One-electron atoms in screened modified gravity [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05659

In a large class of scalar-tensor theories that are potential candidates for dark energy, a non-minimal coupling between the scalar and the photon is possible. The presence of such an interaction grants us the exciting prospect of directly observing dark sector phenomenology in the electromagnetic spectrum. This paper investigates the behavior of one-electron atoms in this class of modified gravity models, exploring their viability as probes of deviations from general relativity in both laboratory and astrophysical settings. Building heavily on earlier studies, our main contribution is threefold: a thorough analysis finds additional fine structure corrections previously unaccounted for, which now predict a contribution to the Lamb shift larger by nearly four orders of magnitude. Secondly, we include the effects of the nuclear magnetic moment, allowing for the study of hyperfine structure and the 21 cm line, which hitherto have been unexplored in this context. Finally, we also examine how a background scalar leads to equivalence principle violations.

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L. Wong and A. Davis
Fri, 17 Mar 17
2/50

Comments: 10 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to PRD

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Recommendations of the LHC Dark Matter Working Group: Comparing LHC searches for heavy mediators of dark matter production in visible and invisible decay channels [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05703

Weakly-coupled TeV-scale particles may mediate the interactions between normal matter and dark matter. If so, the LHC would produce dark matter through these mediators, leading to the familiar ‘mono-X’ search signatures, but the mediators would also produce signals without missing momentum via the same vertices involved in their production. This document from the LHC Dark Matter Working Group suggests how to compare searches for these two types of signals in case of vector and axial-vector mediators, based on a workshop that took place on September 19/20, 2016 and subsequent discussions. These suggestions include how to extend the spin-1 mediated simplified models already in widespread use to include lepton couplings. This document also provides analytic calculations of the relic density in the simplified models and reports an issue that arose when ATLAS and CMS first began to use preliminary numerical calculations of the dark matter relic density in these models.

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A. Albert, M. Backovic, A. Boveia, et. al.
Fri, 17 Mar 17
16/50

Comments: 19 pages, 4 figures

Lectures on the Infrared Structure of Gravity and Gauge Theory [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05448

This is a redacted transcript of a course given by the author at Harvard in spring semester 2016. It contains a pedagogical overview of recent developments connecting the subjects of soft theorems, the memory effect and asymptotic symmetries in four-dimensional QED, nonabelian gauge theory and gravity with applications to black holes. The lectures may be viewed online at https://goo.gl/3DJdOr. Please send typos or corrections to strominger@physics.harvard.edu.

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A. Strominger
Fri, 17 Mar 17
18/50

Comments: 154 pages, 21 figures

Pulsar Timing Constraints on Physics Beyond the Standard Model [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05331

We argue that massive quantum fields source low-frequency long-wavelength metric fluctuations through the quantum fluctuations of their stress-energy, given reasonable assumptions about the analytic structure of its correlators. This can be traced back to the non-local nature of the gauge symmetry in General Relativity, which prevents an efficient screening of UV scales (what we call the cosmological non-constant problem). We define a covariant and gauge-invariant observable which probes line-of-sight spacetime curvature fluctuations on an observer’s past lightcone, and show that current pulsar timing data constrains any massive particle to $m\lesssim 600$ GeV. This astrophysical bound severely limits the possibilities for physics beyond the standard model below the scale of quantum gravity.

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N. Afshordi, H. Kim and E. Nelson
Fri, 17 Mar 17
20/50

Comments: 5 pages, 2 figures; comments welcome

Secluded and Flipped Dark Matter and Stueckelberg Extensions of the Standard Model [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05275

We consider here three dark matter models with the gauge symmetry of the standard model plus an additional local $U(1)_D$ factor. One model is secluded and two models are flipped. All of these models include one dark fermion and one vector boson that attains mass through the Stueckelberg mechanism. We show that the flipped models provide examples dark matter composed of “least interacting particles” (LIPs). Such particles are therefore compatible with the constraints obtained from both laboratory measurements and astrophysical observations.

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E. Fortes, V. Pleitez and F. Stecker
Fri, 17 Mar 17
37/50

Comments: 6 pages, no figures

When the Universe Expands Too Fast: Relentless Dark Matter [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04793

We consider a modification to the standard cosmological history consisting of introducing a new species $\phi$ whose energy density red-shifts with the scale factor $a$ like $\rho_\phi \propto a^{-(4+n)}$. For $n>0$, such a red-shift is faster than radiation, hence the new species dominates the energy budget of the universe at early times while it is completely negligible at late times. If equality with the radiation energy density is achieved at low enough temperatures, dark matter can be produced as a thermal relic during the new cosmological phase. Dark matter freeze-out then occurs at higher temperatures compared to the standard case, implying that reproducing the observed abundance requires significantly larger annihilation rates. Here, we point out a completely new phenomenon, which we refer to as $\textit{relentless}$ dark matter: for large enough $n$, unlike the standard case where annihilation ends shortly after the departure from thermal equilibrium, dark matter particles keep annihilating long after leaving chemical equilibrium, with a significant depletion of the final relic abundance. Relentless annihilation occurs for $n \geq 2$ and $n \geq 4$ for s-wave and p-wave annihilation, respectively, and it thus occurs in well motivated scenarios such as a quintessence with a kination phase. We discuss a few microscopic realizations for the new cosmological component and highlight the phenomenological consequences of our calculations for dark matter searches.

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F. DEramo, N. Fernandez and S. Profumo
Thu, 16 Mar 17
15/92

Comments: 14 pages, 9 figures

A search for sterile neutrinos with the latest cosmological observations [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04884

We report the result of a search for sterile neutrinos with the latest cosmological observations. Both cases of massless and massive sterile neutrinos are considered in the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The cosmological observations used in this work include the Planck 2015 temperature and polarization data, the baryon acoustic oscillation data, the Hubble constant direct measurement data, the Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster counts data, the Planck lensing data, and the cosmic shear data. We find that the current observational data give a hint of the existence of massless sterile neutrino (as dark radiation) at the 1.44$\sigma$ level, and the consideration of an extra massless sterile neutrino can indeed relieve the tension between observations and improve the cosmological fit. For the case of massive sterile neutrino, the observations give a rather tight upper limit on the mass, which implies that actually a massless sterile neutrino is more favored. Our result is consistent with the recent result of neutrino oscillation experiment done by the Daya Bay and MINOS collaborations, as well as the recent result of cosmic ray experiment done by the IceCube collaboration.

