120005192
Phenomenology of composite Higgs models
The long-standing quest for a simple and elegant description of the fundamental components of the world that surrounds us and of their interactions led so far to the construction of a theory describing gravity, the theory of relativity, and of a model for the strong and electroweak interactions, the Standard Model. At the energy scales that we can probe with current collider experiments gravity is too weak to play any role, and is usually ignored. In Chapter 1 we review what is currently considered as the “Standard Model” of particle physics, including the Higgs sector. This sector is introduced to account for the low-energy breaking of the SU(2)L × U(1)Y electroweak gauge symmetry to the electromagnetic symmetry U(1)em. Its most important prediction is the existence of a new particle, the Higgs boson. Such particle has not been observed yet, but from indirect experimental evidence we expect it to be relatively light. A light fundamental scalar is not natural, though. Radiative corrections are expected to drive its mass close to the Planck scale (or to the scale of onset of some new physics). Many extensions of the Standard Model have been introduced to try and address this and other shortcomings of the Standard Model. These new theories need to be consistent with the large amount of data that have been collected so far, and are usually in very good agreement with the Standard Model. We conclude Chapter 1 introducing an effective parametrization of new physics scenarios that allows for an easy comparison with the current electroweak constraints from collider experiments. An elegant way to explain the lightness of a particle is to assume that some symmetry protects its mass from large radiative corrections. The most famous example is supersymmetry, that exploits the cancellation between the contributions given by fermions and by bosons to the Higgs self-energy. This is not the only solution. Composite Higgs
118582742
Discovery potential of top-partners in a realistic composite Higgs model with early LHC data
Composite Higgs models provide a natural, non-supersymmetric solution to the hierarchy problem. In these models, one or more sets of heavy top-partners are typically introduced. Some of these new quarks can be relatively light, with a mass of a few hundred GeV, and could be observed with the early LHC collision data expected to be collected during 2010. We analyse in detail the collider signatures that these new quarks can produce. We show that final states with two (same-sign) or three leptons are the most promising discovery channels. They can yield a 5σ excess over the Standard Model expectation already with the 2010 LHC collision data. Exotic quarks of charge 5/3 are a distinctive feature of this model. We present a new method to reconstruct their masses from their leptonic decay without relying on jets in the final state.
119628433
-symmetric extension of the Korteweg-de Vries equation
The Korteweg-de Vries equation ut + uux + uxxx = 0 is symmetric (invariant under spacetime reflection). Therefore, it can be generalized and extended into the complex domain in such a way as to preserve the symmetry. The result is the family of complex nonlinear wave equations ut − iu(iux) + uxxx = 0, where is real. The features of these equations are discussed. Special attention is given to the = 3 equation, for which conservation laws are derived and solitary waves are investigated.
119117508
Gluon-fusion Higgs production at NNLO for a non-standard Higgs sector
We consider an extension of the Standard Model with an arbitrary number of heavy quarks having general couplings to the Higgs boson. We construct an effective Lagrangian integrating out quarks that are heavier than half the mass of the Higgs boson and compute the Wilson coefficient for the effective gluon-Higgs vertex through NNLO. We apply our result to a composite Higgs model with vector-like quarks coupling to the third generation quarks. In the heavy quark-mass approximation, we show that the suppression of the leading-order cross section with respect to the Standard Model does not depend on the number of vector-like multiplets introduced. We analyse the effects of QCD and electroweak corrections through three loops, as well as bottom-quark contributions through two loops.
53117738
Higgs boson gluon–fusion production at threshold in N3LO QCD
We present the cross-section for the threshold production of the Higgs boson at hadron-colliders at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) in perturbative QCD. We present an analytic expression for the partonic cross-section at threshold and the impact of these corrections on the numerical estimates for the hadronic cross-section at the LHC. With this result we achieve a major milestone towards a complete evaluation of the cross-section at N3LO which will reduce the theoretical uncertainty in the determination of the strengths of the Higgs boson interactions.
118631641
Higgs production cross-section in a Standard Model with four generations at the LHC
We present theoretical predictions for the Higgs boson production cross-section via gluon fusion at the LHC in a Standard Model with four generations. We include QCD corrections through NLO retaining the full dependence on the quark masses, and the NNLO corrections in the heavy quark effective theory approximation. We also include electroweak corrections through three loops. Electroweak and bottom-quark contributions are suppressed in comparison to the Standard Model with three generations.
