Determination of MSSM parameters from LHC and ILC observables in a global fit

We present the results of a realistic global fit of the Lagrangian parameters of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) assuming universality for the first and second generations and real parameters. No assumptions on the SUSY breaking mechanism are made. The fit is performed using the precision of future mass measurements of superpartners at the LHC and mass and polarised topological cross-section measurements at the ILC. Higher-order radiative corrections are accounted for wherever possible to date. Results are obtained for a modified SPS1a MSSM benchmark scenario but they were checked not to depend critically on this assumption. Exploiting a simulated annealing algorithm, a stable result is obtained without any a priori assumptions on the values of the fit parameters. Most of the Lagrangian parameters can be extracted at the percent level or better if theoretical uncertainties are neglected. Neither LHC nor ILC measurements alone will be sufficient to obtain a stable result. The effects of theoretical uncertainties arising from unknown higher-order corrections and parametric uncertainties are examined qualitatively. They appear to be relevant and the result motivates further precision calculations. The obtained parameters at the electroweak scale are used for a fit of the parameters at high-energy scales within the bottom-up approach. In this way regularities at these scales are explored and the underlying model can be determined with hardly any theoretical bias. Fits of high-scale parameters to combined LHC+ILC measurements within the mSUGRA framework reveal that even tiny distortions in the low-energy mass spectrum already lead to unacceptable χ² values. This does not hold for ‘LHC-only’ inputs. PACS 11.30.Pb, 12.60.Jv     

Frequentist analysis of the parameter space of minimal supergravity

We make a frequentist analysis of the parameter space of minimal supergravity (mSUGRA), in which, as well as the gaugino and scalar soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters being universal, there is a specific relation between the trilinear, bilinear and scalar supersymmetry-breaking parameters, A ₀=B ₀+m ₀, and the gravitino mass is fixed by m _3/2=m ₀. We also consider a more general model, in which the gravitino mass constraint is relaxed (the VCMSSM). We combine in the global likelihood function the experimental constraints from low-energy electroweak precision data, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, the lightest Higgs boson mass M _h , B physics and the astrophysical cold dark matter density, assuming that the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a neutralino. In the VCMSSM, we find a preference for values of m _1/2 and m ₀ similar to those found previously in frequentist analyses of the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) and a model with common non-universal Higgs masses (NUHM1). On the other hand, in mSUGRA we find two preferred regions: one with larger values of both m _1/2 and m ₀ than in the VCMSSM, and one with large m ₀ but small m _1/2. We compare the probabilities of the frequentist fits in mSUGRA, the VCMSSM, the CMSSM and the NUHM1: the probability that mSUGRA is consistent with the present data is significantly less than in the other models. We also discuss the mSUGRA and VCMSSM predictions for sparticle masses and other observables, identifying potential signatures at the LHC and elsewhere.     

Determining the dark matter relic density in the minimal supergravity stau-neutralino coannihilation region at the Large Hadron Collider

We examine the stau-neutralino coannihilation (CA) mechanism of the early Universe. We use the minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) model and show that from measurements at the CERN Large Hadron Collider one can predict the dark matter relic density with an uncertainty of 6% with 30 fb(-1) of data, which is comparable to the direct measurement by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. This is done by measuring four mSUGRA parameters m(0), m(1/2), A(0), and tanbeta without requiring direct measurements of the top squark and bottom squark masses. We also provide precision measurements of the gaugino, squark, and lighter stau masses in this CA region without assuming gaugino universality.     

Supersymmetry and dark matter in light of LHC 2010 and XENON100 data

We make frequentist analyses of the CMSSM, NUHM1, VCMSSM and mSUGRA parameter spaces taking into account all the public results of searches for supersymmetry using data from the 2010 LHC run and the XENON100 direct search for dark matter scattering. The LHC data set includes ATLAS and CMS searches for $\mathrm{jets} + {\not}E_{T}$ events (with or without leptons) and for the heavier MSSM Higgs bosons, and the upper limit on BR(B _s →μ ⁺ μ ^?) including data from LHCb as well as CDF and DØ. The absence of signals in the LHC data favours somewhat heavier mass spectra than in our previous analyses of the CMSSM, NUHM1 and VCMSSM, and somewhat smaller dark matter scattering cross sections, all close to or within the pre-LHC 68% CL ranges, but does not impact significantly the favoured regions of the mSUGRA parameter space. We also discuss the impact of the XENON100 constraint on spin-independent dark matter scattering, stressing the importance of taking into account the uncertainty in the π-nucleon σ term Σ _πN , which affects the spin-independent scattering matrix element, and we make predictions for spin-dependent dark matter scattering. Finally, we discuss briefly the potential impact of the updated predictions for sparticle masses in the CMSSM, NUHM1, VCMSSM and mSUGRA on future e ⁺ e ^? colliders.     