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L. Feng, J. Zhang and X. Zhang
Thu, 16 Mar 17
19/92

Comments: 15 pages, 4 figures

Comment on "Strong Evidence for the Normal Neutrino Hierarchy" [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04585

In the preprint arxiv:1703.03425 “strong evidence” for the normal neutrino mass ordering is claimed. The authors obtain Bayesian odds of 42:1 in favour of the normal ordering. Their conclusion is based on adopting a flat logarithmic prior for the three neutrino masses. Such an assumption favours a hierarchical spectrum for the masses, which is much easier to accommodate for the normal mass ordering, and hence their prior assumption makes the inverted ordering much less likely a priori. We argue that the claimed “evidence” for normal ordering is almost entirely driven by the adopted prior and not due to the data itself.

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T. Schwetz, K. Freese, M. Gerbino, et. al.
Thu, 16 Mar 17
27/92

Comments: 2 pages, no figures, comment on arXiv:1703.03425

Constraints on long-lived electrically charged massive particles from anomalous strong lens systems [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05145

We investigate anomalous strong lens systems, particularly the effects of weak lensing by structures in the line of sight, in models with long-lived electrically charged massive particles (CHAMPs). In such models, matter density perturbations are suppressed through the acoustic damping and the flux ratio of lens systems are impacted, from which we can constrain the nature of CHAMPs. For this purpose, first we perform $N$-body simulations and develop a fitting formula to obtain non-linear matter power spectra in models where cold neutral dark matter and CHAMPs coexist in the early Universe. By using the observed anomalous quadruple lens samples, we obtained the constraints on the lifetime ($\tau_{\rm Ch}$) and the mass density fraction ($r_{\rm Ch}$) of CHAMPs. We show that, for $r_{\rm Ch}=1$, the lifetime is bounded as $\tau_{\rm Ch} < 0.96\,$yr (95% confidence level), while a longer lifetime $\tau_{\rm Ch} = 10\,$yr is allowed when $r_{\rm Ch} < 0.5$ at the 95% confidence level. Implications of our result for particle physics models are also discussed.

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A. Kamada, K. Inoue, K. Kohri, et. al.
Thu, 16 Mar 17
38/92

Comments: 20 pages, 6 figures

Early Universe Higgs dynamics in the presence of the Higgs-inflaton and non-minimal Higgs-gravity couplings [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04681

Apparent metastability of the electroweak vacuum poses a number of cosmological questions. These concern evolution of the Higgs field to the current vacuum, and its stability during and after inflation. Higgs-inflaton and non-minimal Higgs-gravity interactions can make a crucial impact on these considerations potentially solving the problems. In this work, we allow for these couplings to be present simultaneously and study their interplay. We find that different combinations of the Higgs-inflaton and non-minimal Higgs-gravity couplings induce effective Higgs mass during and after inflation. This crucially affects the Higgs stability considerations during preheating. In particular, a wide range of the couplings leading to stable solutions becomes allowed.

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Y. Ema, M. Karciauskas, O. Lebedev, et. al.
Thu, 16 Mar 17
47/92

Comments: 17 pages, 5 figures

Baryogenesis at a Lepton-Number-Breaking Phase Transition [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04902

We study a scenario in which the baryon asymmetry of the universe arises from a cosmological phase transition where lepton-number is spontaneously broken. If the phase transition is first order, a lepton-number asymmetry can arise at the bubble wall, through dynamics similar to electroweak baryogenesis, but involving right-handed neutrinos. In addition to the usual neutrinoless double beta decay in nuclear experiments, the model may be probed through a variety of “baryogenesis by-products,” which include a stochastic background of gravitational waves created by the colliding bubbles. Depending on the model, other aspects may include a network of topological defects that produce their own gravitational waves, additional contribution to dark radiation, and a light pseudo-Goldstone boson (majoron) as dark matter candidate.

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A. Long, A. Tesi and L. Wang
Thu, 16 Mar 17
63/92

Comments: 21 pages + 10 appendices & references, 3 figures

Powerful Solar Signatures of Long-Lived Dark Mediators [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04629

Dark matter capture and annihilation in the Sun can produce detectable high-energy neutrinos, providing a probe of the dark matter-proton scattering cross section. We consider the case when annihilation proceeds via long-lived dark mediators, which allows gamma rays to escape the Sun and reduces the attenuation of neutrinos. For gamma rays, there are exciting new opportunities, due to detailed measurements of GeV solar gamma rays with Fermi, and unprecedented sensitivities in the TeV range with HAWC and LHAASO. For neutrinos, the enhanced flux, particularly at higher energies ($\sim$TeV), allows a more sensitive dark matter search with IceCube and KM3NeT. We show that these search channels can be extremely powerful, potentially improving sensitivity to the dark matter spin-dependent scattering cross section by several orders of magnitude relative to present searches for high-energy solar neutrinos, as well as direct detection experiments.

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R. Leane, K. Ng and J. Beacom
Thu, 16 Mar 17
75/92

Comments: 16 pages, 8 figures

Non-cyclic geometric phases and helicity transitions for neutrino oscillations in magnetic field [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.05027

We show that neutrino spin and spin-flavor transitions involve non-vanishing geometric phases. Analytical expressions are derived for non-cyclic geometric phases arising due to neutrino oscillations in magnetic fields and matter. Several calculations are performed for different cases of rotating and non-rotating magnetic fields in the context of solar neutrinos and neutrinos produced inside neutron stars. It is shown that the neutrino eigenstates carry non-vanishing geometric phases even at large distances from their original point of production. Also the effects of critical magnetic fields and cross boundary effects in case of neutrinos emanating out of neutron stars are analyzed.

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S. Joshi and S. Jain
Thu, 16 Mar 17
87/92

Comments: 12 pages, 7 figures

Global constraints on absolute neutrino masses and their ordering [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.04471

Within the standard three-neutrino framework, the absolute neutrino masses and their ordering (either normal, NO, or inverted, IO) are currently unknown. However, the combination of current data coming from oscillation experiments, neutrinoless double beta decay searches, and cosmological surveys, can provide interesting constraints for such unknowns in the sub-eV mass range, down to O(0.1) eV in some cases. We discuss current limits on absolute neutrino mass observables by performing a global data analysis, that includes the latest results from oscillation experiments, neutrinoless double beta decay bounds from the KamLAND-Zen experiment, and constraints from representative combinations of Planck measurements and other cosmological data sets. In general, NO appears to be somewhat favored with respect to IO at the level of ~2 sigma, mainly by neutrino oscillation data (especially atmospheric), corroborated by cosmological data in some cases. Detailed constraints are obtained via the chi^2 method, by expanding the parameter space either around separate minima in NO and IO, or around the absolute minimum in any ordering. Implications for upcoming oscillation and non-oscillation neutrino experiments, including beta-decay searches, are also discussed.

