Related papers: Improved stellar limits on a light CP-even scalar
We reconsider the impact of $\bar\nu_e \leftrightarrow \bar\nu_{\mu,\tau}$ neutrino oscillations on the observed $\bar\nu_e$ signal of supernova SN 1987A. Performing a maximum-likelihood analysis using as fit parameters the released binding…
In a number of Higgs-portal models, an $SU(2)$ isospin-singlet scalar boson generically appears at the electroweak scale and can mix with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson with a mixing angle $\alpha$. This singlet scalar boson can have…
We present neutrino mass bounds using 900,000 luminous galaxies with photometric redshifts measured from Sloan Digital Sky Survey III Data Release Eight (SDSS DR8). The galaxies have photometric redshifts between $z = 0.45$ and $z = 0.65$,…
We consider the Higgs sector in an extension of the MSSM with extra SM singlets, involving an extra $U(1)^\prime$ gauge symmetry, in which the domain-wall problem is avoided and the effective $\mu$ parameter is decoupled from the new gauge…
Using data from the Pantheon SN Ia compilation and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we propose an estimator for weak lensing convergence incorporating positional and photometric data of foreground galaxies. The correlation between this…
We analyze the Higgs sector in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, emphasizing the possibility of a light CP-odd scalar (axion) in the spectrum. We compute the coupling of the Standard-Model-like Higgs boson to a pair of…
We discuss a number of experimental constraints on Weinberg's Higgs portal model. In this framework, the standard model (SM) particle spectrum is extended to include one complex scalar field S and one Dirac fermion \psi. These new fields…
Some new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, like Supersymmetry, Extra-dimensions etc., and their effect on the nature of different standard model phenomena are explored in this thesis. We discuss the power law scaling of…
WIMPs can be captured in compact stars such as white dwarves (WDs) leading to an increase in the star luminosity through their annihilation process. We show that when the WIMP interacts with the nuclear targets within the WD through…
The ATLAS and CMS experiments did not find evidence for Supersymmetry using close to 5/fb of published LHC data at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. We combine these LHC data with data on B_s -> mu mu (LHCb experiment), the relic density…
In the framework of an nonuniversal $U(1)'$ extension of the standard model, we propose an scalar candidate for cold dark matter which exhibits interactions with ordinary matter through Higgs and gauge bosons. Using limits from low energy…
In supersymmetric models with R parity violation, constraints on superpartner masses are significantly weaker than in models which conserve R parity. We find in regions of parameter space where a neutral gaugino or third generation scalar…
We revisit constraints on dark photons with masses below ~ 100 MeV from the observations of Supernova 1987A. If dark photons are produced in sufficient quantity, they reduce the amount of energy emitted in the form of neutrinos, in conflict…
I explore an economical variant on supersymmetric standard models which may be indicated on cosmological grounds and is shown to have no SUSY-CP problem. Demanding radiative electroweak symmetry breaking suggests that the Higgs is light;…
Improvement in the precision of measurements of cosmological parameters with Type Ia Supernovae (SNIa) is expected to come from large photometrically identified (photometric) SN samples. Here we re-analyse the SDSS photometric SN sample,…
Dominant decay of a SM-like Higgs boson into particles beyond those contained in the minimal supersymmetric standard model has been identified as a natural scenario to avoid fine tuning in electroweak symmetry breaking while satisfying all…
We investigate an extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) containing a $SU(2)$ Higgs triplet of zero hypercharge and a gauge singlet. We focus on a scenario of this model which allows a light pseudoscalar and/or a…
For non-universal gaugino masses, collider experiments do not provide any lower bound on the mass of the lightest neutralino. We review the supersymmetric parameter space which leads to light neutralinos, $M_\lsp \lsim {\cal O}(1\gev)$, and…
We present new measurements of scaling laws relating the luminosity of galaxies to the amplitude and shape of their dark matter halos. Early imaging and spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are used to make weak lensing…
With the ever faster cadence of untargeted surveys of the sky, the supernova (SN) community will capture in the coming years a growing number of shock breakouts in red-supergiant (RSG) stars. Expecting a high frequency of breakouts within…