Supersymmetry without prejudice at the LHC

The discovery and exploration of Supersymmetry in a model-independent fashion will be a daunting task due to the large number of soft-breaking parameters in the MSSM. In this paper, we explore the capability of the ATLAS detector at the LHC (\(\sqrt{s}=14\) TeV, 1 fb^?1) to find SUSY within the 19-dimensional pMSSM subspace of the MSSM using their standard transverse missing energy and long-lived particle searches that were essentially designed for mSUGRA. To this end, we employ a set of ～71k previously generated model points in the 19-dimensional parameter space that satisfy all of the existing experimental and theoretical constraints. Employing ATLAS-generated SM backgrounds and following their approach in each of 11 missing energy analyses as closely as possible, we explore all of these 71k model points for a possible SUSY signal. To test our analysis procedure, we first verify that we faithfully reproduce the published ATLAS results for the signal distributions for their benchmark mSUGRA model points. We then show that, requiring all sparticle masses to lie below 1(3) TeV, almost all (two-thirds) of the pMSSM model points are discovered with a significance S>5 in at least one of these 11 analyses assuming a 50% systematic error on the SM background. If this systematic error can be reduced to only 20% then this parameter space coverage is increased. These results are indicative that the ATLAS SUSY search strategy is robust under a broad class of Supersymmetric models. We then explore in detail the properties of the kinematically accessible model points which remain unobservable by these search analyses in order to ascertain problematic cases which may arise in general SUSY searches.     

Should we still believe in constrained supersymmetry?

We calculate partial Bayes factors to quantify how the feasibility of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM) has changed in the light of a series of observations. This is done in the Bayesian spirit where probability reflects a degree of belief in a proposition and Bayes’ theorem tells us how to update it after acquiring new information. Our experimental baseline is the approximate knowledge that was available before LEP, and our comparison model is the Standard Model with a simple dark matter candidate. To quantify the amount by which experiments have altered our relative belief in the CMSSM since the baseline data we compute the partial Bayes factors that arise from learning in sequence the LEP Higgs constraints, the XENON100 dark matter constraints, the 2011 LHC supersymmetry search results, and the early 2012 LHC Higgs search results. We find that LEP and the LHC strongly shatter our trust in the CMSSM (with M ₀ and M _1/2 below 2 TeV), reducing its posterior odds by approximately two orders of magnitude. This reduction is largely due to substantial Occam factors induced by the LEP and LHC Higgs searches.     

Single scale factor for the universe from the creation of radiation and matter till the present

For a long time, global fits of the electroweak sector of the standard model (SM) have been used to exploit measurements of electroweak precision observables at lepton colliders (LEP, SLC), together with measurements at hadron colliders (Tevatron, LHC) and accurate theoretical predictions at multi-loop level, to constrain free parameters of the SM, such as the Higgs and top masses. Today, all fundamental SM parameters entering these fits are experimentally determined, including information on the Higgs couplings, and the global fits are used as powerful tools to assess the validity of the theory and to constrain scenarios for new physics. Future measurements at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) promise to improve the experimental precision of key observables used in the fits. This paper presents updated electroweak fit results using the latest NNLO theoretical predictions and prospects for the LHC and ILC. The impact of experimental and theoretical uncertainties is analysed in detail. We compare constraints from the electroweak fit on the Higgs couplings with direct LHC measurements, and we examine present and future prospects of these constraints using a model with modified couplings of the Higgs boson to fermions and bosons.     

Double Charm Decays of B Mesons in mSUGRA Model

Based on the low energy effective Hamiltonian with naive factorization, we calculate the branching ratios (BRs) and CP asymmetries (CPAs) for the twenty three double charm decays B/B_s \to D^{(*)}_{(s)} D^{(*)}_{(s)} in both the standard model (SM) and the minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) model. Within the considered parameter space, we find that (a) the theoretical predictions for the BRs, CPAs and the polarization fractions in the SM and the mSUGRA model are all consistent with the currently available data within±2σ errors; (b) For all the considered decays, the supersymmetric contributions in
the mSUGRA model are very small, less than7% numerically. It may be difficult to observe so small SUSY contributions even at LHC.     

CP-violation and electric dipole moments

Searches for intrinsic electric dipole moments of nucleons, atoms and molecules are precision flavour-diagonal probes of new -odd physics. We review and summarise the effective field theory analysis of the observable EDMs in terms of a general set of CP-odd operators at 1 GeV, and the ensuing model-independent constraints on new physics. We also discuss the implications for supersymmetric models, in light of the mass limits emerging from the LHC.     