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F. Capozzi, E. Valentino, E. Lisi, et. al.
Tue, 14 Mar 17
14/74

Comments: 17 pages, including 3 tables and 11 figures

Nonlinear Resonant Oscillation of Gravitational Potential Induced by Ultralight Axion in $f(R)$ Gravity [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03589

We study the ultralight axion dark matter with mass around $10^{-22}$ eV in $f(R)$ gravity which might resolve the dark energy problem. In particular, we focus on the fact that the pressure of the axion field oscillating in time produces oscillations of gravitational potentials. We show that the oscillation of the gravitational potential is sensitive to the model of gravity. Remarkably, we find that the detectability of the oscillation through the gravitational wave detectors can be significantly enhanced due to the nonlinear resonance between the ultralight axion and the scalaron.

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A. Aoki and J. Soda
Mon, 13 Mar 17
4/48

Comments: 19 pages, 4 figures

Exotic Compact Objects and How to Quench their Ergoregion Instability [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03696

Gravitational-wave astronomy can give us access to the structure of black holes, potentially probing microscopic or even Planckian corrections at the horizon scale, as those predicted by some quantum-gravity models of exotic compact objects. A generic feature of these models is the replacement of the horizon by a reflective surface. Objects with these properties are prone to the so-called ergoregion instability when they spin sufficiently fast. We investigate in detail a simple model consisting of scalar perturbations of a Kerr geometry with a reflective surface near the horizon. The instability depends on the spin, on the compactness, and on the reflectivity at the surface. The instability time scale increases logarithmically in the black-hole limit but, for a perfectly reflecting object, this is not enough to prevent the instability from occurring on dynamical time scales. However, we find that an absorption rate at the surface as small as 0.4% (reflectivity coefficient as large as $|{\cal R}|^2=0.996$) is sufficient to quench the instability completely. Our results suggest that exotic compact objects are not necessarily ruled out by the ergoregion instability.

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E. Maggio, P. Pani and V. Ferrari
Mon, 13 Mar 17
37/48

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures

Strong Evidence for the Normal Neutrino Hierarchy [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03425

The configuration of the three neutrino masses can take two forms, known as the normal and inverted hierarchies. We compute the Bayesian evidence associated with these two hierarchies. Previous studies found a mild preference for the normal hierarchy, and this was driven by the asymmetric manner in which cosmological data has confined the available parameter space. Here we identify the presence of a second asymmetry, which is imposed by data from neutrino oscillations. By combining constraints on the squared-mass splittings with the limit on the sum of neutrino masses of $\Sigma m_\nu < 0.13$ eV, we infer odds of 42:1 in favour of the normal hierarchy, which is classified as “strong” in the Jeffreys’ scale. We explore how these odds may evolve in light of higher precision cosmological data, and discuss the implications of this finding with regards to the nature of neutrinos.

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F. Simpson, R. Jimenez, C. Pena-Garay, et. al.
Mon, 13 Mar 17
42/48

Comments: Submitted to JCAP

Dark matter in U(1) extensions of the MSSM with gauge kinetic mixing [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03275

The gauge kinetic mixing in general is allowed in models with multiple Abelian gauge groups. In this paper, we investigate the gauge kinetic mixing in the framework of $U(1)$ extensions of the MSSM. It enlarges the viable parameter space, and has an important effect on the particle mass spectrum as well as the $Z_2$ coupling with matters. The SM-like Higgs boson mass can be enhanced with a nonzero kinetic mixing parameter and the muon $g-2$ tension is less severe than in the case of no mixing. We present the results from both benchmark analysis and global parameter scan. Various theoretical and phenomenological constraints have been considered. The recent LHC searches for the $Z_2$ boson are important for the case of large positive kinetic mixing where the $Z_2$ coupling is enhanced, and severely constrain scenarios with $M_{Z_2} < 2.8$ TeV. The viable dark matter candidate predicted by the model is either the neutralino or the right-handed sneutrino. Cosmological constraints from dark matter searches play a significant role in excluding the parameter space. Portions of the parameter space with relatively low sparticle mass spectrum can be successfully explored in the LHC run-2 as well as future linear colliders and dark matter searches.

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G. Belanger, J. Silva and H. Tran
Fri, 10 Mar 17
16/52

Comments: 32 pages, 14 figures

Strong CP problem, axions, and cosmological implications of CP violation [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03114

In this talk, I present a pedagogical and historical review related to the CP symmetry. It includes the weak CP violation, the strong CP problem, “invisible” axions and cosmology, and Type-II leptogenesis.

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J. Kim
Fri, 10 Mar 17
20/52

Comments: 21 pages of LaTeX file with 12 figures. Talk presented at Corfu, Greece

A Reappraisal on Dark Matter Co-annihilating with a Top/Bottom Partner [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.02977

We revisit the calculation of relic density of dark matter particles co-annihilating with a top or bottom partner, by properly including the QCD bound-states (onia) effects of the colored partners, as well as the relevant electroweak processes which become important in the low mass region. We carefully set up the complete framework that incorporates the relevant contributions and investigate their effects on the cosmologically preferred mass spectrum, which turn out to be comparable in size to those coming from the Sommerfeld enhancement. We apply the calculation to three scenarios: bino-stop and bino-sbottom co-annihilations in supersymmetry, and a vector dark matter co-annihilating with a fermionic top partner. In addition, we confront our analysis of the relic abundance with recent direct detection experiments and, in the case of bino-sbottom co-annihilation, collider searches at the LHC.

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W. Keung, I. Low and Y. Zhang
Fri, 10 Mar 17
46/52

Comments: 19 pages, 6 figures

Sourcing Dark Matter and Dark Energy from $α$-attractors [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.03295

Recently, Kallosh and Linde have drawn attention to a new family of superconformal inflationary potentials, subsequently called $\alpha$-attractors. The $\alpha$-attractor family can interpolate between a large class of inflationary models. It also has an important theoretical underpinning within the framework of supergravity. We demonstrate that the $\alpha$-attractors have an even wider appeal since they may describe dark matter and perhaps even dark energy. The dark matter associated with the $\alpha$-attractors, which we call $\alpha$-dark matter ($\alpha$DM), shares many of the attractive features of fuzzy dark matter, with $V(\varphi) = \frac{1}{2}m^2\varphi^2$, while having none of its drawbacks. Like fuzzy dark matter, $\alpha$DM can have a large Jeans length which could resolve the cusp-core and substructure problems faced by standard cold dark matter. $\alpha$DM also has an appealing tracker property which enables it to converge to the late-time dark matter asymptote, $\langle w\rangle \simeq 0$, from a wide range of initial conditions. It thus avoids the enormous fine-tuning problems faced by the $m^2\varphi^2$ potential in describing dark matter.

