Decoding the mechanism for the origin of dark matter in the early universe using LHC data
It is shown that LHC data can allow one to decode the mechanism by which dark matter is generated in the early universe in supersymmetric theories. We focus on two of the major mechanisms for such generation of dark matter, which are known to be the stau coannihilation (stau co), where the neutralino is typically bino like and annihilation on the hyperbolic branch (HB), where the neutralino has a significant Higgsino component. An investigation of how one may discriminate between the stau-co region and the HB region using LHC data is given for the mSUGRA model. The analysis utilizes several signatures including multi leptons, hadronic jets, b tagging, and missing transverse momentum. A study of the supersymmetry signatures reveals several correlated smoking gun signals allowing a clear discrimination between the stau-co and the HB regions where dark matter in the early universe can originate.

title: Light Higgses at the Tevatron and at the LHC and Observable Dark Matter in SUGRA and D Branes
abstract: Sparticle landscapes in mSUGRA, in SUGRA models with nonuniversalities (NUSUGRA), and in D-brane models are analyzed. The analysis exhibits the existence of Higgs Mass Patterns (HPs) (for μ > 0 ) where the CP odd Higgs could be the next heavier particle beyond the LSP and sometimes even lighter than the LSP. It is shown that the Higgs production cross sections from the HPs are typically the largest enhancing the prospects for their detection at the LHC. Indeed it is seen that the recent Higgs production limits from CDF/DO are beginning to put constraints on the HPs. It is also seen that the B s → μ + μ − limits constrain the HPs more stringently. Predictions of the Higgs production cross sections for these patterns at the LHC are made. We compute the neutralino–proton cross sections σ ( χ ˜ 1 0 p ) for dark matter experiments and show that the largest σ ( χ ˜ 1 0 p ) also arise from the HPs and further that the HPs and some of the other patterns are beginning to be constrained by the most recent data from CDMS and from Xenon10 experiments. Finally, it is shown that the prospects are bright for the discovery of dark matter with σ ( χ ˜ 1 0 p ) in the range 10 − 44 ± 0.5 cm 2 due to a “Wall” consisting of a copious number of parameter points in the Chargino Patterns (CPs) where the chargino is the NLSP. The Wall, which appears in all models considered (mSUGRA, NUSUGRA and D-branes) and runs up to about a TeV in LSP mass, significantly enhances the chances for the observation of dark matter by SuperCDMS, ZEPLIN-MAX, or LUX experiments which are expected to achieve a sensitivity of 10 −45 cm 2 or more.

title: Scattering properties of dark atoms and molecules
abstract: There has been renewed interest in the possibility that dark matter exists in the form of atoms, analogous to those of the visible world. An important input for understanding the cosmological consequences of dark atoms is their self-scattering. Making use of results from atomic physics for the potentials between hydrogen atoms, we compute the low-energy elastic scattering cross sections for dark atoms. We find an intricate dependence upon the ratio of the dark proton to electron mass, allowing for the possibility to "design" low-energy features in the cross section. Dependences upon other parameters, namely the gauge coupling and reduced mass, scale out of the problem by using atomic units. We derive constraints on the parameter space of dark atoms by demanding that their scattering cross section does not exceed bounds from dark matter halo shapes. We discuss the formation of molecular dark hydrogen in the universe, and determine the analogous constraints on the model when the dark matter is predominantly in molecular form.

title: LHC constraints on dark matter with (130 GeV) gamma ray lines
abstract: Dark matter annihilation into photons in our galaxy would constitute an exciting indirect signal of its existence, as underscored by tentative evidence for 130 GeV dark matter in Fermi/LAT data. Models that give a large annihilation cross section into photons typically require the dark matter to couple to, or be composed of, new charged particles, that can be produced in colliders. We consider the LHC constraints on some representative models of these types, including the signals of same-sign dileptons, opposite-sign dileptons, events mimicking the production and decay of excited leptons, four-photon events, resonant production of composite vectors decaying into two photons, and monophoton events.

title: Explaining PAMELA and WMAP data through coannihilations in extended SUGRA with collider implications
abstract: The PAMELA positron excess is analyzed within the framework of nonuniversal supergravity (SUGRA) models with an extended $U(1{)}^{n}$ gauge symmetry in the hidden sector leading to neutralino dark matter with either a mixed Higgsino-wino lightest $R$-parity odd supersymmetric particle (LSP) or an essentially pure wino-dominated LSP. The Higgsino-wino LSP can produce the observed PAMELA positron excess and satisfy relic density constraints in the extended class of models due to a near degeneracy of the mass spectrum of the extended neutralino sector with the LSP mass. The simultaneous satisfaction of the WMAP relic density data and the PAMELA data is accomplished through a coannihilation mechanism (${B}_{\mathrm{Co}}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{\text{mechanism}}$), and leads to predictions of a neutralino and a chargino in the mass range (180--200) GeV as well as low-lying sparticles accessible at colliders. We show that the models are consistent with the antiproton constraints from PAMELA as well as the photon flux data from EGRET and FERMI-LAT. Predictions for the scalar neutralino-proton cross section relevant for the direct detection of dark matter are also discussed and signatures at the LHC for these PAMELA inspired models are analyzed. It is shown that the mixed Higgsino-wino LSP model will be discoverable with as little as $1\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ of data and is thus a prime candidate for discovery in the low luminosity runs at the LHC.

