| 1. |
- Riad, Stella, 1988-
(författare)
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Studies of effective theories beyond the Standard Model
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The vast majority of all experimental results in particle physics can be described by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. However, neither the existence of neutrino masses nor the mixing in the leptonic sector, which have been observed, can be described within this model. In fact, the model only describes a fraction of the known energy in the Universe. Thus, we know there must exist a theory beyond the SM. There is a plethora of possible candidates for such a model, such as supersymmetry, extra dimensional theories, and string theory. So far, there are no evidence in favor of these models.These theories often reside at high energies, and will therefore be manifest as effective theories at the low energies experienced here on Earth. A first example in extra-dimensional theories. From our four-dimensional point of view, particles which propagate through the extra dimensions will effectivel be perceived as towers of heavy particles. In this thesis we consider an extra-dimensional model with universal extra dimensions, where all SM particles are allowed to propagate through the extra dimensions. Especially, we place a bound on the range of validity for this model. We study the renormalization group running of the leptonic parameters as well as the Higgs self-coupling in this model with the neutrino masses generated by a Weinberg operator.Grand unified theories, where the gauge couplings of the SM are unified into a single oe at some high energy scale, are motivated by the electroweak unification. The unification must necessarily take place at energies many orders of magnitude greater than those that ever can be achieved on Earth. In order to make sense of the theoru, ehich is given at the grand unified scale, at the electroweak scale, the symmetry at the grand unified scale is broken down to the SM symmetry. Within these models the SM is considered as an effective field theory. We study renormalization group running of the leptonic parameters in a non-supersymmetric SO(10) model which is broken in two steps via the Pati-Salam group.Finally, the discovery of the new boson at the LHC provides a new opportunity to search for physics beyond the SM. We consider an effective model where the magnitudes of the couplings in the Higgs sector are scaled by so-called coupling scale factors. We perform Bayesian parameter inference based on the LHC data. Furthermore, we perform Bayesian model comparison, comparing models where one or several of the Higgs couplings are allowed, to the SM, where the couplings are fixed.
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| 2. |
- Wouda, Glenn
(författare)
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Phenomenology of Higgs Bosons Beyond the Standard Model
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- After a long history of searches, a Higgs boson H was discovered by the ATLAS and the CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012. Its properties fit well the ones predicted by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. However, the SM can not explain other established properties of Nature, such as the existence of Dark Matter. For this reason, models beyond the SM should be considered. Such models often predict the existence of several Higgs bosons and this thesis explores some of those models. In particular, the possibility to discover a charged Higgs boson, which would be a clear sign of physics beyond the SM, is studied.A commonly studied extension of the SM is the framework of two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs), where there are five Higgs bosons. By confronting the parameter spaces of some 2HDMs with publically available data from the LHC, the prospects for finding the 2HDM Higgs bosons is presented through the calculation of production cross sections and decay branching ratios in various channels.A new kind of 2HDM, called the Stealth Doublet Model is presented and the properties of the Higgs bosons are studied. In this model, it is shown that in particular the properties of the charged Higgs boson H± have new features not exhibited in earlier studied models. Within the parameter space compatible with the LHC results, the production cross section for H± can be sizeable enough to be experimentally observed.Finally, the discovery prospects at the LHC, for a H± in the pp → tH± process, with the decays H± → HW± and H → bb, is studied in various models beyond the Standard Model. It is shown that for the supersymmetric models, this channel is beyond the discovery reach of the LHC. In some of the other studied models, in particular the Aligned 2HDM, the situation is improved and the channel is feasible.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, David, 1977-
(författare)
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Phenomenology of Charged Higgs Bosons and B-meson Decays
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- For more than 30 years the Standard Model has been the theoretical foundation for particle physics. The theory has been verified successfully by experimental tests. Its biggest shortcoming is the non-discovery of the Higgs boson,responsible for giving the other particles masses. Despite its success there are hints that the Standard Model is not the complete theory and many extensions of it, such as supersymmetry, have been proposed. Extended theories often predict the existence of a charged Higgs boson and its detection will be a clear sign of physics beyond the Standard Model. The main focus in this thesis is on various phenomenological aspects of the charged Higgs boson. For favorable mass and couplings direct detection is shown to be possible at the Large Hadron Collider in production with an associated W boson. It is also shown how a light charged Higgs can have measurable effects on spin correlations in decays of pair-produced top quarks. The charged Higgs boson can also be seen indirectly, in for example B-meson decays, which can be used to put constraints on its mass and fermion couplings. Exclusion limits in two supersymmetric models are given together with a comparison with the discovery potentials for the LHC experiments. A tool for calculating properties, such as masses and decays, of both charged and neutral Higgs bosons in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model is also presented. B-meson decays can also be used to test aspects of the strong interaction. Part of this thesis deals with improving and applying phenomenological models to B-meson decays. Although these models are not derived from first principles, their success shows that they capture important features of non-perturbative strong interactions.