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S. Mishra, V. Sahni and Y. Shtanov
Fri, 10 Mar 17
50/52

Comments: 40 pages, 22 figures

A review of gravitational waves from cosmic domain walls [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.02576

In this contribution, we discuss the cosmological scenario where unstable domain walls are formed in the early universe and their late-time annihilation produces a significant amount of gravitational waves. After describing cosmological constraints on long-lived domain walls, we estimate the typical amplitude and frequency of gravitational waves observed today. We also review possible extensions of the standard model of particle physics that predict the formation of unstable domain walls and can be probed by observation of relic gravitational waves. It is shown that recent results of pulser timing arrays and direct detection experiments partially exclude the relevant parameter space, and that a much wider parameter space can be covered by the next generation of gravitational wave observatories.

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K. Saikawa
Thu, 9 Mar 17
7/54

Comments: 25 pages, 4 figures, invited paper to special issue `Gravitational Waves: Prospects after the First Direct Detections’ in `Universe’

Constraints on warm dark matter from the ionization history of the Universe [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.02302

In warm dark matter scenarios structure formation is suppressed on small scales with respect to the cold dark matter case, reducing the number of low-mass halos and the fraction of ionized gas at high redshifts and thus, delaying reionization. This has an impact on the ionization history of the Universe and measurements of the optical depth to reionization, of the evolution of the global fraction of ionized gas and of the thermal history of the intergalactic medium, can be used to set constraints on the mass of the dark matter particle. However, the suppression of the fraction of ionized medium in these scenarios can be partly compensated by varying other parameters, as the ionization efficiency or the minimum mass for which halos can host star-forming galaxies. Here we use different data sets regarding the ionization and thermal histories of the Universe and, taking into account the degeneracies from several astrophysical parameters, we obtain a lower bound on the mass of thermal warm dark matter candidates of $m_X > 1.3$ keV, or $m_s > 5.5$ keV for the case of sterile neutrinos non-resonantly produced in the early Universe, both at 90% confidence level.

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L. Lopez-Honorez, O. Mena, S. Palomares-Ruiz, et. al.
Wed, 8 Mar 17
34/60

Comments: 15 pages, 17 figures

Dark matter kinetic decoupling with a light particle [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.02338

We argue that the acoustic damping of the matter power spectrum is not a generic feature of the kinetic decoupling of dark matter, but even the enhancement can be realized depending on the nature of the kinetic decoupling when compared to that in the standard cold dark matter model. We consider a model that exhibits a ${\it sudden}$ kinetic decoupling and investigate cosmological perturbations in the ${\it standard}$ cosmological background numerically in the model. We also give an analytic discussion in a simplified setup. Our results indicate that the nature of the kinetic decoupling could have a great impact on small scale density perturbations.

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A. Kamada and T. Takahashi
Wed, 8 Mar 17
49/60

Comments: 19 pages, 7 figures

Unitary NEC violation in P(X) cosmologies [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00025

A non-singular cosmological bounce in the Einstein frame can only take place if the Null Energy Condition (NEC) is violated. We explore situations where a single scalar field drives the NEC violation and derive the constraints imposed by demanding tree level unitarity on a cosmological background. We then focus on the explicit constraints that arise in P(X) theories and show that constraints from perturbative unitarity make it impossible for the NEC violation to occur within the region of validity of the effective field theory without also involving irrelevant operators that arise at a higher scale that would enter from integrating out more massive degrees of freedom. Within the context of P(X) theories we show that including such operators allows for a bounce that does not manifestly violate tree level unitarity, but at the price of either imposing a shift symmetry or involving technically unnatural small operator coefficients within the low-energy effective field theory.

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C. Rham and S. Melville
Wed, 8 Mar 17
51/60

Comments: 35 pages, 1 figure

Massive Galileon Positivity Bounds [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08577

The EFT coefficients in any gapped, scalar, Lorentz invariant field theory must satisfy positivity requirements if there is to exist a local, analytic Wilsonian UV completion. We apply these bounds to the tree level scattering amplitudes for a massive Galileon. The addition of a mass term, which does not spoil the non-renormalization theorem of the Galileon and preserves the Galileon symmetry at loop level, is necessary to satisfy the lowest order positivity bound. We further show that a careful choice of successively higher derivative corrections are necessary to satisfy the higher order positivity bounds. There is then no obstruction to a local UV completion from considerations of tree level 2-to-2 scattering alone. To demonstrate this we give an explicit example of such a UV completion.

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C. Rham, S. Melville, A. Tolley, et. al.
Tue, 7 Mar 17
26/66

Comments: 31 pages

Cosmological Dynamics of D-BIonic and DBI Scalar Field and Coincidence Problem of Dark Energy [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.01745

We study the cosmological dynamics of D-BIonic and DBI scalar field, which is coupled to matter fluid. For the exponential potential and the exponential couplings, we find a new analytic scaling solution yielding the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Since it is shown to be an attractor for some range of the coupling parameters, the density parameter of matter fluid can be the observed value, as in the coupled quintessence with a canonical scalar field. Contrary to the usual coupled quintessence, where the value of matter couple giving observed density parameter is too large to satisfy observational constraint from CMB, we show that the D-BIonic theory can give similar solution with much smaller value of matter coupling. As a result, together with the fact that the D-BIonic theory has a screening mechanism, the D-BIonic theory can solve the so-called coincidence problem as well as the dark energy problem.

