of $\Delta t,$ hence on lightcone fluctuations, can likely be derived through observations of of higher-T sources, e.g., in the X-ray and gamma-ray regimes.
8457687
A possible assignment for the ground scalar meson nonet
Abstract.Based on the main assumption that a0(980) and D * sJ(2317) belong to the 13P0q¯ multiplet, in the framework of Regge phenomenology and meson-meson mixing, it is suggested that a0(980), K * 0(1052), f0(1099) and f0(530) constitute the ground scalar meson nonet, and that the f0(1099) is composed mostly of s¯, while the f0(530) is mainly a u¯ + d¯ system. It is supposed that these states would likely correspond to the observed scalar states a0(980), κ(900), f0(980) and f0(600)/σ, respectively. The agreement between the present findings and those given by other different approaches is satisfactory.
115976565
Heavy Quark and Chiral Symmetry in Heavy Baryons