Indirect Observables Research Articles

Euclidean effective theory for partons in the spirit of Steven Weinberg

The standard formulation of parton physics involves light-cone correlations of quark and gluon fields in a hadron, which leads to a widespread impression that it can only be studied through real-time Hamiltonian dynamics or light-front quantization, which are challenged by non-perturbative computations with a pertinent regulator for light-cone/rapidity divergences (or zero modes). As such, standard lattice QCD studies have been limited to indirect parton observables such as first few moments and short-distance correlations, which do not provide the x-distributions without solving the model-dependent inverse problem. Here I describe an alternative formulation of partons in terms of equal-time (or Euclidean) correlators, which allows to compute precision-controlled x-distribution through lattice QCD simulations. This approach is in accord with Weinberg's pioneering idea of effective field theory as well as Wilson's renormalization group, in which the large hadron momentum serves as a natural cut-off for light-cone/rapidity divergences and can ultimately be eliminated through a method like the “perfect action” program in lattice QCD.

Bouncing pNGB dark matter via a fermion dark matter

In addition to the Standard Model, the introduction of a singlet complex scalar field that acquires vacuum expectation value may give rise to a cosmologically stable pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB), a suitable dark matter (DM) candidate. This work extends this scenarioby including a second cosmologically stable particle: a fermion singlet. The pNGB and the new fermion can be regarded as DM candidates simultaneously, both interacting with the Standard Model through Higgs portals via two non-degenerate Higgs bosons. We explore the thermal freeze-out of this scenario, with particular emphasis on the increasing yield of the pNGB before it completely decouples (recently called Bouncing DM). We test the model under collider bounds, relic abundance, and direct detection, and we explore some indirect detection observables today.

Deep learning cosmic ray transport from density maps of simulated, turbulent gas

The coarse-grained propagation of galactic cosmic rays (CRs) is traditionally constrained by phenomenological models of Milky Way CR propagation fit to a variety of direct and indirect observables; however, constraining the fine-grained transport of CRs along individual magnetic field lines—for instance, diffusive vs streaming transport models—is an unsolved challenge. Leveraging a recent training set of magnetohydrodynamic turbulent box simulations, with CRs spanning a range of transport parameters, we use convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained solely on gas density maps to classify CR transport regimes. We find that even relatively simple CNNs can quite effectively classify density slices to corresponding CR transport parameters, distinguishing between streaming and diffusive transport, as well as magnitude of diffusivity, with class accuracies between 92% and 99%. As we show, the transport-dependent imprints that CRs leave on the gas are not all tied to the resulting density power spectra: classification accuracies are still high even when image spectra are flattened (85%–98% accuracy), highlighting CR transport-dependent changes to turbulent phase information. We interpret our results with saliency maps and image modifications, and we discuss physical insights and future applications.

Indirect dark-matter detection with MadDM v3.2 – Lines and Loops

Automated tools for the computation of particle physics’ processes have become the backbone of phenomenological studies beyond the standard model. Here, we present MadDM v3.2. This release enables the fully automated computation of loop-induced dark-matter annihilation processes, relevant for indirect detection observables. Special emphasis lies on the annihilation into gamma X, where X=gamma , Z, h or any new particle even under the dark symmetry. These processes lead to the sharp spectral feature of monochromatic gamma lines – a smoking-gun signature of dark matter in our Galaxy. MadDM provides the predictions for the respective fluxes near-Earth and derives constraints from the gamma-ray line searches by Fermi-LAT and HESS. As an application, we discuss the implications for the viable parameter space of a top-philic t-channel mediator model and the inert doublet model.

Efficient inference of synaptic plasticity rule with Gaussian process regression

Finding the form of synaptic plasticity is critical to understanding its functions underlying learning and memory. We investigated an efficient method to infer synaptic plasticity rules in various experimental settings. We considered biologically plausible models fitting a wide range of in-vitro studies and examined the recovery of their firing-rate dependence from sparse and noisy data. Among the methods assuming low-rankness or smoothness of plasticity rules, Gaussian process regression (GPR), a nonparametric Bayesian approach, performs the best. Under the conditions measuring changes in synaptic weights directly or measuring changes in neural activities as indirect observables of synaptic plasticity, which leads to different inference problems, GPR performs well. Also, GPR could simultaneously recover multiple plasticity rules and robustly perform under various plasticity rules and noise levels. Such flexibility and efficiency, particularly at the low sampling regime, make GPR suitable for recent experimental developments and inferring a broader class of plasticity models.