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S. Panpanich, K. Maeda and S. Mizuno
Tue, 7 Mar 17
39/66

Comments: 15 pages, 7 figures

COSMOS-$e'$- soft Higgsotic attractors [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.01750

In this work, we have developed an elegant algorithm to study the cosmological consequences from a huge class of quantum field theories (i.e. superstring theory, supergravity, extra dimensional theory, modified gravity etc.), which are equivalently described by soft attractors in the effective field theory framework. In this description we have restricted our analysis for two scalar fields – dilaton and Higgsotic fields minimally coupled with Einstein gravity, which can be generalized for any arbitrary number of scalar field contents with generalized non-canonical and non-minimal interactions. We have explicitly used $R^2$ gravity, from which we have studied the attractor and non-attractor phase by exactly computing two point, three point and four point correlation functions from scalar fluctuations using In-In (Schwinger-Keldysh) and $\delta {\cal N}$ formalism. We have also presented theoretical bounds on the amplitude, tilt and running of the primordial power spectrum, various shapes (equilateral, squeezed, folded kite or counter collinear) of the amplitude as obtained from three and four point scalar functions, which are consistent with observed data. Also the results from two point tensor fluctuations and field excursion formula are explicitly presented for attractor and non-attractor phase. Further, reheating constraints, scale dependent behaviour of the couplings and the dynamical solution for the dilaton and Higgsotic fields are also presented. New sets of consistency relations between two, three and four point observables are also presented, which shows significant deviation from canonical slow roll models. Additionally, three possible theoretical proposals have presented to overcome the tachyonic instability at the time of late time acceleration. Finally, we have also provided the bulk interpretation from the three and four point scalar correlation functions for completeness.

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S. Choudhury
Tue, 7 Mar 17
47/66

Comments: 221 pages, 37 figures, 6 tables

Thermal Inflation with a Thermal Waterfall Scalar Field Coupled to a Light Spectator Scalar Field [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08855

A new model of thermal inflation is introduced, in which the mass of the thermal waterfall field is dependent on a light spectator scalar field. Using the $\delta N$ formalism, the “end of inflation” scenario is investigated in order to ascertain whether this model is able to produce the dominant contribution to the primordial curvature perturbation. A multitude of constrains are considered so as to explore the parameter space, with particular emphasis to key observational signatures. For natural values of the parameters, the model is found to yield a sharp prediction for the scalar spectral index and its running, well within the current observational bounds.

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K. Dimopoulos, D. Lyth and A. Rumsey
Mon, 6 Mar 17
6/47

Comments: 14 pages, 4 figures

New Constraints and Prospects for sub-GeV Dark Matter Scattering off Electrons in Xenon [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00910

We study in detail sub-GeV dark matter scattering off electrons in xenon, including the expected electron recoil spectra and annual modulation spectra. We derive improved constraints using low-energy XENON10 and XENON100 ionization-only data. For XENON10, in addition to including electron-recoil data corresponding to about $1-3$ electrons, we include for the first time events with $\gtrsim 4$ electrons. Assuming the scattering is momentum independent, this strengthens a previous cross-section bound by almost an order of magnitude for dark matter masses above 50 MeV. The available XENON100 data corresponds to events with $\gtrsim 4$ electrons, and leads to a constraint that is comparable to the XENON10 bound above 50 MeV. We demonstrate that a search for an annual modulation signal in upcoming xenon experiments (XENON1T, XENONnT, LZ) could substantially improve the above bounds even in the presence of large backgrounds. We also emphasize that in simple benchmark models of sub-GeV dark matter, the dark matter-electron scattering rate can be as high as one event every ten (two) seconds in the XENON1T (XENONnT or LZ) experiments, without being in conflict with any other known experimental bounds. While there are several sources of backgrounds that can produce single- or few-electron events, a large event rate can be consistent with a dark matter signal and should not be simply written off as purely a detector curiosity. This fact motivates a detailed analysis of the ionization-only (“S2-only”) data, taking into account the expected annual modulation spectrum of the signal rate, as well as the DM-induced electron-recoil spectra, which are another powerful discriminant between signal and background.

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R. Essig, T. Volansky and T. Yu
Mon, 6 Mar 17
7/47

Comments: 5 pages + 4 pages appendices/references, 10 figures

Perspectives of direct Detection of supersymmetric Dark Matter in the NMSSM [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.01255

In the next-to minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a candidate for the dark matter (DM) in the universe. It is a mixture from the various gauginos and Higgsinos and can be bino-, Higgsino- or singlino-dominated. These different scenarios are investigated in detail in this letter and compared with the sensitivity of future direct DM search experiments, where we use an efficient sampling technique of the parameter space. We find that LSPs with a significant amount of Higgsino and bino admixture will have cross sections in reach of future direct DM experiments, so the background from coherent neutrino scattering is not yet limiting the sensitivity. Both, the spin-dependent (SD) and spin-independent (SI) searches are important, depending on the dominant admixture. If the predicted relic density is too low, additional dark matter candidates are needed, in which case the LSP direct dark matter searches loose sensitivity of the reduced LSP density. This is taken into account for expected sensitivity. The most striking result is that the singlino-like LSP has regions of parameter space with cross sections below the “neutrino floor”, both for SD and SI interactions. In this region the background from coherent neutrino scattering is expected to be too high, in which case the NMSSM will evade discovery via direct detection experiments.

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C. Beskidt, W. Boer, D. Kazakov, et. al.
Mon, 6 Mar 17
8/47

Comments: 23 pages, 6 figures

Quintessential Inflation with $α$-attractors [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00305

A novel approach to quintessential inflation model building is studied, within the framework of $\alpha$-attractors, motivated by supergravity theories. Inflationary observables are in excellent agreement with the latest CMB observations, while quintessence explains the dark energy observations without any fine-tuning. The model is kept intentionally minimal, avoiding the introduction of many degrees of freedom, couplings and mass scales. In stark contrast to $\Lambda$CDM, for natural values of the parameters, the model attains transient accelerated expansion, which avoids the future horizon problem, while it maintains the field displacement mildly sub-Planckian such that the flatness of the quintessential tail is not lifted by radiative corrections and violations of the equivalence principle (fifth force) are under control. In particular, the required value of the cosmological constant is near the eletroweak scale. Attention is paid to the reheating of the Universe, which avoids gravitino overproduction and respects nucleosynthesis constraints. Kination is treated in a model independent way. A spike in gravitational waves, due to kination, is found not to disturb nucleosynthesis as well.

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K. Dimopoulos and C. Owen
Mon, 6 Mar 17
47/47

Comments: 19 pages, 4 figures

Imaging Galactic Dark Matter with High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00451

We show that the high-energy cosmic neutrinos seen by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory can be used to probe interactions between neutrinos and the dark sector that cannot be reached by current cosmological probes. The origin of the observed neutrinos is still unknown, and their arrival directions are compatible with an isotropic distribution. This observation, together with dedicated studies of Galactic plane correlations, suggest a predominantly extragalactic origin. Interactions between this isotropic extragalactic flux and the dense dark matter (DM) bulge of the Milky Way would thus lead to an observable imprint on the distribution, which would be seen by IceCube as 1) slightly suppressed fluxes at energies below a PeV and 2) a deficit of events in the direction of the Galactic center. We perform an extended unbinned likelihood analysis using the four-year high-energy starting event dataset to constrain the strength of DM-neutrino interactions for two model classes. We find that, in spite of low statistics, IceCube can probe regions of the parameter space inaccessible to current cosmological methods.

