Search

Abstract : The strong CP problem is solved in Parity symmetric theories, with the electroweak gauge group containing SU(2)L × SU(2)R broken by the minimal set of Higgs fields. Neutrino masses may be explained by adding the same number of gauge singlet fermions as the number of generations. The neutrino masses vanish at tree-level and are only radiatively generated, leading to larger couplings of right-handed neutrinos to Standard Model particles than with the tree-level seesaw mechanism. We compute these radiative corrections and the mixing angles between left- and right-handed neutrinos. We discuss sensitivities to these right-handed neutrinos from a variety of future experiments that search for heavy neutral leptons with masses from tens of MeV to the multi-TeV scale.

Abstract : We study the mirror world with dark matter arising from the thermal freeze-out of the lightest, stable mirror particle — the mirror electron. The dark matter abundance is achieved for mirror electrons of mass 225 GeV, fixing the mirror electroweak scale near 108 GeV. This highly predictive scenario is realized by an axion that acts as a portal between the two sectors through its coupling to the QCD and mirror QCD sectors. The axion is more massive than the standard QCD axion due to additional contributions from mirror strong dynamics. Still, the strong CP problem is solved by this ‘heavy’ axion due to the alignment of the QCD and mirror QCD potentials. Mirror entropy is transferred into the Standard Model sector via the axion portal, which alleviates overproduction of dark radiation from mirror glueball decays. This mirror scenario has a variety of signals: (1) primordial gravitational waves from the first-order mirror QCD phase transition occurring at a temperature near 35 GeV, (2) effects on large-scale structure from dark matter self-interactions from mirror QED, (3) dark radiation affecting the cosmic microwave background, and (4) the rare kaon decay, K+ → (π+ + axion). The first two signals do not depend on any fundamental free parameters of the theory while the latter two depend on a single free parameter, the axion decay constant.

Abstract : The naturalness problem of PQ symmetry motivates study of the heavy QCD axion, with masses ma> 1 MeV generated at scales above the QCD scale, and low values of the PQ symmetry breaking scale, fa. We compute the abundance of such axions in a model-independent way, assuming only that they freeze-out after reheating from inflation, and are not subsequently diluted by new physics. If these axions decay between neutrino decoupling and the last scatter era of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), they dilute the neutrinos and their abundance is constrained by CMB measurements of the energy density in dark radiation, Neff. We accurately compute this bound using a numerical code to evolve the axion momentum distribution, including many key processes and effects previously ignored. We assume that the only relevant axion decays are to final states involving Standard Model particles. We determine regions of (ma, fa) that will give a signal in Neff at CMB Stage 4 experiments. We similarly compute the Neff bound and CMB Stage 4 signal for heavy axions that can decay to light mirror photons. Finally, we compute the bounds on heavy axions with mass below 1 MeV that decay after the era of CMB last scatter, from their contribution to cold or hot dark matter or Neff at this era.

Abstract : We study the simplest theories with exact spacetime parity that solve the strong CP problem and successfully generate the cosmological baryon asymmetry via decays of right-handed neutrinos. Lower bounds are derived for the masses of the right-handed neutrinos and for the scale of spontaneous parity breaking, vR. For generic thermal leptogenesis, vR ≳ 1012 GeV, unless the small observed neutrino masses arise from fine-tuning. We compute vR in terms of the top quark mass, the QCD coupling, and the Higgs boson mass and find this bound is consistent with current data at 1σ. Future precision measurements of these parameters may provide support for the theory or, if vR is determined to be below 1012 GeV, force modifications. However, modified cosmologies do not easily allow reductions in vR — no reduction is possible if leptogenesis occurs in the collisions of domain walls formed at parity breaking, and at most a factor 10 reduction is possible with non-thermal leptogenesis. Standard Model parameters that yield low values for vR can only be accommodated by having a high degree of degeneracy among the right-handed neutrinos involved in leptogenesis. If future precision measurements determine vR to be above 1012 GeV, it is likely that higher-dimensional operators of the theory will yield a neutron electric dipole moment accessible to ongoing experiments. This is especially true in a simple UV completion of the neutrino sector, involving gauge singlet fermions, where the bound from successful leptogenesis is strengthened to vR ≳ 1013 GeV.