title: The Stueckelberg Extension and Milli Weak and Milli Charged Dark Matter
abstract: A overview is given of the recent developments in the U(1)X Stueckelberg extensions of the Standard Model and of MSSM where all the Standard Model particles are neutral under the U(1)X, but an axion which is absorbed is charged under both U(1)X and U(1)Y and acts as the connector field coupling the Standard Model sector with the Stueckelberg sector. Coupled with the usual Higgs mechanism that breaks the SU(2)L×U(1)Y gauge symmetry, this scenario produces mixings in the neutral gauge boson sector generating an extra Z′ boson. The couplings of the extra Z′ to the Standard Model particles are milli weak but its couplings to the hidden sector matter, defined as matter that couples only to the gauge field of U(1)X, can be of normal electro‐weak strength. It is shown that such extensions, aside from the possibility of leading to a sharp Z′ resonance, lead to two new types of dark matter: milli weak (or extra weak) and milli charged. An analysis of the relic density shows that the WMAP‐3 constraints can be satis...

title: Measurement of the running of the electromagnetic coupling at large momentum-transfer at LEP
abstract: The evolution of the electromagnetic coupling, α, in the momentum-transfer range 1800 GeV2 < -Q2 < 21600 GeV2 is studied with about 40 000 Bhabha-scattering events collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies √s = 189-209 GeV. The running of α is parametrised as: α(Q2) = α0/1 - C Δα(Q2), where α ≡ α(Q2 = 0) is the fine-structure constant and C = 1 corresponds to the evolution expected in QED. A fit to the differential cross section of the e+e- → e+e- process for scattering angles in the range |cos θ| < 0.9 excludes the hypothesis of a constant value of α, C = 0, and validates the QED prediction with the result: C = 1.05±0.07±0.14, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

title: First observation of the M1 transition $\psi(3686)\to \gamma\eta_c(2S)$
abstract: Using a sample of 106 million \psi(3686) events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII storage ring, we have made the first measurement of the M1 transition between the radially excited charmonium S-wave spin-triplet and the radially excited S-wave spin-singlet states: \psi(3686)\to\gamma\eta_c(2S). Analyses of the processes \psi(2S)\to \gamma\eta_c(2S) with \eta_c(2S)\to \K_S^0 K\pi and K^+K^-\pi^0 gave an \eta_c(2S) signal with a statistical significance of greater than 10 standard deviations under a wide range of assumptions about the signal and background properties. The data are used to obtain measurements of the \eta_c(2S) mass (M(\eta_c(2S))=3637.6\pm 2.9_\mathrm{stat}\pm 1.6_\mathrm{sys} MeV/c^2), width (\Gamma(\eta_c(2S))=16.9\pm 6.4_\mathrm{stat}\pm 4.8_\mathrm{sys} MeV), and the product branching fraction (\BR(\psi(3686)\to \gamma\eta_c(2S))\times \BR(\eta_c(2S)\to K\bar K\pi) = (1.30\pm 0.20_\mathrm{stat}\pm 0.30_\mathrm{sys})\times 10^{-5}). Combining our result with a BaBar measurement of \BR(\eta_c(2S)\to K\bar K \pi), we find the branching fraction of the M1 transition to be \BR(\psi(3686)\to\gamma\eta_c(2S)) = (6.8\pm 1.1_\mathrm{stat}\pm 4.5_\mathrm{sys})\times 10^{-4}.

title: Moments of meson distribution functions with dynamical twisted mass fermions
abstract: We present our preliminary results on the lowest moment hxi of quark distribution functions of the pion using two flavor dynamical simulations with Wilson twisted mass fermions at maximal twist. The calculation is done in a range of pion masses from 300 to 500 MeV. A stochastic source method is used to reduce inversions in calculating propagators. Finite volume effects at the lowest quark mass are examined by using two different lattice volumes. Our results show that we achieve statistical errors of only a few percent. We plan to compute renormalization constants non-perturbatively and extend the calculation to two more lattice spacings and to the nucleons.

title: Light neutralino dark matter: direct/indirect detection and collider searches
abstract: A bstractWe study the neutralino being the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle (LSP) as a cold Dark Matter (DM) candidate with a mass less than 40 GeV in the framework of the Next-to-Minimal-Supersymmetric-Standard-Model (NMSSM). We find that with the current collider constraints from LEP, the Tevatron and the LHC, there are three types of light DM solutions consistent with the direct/indirect searches as well as the relic abundance considerations: (i) A1, H1-funnels, (ii) stau coannihilation and (iii) sbottom coannihilation. Type-(i) may take place in any theory with a light scalar (or pseudo-scalar) near the LSP pair threshold; while Type-(ii) and (iii) could occur in the framework of Minimal-Supersymmetric-Standard-Model (MSSM) as well. We present a comprehensive study on the properties of these solutions and point out their immediate relevance to the experiments of the underground direct detection such as superCDMS and LUX/LZ, and the astro-physical indirect search such as Fermi-LAT. We also find that the decays of the SM-like Higgs boson may be modified appreciably and the new decay channels to the light SUSY particles may be sizable. The new light CP-even and CP-odd Higgs bosons will decay to a pair of LSPs as well as other observable final states, leading to interesting new Higgs phenomenology at colliders. For the light sfermion searches, the signals would be very challenging to observe at the LHC given the current bounds. However, a high energy and high luminosity lepton collider, such as the ILC, would be able to fully cover these scenarios by searching for events with large missing energy plus charged tracks or displaced vertices.

title: Colored resonant signals at the LHC: largest rate and simplest topology
abstract: We study the colored resonance production at the LHC in a most general approach. We classify the possible colored resonances based on group theory decomposition, and construct their effective interactions with light partons. The production cross section from annihilation of valence quarks or gluons may be on the order of 400–1000 pb at LHC energies for a mass of 1 TeV with nominal couplings, leading to the largest production rates for new physics at the TeV scale, and simplest event topology with dijet final states. We apply the new dijet data from the LHC experiments to put bounds on various possible colored resonant states. The current bounds range from 0.9 to 2.7 TeV. The formulation is readily applicable for future searches including other decay modes.