Diphotons from Tetraphotons in the Decay of a 125 GeV Higgs at the LHC

Recently the ATLAS and CMS experiments have presented data hinting at the presence of a Higgs boson at $m_h\simeq125$ GeV. The best-fit $h\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ rate averaged over the two experiments is approximately $2.1\pm0.5$ times the Standard Model prediction. We study the possibility that the excess relative to the Standard Model is due to $h\rightarrow aa$ decays, where $a$ is a light pseudoscalar that decays predominantly into $\gamma\gamma$. Although this process yields $4\gamma$ final states, if the pseudoscalar has a mass of the order tens of MeV, the two photons from each $a$ decay can be so highly collimated that they may be identified as a single photon. Some fraction of the events then contribute to an effective $h\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ signal. We study the constraints on the parameter space where the net $h\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ rate is enhanced over the Standard Model by this mechanism and describe some simple models that give rise to the pseudoscalar-photon interaction. Further tests and prospects for searches in the near future are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, revtex4-1; v2: references added and rearranged, g-2 limit improved, published version; v3: typos correcte

Proton Decay at MplM_{pl} and the Scale of SUSY-Breaking

It is sometimes argued that a virtue of pushing the supersymmetry breaking scale above 1 PeV is that no particular flavor structure is required in the soft sector in order to evade bounds on flavor-changing neutral currents. However, without flavor structure, suppressing generic Planck-suppressed contributions to proton decay requires even higher SUSY scales, of order $10^{11}$ ($10^9$) GeV for degenerate (mini-split) gauginos and scalars. With flavor structure, the question of whether proton decay or flavor symmetries are more constraining is model-dependent, but it straightforward to find simple models where both constraints are satisfied for much lower SUSY scales.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure. v2: expanded discussion of alignment models in sec. 3. accepted for publication in JHE

Anomaly Mediation in Local Effective Theories

The phenomenon known as ``anomaly mediation" can be understood in a variety of ways. Rather than an anomaly, certain gaugino bilinear terms are required by local supersymmetry and gauge invariance (the derivation of these terms is in some cases related to anomalies in scale invariance or $R$ symmetries). We explain why the gaugino bilinear is required in supersymmetric gauge theories with varying number of colors and flavors. By working in the Higgs phase, gauging a flavor group, or working below the scale of gaugino condensation, each of these theories has a local effective description in which we can identify the bilinear term, establishing its necessity in the microscopic theory. For example, in theories that exhibit gaugino condensation, the potential in the very low energy theory is supersymmetric precisely due to the relation between the nonperturbative superpotential and the gaugino bilinear terms. Similarly, the gravitino mass appears from its coupling to the gaugino bilinear.Comment: 13 pg. v2: minor typos corrected; v3: references added, accepted for publication in JHE

Diphotons, New Vacuum Angles, and Strong CP

The Standard Model contains a well-understood, natural, spin-0 diphoton resonance: the $\pi^0$. Numerous studies have pointed out that the hint of a new diphoton resonance at 750 GeV could be a pion analog, identified with the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of a chiral symmetry spontaneously broken by new strong dynamics at the TeV scale. These "hypercolor" models are generically expected to violate parity through a topological angle $\tilde\theta$. We discuss the physics of $\tilde\theta$ and its impact on the phenomenology of the new sector. We also describe some of the theoretical implications of a nonzero $\tilde\theta$. In particular, $\tilde\theta$ can generate an ${\cal O}(1)$ threshold correction to the QCD vacuum angle $\theta$ near the TeV scale, sharply constraining ultraviolet solutions to the strong CP problem. Alternatively, finding that $\tilde\theta$ is small may be interpreted as evidence in favor of UV solutions to strong CP, particularly those based on spontaneously broken P or CP symmetries.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures. v2: references added, fig 1 update

A Review of Higgs Mass Calculations in Supersymmetric Models

The discovery of the Higgs boson is both a milestone achievement for the Standard Model and an exciting probe of new physics beyond the SM. One of the most important properties of the Higgs is its mass, a number that has proven to be highly constraining for models of new physics, particularly those related to the electroweak hierarchy problem. Perhaps the most extensively studied examples are supersymmetric models, which, while capable of producing a 125 GeV Higgs boson with SM-like properties, do so in non-generic parts of their parameter spaces. We review the computation of the Higgs mass in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, in particular the large radiative corrections required to lift $m_h$ to 125 GeV and their calculation via Feynman-diagrammatic and effective field theory techniques. This review is intended as an entry point for readers new to the field, and as a summary of the current status, including the existing analytic calculations and publicly-available computer codes.Comment: Invited review, version to be published in Physics Reports, CP3-Origins-2016-00

Instanton Effects in Three Flavor QCD

Recently it was shown that in QCD-like theories with $N_f > N$, where $N_f$ is the number of light flavors and $N$ is the number of colors, there are correlation functions that vanish in perturbation theory and at short distances receive dominant, calculable contributions from small instantons. Here we extend the set of such objects to theories with $N_f = N$, which includes real QCD, and discuss their application as a calibration of lattice computations at small quark mass. We revisit the related issue of the $u$ quark mass and its additive renormalization by small instantons, and discuss an alternative test of $m_u=0$ on the lattice.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures. v3: reordered discussion of finite correlators and low energy constants, version published in PRD. v2: amended discussion of calculable vs incalculable effects for $N_f\leq N

Challenges for the Nelson-Barr Mechanism

Solutions to strong CP based on chiral structure have been subject to the most careful scrutiny and critique. Basic theoretical issues include hierarchy and fine-tuning problems, quality and genericity of symmetries, and compatibility with solutions to the electroweak hierarchy problem. We study the similar set of challenges for solutions to strong CP based on spontaneous CP violation and the Nelson-Barr mechanism. Some of our observations have appeared in the literature previously, and others are new; our purpose is to collect and analyze the issues as a whole and provide an assessment of the most plausible settings for the Nelson-Barr solution.Comment: 19 pp, 2 figures. v2: expanded discussion of strong dynamics, added references. Version published in JHE

Deformed Bubbles and Lorentz Invariance in Vacuum Decay

Recently, questions have been raised about the role of Lorentz invariance in false vacuum decay. It has been argued that infinities may arise in an integration over Lorentz-boosted final states. This suggestion motivates a Minkowski-space analysis of the decay rate. We attempt to illuminate features of the amplitude computation, and argue that the total rate including excitations is both finite and Lorentz invariant.Comment: 23 page