DKP oscillator in the presence of magnetic field in (1+2)-dimensions for spin-zero and spin-one particles in noncommutative phase space

In view of the discovery of a new boson by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations at the LHC, we present an update of the global Standard Model (SM) fit to electroweak precision data. Assuming the new particle to be the SM Higgs boson, all fundamental parameters of the SM are known allowing, for the first time, to overconstrain the SM at the electroweak scale and assert its validity. Including the effects of radiative corrections and the experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the global fit exhibits a p-value of 0.07. The mass measurements by ATLAS and CMS agree within 1.3σ with the indirect determination $M_{H}=94^{\,+25}_{\,-22}~\mathrm{GeV}$ . Within the SM the W boson mass and the effective weak mixing angle can be accurately predicted to be M _W =80.359±0.011 GeV and $\sin ^{2}\theta ^{\ell }_{{\rm eff}}= 0.23150\pm 0.00010$ from the global fit. These results are compatible with, and exceed in precision, the direct measurements. For the indirect determination of the top quark mass we find $m_{t}= 175.8^{\:+2.7}_{\:-2.4}~ \mathrm {GeV}$ , in agreement with the kinematic and cross-section-based measurements.     

Naturalness,supersymmetry and implications for LHC and dark matter

It is shown that the Hyperbolic Branch of the radiative electroweak symmetry breaking contains in it three regions: the Focal Point, Focal Curves, and Focal Surfaces. Further, the Focal Point is shown to lie on the boundary of a Focal Curve. These focal regions allow for a small μ while scalar masses can become large and may lie in the several TeV region. It is shown that for the mSUGRA model the current LHC-7 constraint depletes the Focal Point region while regions on Focal Curves and Focal Surfaces remain largely intact. The LHC implications for models which lie on Focal Curves are briefly discussed as well as the implications of dark matter constraints for the Focal Point, Focal Curves and Focal Surfaces are discussed.     

Fine-tuning favors mixed axion/axino cold dark matter over neutralinos in the minimal supergravity model

Over almost all of minimal supergravity (mSUGRA or CMSSM) model parameter space, there is a large overabundance of neutralino cold dark matter (CDM). We find that the allowed regions of mSUGRA parameter space which match the measured abundance of CDM in the universe are highly fine-tuned. If instead we invoke the Peccei–Quinn–Weinberg–Wilczek solution to the strong CP problem, then the SUSY CDM may consist of an axion/axino admixture with an axino mass of order the MeV scale, and where mixed axion/axino or mainly axion CDM seems preferred. In this case, fine-tuning of the relic density is typically much lower, showing that axion/axino CDM ( $a\tilde{a}$ CDM) is to be preferred in the paradigm model for SUSY phenomenology. For mSUGRA with $a\tilde{a}$ CDM, quite different regions of parameter space are now DM-favored as compared to the case of neutralino DM. Thus, rather different SUSY signatures are expected at the LHC in the case of mSUGRA with $a\tilde{a}$ CDM, as compared to mSUGRA with neutralino CDM.     

Pseudoscalar Higgs bosons at the LHC: production and decays into electroweak gauge bosons revisited

We analyse and compute, within a number of standard model (SM) extensions, the cross sections σ _A→VV′ for the production of a heavy neutral pseudoscalar Higgs-boson/spin-zero resonance at the LHC and its subsequent decays into electroweak gauge bosons. For comparison we calculate also the corresponding cross sections for a heavy scalar. The SM extensions we consider include a type-II two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM), a 2HDM with four chiral fermion generations, the minimal supersymmetric extension of the SM (MSSM), and top-colour assisted technicolour models. Presently available phenomenological constraints on the parameters of these models are taken into account. We find that, with the exception of the MSSM, these models permit the LHC cross sections σ _A→VV′ to be of observable size. That is, a pseudoscalar resonance may be observable, if it exists, at the LHC in its decays into electroweak gauge bosons, in particular in WW and γ γ final states.     

Constraints on the MSSM from the Higgs sector

We discuss the constraints on supersymmetry in the Higgs sector arising from LHC searches, rare B decays and dark matter direct detection experiments. We show that constraints derived on the mass of the lightest h ⁰ and the CP-odd A ⁰ bosons from these searches are covering a larger fraction of the SUSY parameter space compared to searches for strongly interacting supersymmetric particle partners. We discuss the implications of a mass determination for the lightest Higgs boson in the range 123<M _h <127?GeV, inspired by the intriguing hints reported by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations, as well as those of a non-observation of the lightest Higgs boson for MSSM scenarios not excluded at the end of 2012 by LHC and direct dark matter searches and their implications on LHC SUSY searches.     

