Gamma rays from the Galactic bulge and large extra dimensions

An intriguing feature of extra dimensions is the possible production of Kaluza-Klein gravitons by nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, in the course of core collapse of massive stars, with gravitons then being trapped around the newly born neutron stars and decaying into two gamma rays, making neutron stars gamma-ray sources. We strengthen the limits on the radius of compactification of extra dimensions for a small number n of them, or alternatively the fundamental scale of quantum gravity, considering the gamma-ray emission of the whole population of neutron stars sitting in the Galactic bulge, instead of the closest member of this category. For n=1 the constraint on the compactification radius is R<400 microm.     

Universal torsion-induced interaction from large extra dimensions

We consider the Kaluza-Klein (KK) scenario in which only gravity exists in the bulk. Without the assumption of symmetric connection, the presence of brane fermions induces torsion. The result is a universal axial contact interaction that dominates those induced by KK gravitons. This enhancement arises from a large spin density on the brane. Using a global fit to Z-pole observables, we find the 3sigma bound on the scale of quantum gravity to be 28 TeV for n = 2. If Dirac or light sterile neutrinos are present, the data from SN1987A increase the bound to sqrt[n] M(S)>/=210 TeV.     

TeV mu neutrinos from young neutron stars

Neutron stars are efficient accelerators for bringing charges up to relativistic energies. We show that if positive ions are accelerated to approximately 1 PeV near the surface of a young neutron star (t(age) less than or nearly 10(5) yr), protons interacting with the star's radiation field produce beamed mu neutrinos with energies of approximately 50 TeV that could produce the brightest neutrino sources at these energies yet proposed. These neutrinos would be coincident with the radio beam, so that, if the star is detected as a radio pulsar, the neutrino beam will sweep the Earth; the star would be a "neutrino pulsar." Looking for nu(mu) emission from young neutron stars will provide a valuable probe of the energetics of the neutron star magnetosphere.     

Infinitely large new dimensions

We construct intersecting brane configurations in anit-de Sitter (AdS) space which localize gravity to the intersection region, generalizing the trapping of gravity to any number n of infinite extra dimensions. Since the 4D Planck scale M(Pl) is determined by the fundamental Planck scale M(*) and the AdS radius L via the familiar relation M(2)(Pl) approximately M(2+n)(*)L(n), we get two kinds of theories with TeV scale quantum gravity and submillimeter deviations from Newton's law. With M(*) approximately TeV and L approximately submillimeter, we recover the phenomenology of theories with large extra dimensions. Alternatively, if M(*) approximately L-1 approximately M(Pl), and our 3-brane is at a distance of approximately 100M(-1)(Pl) from the intersection, we obtain a theory with an exponential determination of the weak/Planck hierarchy.     

Kaon condensation, black holes, and cosmological natural selection

It is argued that a well-measured double neutron-star binary in which the two neutron stars are more than 4% different from each other in mass or a massive neutron star with mass M > or approximately 2M(middle dot in circle) would put in serious doubt or simply falsify the following chain of predictions: (1) a nearly vanishing vector meson mass at chiral restoration, (2) kaon condensation at a density n-3n0, (3) the Brown-Bethe maximum neutron-star mass Mmax approximately 1.5M(middle dot in circle), and (4) Smolin's "cosmological natural selection" hypothesis.     

Naturally small seesaw neutrino mass with no new physics beyond the TeV scale

If there is no new physics beyond the TeV energy scale, such as in a theory of large extra dimensions, the smallness of the seesaw neutrino mass, i.e., m(nu) = m(2)(D)/m(N), cannot be explained by a very large m(N). In contrast to previous attempts to find an alternative mechanism for a small m(nu), I show how a solution may be obtained in a simple extension of the standard model, without using any ingredient supplied by the large extra dimensions. It is also experimentally testable at future accelerators.     

Cosmogenic neutrinos and signals of TeV gravity in air showers and neutrino telescopes

The existence of extra dimensions allows the possibility that the fundamental scale of gravity is at the TeV. If that is the case, gravity could dominate the interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. In particular, the production of microscopic black holes by cosmogenic neutrinos has been estimated in a number of papers. We consider here gravity-mediated interactions at larger distances, where they can be calculated in the eikonal approximation. We show that for the expected flux of cosmogenic neutrinos these elastic processes give a stronger signal than black hole production in neutrino telescopes. Taking the bounds on the higher-dimensional Planck mass M(D) (D=4 + n) from current air shower experiments, for n=2(6) elastic collisions could produce up to 118 (34) events per year at IceCube. On the other hand, the absence of any signal would imply a bound of M(D) > or approximately 5 TeV.     

