Markos Maniatis

The Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model reviewed

The next-to-minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (NMSSM) is one of the most favored supersymmetric models. After an introduction to the model, the Higgs sector and the neutralino sector are discussed in detail. Theoretical, experimental, and cosmological constraints are studied. Eventually, the Higgs potential is investigated in the approach of bilinear functions. Emphasis is placed on aspects which are different from the minimal supersymmetric extension.

Stability and symmetry breaking in the general two-Higgs-doublet model

A method is presented for the analysis of the scalar potential in the general two-Higgs-doublet model. This allows us to give the conditions for the stability of the potential and for electroweak symmetry breaking in this model in a very concise way. These results are then applied to two different Higgs potentials in the literature, namely the MSSM and the two-Higgs-doublet potential proposed by Gunion et al. The known results for these models follow easily as special cases from the general results. In particular, for the potential of Gunion et al. we can clarify the stability and symmetry-breaking properties of the model with our method.

CP violation in the general two-Higgs-doublet model: a geometric view

We discuss the CP properties of the potential in the general two-Higgs-doublet model (THDM). This is done in a concise way using real gauge invariant functions built from the scalar products of the doublet fields. The space of these invariant functions, parametrising the gauge orbits of the Higgs fields, is isomorphic to the forward light cone and its interior. CP transformations are shown to correspond to reflections in the space of the gauge invariant functions. We consider CP transformations where no mixing of the Higgs doublets is taken into account as well as the general case where the Higgs basis is not fixed. We present basis independent conditions for explicit CP violation which may be checked easily for any THDM potential. Conditions for spontaneous CP violation, that is CP violation through the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs fields, are also derived in a basis independent way.

The bilinear formalism and the custodial symmetry in the two-Higgs-doublet model

A bstractWe present a simple and transparent analysis of custodial symmetry in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model adopting the bilinear formalism for the Higgs potential. The method allows to derive basis-independent, necessary and sufficient conditions for the potential to be invariant under custodial transformations. The relation between the custodial transformation and CP is revisited and clarified.Bohdan.Grzadkowski@fuw.edu.pl Maniatis@physik.uni-bielefeld.de jose.wudka@ucr.edu where L,R ∈ SU(2)L,R respectively. In the SM one can assume without loss of generality that the vacuum expectation value of φ is real, whence, after spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB), 〈M〉 ∝ 12, so SU(2)L × SU(2)R is broken to SU(2)diag (the diagonal subgroup) and it is the invariance of |Dμφ| with respect to SU(2)diag that insures ρ = 1 at tree-level [2, 3]. The term custodial symmetry is reserved in the literature for the SU(2)diag transformations under which both would-be Goldstone bosons and the corresponding gauge bosons transform as triplets. In this work we will also refer to custodial transformations (CT) as those generated by the full group SU(2)L × SU(2)R. We will always assume that the vacuum respects the diagonal SU(2), the CS. Now we can write

Determining the global minimum of Higgs potentials via Groebner bases - applied to the NMSSM

Determining the global minimum of Higgs potentials with several Higgs fields like the next-to-minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (NMSSM) is a non-trivial task already at the tree level. The global minimum of a Higgs potential can be found from the set of all its stationary points defined by a multivariate polynomial system of equations. We introduce here the algebraic Groebner basis approach to solve this system of equations. We apply the method to the NMSSM with CP-conserving as well as CP-violating parameters. The results reveal an interesting stationary-point structure of the potential. Requiring the global minimum to give the electroweak symmetry breaking observed in Nature excludes large parts of the parameter space.

Geometric picture of generalized-CP and Higgs-family transformations in the two-Higgs-doublet model

In the two-Higgs-doublet model (THDM), generalized-CP transformations ( where X is unitary) and unitary Higgs-family transformations (φi→Uijφj) have recently been examined in a series of papers. In terms of gauge-invariant bilinear functions of the Higgs fields φi, the Higgs-family transformations and the generalized-CP transformations possess a simple geometric description. Namely, these transformations correspond in the space of scalar-field bilinears to proper and improper rotations, respectively. In this formalism, recent results relating generalized CP transformations with Higgs-family transformations have a clear geometric interpretation. We will review what is known regarding THDM symmetries, as well as derive new results concerning those symmetries, namely how they can be interpreted geometrically as applications of several CP transformations.

On the phenomenology of a two-Higgs-doublet model with maximal CP symmetry at the LHC

Predictions for LHC physics are worked out for a two-Higgs-doublet model having four generalized CP symmetries. In this maximally-CP-symmetric model (MCPM) the first fermion family is, at tree level, uncoupled to the Higgs fields and thus massless. The second and third fermion families have a very symmetric coupling to the Higgs fields. But through the electroweak symmetry breaking a large mass hierarchy is generated between these fermion families. Thus, the fermion mass spectrum of the model presents a rough approximation to what is observed in Nature. In the MCPM there are, as in every two-Higgs-doublet model, five physical Higgs bosons, three neutral ones and a charged pair. In the MCPM the couplings of the Higgs bosons to the fermions are completely fixed. This allows us to present clear predictions for the production at the LHC and for the decays of the physical Higgs bosons. As salient feature we find rather large cross sections for Higgs-boson production via Drell-Yan type processes. With experiments at the LHC it should be possible to check these predictions.

Symbiotic symmetries of the two-Higgs-doublet model

Abstract The new phenomenon of symbiotic symmetries is described in the context of the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (THDM). The quartic potential has two or more separate sectors with unequal symmetries, but these unequal symmetries persist even though the different sectors are renormalized by one another. We discuss all such symmetries of the THDM, consistent with the SU ( 2 ) × U ( 1 ) gauge interactions, using the Pauli formalism.

Unitarity in a Lorentz symmetry breaking model with higher-order operators

We analyze the unitarity of a modified QED with higher-order terms that violate Lorentz symmetry. We make an explicit calculation to verify unitarity at the one-loop level. As expected we find negative norm states that could in principle lead to a violation of unitarity. However, we show that these states become massive in Euclidean space and do not contribute to the discontinuity.

Photoproduction of π + π − pairs in a model with tensor-pomeron and vector-odderon exchange

A bstractWe consider the reaction γp → π+π−p at high energies. Our description includes dipion production via the resonances ρ, ω, ρ′ and f2, and via non-resonant mechanisms. The calculation is based on a model of high energy scattering with the exchanges of photon, pomeron, odderon and reggeons. The pomeron and the C = +1 reggeons are described as effective tensor exchanges, the odderon and the C = −1 reggeons as effective vector exchanges. We obtain a gauge-invariant version of the Drell-Söding mechanism which produces the skewing of the ρ-meson shape. Starting from the explicit formulae for the matrix element for dipion production we construct an event generator which comprises all contributions mentioned above and includes all interference terms. We give examples of total and differential cross sections and discuss asymmetries which are due to interference of C = +1 and C = −1 exchange contributions. These asymmetries can be used to search for odderon effects. Our model is intended to provide all necessary theoretical tools for a detailed experimental analysis of elastic dipion production for which data exist from fixed target experiments, from HERA, and are now being collected by LHC experiments.