Virtual signatures of dark sectors in Higgs couplings

Where collider searches for resonant invisible particles lose steam, dark sectors might leave their trace as virtual effects in precision observables. Here we explore this option in the framework of Higgs portal models, where a sector of dark fermions interacts with the standard model through a strong renormalizable coupling to the Higgs boson. We show that precise measurements of Higgs-gauge and triple Higgs interactions can probe dark fermions up to the TeV scale through virtual corrections. Observation prospects at the LHC and future lepton colliders are discussed for the so-called singlet-doublet model of Majorana fermions, a generalization of the bino-higgsino scenario in supersymmetry. We advocate a two-fold search strategy for dark sectors through direct and indirect observables.

NLO+NLL collider bounds, Dirac fermion and scalar dark matter in the B\u2013L model

Baryon and lepton numbers being accidental global symmetries of the Standard Model (SM), it is natural to promote them to local symmetries. However, to preserve anomaly-freedom, only combinations of B–L are viable. In this spirit, we investigate possible dark matter realizations in the context of the U(1)_mathrm{B{-}L} model: (i) Dirac fermion with unbroken B–L; (ii) Dirac fermion with broken B–L; (iii) scalar dark matter; (iv) two-component dark matter. We compute the relic abundance, direct and indirect detection observables and confront them with recent results from Planck, LUX-2016, and Fermi-LAT and prospects from XENON1T. In addition to the well-known LEP bound M_{Z^{prime }}/g_mathrm{BL} gtrsim 7 TeV, we include often ignored LHC bounds using 13 TeV dilepton (dimuon + dielectron) data at next-to-leading order plus next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. We show that, for gauge couplings smaller than 0.4, the LHC gives rise to the strongest collider limit. In particular, we find M_{Z^{prime }}/g_mathrm{BL} > 8.7 TeV for g_mathrm{BL}=0.3. We conclude that the NLO+NLL corrections improve the dilepton bounds on the Z^{prime } mass and that both dark matter candidates are only viable in the Z^{prime } resonance region, with the parameter space for scalar dark matter being fully probed by XENON1T. Lastly, we show that one can successfully have a minimal two-component dark matter model.

Measurement of Rapid Protein Diffusion in the Cytoplasm by Photo-Converted Intensity Profile Expansion

SummaryThe fluorescence microscopy methods presently used to characterize protein motion in cells infer protein motion from indirect observables, rather than measuring protein motion directly. Operationalizing these methods requires expertise that can constitute a barrier to their broad utilization. Here, we have developed PIPE (photo-converted intensity profile expansion) to directly measure the motion of tagged proteins and quantify it using an effective diffusion coefficient. PIPE works by pulsing photo-convertible fluorescent proteins, generating a peaked fluorescence signal at the pulsed region, and analyzing the spatial expansion of the signal. We demonstrate PIPE’s success in measuring accurate diffusion coefficients in silico and in vitro and compare effective diffusion coefficients of native cellular proteins and free fluorophores in vivo. We apply PIPE to measure diffusion anomality in the cell and use it to distinguish free fluorophores from native cellular proteins. PIPE’s direct measurement and ease of use make it appealing for cell biologists.

Fermionic dark matter with pseudo-scalar Yukawa interaction

We consider a renormalizable extension of the standard model whose fermionic dark matter (DM) candidate interacts with a real singlet pseudo-scalar via a pseudo-scalar Yukawa term while we assume that the full Lagrangian is CP-conserved in the classical level. When the pseudo-scalar boson develops a non-zero vacuum expectation value, spontaneous CP-violation occurs and this provides a CP-violated interaction of the dark sector with the SM particles through mixing between the Higgs-like boson and the SM-like Higgs boson. This scenario suggests a minimal number of free parameters. Focusing mainly on the indirect detection observables, we calculate the dark matter annihilation cross section and then compute the DM relic density in the range up to mDM = 300 GeV.We then find viable regions in the parameter space constrained by the observed DM relic abundance as well as invisible Higgs decay width in the light of 125 GeV Higgs discovery at the LHC. We find that within the constrained region of the parameter space, there exists a model with dark matter mass mDM ∼ 38 GeV annihilating predominantly into b quarks, which can explain the Fermi-LAT galactic gamma-ray excess.

