Pushing the SUSY Higgs mass towards 125 GeV with a color adjoint

We show that inclusion of a TeV scale chiral superfield transforming in the adjoint representation of the color SU(3) to the MSSM particle content modifies the renormalization group running of some parameters in such a way that a 125 GeV mass of the light Higgs boson is accommodated more comfortably than in cMSSM / mSUGRA. Put differently, the introduction of a color adjoint TeV scale superfield helps resurrecting lighter choices for the stop and gluino which are otherwise disfavored in cMSSM / mSUGRA.Comment: v2: 6 pages, 4 figures, estimate of fine-tuning and some more clarifying remarks added, published in PR

Minimal supersymmetry confronts RbR_b, AFBbA^b_{FB} and mhm_h

We study the impact of the measurements of three sets of observables on the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (cMSSM), its slightly general variant, the non-universal scalar model (NUSM), and some selected benchmark points of the 19-parameter phenomenological MSSM (pMSSM): ($i$) the direct measurement of the Higgs boson mass $m_h \approx 125$ GeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC); ($ii$) $Z$ boson decay width in the $b \bar{b}$ channel normalized to its hadronic width ($R_b$), and the forward-backward asymmetry on the $Z$-peak in the same channel $(A_{\rm FB}^b)$; and ($iii$) several $B$-physics observables, along with $(g-2)$ of muon. In addition, there are constraints from non-observation of superparticles from direct searches at the LHC. In view of the recently re-estimated standard model (SM) value of $R_b$ with improved higher order corrections, the measured value of $R_b$ has a 1.2$\sigma$ discrepancy with its SM value, while the corresponding discrepancy in $A_{\rm FB}^b$ is 2.5$\sigma$. MSSM contributions from light superpartners improve the agreement of $R_b$ but worsen that of $A_{\rm FB}^b$. We project this ($R_b$-$A_{\rm FB}^b$) tension {\em vis-\`{a}-vis} the constraints arising from other observables in the parameter space of cMSSM and NUSM. We also consider a few well-motivated pMSSM benchmark points and show that pMSSM does not fare any better than the SM.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures; v4: substantially updated following the revised results on higher loop estimate of R_b(SM) in the errata published by Freitas and Huang in arXiv:1205.0299 [hep-ph] v3. Final version accepted for publication in J Phys

Theory of non-stationary activated rate processes : nonexponential relaxation kinetics

We have explored a simple microscopic model to simulate a thermally activated rate process where the associated bath which comprises a set of relaxing modes is not in an equilibrium state. The model captures some of the essential features of non-Markovian Langevin dynamics with a fluctuating barrier. Making use of the Fokker-Planck description we calculate the barrier dynamics in the steady state and non-stationary regimes. The Kramers-Grote-Hynes reactive frequency has been computed in closed form in the steady state to illustrate the strong dependence of the dynamic coupling of the system with the relaxing modes. The influence of nonequilibrium excitation of the bath modes and its relaxation on the kinetics of activation of the system mode is demonstrated. We derive the dressed time-dependent Kramers rate in the nonstationary regime in closed analytical form which exhibits strong non-exponential relaxation kinetics of the reaction co-ordinate. The feature can be identified as a typical non-Markovian dynamical effect.Comment: Plain Latex, no figure, 31 pages, to appear in J. Chem. Phy

Exact Persistence Exponent for One-dimensional Potts Models with Parallel Dynamics

We obtain \theta_p(q) = 2\theta_s(q) for one-dimensional q-state ferromagnetic Potts models evolving under parallel dynamics at zero temperature from an initially disordered state, where \theta_p(q) is the persistence exponent for parallel dynamics and \theta_s(q) = -{1/8}+ \frac{2}{\pi^2}[cos^{-1}{(2-q)/q\sqrt{2}}]^2 [PRL, {\bf 75}, 751, (1995)], the persistence exponent under serial dynamics. This result is a consequence of an exact, albeit non-trivial, mapping of the evolution of configurations of Potts spins under parallel dynamics to the dynamics of two decoupled reaction diffusion systems.Comment: 13 pages Latex file, 5 postscript figure

Quantum theory of dissipation of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a nonequilibrium bath; Wigner-Weisskopf decay and physical spectra

We extend the quantum theory of dissipation in the context of system-reservoir model, where the reservoir in question is kept in a nonequilibrium condition. Based on a systematic separation of time scales involved in the dynamics, appropriate generalizations of the fluctuation-dissipation and Einstein's relations have been pointed out. We show that the Wigner-Weisskopf decay of the system mode results in a rate constant which depending on the relaxation of nonequilibrium bath is dynamically modified. We also calculate the time-dependent spectra of a cavity mode with a suitable gain when the cavity is kept in contact with a nonequilibrium bath.Comment: Plain Latex, 28 pages, 2 PS figure

Naturally split supersymmetry

Nonobservation of superparticles till date, new Higgs mass limits from the CMS and ATLAS experiments, WMAP constraints on relic density, various other low energy data, and the naturalness consideration, all considered simultaneously imply a paradigm shift of supersymmetric model building. In this paper we perform, for the first time, a detailed numerical study of brane-world induced supersymmetry breaking for both minimal and next-to-minimal scenarios. We observe that a naturally hierarchical spectrum emerges through an interplay of bulk, brane-localized and quasi-localized fields, which can gain more relevance in the subsequent phases of the LHC run.Comment: 6 pages, 6 eps figures; v2: minor updates, to appear in JHE