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C. Arguelles, A. Kheirandish and A. Vincent
Fri, 3 Mar 17
20/62

Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures

Weighing neutrinos in dynamical dark energy models [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00651

We briefly review the recent results of constraining neutrino mass in dynamical dark energy models using cosmological observations and summarize the findings. (i) In dynamical dark energy models, compared to $\Lambda$CDM, the upper limit of $\sum m_\nu$ can become larger and can also become smaller. In the cases of phantom and early phantom (i.e., the quintom evolving from $w<-1$ to $w>-1$), the constraint on $\sum m_\nu$ becomes looser; but in the cases of quintessence and early quintessence (i.e., the quintom evolving from $w>-1$ to $w<-1$), the constraint on $\sum m_\nu$ becomes tighter. (ii) In the holographic dark energy (HDE) model, the tightest constraint on $\sum m_\nu$, i.e., $\sum m_\nu<0.105$ eV, is obtained, which is almost equal to the lower limit of $\sum m_\nu$ of IH case. Thus, it is of great interest to find that the future neutrino oscillation experiments would potentially offer a possible falsifying scheme for the HDE model. (iii) The mass splitting of neutrinos can influence the cosmological fits. We find that the NH case fits the current observations slightly better than the IH case, although the difference of $\chi^2$ of the two cases is still not significant enough to definitely distinguish the neutrino mass hierarchy.

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X. Zhang
Fri, 3 Mar 17
23/62

Comments: 3 pages. News & Views, invited by SCIENCE CHINA Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy

Phases of New Physics in the BAO Spectrum [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00894

We show that the phase of the spectrum of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) is immune to the effects of nonlinear evolution. This suggests that any new physics that contributes to the initial phase of the BAO spectrum, such as extra light species in the early universe, can be extracted reliably at late times. We provide three arguments in support of our claim: First, we point out that a phase shift of the BAO spectrum maps to a characteristic sign change in the real space correlation function and that this feature cannot be generated or modified by nonlinear dynamics. Second, we confirm this intuition through an explicit computation, valid to all orders in cosmological perturbation theory. Finally, we provide a nonperturbative argument using general analytic properties of the linear response to the initial oscillations. Our result motivates measuring the phase of the BAO spectrum as a robust probe of new physics.

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D. Baumann, D. Green and M. Zaldarriaga
Fri, 3 Mar 17
44/62

Comments: 21 pages, 3 figures

Understanding the thermal history of the Universe through direct and indirect detection of dark matter [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00841

We study if prospective detection of dark matter by direct- and indirect-detection experiments could shed light on whether dark matter was generated thermally in the freeze-out process in the early Universe. By simulating signals that could be seen in near future and reconstructing dark matter properties from these signals, we showed that in the model-independent approach the answer is negative except for a thin sliver in the parameter space. However, with additional theoretical input the hypothesis about the thermal freeze-out can potentially be verified, as illustrated with two examples: an effective field theory of dark matter with a vector messenger and a higgsino/wino dark matter within the MSSM.

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L. Roszkowski, S. Trojanowski and K. Turzynski
Fri, 3 Mar 17
52/62

Comments: 31 pages, 7 figures

Limits on the anomalous speed of gravitational waves from binary pulsars [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00307

A large class of modified theories of gravity used as models for dark energy predict a propagation speed for gravitational waves which can differ from the speed of light. This difference of propagations speeds for photons and gravitons has an impact in the emission of gravitational waves by binary systems. Thus, we revisit the usual quadrupolar emission of binary system for an arbitrary propagation speed of gravitational waves and obtain the corresponding period decay formula. We then use timing data from the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar and obtain that the speed of gravitational waves can only differ from the speed of light at the percentage level. This bound places tight constraints on dark energy models featuring an anomalous propagations speed for the gravitational waves.

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H. Velten, J. Jimenez and F. Piazza
Fri, 3 Mar 17
53/62

Comments: 6 pages, 1 figure, Prepared for the IWARA2016 proceedings

Collective neutrino oscillations and neutrino wave packets [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08338

Effects of decoherence by wave packet separation on collective neutrino oscillations in dense neutrino gases are considered. We estimate the length of the wave packets of neutrinos produced in core collapse supernovae and the expected neutrino coherence length, and then proceed to consider the decoherence effects within the density matrix formalism of neutrino flavour transitions. First, we demonstrate that for neutrino oscillations in vacuum the decoherence effects are described by a damping term in the equation of motion of the density matrix of a neutrino as a whole (as contrasted to that of the fixed-momentum components of the neutrino density matrix). Next, we consider neutrino oscillations in ordinary matter and dense neutrino backgrounds, both in the adiabatic and non-adiabatic regimes. In the latter case we study two specific models of adiabaticity violation — one with short-term and another with extended non-adiabaticity. It is demonstrated that, while in the adiabatic case a damping term is present in the equation of motion of the neutrino density matrix (just like in the vacuum oscillation case), no such term in general appears in the non-adiabatic regime.

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E. Akhmedov, J. Kopp and M. Lindner
Thu, 2 Mar 17
24/44

Comments: LaTeX, 38 pages

The Gravitational Wave Physics [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00187

The direct detection of gravitational wave by LIGO indicates the coming of the era of gravitational wave astronomy and gravitational wave cosmology. It is expected that more and more gravitational wave events will be detected by currently existing and planed gravitational wave detectors. The gravitational waves open a new window to explore the Universe and various mysteries will be disclosed through the gravitational wave detection, combined with other cosmological probes. The gravitational wave physics is not only related to gravitation theory, but also is closely tied to fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this review article, three kinds of sources of gravitational waves and relevant physics will be discussed, namely gravitational waves produced during the inflation and preheating phases of the Universe, the gravitational waves produced during the first order phase transition as the Universe cools down and the gravitational waves from the three phases: inspiral, merger and ringdown of a compact binary system, respectively. We will also discuss the gravitational waves as a standard siren to explore the evolution of the Universe.