Abstract : Rotations of an axion field in field space provide a natural origin for an era of kination domination, where the energy density is dominated by the kinetic term of the axion field, preceded by an early era of matter domination. Remarkably, no entropy is produced at the end of matter domination and hence these eras of matter and kination domination may occur even after Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We derive constraints on these eras from both the cosmic microwave background and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We investigate how this cosmological scenario affects the spectrum of possible primordial gravitational waves and find that the spectrum features a triangular peak. We discuss how future observations of gravitational waves can probe the viable parameter space, including regions that produce axion dark matter by the kinetic misalignment mechanism or the baryon asymmetry by axiogenesis. For QCD axion dark matter produced by the kinetic misalignment mechanism, a modification to the inflationary gravitational wave spectrum occurs above 0.01 Hz and, for high values of the energy scale of inflation, the prospects for discovery are good. We briefly comment on implications for structure formation of the universe.

The vanishing of the Higgs quartic coupling at a high energy scale may be explained by Intermediate Scale Supersymmetry, where supersymmetry breaks at (109-1012) GeV. The possible range of supersymmetry breaking scales can be narrowed down by precise measurements of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant. On the other hand, nuclear recoil experiments can probe Higgsino or sneutrino dark matter up to a mass of 1012 GeV. We derive the correlation between the dark matter mass and precision measurements of standard model parameters, including supersymmetric threshold corrections. The dark matter mass is bounded from above as a function of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant. The top quark mass and the strong coupling constant are bounded from above and below respectively for a given dark matter mass. We also discuss how the observed dark matter abundance can be explained by freeze-out or freeze-in during a matter-dominated era after inflation, with the inflaton condensate being dissipated by thermal effects.

We propose a baryogenenesis mechanism that uses a rotating condensate of a Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry breaking field and the dimension-five operator that gives Majorana neutrino masses. The rotation induces charge asymmetries for the Higgs boson and for lepton chirality through sphaleron processes and Yukawa interactions. The dimension-five interaction transfers these asymmetries to the lepton asymmetry, which in turn is transferred into the baryon asymmetry through the electroweak sphaleron process. QCD axion dark matter can be simultaneously produced by dynamics of the same PQ field via kinetic misalignment or parametric resonance, favoring an axion decay constant fa ≲ 1010 GeV, or by conventional misalignment and contributions from strings and domain walls with fa ∼ 1011 GeV. The size of the baryon asymmetry is tied to the mass of the PQ field. In simple supersymmetric theories, it is independent of UV parameters and predicts the supersymmtry breaking mass scale to be O(10 − 104) TeV, depending on the masses of the neutrinos and whether the condensate is thermalized during a radiation or matter dominated era. The high supersymmetry breaking mass scale may be free from cosmological and flavor/CP problems. We also construct a theory where TeV scale supersymmetry is possible. Parametric resonance may give warm axions, and the radial component of the PQ field may give signals in rare kaon decays from mixing with the Higgs and in dark radiation.

Adding an axion-like particle (ALP) to the Standard Model, with a field velocity in the early universe, simultaneously explains the observed baryon and dark matter densities. This requires one or more couplings between the ALP and photons, nucleons, and/or electrons that are predicted as functions of the ALP mass. These predictions arise because the ratio of dark matter to baryon densities is independent of the ALP field velocity, allowing a correlation between the ALP mass, ma, and decay constant, fa. The predicted couplings are orders of magnitude larger than those for the QCD axion and for dark matter from the conventional ALP misalignment mechanism. As a result, this scheme, ALP cogenesis, is within reach of future experimental ALP searches from the lab and stellar objects, and for dark matter.

The standard model Higgs quartic coupling vanishes at (109 − 1013) GeV. We study SU(2)L× SU(2)R× U(1)B−L theories that incorporate the Higgs Parity mechanism, where this becomes the scale of Left-Right symmetry breaking, vR. Furthermore, these theories solve the strong CP problem and predict three right-handed neutrinos. We introduce cosmologies where SU(2)R× U(1)B−L gauge interactions produce right-handed neutrinos via the freeze-out or freeze-in mechanisms. In both cases, we find the parameter space where the lightest right-handed neutrino is dark matter and the decay of a heavier one creates the baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis. A theory of flavor is constructed that naturally accounts for the lightness and stability of the right-handed neutrino dark matter, while maintaining sufficient baryon asymmetry. The dark matter abundance and successful natural leptogenesis require vR to be in the range (1010− 1013) GeV for freeze-out, in remarkable agreement with the scale where the Higgs quartic coupling vanishes, whereas freeze-in requires vR ≳ 109 GeV. The allowed parameter space can be probed by the warmness of dark matter, precise determinations of the top quark mass and QCD coupling by future colliders and lattice computations, and measurement of the neutrino mass hierarchy.