Non-decoupling SUSY in LFV Higgs decays: a window to new physics at the LHC

The recent discovery of a SM-like Higgs boson at the LHC, with a mass around 125-126 GeV, together with the absence of results in the direct searches for supersymmetry, is pushing the SUSY scale ($m_\text{SUSY}$) into the multi-TeV range. This discouraging situation from a low-energy SUSY point of view has its counterpart in indirect SUSY observables which present a non-decoupling behavior with $m_\text{SUSY}$. This is the case of the one-loop lepton flavor violating Higgs decay rates induced by SUSY, which are shown here to remain constant as $m_\text{SUSY}$ grows, for large $m_\text{SUSY} >$ 2 TeV values and for all classes of intergenerational mixing in the slepton sector, $LL$, $LR$, $RL$ and $RR$. In this work we focus on the LFV decays of the three neutral MSSM Higgs bosons $h$, $H$, $A \to \tau \mu$, considering the four types of slepton mixing ($\delta_{23}^{LL}$, $\delta_{23}^{LR}$, $\delta_{23}^{RL}$, $\delta_{23}^{RR}$), and show that all the three channels could be measurable at the LHC, being $h \to \tau \mu$ the most promising one, with up to about hundred of events expected with the current LHC center-of-mass energy and luminosity. The most promising predictions for the future LHC stage are also included.

Phenomenology of pure general gauge mediation

We investigate the phenomenology of general gauge mediation in the MSSM. We apply the strict definition of gauge mediated SUSY-breaking where B_mu is generated only through gauge interactions, and as a result is very close to zero at the messenger scale. In this setup tan beta is a prediction rather than an input. The input parameters are independent scales for the gaugino masses, the scalar masses and the messenger mass in accord with general gauge mediation. We investigate the spectra, the constraints on the parameter space from direct searches and indirect observables, as well as fine-tuning. The favoured region of parameter space includes and interpolates between non-split and mildly split SUSY, characteristic of ordinary gauge mediation and direct gauge mediation models, respectively.

Selecting a model of supersymmetry breaking mediation

We study the problem of selecting between different mechanisms of supersymmetry breaking in the minimal supersymmetric standard model using current data. We evaluate the Bayesian evidence of four supersymmetry breaking scenarios: mSUGRA, mGMSB, mAMSB, and moduli mediation. The results show a strong dependence on the dark matter assumption. Using the inferred cosmological relic density as an upper bound, minimal anomaly mediation is at least moderately favored over the CMSSM. Our fits also indicate that evidence for a positive sign of the $\ensuremath{\mu}$ parameter is moderate at best. We present constraints on the anomaly and gauge mediated parameter spaces and some previously unexplored aspects of the dark matter phenomenology of the moduli mediation scenario. We use sparticle searches, indirect observables and dark matter observables in the global fit and quantify robustness with respect to prior choice. We quantify how much information is contained within each constraint.

The dark side of mSUGRA

We study the μ μ>0 in global fits is calculated with Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods and bridge sampling. The fits include state-of-the-art two-loop MSSM contributions to the electroweak observables MW and sin 2θwl, as well as the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (g−2)μ, the relic density of dark matter and other relevant indirect observables. μ 0) = 0.07−0.16.

Hydrodynamic theory of CIDEP and CIDNP

The stochastic Liouville method has been applied to the problem of high field CIDEP and CIDNP. The full equation of motion of the density matrix for the pair of free radicals includes: (1) the spatially isotropic Liouville operator; (2) the diffusion operator; (3) selective recombination of radical pairs from the singlet electronic state; (4) the Heisenberg exchange interaction; (5) secular electronic relaxation processes; and (6) radical scavenging processes. The short range character of radical recombination and Heisenberg exchange relative to the long distance of a diffusive trajectory allows these interactions to be treated effectively as delta functions which operate at a distance corresponding to a chemical bond. Using this delta function model, the equation of motion of the density matrix is soluble exactly for: (1) the z component of the electronic magnetization for a single radical fragment, which is proportional to the intensity of an ESR line; and (2) the nuclear spin level populations of the recombination and scavenged products, which are the indirect observables in the NMR experiment. In the limits of weak electronic relaxation and slow scavenging, the solutions of the problem approach those obtained by Adrian using the Noyes molecular pair theory.

Special Relativity in Anisotropic Space

An investigation of the propagation of light, assuming absolute spacial distances, the veracity of the principle of causality, and that the average speed of light measured over a closed path is a constant C, shows that the speed of light may have values between C/2 and is a function of direction. Generalized Lorentz transformations are found which are shown to be equivalent to those conventionally adopted. That an absolute simultaneity cannot be established electromagnetically is shown to follow. The arbitrary nature of indirect observables such as time dilation is discussed.