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| 4. |
- Karlsson, Niklas
(författare)
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Parametric model for astrophysical proton-proton interactions
- 2006
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Observations of gamma-rays have been made from objects such as active galaxies and supernova remnants and also as diffuse emission from the Galactic ridge. The study of gamma-rays can provide information about production mechanisms and tell us about cosmic ray acceleration. In the high energy regime, the dominant mechanism for gamma-ray production is the decay of neutral pions produced in interactions of accelerated cosmic ray nuclei and interstellar matter. Having an accurate model for this is an integral part in the study of gamma-rays and the sources in which they are produced. We present here a parametric model for calculations of inclusive cross sections for stable secondary particles (gamma-rays, electrons, positrons, nue, anti nue, numu and anti numu) produced in proton-proton interactions. The model is based on the up-to-date proton-proton interaction model by Kamae et al., which includes the diffraction dissociation process, violation of the Feynman scaling law and the logarithmically rising inelastic proton-proton cross section. To improve fidelity to experimental data for lower energies, two baryon resonance excitation processes were added to the model: one representing the Δ(1232) and the other multiple resonances with masses around 1600 MeV/c^2. The parametric model predicts the spectra for all secondary particles to be harder by about 0.05 in power-law index than that of the incident proton and their inclusive cross sections to be larger than those predicted by previous models based on Feynman scaling. The transverse momentum distributions for gamma-rays have also been calculated from the described proton-proton interaction model, showing the potential of also having a parametric model for the transverse momentum distributions.
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| 5. |
- Stål, Oscar, 1982-
(författare)
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Physics at the High-Energy Frontier : Phenomenological Studies of Charged Higgs Bosons and Cosmic Neutrino Detection
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Standard Model of particle physics successfully describes present collider data. Nevertheless, theoretical and cosmological results call for its extension. A softly broken supersymmetric completion around the TeV scale solves several of the outstanding issues. Supersymmetry requires two Higgs doublets, leading to five physical Higgs states. These include a pair of charged Higgs bosons H±, which are a generic feature of theories with multiple Higgs doublets. Using results from high-energy colliders and flavour physics, constraints are derived on the charged Higgs boson mass and couplings; both for constrained scenarios in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with grand unification, and for general two-Higgs-doublet models. The MSSM results are compared to the projected reach for charged Higgs searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At the LHC, a light charged Higgs is accessible through top quark decay. Beyond a discovery, it is demonstrated how angular distributions sensitive to top quark spin correlations can be used to determine the structure of the H±tb coupling. The public code 2HDMC, which performs calculations in a general, CP-conserving, two-Higgs-doublet model, is introduced. In parallel to the developments at colliders, the most energetic particles ever recorded are the ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays. To gain more insight into their origin, new experiments are searching for UHE neutrinos. These searches require detectors of vast volume, which can be achieved by searching for coherent radio pulses arising from the Askaryan effect. The prospects of using a satellite orbiting the Moon to search for neutrino interactions are investigated, and a similar study for an Earth-based radio telescope is presented. In both cases, the method is found competitive for detection of the very highest energy neutrinos considered.
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