Flavoured co-annihilation

In minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) or CMSSM, one of the main co-annihilating partners of the neutralino is the lightest stau, $\tilde{\tau}_1$ . In the presence of flavour violation in the right-handed sector, the co-annihilating partner would be a flavour mixed state. The flavour effect is two-fold: (a) It changes the mass of $\tilde{\tau}_{1}$ , thus modifying the parameter space of the co-annihilation and (b) flavour violating scatterings could now contribute to the cross-sections in the early Universe. In fact, it is shown that for large enough ??~0.2, these processes would constitute the dominant channels in co-annihilation regions. The amount of flavour mixing permissible is constrained by flavour violating ?????? or ????e processes. For ??_RR mass insertions, the constraints from flavour violation are not strong enough in some regions of the parameter space due to partial cancellations in the amplitudes. In mSUGRA, the regions with cancelations within LFV amplitudes do not overlap with the regions of co-annihilations. In non-universal Higgs model (NUHM), however, these regions do overlap leading to significant flavoured co-annihilations. At the LHC and other colliders, these regions can constitute for interesting signals.     

Measuring masses of semi-invisibly decaying particle pairs produced at hadron colliders

We introduce a variable useful for measuring masses of particles which are pair produced at hadron colliders, where each particle decays to one particle that is directly observable and another particle whose existence can only be inferred from missing transverse momentum. This variable is closely related to the transverse mass variable commonly used for measuring the W mass at hadron colliders, and like the transverse mass our variable extracts masses in a reasonably model independent way. Without considering either backgrounds or measurement errors we consider how our variable would perform measuring the mass of selectrons in a mSUGRA SUSY model at the LHC.     

QED bremsstrahlung in decays of electroweak bosons

Isolated lepton momenta, in particular their directions are the most precisely measured quantities in pp collisions at LHC. This offers opportunities for multitude of precision measurements. It is of practical importance to verify if precision measurements with leptons in the final state require all theoretical effects evaluated simultaneously or if QED bremsstrahlung in the final state can be separated without unwanted precision loss. Results for final-state bremsstrahlung in the decays of narrow resonances are obtained from the Feynman rules of QED in an unambiguous way and can be controlled with a very high precision. Also for resonances of non-negligible width, if calculations are appropriately performed, such separation from the remaining electroweak effects can be expected. Our paper is devoted to validation that final-state QED bremsstrahlung can indeed be separated from the rest of QCD and electroweak effects, in the production and decay of Z and W bosons, and to estimation of the resulting systematic error. The quantitative discussion is based on Monte Carlo programs PHOTOS and SANC, as well as on KKMC which is used for benchmark results. We show that for a large class of W and Z boson observables as used at LHC, the theoretical error on photonic bremsstrahlung is 0.1 or 0.2 %, depending on the program options used. An overall theoretical error on the QED final-state radiation, i.e. taking into account missing corrections due to pair emission and interference with initial state radiation is estimated respectively at 0.2 % or 0.3 % again depending on the program option used.     

Embedding Z′ models in SO(10) GUTs

We embed a theory with Z′ gauge boson (related to an extra U(1) gauge group) into a supersymmetric GUT theory based on SO(10). Two possible sequences of SO(10) breaking via VEVs of appropriate Higgs fields are considered. Gauge coupling unification provides constraints on the low energy values of two additional gauge coupling constants related to Z′ interactions with fermions. Our main purpose is to investigate in detail the freedom in these two values due to different scales of subsequent SO(10) breaking and unknown threshold mass corrections in the gauge RGEs. These corrections are mainly generated by Higgs representations and can be large because of the large dimensions of these representations. To account for many free mass parameters, effective threshold mass corrections have been introduced. Analytic results that show the allowed regions of values of two additional gauge coupling constants have been derived at 1-loop level. For a few points in parameter-space that belong to one of these allowed regions 1-loop running of gauge coupling constants has been compared with more precise running, which is 2-loop for gauge coupling constants and 1-loop for Yukawa coupling constants. 1-loop results have been compared with experimental constraints from electroweak precision tests and from the most recent LHC data.     

Implications of the measurement of the Bs(0)Bs(0) mass difference

We analyze the significant new model independent constraints on extensions of the standard model (SM) that follow from the recent measurements of the Bs(0)Bs(0) mass difference. The time-dependent CP asymmetry in Bs-->psiphi, S(psiphi), will be measured with good precision in the first year of CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data taking, which will further constrain the parameter space of many extensions of the SM, in particular, next-to-minimal flavor violation. The CP asymmetry in semileptonic Bs decay, ASL(s), is also important to constrain these frameworks, and could give further clues to our understanding the flavor sector in the LHC era. We point out a strong correlation between S(psiphi) and ASL(s) in a very broad class of new physics models.     

Higgs production via gluon fusion in a six-dimensional universal extra dimension model on S 2/Z 2

We investigate Higgs boson production process via gluon fusion at LHC in our six-dimensional universal extra dimension model compactified on a spherical orbifold S ²/Z ₂. We find a striking result that the Higgs production cross section in our model is predicted to have 30(10)% enhancement compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (the minimal universal extra dimension model) for the compactification scale of order 1 TeV.