SU(2)L× SU(2)R gauge symmetry requires three right-handed neutrinos (Ni), one of which, N1, can be sufficiently stable to be dark matter. In the early universe, WR exchange with the Standard Model thermal bath keeps the right-handed neutrinos in thermal equilibrium at high temperatures. N1 can make up all of dark matter if they freeze-out while relativistic and are mildly diluted by subsequent decays of a long-lived and heavier right-handed neutrino, N2. We systematically study this parameter space, constraining the symmetry breaking scale of SU(2)R and the mass of N1 to a triangle in the (vR, M1) plane, with vR = (106− 3 × 1012) GeV and M1 = (2 keV–1 MeV). Much of this triangle can be probed by signals of warm dark matter, especially if leptogenesis from N2 decay yields the observed baryon asymmetry. The minimal value of vR is increased to 108 GeV for doublet breaking of SU(2)R, and further to 109 GeV if leptogenesis occurs via N2 decay, while the upper bound on M1 is reduced to 100 keV. In addition, there is a component of hot N1 dark matter resulting from the late decay of N2→ N1ℓ+ℓ− that can be probed by future cosmic microwave background observations. Interestingly, the range of vR allows both precision gauge coupling unification and the Higgs Parity understanding of the vanishing of the Standard Model Higgs quartic at scale vR. Finally, we study freeze-in production of N1 dark matter via the WR interaction, which allows a much wider range of (vR, M1).

The vanishing of the Higgs quartic coupling of the Standard Model at high energies may be explained by spontaneous breaking of Higgs Parity. Taking Higgs Parity to originate from the Left-Right symmetry of the SO(10) gauge group, leads to a new scheme for precision gauge coupling unification that is consistent with proton decay. We compute the relevant running of couplings and threshold corrections to allow a precise correlation among Standard Model parameters. The scheme has a built-in solution for obtaining a realistic value for mb/mτ , which further improves the precision from gauge coupling unification, allowing the QCD coupling constant to be predicted to the level of 1% or, alternatively, the top quark mass to 0.2%. Future measurements of these parameters may significantly constrain the detailed structure of the theory. We also study an SO(10) embedding of quark and lepton masses, showing how large neutrino mixing is compatible with small quark mixing, and predict a normal neutrino mass hierarchy. The strong CP problem may be explained by combining Higgs Parity with space-time parity.

We consider two copies of the Standard Model, interchanged by an exact parity symmetry, P. The observed fermion mass hierarchy is described by suppression factors ϵni for charged fermion i, as can arise in Froggatt-Nielsen and extra-dimensional theories of flavor. The corresponding flavor factors in the mirror sector are ϵ′ni , so that spontaneous breaking of the parity P arises from a single parameter ϵ′/ϵ, yielding a tightly constrained version of Minimal Mirror Twin Higgs, introduced in our previous paper. Models are studied for simple values of ni, including in particular one with SU(5)-compatibility, that describe the observed fermion mass hierarchy. The entire mirror quark and charged lepton spectrum is broadly predicted in terms of ϵ′/ϵ, as are the mirror QCD scale and the decoupling temperature between the two sectors. Helium-, hydrogen- and neutron-like mirror dark matter candidates are constrained by self-scattering and relic ionization. In each case, the allowed parameter space can be fully probed by proposed direct detection experiments. Correlated predictions are made as well for the Higgs signal strength and the amount of dark radiation.

