53865432
Hefty MSSM-like light Higgs in extended gauge models
A bstractIt is well known that in the MSSM the lightest neutral Higgs h0 must be, at the tree level, lighter than the Z boson and that the loop corrections shift this stringent upper bound up to about 130 GeV. Extending the MSSM gauge group in a suitable way, the new Higgs sector dynamics can push the tree-level mass of h0 well above the tree-level MSSM limit if it couples to the new gauge sector. This effect is further pronounced at the loop level and h0 masses in the 140GeV ballpark can be reached easily. We exemplify this for a sample setting with a low-scale U(1)R × U(1)B−L gauge symmetry in which neutrino masses can be implemented via the inverse seesaw mechanism.
11803420
Majoron emission in muon and tau decays revisited
9 pages, 4 figures.-- ISI article identifier:000264762400078.-- ArXiv pre-print avaible at: http://arxiv.org/abs/0902.0525
10505280
Testing the mechanism of R-parity breaking with slepton LSP decays
In supersymmetric models R-parity can be violated through either bilinear or trilinear terms in the superpotential, or both. If charged scalar leptons are the lightest supersymmetric particles, their decay properties can be used to obtain information about the relative importance of these couplings. We show that in some specific scenarios it is even possible to decide whether bilinear or trilinear terms give the dominant contribution to the neutrino mass matrix.
119290526
Probing a supersymmetric model for neutrino masses at ultrahigh energy neutrino telescopes
Abstract A bilinear R-parity breaking SUSY model for neutrino mass and mixing predicts the lightest superparticle to decay mainly into a pair of tau leptons or b quarks along with a neutrino for relatively light SUSY spectra. This leads to a distinctive triple bang signature of SUSY events at ultrahigh energy neutrino telescopes like IceCube or Antares. While the expected signal size is only marginal at IceCube, it will be promising for a future multi-km 3 size neutrino telescope.
35525710
Phenomenology of neutrinoless double beta decay
Neutrinoless double beta decay ( 0 ν β β ) violates lepton number by two units, a positive observation therefore necessarily implies physics beyond the standard model. Here, three possible contributions to 0 ν β β decay are briefly reviewed: (a) The mass mechanism and its connection to neutrino oscillations; (b) Left-right symmetric models and the lower limit on the right-handed W boson mass; and (c) R-parity violating supersymmetry. In addition, the recently published “extended black box” theorem is briefly discussed. Combined with data from oscillation experiments this theorem provides proof that the 0 ν β β decay amplitude must receive a non-zero contribution from the mass mechanism, if neutrinos are indeed Majorana particles.
10450965
CP violation in decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle with bilinearly broken R parity
Supersymmetric models with broken R-parity induced by lepton number violating terms provide a calculable framework for neutrino masses and mixings. Within models with bilinear R-parity breaking six new physical phases appear which are potential sources of novel CP-violating phenomena compared to the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. We consider CP-violating observables in the decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle in this class of models. We show that: (i) Neutrino physics requires a strong correlation between three different pairs of phases, thus reducing the effective number of new phases to three. (ii) CP-violating phenomena in decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle due to new R-parity breaking phases turn out to be small, once constraints from neutrino physics are taken into account. We demonstrate that this feature does not depend on the nature of the lightest supersymmetric particle.
15297769
Measurement and calibration of noise bias in weak lensing galaxy shape estimation
Weak gravitational lensing has the potential to constrain cosmological parameters to high 
precision. However, as shown by the Shear Testing Programmes and Gravitational lensing 
Accuracy Testing challenges, measuring galaxy shears is a non-trivial task: various methods 
introduce different systematic biases which have to be accounted for. We investigate how 
pixel noise on the image affects the bias on shear estimates from a maximum likelihood 
forward model-fitting approach using a sum of co-elliptical Sersic profiles, in complement 
to the theoretical approach of an associated paper. We evaluate the bias using a simple but 
realistic galaxy model and find that the effects of noise alone can cause biases of the order of 
1–10 per cent on measured shears, which is significant for current and future lensing surveys. 
We evaluate a simulation-based calibration method to create a bias model as a function of 
galaxy properties and observing conditions. This model is then used to correct the simulated 
measurements. We demonstrate that, for the simple case in which the correct range of galaxy 
models is used in the fit, the calibration method can reduce noise bias to the level required for 
estimating cosmic shear in upcoming lensing surveys.