Search for Randall-Sundrum gravitons in dilepton and diphoton final states

We report the first direct search for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes of Randall-Sundrum gravitons using dielectron, dimuon, and diphoton events observed with the D0 detector operating at the Fermilab Tevatron pp(-) Collider at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV. No evidence for resonant production of gravitons has been found in the data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately equal to 260 pb(-1). Lower limits on the mass of the first KK mode at the 95% C.L. have been set between 250 and 785 GeV, depending on its coupling to standard model particles.     

Search for universal extra dimensions in pp collisions

We present a search for Kaluza-Klein (KK) particles predicted by models with universal extra dimensions (UED) using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.3 fb(-1), collected by the D0 detector at a pp center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The decay chain of KK particles can lead to a final state with two muons of the same charge. This signature is used to set a lower limit on the compactification scale of R(-1)>260 GeV in a minimal UED model.     

Random walks on a ( 2+1)-dimensional deformable medium

A model of random walks on a deformable medium is proposed in 2+1 dimensions. The behavior of the walk is characterized by the stability parameter beta and the stiffness exponent alpha. The average square end-to-end distance l approximately equals (2nu) and the average number of visited sites approximately equals (k) are calculated. As beta increases, for each alpha there exists a critical transition point beta(c) from purely random walks ( nu = 1/2 and k approximate to 1) to compact growth ( nu = 1/3 and k = 2/3). The relationship between beta(c) and alpha can be expressed as beta(c) = e(alpha). The landscape generated by a walk is also investigated by means of the visit-number distribution N(n)(beta). There exists a scaling relationship of the form N(n)(beta)approximately n(-2)f(n/beta(z)).     

Spin identification of graviton resonances in the process pp → e+e? + X at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Prospects for discovering heavy graviton resonances in decays to an electron-positron pair and for identifying the nature of these resonances in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are investigated. Gravitons in the Randall-Sundrum model, which features extra spatial dimensions, are considered by way of example. A comparative analysis of effects of new different-spin heavy resonances, scalar [supersymmetric neutrino (sneutrino)], vector (new gauge Z′ boson), and tensor (graviton) ones, is performed in order to identify the graviton spin. An identification of gravitons is performed by using the integrated center-edge asymmetry. For LHC, the graviton discovery (identification) reach is found to be 2.1 TeV (1.2 TeV) and 3.9 TeV (2.9 TeV) at a confidence level of 5δ (95%) for the graviton coupling constants of k/$ \bar M $ \bar M _Pl = 0.01 and 0.1, respectively. This analysis is the most general, since, for the first time, it takes into account the possible existence of scalar resonances, which affects substantially quantitative estimates of the identification reach.     

Search for large extra dimensions via single photon plus missing energy final states at sqrt s = 1.96 TeV

We report on a search for large extra dimensions in a data sample of approximately 1 fb(-1) of pp[over] collisions at sqrt s=1.96 TeV. We investigate Kaluza-Klein graviton production with a photon and missing transverse energy in the final state. At the 95% C.L. we set limits on the fundamental mass scale M(D) from 884 to 778 GeV for two to eight extra dimensions.     

Possibility of hypothetical stable micro black hole production at future 100 TeV collider

We study the phenomenology of TeV-scale black holes predicted in theories with large extra dimensions, under the further assumption that they are absolutely stable. Our goal is to present an exhaustive analysis of safety of the proposed 100 TeV collider, as it was done in the case of the LHC. We consider the theories with different number of extra dimensions and identify those for which a possible accretion to macroscopic size would have timescales shorter than the lifetime of the Solar system. We calculate the cross sections of the black hole production at the proposed 100 TeV collider, the fraction of the black holes trapped inside the Earth and the resulting rate of capture inside the Earth via an improved method. We study the astrophysical consequences of stable micro black holes existence, in particular its influence on the stability of white dwarfs and neutron stars. We obtain constraints for the previously unexplored range of higher-dimensional Planck mass values. Several astrophysical scenarios of the micro black hole production, which were not considered before, are taken into account. Finally, using the astrophysical constraints we consider the implications for future 100 TeV terrestrial experiments. We exclude the possibility of the charged stable micro black holes production.     