In all supersymmetric theories, gravitinos, with mass suppressed by the Planck scale, are an obvious candidate for dark matter; but if gravitinos ever reached thermal equilibrium, such dark matter is apparently either too abundant or too hot, and is excluded. However, in theories with an axion, a saxion condensate is generated during an early era of cosmological history and its late decay dilutes dark matter. We show that such dilution allows previously thermalized gravitinos to account for the observed dark matter over very wide ranges of gravitino mass, keV < m3/2 < TeV, axion decay constant, 109 GeV < fa < 1016 GeV, and saxion mass, 10 MeV < ms < 100 TeV. Constraints on this parameter space are studied from BBN, supersymmetry breaking, gravitino and axino production from freeze-in and saxion decay, and from axion production from both misalignment and parametric resonance mechanisms. Large allowed regions of (m3/2, fa, ms) remain, but differ for DFSZ and KSVZ theories. Superpartner production at colliders may lead to events with displaced vertices and kinks, and may contain saxions decaying to (WW, ZZ, hh), gg, γγ or a pair of Standard Model fermions. Freeze-in may lead to a sub-dominant warm component of gravitino dark matter, and saxion decay to axions may lead to dark radiation.

In a Mirror Twin World with a maximally symmetric Higgs sector the little hierarchy of the Standard Model can be significantly mitigated, perhaps displacing the cutoff scale above the LHC reach. We show that consistency with observations requires that the Z2 parity exchanging the Standard Model with its mirror be broken in the Yukawa couplings. A minimal such effective field theory, with this sole Z2 breaking, can generate the Z2 breaking in the Higgs sector necessary for the Twin Higgs mechanism. The theory has constrained and correlated signals in Higgs decays, direct Dark Matter Detection and Dark Radiation, all within reach of foreseen experiments, over a region of parameter space where the fine-tuning for the electroweak scale is 10-50%. For dark matter, both mirror neutrons and a variety of self-interacting mirror atoms are considered. Neutrino mass signals and the effects of a possible additional Z2 breaking from the vacuum expectation values of B − L breaking fields are also discussed.

Abstract: Perturbative supersymmetric gauge coupling unification is possible in six theories where complete SU (5) TeV-scale multiplets of vector matter account for the size of the reported 750 GeV diphoton resonance, interpreted as a singlet multiplet S=(s+ia)/2. One of these has a full generation of vector matter and a unified gauge coupling αG ∼ 1. The diphoton signal rate is enhanced by loops of vector squarks and sleptons, especially when the trilinear A couplings are large. If the SHuHd coupling is absent, both s and a can contribute to the resonance, which may then have a large apparent width if the mass splitting from s and a arises from loops of vector matter. The width depends sensitively on A parameters and phases of the vector squark and slepton masses. Vector quarks and/or squarks are expected to be in reach of the LHC. If the SHuHd coupling is present, a leads to a narrow diphoton resonance, while a second resonance with decays s → hh, W+W−, ZZ is likely to be discovered at future LHC runs. In some of the theories a non-standard origin or running of the soft parameters is required, for example involving conformal hidden sector interactions.

Abstract: We study a simple model in which the recently reported 750 GeV diphoton excess arises from a composite pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson — hidden pion — produced by gluon fusion and decaying into two photons. The model only introduces an extra hidden gauge group at the TeV scale with a vectorlike quark in the bifundamental representation of the hidden and standard model gauge groups. We calculate the masses of all the hidden pions and analyze their experimental signatures and constraints. We find that two colored hidden pions must be near the current experimental limits, and hence are probed in the near future. We study physics of would-be stable particles — the composite states that do not decay purely by the hidden and standard model gauge dynamics — in detail, including constraints from cosmology. We discuss possible theoretical structures above the TeV scale, e.g. conformal dynamics and supersymmetry, and their phenomenological implications. We also discuss an extension of the minimal model in which there is an extra hidden quark that is singlet under the standard model and has a mass smaller than the hidden dynamical scale. This provides two standard model singlet hidden pions that can both be viewed as diphoton/diboson resonances produced by gluon fusion. We discuss several scenarios in which these (and other) resonances can be used to explain various excesses seen in the LHC data.

We consider a supersymmetric mirror Twin Higgs model in a gravity-mediated supersymmetry-breaking scenario. We point out that the Polonyi field can be odd under the Z2 symmetry exchanging the Standard Model with the mirror sector while gaugino masses are generated at tree-level. We discuss the dynamics of the Polonyi field during and after inflation and show that the Polonyi problem is absent. The Polonyi field couples to the two sectors with opposite signs, which may serve as origin of the Z2-breaking of the Higgs potential in Twin Higgs models. We also estimate the Z2-breaking in soft masses of supersymmetric particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]