118126280
Signatures of the Higgs Boson and Heavy Quarks: Testing the Standard Model Paradigm.
119230801
Production of a KK-graviton and a vector boson in ADD model via gluon fusion
A bstractIn the models with large extra-dimensions, we examine the production of a vector boson (γ/ Z) in association with the Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes of the graviton via gluon fusion. At the leading order, the process takes place through quark-loop box and triangle diagrams and it is ultraviolate finite. We report the results for the LHC. We also discuss the issues of anomaly and decoupling of heavy quarks in the amplitude.
55183340
Production of a KK-graviton in association with a boson via gluon fusion at the LHC
We discuss the processes where a KK-graviton ($G$) of the extra-dimensional models is produced in association with a color singlet boson via gluon fusion at the LHC. In particular, we consider the processes $gg \to h G$, $\gamma G$, $Z G$. These processes occur at one-loop through box and triangle diagrams. The cross-section for the process $gg \to \gamma G$ vanishes at the one-loop level. It can be understood by introducing the charge conjugation transformations of the KK-graviton. The processes $gg \to h G$, $Z G$ can be observed at the LHC if the KK-graviton and the Higgs boson exist with appropriate properties.
1968264
Production of two photons and a jet through gluon fusion
We have computed the cross-section and distributions for the production of two photons and a jet via the process gg ! g. In the Standard Model, this process occurs at the one-loop level through pentagon and box diagrams. We show that at the LHC this is a signicant mechanism for the production of the two photons and a jet. This process is also an important background to the Higgs boson production, when the Higgs boson decays into two photons. We also explore this process at the Tevatron.
13452281
PROSPECTS OF DISCOVERING THE HIGGS BOSON AT THE TEVATRON
We carry out an event generator based study to evaluate the usefulness of the exclusive signature "e±(μ±) + 2 bottom jets" in discovering the Higgs boson at the Tevatron. Using an event generator, we show that with enough luminosity, one should be able to detect the Higgs boson up to the mass of about 130 GeV. We consider a slightly modified version of the above signature that includes one extra jet. This new signature is more useful because it increases the number of signal events significantly.
119291062
Effect of anomalous couplings on the associated production of a single top quark and a Higgs boson at the LHC
A bstractWe consider the production of a single top quark in association with a Higgs boson at the LHC. In particular, we compute the cross sections for the processes pp → thj, thb, thW , thjj, thjb, thW j, thW b in the presence of the anomalous W tb, W W h and tth couplings. We find that the anomalous W tb and tth couplings can enhance the cross sections significantly. We also analyze a few signatures and show that, if these couplings are indeed anomalous, then with enough data, one should be able to observe the production of the Higgs boson in association with single top quark.
120513086
Flavored Dark Matter
Title of dissertation: FLAVORED DARK MATTER Prateek Agrawal, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Zackaria Chacko Department of Physics Astrophysical observations point to the fact that most of the matter density in the universe is in the form of a non-luminous “dark matter”. No particles detected so far satisfy the criteria to be dark matter candidates. If the present day dark matter density is set by thermal freeze out due to the expansion of the universe, then the dark matter particles likely have weak-scale interactions with ordinary matter. This opens up the possibility of detecting them in current experiments. We focus on a novel class of models – flavored dark matter – which contains multiple copies, or flavors, of dark matter particles, in analogy with the three copies of matter particles observed in nature. We classify such models and consider their implications for various dark matter searches. As an example, we choose one specific model with tau flavored dark matter, and consider its prospects for detection at the Large Hadron Collider. FLAVORED DARK MATTER
117007207
A Classification of Dark Matter Candidates with Primarily Spin-Dependent Interactions with Matter
We perform a model-independent classification of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter candidates that have the property that their scattering off nucleons is dominated by spin-dependent interactions. We study renormalizable theories where the scattering of dark matter is elastic and arises at tree-level. We show that if the WIMP-nucleon cross section is dominated by spin-dependent interactions the natural dark matter candidates are either Majorana fermions or real vector bosons, so that the dark matter particle is its own anti-particle. In such a scenario, scalar dark matter is disfavored. Dirac fermion and complex vector boson dark matter are also disfavored, except for very specific choices of quantum numbers. We further establish that any such theory must contain either new particles close to the weak scale with Standard Model quantum numbers, or alternatively, a $Z'$ gauge boson with mass at or below the TeV scale. In the region of parameter space that is of interest to current direct detection experiments, these particles naturally lie in a mass range that is kinematically accessible to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
119118344
Improved mass measurement using the boundary of many-body phase space
We show that mass measurements for new particles appearing in decay chains can be improved by determining the boundary of the available phase space in its full dimensionality rather than by using one-dimensional kinematic features for each stage of the cascade decay. This is demonstrated for the case of one particle decaying to three visible and one invisible particles in a two-stage cascade, but our methods also apply to a more general set of decay topologies. We show that not only mass differences but also the overall scale of masses can be determined with high precision without having to rely on cross section information. The improvement arises from the properties of the higher-dimensional phase space itself, independent of the matrix element for the decay, and it is not weakened by the presence of intermediate on-shell particles in the cascade. Our results are particularly significant for the case of low signal statistics, a distinct possibility for new physics searches in the near future.
54077204
Identifying dark matter interactions in monojet searches
A bstractWe study the discrimination of quark-initiated jets from gluon-initiated jets in monojet searches for dark matter using the technique of averaged jet energy profiles. We demonstrate our results in the context of effective field theories of dark matter interactions with quarks and gluons, but our methods apply more generally to a wide class of models. Different effective theories of dark matter and the standard model backgrounds each have a characteristic quark/gluon fraction for the leading jet. When used in conjunction with the traditional cut-and-count monojet search, the jet energy profile can be used to set stronger bounds on contact interactions of dark matter. In the event of a discovery of a monojet excess at the 14 TeV LHC, contact interactions between dark matter with quarks or with gluons can be differentiated at the 95% confidence level. For a given rate at the LHC, signal predictions at direct detection experiments for different dark matter interactions can span five orders of magnitude. The ability to identify these interactions allows us to make a tighter connection between LHC searches and direct detection experiments.
54749102
Lower limits on the strengths of gamma ray lines from WIMP dark matter annihilation
We study the spectra of gamma ray signals that arise from dark matter annihilation in the Universe. We focus on the large class of theories where the photon spectrum includes both continuum spectrum of gamma rays that arise from annihilation into standard model states at tree level, as well as monochromatic gamma rays arising from annihilation directly into two photons at the one-loop level. In this class of theories we obtain lower bounds on the ratio of the strength of the gamma ray line relative to the gamma ray continuum as a function of the dark matter mass and spin. These limits are obtained from the unitarity relation between the tree-level amplitude of the primary annihilation channel and the imaginary part of the loop-level amplitude for annihilation directly into photons, with the primary decay products running in the loop. These results are exact in the limit that dark matter annihilation at tree level is exclusively to a single standard model species, occurs through the lowest partial wave and respects $CP$. Away from this limit the bounds are approximate. Our conclusions agree with known results in the literature for the cases of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, universal extra dimensions and the littlest Higgs with $T$ parity. We use the Fermi-LAT observations to translate these limits into upper bounds on the dark matter annihilation cross section into any specific standard model state.