Brane effects on extra-dimensional scenarios: a tale of two gravitons

We analyze the propagation of a scalar field in multidimensional theories which include kinetic corrections in the brane, as a prototype for gravitational interactions in a four-dimensional brane located in a (nearly) flat extra-dimensional bulk. We regularize the theory by introducing an infrared cutoff given by the size of the extra dimensions, R, and a physical ultraviolet cutoff of the order of the fundamental Planck scale in the higher-dimensional theory, M. We show that, having implemented cutoffs, the radius of the extra dimensions cannot be arbitrarily large for M≳1 TeV. Moreover, for finite radii, the gravitational effects localized on the brane can substantially alter the phenomenology of collider and/or table-top gravitational experiments. This phenomenology is dictated by the presence of a massless graviton, with standard couplings to the matter fields, and a massive graviton which couples to matter in a much stronger way. While graviton KK modes lighter than the massive graviton couple to matter in a standard way, the couplings to matter of the heavier KK modes are strongly suppressed.     

Swelling-collapse transition of self-attracting walks

We study the structural properties of self-attracting walks in d dimensions using scaling arguments and Monte Carlo simulations. We find evidence of a transition analogous to the Theta transition of polymers. Above a critical attractive interaction u(c), the walk collapses and the exponents nu and k, characterizing the scaling with time t of the mean square end-to-end distance approximately t(2nu) and the average number of visited sites approximately t(k), are universal and given by nu=1/(d+1) and k=d/(d+1). Below u(c), the walk swells and the exponents are as with no interaction, i.e., nu=1/2 for all d, k=1/2 for d=1 and k=1 for d>/=2. At u(c), the exponents are found to be in a different universality class.     

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 ˉ 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.     

Signatures of gravitational fixed points at the Large Hadron Collider

We study quantum-gravitational signatures at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the context of theories with extra spatial dimensions and a low fundamental Planck scale in the TeV range. Implications of a gravitational fixed point at high energies are worked out using Wilson's renormalization group. We find that relevant cross sections involving virtual gravitons become finite. Based on gravitational lepton pair production we conclude that the LHC is sensitive to a fundamental Planck scale of up to 6 TeV.     

High-energy neutrinos from gamma ray bursts

We treat high-energy neutrino production in gamma ray bursts (GRBs). Detailed calculations of photomeson neutrino production are presented for the collapsar model, where internal nonthermal synchrotron radiation is the primary target photon field, and the supranova model, where external pulsar-wind synchrotron radiation provides important additional target photons. Detection of greater, similar 10 TeV neutrinos from GRBs with Doppler factors > or approximately 200, inferred from gamma-ray observations, would support the supranova model. Detection of < or approximately 10 TeV neutrinos is possible for neutrinos formed from nuclear production. Only the most powerful bursts at fluence levels > or approximately 3 x 10(-4) erg cm(-2) offer a realistic prospect for detection of nu(mu).     

New supernova limit on large extra dimensions: bounds on Kaluza-Klein graviton production

If large extra dimensions exist in nature, supernova (SN) cores will emit large fluxes of Kaluza-Klein gravitons, producing a cosmic background of these particles with energies and masses up to about 100 MeV. Radiative decays then give rise to a diffuse cosmic gamma-ray background with E(gamma) approximately less than 100 MeV which is well in excess of the observations if more than 0.5%-1% of the SN energy is emitted into the new channel. For two extra dimensions we derive a conservative bound on their radius of R approximately less than 0.9 x 10(-4) mm; for three extra dimensions it is R approximately less than 1.9 x 10(-7) mm.     

5-10 GeV neutrinos from gamma-Ray burst fireballs

A gamma-ray burst fireball is likely to contain an admixture of neutrons. Inelastic collisions between differentially streaming protons and neutrons in the fireball produce nu(&mgr;) (nu;(&mgr;)) of approximately 10 GeV as well as nu(e) (nu;(e)) of approximately 5 GeV, which could produce approximately 7 events/year in km(3) detectors, if the neutron abundance is comparable to that of protons. Photons of approximately 10 GeV from pi(0) decay and approximately 100 MeV nu;(e) from neutron decay are also produced, but will be difficult to detect. Photons with energies less, similar1 MeV from shocks following neutron decay produce a characteristic signal which may be distinguishable from the proton-related MeV photons.