Daniel J. Phalen

Asymmetric Dark Matter from a GeV Hidden Sector

Asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) models relate the dark matter density to the baryon asymmetry, so that a natural mass scale for ADM is around a few GeV. In existing models of ADM, this mass scale is unexplained; here we generate this GeV scale for dark matter (DM) from the weak scale via gauge kinetic mixing with a new Abelian dark force. In addition, this dark sector provides an efficient mechanism for suppressing the symmetric abundance of DM through annihilations to the dark photon. We augment this sector with a higher dimensional operator responsible for communicating the baryon asymmetry to the dark sector. Our framework also provides DM candidate for gauge mediation models. It results in a direct detection cross section of interest for current experiments: sigma less than or similar to 10^{-42} cm^2 for DM masses in the range 1 - 15 GeV.

Nonminimal universal extra dimensions

In this paper, we investigate the phenomenological implications of boundary localized terms (BLTs) in the model of universal extra dimensions (UED). In particular, we study the electroweak Kaluza-Klein mass spectrum resulting from BLTs and their effect on electroweak symmetry breaking via the five-dimensional Higgs mechanism. We find that the addition of BLTs to massive five-dimensional fields induces a nontrivial extra-dimensional profile for the zero and nonzero Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes. Hence BLTs generically lead to a modification of standard model parameters and are therefore experimentally constrained, even at tree level. We study standard model constraints on three representative nonminimal UED models in detail and find that the constraints on BLTs are weak. On the contrary, nonzero BLTs have a major impact on the spectrum and couplings of nonzero KK modes. For example, there are regions of parameter space where the lightest Kaluza-Klein particle is either the Kaluza-Klein Higgs boson or the first KK mode of the W{sup 3}.

Is the PAMELA Positron Excess Winos

Recently the PAMELA satellite-based experiment reported an excess of galactic positrons that could be a signal of annihilating dark matter. The PAMELA data may admit an interpretation as a signal from a winolike lightest supersymmetric particle of mass about 200 GeV, normalized to the local relic density, and annihilating mainly into W bosons. This possibility requires the current conventional estimate for the energy loss rate of positrons to be too large by roughly a factor of 5. Data from antiprotons and gamma rays also provide tension with this interpretation, but there are significant astrophysical uncertainties associated with their propagation. It is not unreasonable to take this well-motivated candidate seriously, at present, in part because it can be tested in several ways soon. The forthcoming PAMELA data on higher energy positrons and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) data should provide important clues as to whether this scenario is correct. If correct, the wino interpretation implies a cosmological history in which the dark matter does not originate in thermal equilibrium.

Color-octet scalars at the CERN LHC

Color-octet scalars, if present at the TeV scale, will be produced in abundance at the LHC. We discuss in some detail the phenomenology of scalars in the

Correlation between the spin-independent and spin-dependent direct detection of dark matter

(8,2{)}_{1/2}

Cosmic Ray Positrons from Annihilations into a New, Heavy Lepton

representation, recently identified by Manohar and Wise as an addition to the standard model Higgs sector consistent with the principle of minimal flavor violation. Couplings of this multiplet to the Higgs lift the mass degeneracy among its states, possibly allowing for two-body decays of a heavier colored scalar to a lighter one and a gauge boson. We perform a renormalization group analysis of these couplings and find that limits from Tevatron searches leave little room for these decays. This fact, and the assumption of minimal flavor violation, lead us to study the case where the octets decay to the heaviest kinematically accessible fermion pairs. Focusing on pair-production events leading to

Pulsars as the Source of the WMAP Haze

t\overline{t}t\overline{t}

Model-independent description and large hadron collider implications of suppressed two-photon decay of a light Higgs boson

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Sfermion interference in neutralino decays at the CERN LHC

b\overline{b}b\overline{b}

Light‐like Wilson Loops and Cusp Anomalous Dimensions in Nonconformal Gauge Theories

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