Particle theory

Abstract:

We identify a set of transforms on the Picard lattice of non-singular complex projective surfaces that map effective line bundles to nef line bundles, while preserving the dimension of the zeroth cohomology. These transforms can often be used in conjunction with vanishing theorems to compute the dimension of the zeroth cohomology in terms of a topological index. The method is illustrated on del Pezzo and Hirzebruch surfaces.

Abstract:

We calculate the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading-order (N^{3}LO) QCD corrections to inclusive vector-boson fusion Higgs production at proton colliders, in the limit in which there is no color exchange between the hadronic systems associated with the two colliding protons. We also provide differential cross sections for the Higgs transverse momentum and rapidity distributions. We find that the corrections are at the 1‰-2‰ level, well within the scale uncertainty of the next-to-next-to-leading-order calculation. The associated scale uncertainty of the N^{3}LO calculation is typically found to be below the 2‰ level. We also consider theoretical uncertainties due to missing higher order parton distribution functions, and provide an estimate of their importance.

Abstract:

Adopting the Standard Halo Model (SHM) of an isotropic Maxwellian velocity distribution for dark matter (DM) particles in the Galaxy, the most stringent current constraints on their spin-dependent scattering cross-section with nucleons come from the IceCube neutrino observatory and the PICO-60 C$_3$F$_8$ superheated bubble chamber experiments. The former is sensitive to high energy neutrinos from the self-annihilation of DM particles captured in the Sun, while the latter looks for nuclear recoil events from DM scattering off nucleons. Although slower DM particles are more likely to be captured by the Sun, the faster ones are more likely to be detected by PICO. Recent N-body simulations suggest significant deviations from the SHM for the smooth halo component of the DM, while observations hint at a dominant fraction of the local DM being in substructures. We use the method of Ferrer et al. (2015) to exploit the complementarity between the two approaches and derive conservative constraints on DM-nucleon scattering. Our results constrain $\sigma_{\mathrm{SD}} \lesssim 10^{-39} \mathrm{cm}^2$ ($10^{-38} \mathrm{cm}^2$) at $\gtrsim 90\%$ C.L. for a DM particle of mass 1~TeV annihilating into $\tau^+ \tau^-$ ($b\bar{b}$) with a local density of $\rho_{\mathrm{DM}} = 0.3~\mathrm{ GeV/cm}^3$. The constraints scale inversely with $\rho_{\mathrm{DM}}$ and are independent of the DM velocity distribution.