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R. Cai, Z. Cao, Z. Guo, et. al.
Thu, 2 Mar 17
29/44

Comments: 37 pages, 7 figures, invited review for National Science Review

Giant Primeval Magnetic Dipoles [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00394

Macroscopic magnetic dipoles are considered as a component of the cosmic dark matter. Permanent magnetism in relativistic field structures can involve some form of superconductivity, one example being current-carrying string loops (`springs’) in which the net relativistic tension vanishes. We derive the cross section for free classical dipoles to collide, finding it depends weakly on orientation when mutual precession is rapid. The collision rate of `spring’ loops with tension ${\cal T} \sim (10^{-8}$-$10^{-7})c^4/G$ in galactic halos approaches the measured rate of fast radio bursts (FRBs) if i) they comprise a significant fraction of the dark matter, and ii) have a mass $\sim 10^{20}$ g. A large superconducting dipole (LSD) with such a mass and size $\sim 1$ mm will form a $\sim 100$ km magnetosphere moving through interstellar plasma. Although the hydromagnetic drag is generally weak, it is strong enough to capture some LSDs into long-lived rings orbiting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that form by the direct collapse of massive gas clouds. Repeated collisions near young SMBHs could dominate the global collision rate, thereby broading the dipole mass spectrum. Colliding LSDs produce tiny, hot electromagnetic explosions. The accompanying paper shows that these explosions couple effectively to low-frequency electromagnetic modes in the surrounding plasma, with the output peaking at 0.1-1 THz. We describe several constraints and predictions of LSDs as a component of the cosmic dark matter. The shock formed by an infalling LSD triggers self-sustained thermonuclear burning in a C/O white dwarf (WD) of mass $\gtrsim 1\,M_\odot$, and ONeMg WD of mass $\gtrsim 1.3\,M_\odot$. The spark is generally located well off the center of the WD. The rate of LSD-induced explosions matches the observed rate of Type Ia supernovae.

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C. Thompson
Thu, 2 Mar 17
34/44

Comments: 22 pages, 19 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal

Tiny Electromagnetic Explosions [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00393

This paper considers electromagnetic transients of a modest total energy (${\cal E} \sim 10^{40-41}$ erg) and small initial size (${\cal R} \gtrsim 10^{-1}$ cm). They could be produced during collisions between relativistic field structures (e.g. macroscopic magnetic dipoles) that formed around, or before, cosmic electroweak symmetry breaking. The outflowing energy has a dominant electromagnetic component; a subdominant thermal component (temperature $> 1$ GeV) supplies inertia in the form of residual $e^\pm$. A thin shell forms that expands subluminally, attaining a Lorentz factor $\sim 10^{6-7}$ before decelerating. Drag is supplied by the reflection of an ambient magnetic field, and by deflection of ambient free electrons. Emission of low-frequency (GHz-THz) superluminal waves takes place through three channels: i) reflection of the ambient magnetic field; ii) direct linear conversion of the embedded magnetic field into a superluminal mode; and iii) excitation outside the shell by corrugation of its surface. The escaping electromagnetic pulse is very narrow (a few wavelengths) and so the width of the detected transient is dominated by propagation effects. GHz radio transients are emitted from i) the dark matter halos of galaxies and ii) the near-horizon regions of supermassive black holes that formed by direct gas collapse and now accrete slowly. Brighter and much narrower 0.1-1 THz pulses are predicted at a rate at least comparable to fast radio bursts, experiencing weaker scattering and absorption. The same explosions also accelerate protons up to $\sim 10^{19}$ eV and heavier nuclei up to $10^{20-21}$ eV.

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C. Thompson
Thu, 2 Mar 17
39/44

Comments: 22 pages, 14 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal

The Dark Side of MSW: Solar Neutrinos as a Probe of Dark Matter-Neutrino Interactions [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08464

Sterile neutrinos at the eV scale have long been studied in the context of anomalies in short baseline neutrino experiments. Their cosmology can be made compatible with our understanding of the early Universe provided the sterile neutrino sector enjoys a nontrivial dynamics with exotic interactions, possibly providing a link to the Dark Matter (DM) puzzle. Interactions between DM and neutrinos have also been proposed to address the long-standing “missing satellites” problem in the field of large scale structure formation. Motivated by these considerations, in this paper we discuss realistic scenarios with light steriles coupled to DM. We point out that within this framework active neutrinos acquire an effective coupling to DM that manifests itself as a new matter potential in the propagation within a medium of asymmetric DM. Assuming that at least a small fraction of DM has been captured by the Sun, we show that a sizable fraction of the parameter space of these scenarios can be probed by solar neutrino experiments, especially in the regime of small couplings and light mediators where all other probes become inefficient. In the latter regime these scenarios behave as familiar $3+1$ models in all channels except for solar data, where a Dark MSW effect takes place. Solar Dark MSW is characterized by sizable modifications of the most energetic $^8$B and CNO neutrinos, whereas the other fluxes remain largely unaffected.

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F. Capozzi, I. Shoemaker and L. Vecchi
Wed, 1 Mar 17
8/67

Comments: 19 pages, 6 figures

Neutrino Emission from Supernovae [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08713

Supernovae are the most powerful cosmic sources of MeV neutrinos. These elementary particles play a crucial role when the evolution of a massive star is terminated by the collapse of its core to a neutron star or a black hole and the star explodes as supernova. The release of electron neutrinos, which are abundantly produced by electron captures, accelerates the catastrophic infall and causes a gradual neutronization of the stellar plasma by converting protons to neutrons as dominant constituents of neutron star matter. The emission of neutrinos and antineutrinos of all flavors carries away the gravitational binding energy of the compact remnant and drives its evolution from the hot initial to the cold final state. The absorption of electron neutrinos and antineutrinos in the surroundings of the newly formed neutron star can power the supernova explosion and determines the conditions in the innermost supernova ejecta, making them an interesting site for the nucleosynthesis of iron-group elements and trans-iron nuclei. In this Chapter the basic neutrino physics in supernova cores and nascent neutron stars will be discussed. This includes the most relevant neutrino production, absorption, and scattering processes, elementary aspects of neutrino transport in dense environments, the characteristic neutrino emission phases with their typical signal features, and the perspectives connected to a measurement of the neutrino signal from a future galactic supernova.