118584751
Sérsic galaxy models in weak lensing shape measurement: model bias, noise bias and their interaction
Cosmic shear is a powerful probe of cosmological parameters, but its potential can be fully utilised only if galaxy shapes are measured with great accuracy. Two major effects have been identified which are likely to account for most of the bias for maximum likelihood methods in recent shear measurement challenges. Model bias occurs when the true galaxy shape is not well represented by the fitted model. Noise bias occurs due to the non-linear relationship between image pixels and galaxy shape. In this paper we investigate the potential interplay between these two effects when an imperfect model is used in the presence of high noise. We present analytical expressions for this bias, which depends on the residual difference between the model and real data. They can lead to biases not accounted for in previous calibration schemes. By measuring the model bias, noise bias and their interaction, we provide a complete statistical framework for measuring galaxy shapes with model fitting methods from GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing (GREAT) like images. We demonstrate the noise and model interaction bias using a simple toy model, which indicates that this effect can potentially be significant. Using real galaxy images from the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) we quantify the strength of the model bias, noise bias and their interaction. We find that the interaction term is often a similar size to the model bias term, and is smaller than the requirements of the current and shortly upcoming galaxy surveys.
16340817
IM3SHAPE: A maximum-likelihood galaxy shear measurement code for cosmic gravitational lensing
We present and describe IM3SHAPE, a new publicly available galaxy shape measurement code for weak gravitational lensing shear. IM3SHAPE performs a maximum likelihood fit of a bulgeplus-disc galaxy model to noisy images, incorporating an applied point spread function. We detail challenges faced and choices made in its design and implementation, and then discuss various limitations that affect this and other maximum like lihood methods. We assess the bias arising from fitting an incorrect galaxy model using simple n oise-free images and find that it should not be a concern for current cosmic shear surveys. We test IM3SHAPE on the GREAT08 Challenge image simulations, and meet the requirements for upcoming cosmic shear surveys in the case that the simulations are encompassed by the fitted model, using a simple correction for image noise bias. For the fiducial branch of GREAT08 we obt ain a negligible additive shear bias and sub-two percent level multiplicative bias, which i s suitable for analysis of current surveys. We fall short of the sub-percent level requirement for upcoming surveys, which we attribute to a combination of noise bias and the mis-match between our galaxy model and the model used in the GREAT08 simulations. We meet the requirements for current surveys across all branches of GREAT08, except those with small or high noise galaxies, which we would cut from our analysis. Using the GREAT08 metric we we obtain a score of Q=717 for the usable branches, relative to the goal of Q=1000 for futur e experiments. The code is freely available from https://bitbucket.org/joezuntz/im3shap e.
59440932
Maximizing Kepler science return per telemetered pixel: Detailed models of the focal plane in the two-wheel era
Kepler's immense photometric precision to date was maintained through satellite stability and precise pointing. In this white paper, we argue that image modeling--fitting the Kepler-downlinked raw pixel data--can vastly improve the precision of Kepler in pointing-degraded two-wheel mode. We argue that a non-trivial modeling effort may permit continuance of photometry at 10-ppm-level precision. We demonstrate some baby steps towards precise models in both data-driven (flexible) and physics-driven (interpretably parameterized) modes. We demonstrate that the expected drift or jitter in positions in the two-weel era will help with constraining calibration parameters. In particular, we show that we can infer the device flat-field at higher than pixel resolution; that is, we can infer pixel-to-pixel variations in intra-pixel sensitivity. These results are relevant to almost any scientific goal for the repurposed mission; image modeling ought to be a part of any two-wheel repurpose for the satellite. We make other recommendations for Kepler operations, but fundamentally advocate that the project stick with its core mission of finding and characterizing Earth analogs. [abridged]
118354862
Maximizing Kepler science return per telemetered pixel: Searching the habitable zones of the brightest stars 1
In today's mailing, Hogg et al. propose image modeling techniques to maintain 10-ppm-level precision photometry in Kepler data with only two working reaction wheels. While these results are relevant to many scientific goals for the repurposed mission, all modeling efforts so far have used a toy model of the Kepler telescope. Because the two-wheel performance of Kepler remains to be determined, we advocate for the consideration of an alternate strategy for a >1 year program that maximizes the science return from the "low-torque" fields across the ecliptic plane. Assuming we can reach the precision of the original Kepler mission, we expect to detect 800 new planet candidates in the first year of such a mission. Our proposed strategy has benefits for transit timing variation and transit duration variation studies, especially when considered in concert with the future TESS mission. We also expect to help address the first key science goal of Kepler: the frequency of planets in the habitable zone as a function of spectral type.