10192433
Herschel-PACS imaging of protostars in the HH 1–2 outflow complex
We present 70 and 160 μm Herschel science demonstration images of a field in the Orion A molecular cloud that contains the prototypical Herbig-Haro objects HH 1 and 2, obtained with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS). These observations demonstrate Herschel’s unprecedented ability to study the rich population of protostars in the Orion molecular clouds 
at the wavelengths where they emit most of their luminosity. The four protostars previously identified by Spitzer 3.6–40 μm imaging and spectroscopy are detected in the 70 μm band, and three are clearly detected at 160 μm. We measure photometry of the protostars in the PACS bands and assemble their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from 1 to 870 μm with these data, Spitzer spectra and 
photometry, 2MASS data, and APEX sub-mm data. The SEDs are fit to models generated with radiative transfer codes. From these fits we can constrain the fundamental properties of the protostars. We find luminosities in the range 12–84 L_⊙ and envelope densities spanning over two orders of magnitude. This implies that the four protostars have a wide range of envelope infall rates and evolutionary 
states: two have dense, infalling envelopes, while the other two have only residual envelopes. We also show the highly irregular and filamentary structure of the cold dust and gas surrounding the protostars as traced at 160 μm.
15685138
A SUB-AU OUTWARDLY TRUNCATED ACCRETION DISK AROUND A CLASSICAL T TAURI STAR
We present the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectrum of SR 20, a 5-10 AU binary T Tauri system in the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region. The spectrum has features consistent with the presence of a disk; however, the continuum slope is steeper than the λ−4/3 slope of an infinite geometrically thin, optically thick disk, indicating that the disk is outwardly truncated. Comparison with photometry from the literature shows a large increase in the mid-infrared flux from 1993 to 1996. We model the spectral energy distribution and IRS spectrum with a wall+optically thick irradiated disk, yielding an outer radius of 0.39−0.01+ 0.03 AU, much smaller than predicted by models of binary orbits. Using a two-temperature χ2 minimization model to fit the dust composition of the IRS spectrum, we find that the disk has experienced significant grain growth: its spectrum is well fitted using opacities of grains larger than 1 μm. We conclude that the system experienced a significant gravitational perturbation in the 1990s.
15584315
Near-Infrared, Adaptive Optics Observations of the T Tauri Multiple-Star System
With high angular resolution, near-infrared observations of the young stellar object T Tauri at the end of 2002, we show that, contrary to previous reports, none of the three infrared components of T Tau seem to coincide with the compact radio source that has apparently been ejected recently from the system (Loinard, Rodriguez, & Rodriguez). The compact radio source and the infrared object it has previously been identified with, T Tau Sb, have distinct paths that departed from orbital or uniform motion between 1997 and 2000, perhaps indicating that their interaction led to the ejection of the radio source. The path that T Tau Sb took between 1997 and 2003 may indicate that this star is still bound to the presumably more massive southern component, T Tau Sa. The radio source (if indeed distinct from T Tau Sb) is absent from our near-infrared images and must therefore be fainter than K = 10.2 (if located within 100 mas of T Tau Sb, as the radio data would imply), still consistent with an identity as a low-mass star or substellar object.
16416157
Radiative Transfer Modeling of Passive Circumstellar Disks: Application to HR4796A
We present a radiative transfer model which computes the spectral energy distribution of a passive, irradiated, circumstellar disk, assuming the grains are in radiative equilibrium. Dependence on radial density profile, grain temperature estimation, and optical depth profiles on the output SED are discussed. The bist fit model for HR4796A has a minimum and maximum spherical grain size of 2.2 and 1000 \mu$m respectively, a size distribution slightly steeper than the "classical" -3.5 MRN power law, grains composed of silicates, trolite, ice, and organics and a peak radial density of 1.0 x 10^-17 g cm^-2 at 70 AU, yielding a disk mass of roughly 2 M_{oplus}$.
14298410
Disk Evolution in the Three Nearby Star-forming Regions of Taurus, Chamaeleon, and Ophiuchus
We analyze samples of Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph spectra of T Tauri stars in the Ophiuchus, Taurus, and Chamaeleon I star-forming regions, whose median ages lie in the <1-2 Myr range. The median mid-infrared spectra of objects in these three regions are similar in shape, suggesting, on average, similar disk structures. When normalized to the same stellar luminosity, the medians follow each other closely, implying comparable mid-infrared excess emission from the circumstellar disks. We use the spectral index between 13 and 31 {mu}m and the equivalent width of the 10 {mu}m silicate emission feature to identify objects whose disk configuration departs from that of a continuous, optically thick accretion disk. Transitional disks, whose steep 13-31 {mu}m spectral slope and near-IR flux deficit reveal inner disk clearing, occur with about the same frequency of a few percent in all three regions. Objects with unusually large 10 {mu}m equivalent widths are more common (20%-30%); they could reveal the presence of disk gaps filled with optically thin dust. Based on their medians and fraction of evolved disks, T Tauri stars in Taurus and Chamaeleon I are very alike. Disk evolution sets in early, since already the youngest region, the Ophiuchus core (L1688), has moremore » settled disks with larger grains. Our results indicate that protoplanetary disks show clear signs of dust evolution at an age of a few Myr, even as early as approx1 Myr, but age is not the only factor determining the degree of evolution during the first few million years of a disk's lifetime.« less