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H. Janka
Wed, 1 Mar 17
15/67

Comments: Author version of chapter for ‘Handbook of Supernovae,’ edited by A. Alsabti and P. Murdin, Springer. 30 pages, 9 figures

Photon-Axion Conversion, Magnetic Field Configuration and Polarization of Photons [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08843

We study the evolution of photon polarization during the photon-axion conversion process with focusing on the magnetic field configuration dependence. Most previous studies have been carried out in a conventional model where a network of magnetic domains is considered and each domain has a constant magnetic field. We investigate a more general model where a network of domains is still assumed, but each domain has a helical magnetic field. We find that the asymptotic behavior does not depend on the configuration of magnetic fields. Remarkably, we analytically obtain the asymptotic values of the variance of polarization in the conventional model. When the helicity is small, we show that there appears the damped oscillating behavior in the early stage of evolution. Moreover, we see that the constraints on the axion coupling and the cosmological magnetic fields using polarization observations are affected by the magnetic field configuration. This is because the different transient behavior of polarization dynamics is caused by the different magnetic field configuration.

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E. Masaki, A. Aoki and J. Soda
Wed, 1 Mar 17
18/67

Comments: 26 pages, 7 figures

Cosmic strings and other topological defects in nonscaling regimes [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08453

Cosmic strings are topological defects possibly formed in the early Universe, which may be observable due to their gravitational effects on the cosmic microwave background radiation or gravitational wave experiments. To this effect it is important to quantitatively ascertain the network properties, including their density, velocity or the number of strings present, at the various epochs in the observable Universe. Attempts to estimate these numbers often rely on simplistic approximations for the string parameters, such as assuming that the network is scaling. However, in cosmological models containing realistic amounts of radiation, matter and dark energy a string network is never exactly scaling. Here we use the velocity-dependent one-scale model for the evolution of a string network to better quantify how these networks evolve. In particular we obtain new approximate analytic solutions for the behavior of the network during the radiation-to-matter and matter-to-acceleration transitions (assuming, in the latter case, the canonical $\Lambda$ cold dark matter model), and numerically calculate the relevant quantities for a range of possible dark energy models.

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R. Azevedo and C. Martins
Wed, 1 Mar 17
27/67

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures

Inflaton Condensate Fragmentation: Analytical Conditions and Application to $α$-Attractor Models [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08777

We study the stability of an inflaton condensate in the presence of an attractive inflaton self-interaction, in order to determine analytical conditions on the self-interaction couplings under which the condensate undergoes fragmentation. As an application of our results, we consider the stability of the inflaton condensate in E-model and T-model $\alpha$-attractor inflation. We show that the stability of the condensate depends upon the value of $\alpha$. For the E-model with $q = 1$, the condensate is unstable for $\alpha \lesssim 0.16$, while for the T-model with $q = 1$ it is unstable for $\alpha \lesssim 10^{-4}$. In these cases it is expected that inflation will be followed by an oscillon-dominated era.

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J. Kim and J. McDonald
Wed, 1 Mar 17
30/67

Comments: 4 pages

Electroweak stability and non-minimal coupling [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.07636

The measured values of the Higgs and top quark mass indicate that the electroweak vacuum is metastable if there is no new physics below the Planck scale. This is at odds with a period of high scale inflation. A non-minimal coupling between the Higgs field and the Ricci scalar can stabilize the vacuum as it generates a large effective Higgs mass during inflation. We consider the effect of this coupling during preheating, when Higgs modes can be produced very efficiently due to the oscillating Ricci scalar. We compute their effect on the effective potential and the energy density. The Higgs excitations are defined with respect to the adiabatic vacuum. We study the adiabaticity conditions and find that the dependence of our results on the choice of the order of the adiabatic vacuum increases with time. For large enough coupling particle production is so efficient that the Higgs decays to the true vacuum before this is an issue. However, for smaller values of the Higgs-curvature coupling no definite statements can be made as the vacuum dependence is large.

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M. Postma and J. Vis
Wed, 1 Mar 17
33/67

Comments: 31 pages, 13 figures

Electroweak baryogenesis from a dark sector [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08909

Adding an extra singlet scalar $S$ to the Higgs sector can provide a barrier at tree level between a false vacuum with restored electroweak symmetry and the true one. This has been demonstrated to readily give a strong phase transition as required for electroweak baryogenesis. We show that with the addition of a fermionic dark matter particle $\chi$ coupling to $S$, a simple UV-complete model can realize successful electroweak baryogenesis. The dark matter gets a CP asymmetry that is transferred to the standard model through a $CP\ portal\ interaction$, which we take to be a coupling of $\chi$ to $\tau$ leptons and an inert Higgs doublet. The CP asymmetry induced in left-handed $\tau$ leptons biases sphalerons to produce the baryon asymmetry. The model has promising discovery potential at the LHC, while robustly providing a large enough baryon asymmetry and correct dark matter relic density with reasonable values of the couplings.

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J. Cline, K. Kainulainen and D. Tucker-Smith
Wed, 1 Mar 17
48/67

Comments: 14 pages, 13 figures

Shapes and features of the primordial bispectrum [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08756

We offer a new approach to analyse the appearance of features in the primordial bispectrum that justifies the search of oscillating patterns modulated by orthogonal and local templates in the cosmic microwave background data. By studying the dynamics of the primordial curvature perturbation during inflation, we find that the couplings parametrising cubic self-interactions, responsible for features, can be expressed as functions of the bispectrum along specific directions in momentum space. As a result, we find a general expression describing departures from scale invariance in the bispectrum telling us how these appear modulated by different classes of shapes. On one hand, this result allows us to relate features appearing in different shapes in a unique way, such that if they are observed in a particular shape, they have to spread to others obeying certain rules. On the other hand, it serves as a tool to produce new templates of features in the bispectrum modulated by shapes that so far have not been considered to analyse data.

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J. Gong, G. Palma and S. Sypsas
Wed, 1 Mar 17
51/67

Comments: 16 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

HAWC Observations Strongly Favor Pulsar Interpretations of the Cosmic-Ray Positron Excess [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08436

Recent measurements of the Geminga and B0656+14 pulsars by the gamma-ray telescope HAWC (along with earlier measurements by Milagro) indicate that these objects generate significant fluxes of very high-energy electrons. In this paper, we use the very high-energy gamma-ray intensity and spectrum of these pulsars to calculate and constrain their expected contributions to the local cosmic-ray positron spectrum. Among models that are capable of reproducing the observed characteristics of the gamma-ray emission, we find that pulsars invariably produce a flux of high-energy positrons that is similar in spectrum and magnitude to the positron fraction measured by PAMELA and AMS-02. In light of this result, we conclude that it is very likely that pulsars provide the dominant contribution to the long perplexing cosmic-ray positron excess.

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D. Hooper, I. Cholis, T. Linden, et. al.
Tue, 28 Feb 17
9/69

Comments: 13 pages, 6 figures, To Be Submitted to JCAP