We forecast the expected cosmological constraints from a combination of probes of both the universal expansion rate and matter perturbation growth, in the form of weak lensing tomography, galaxy tomography, supernovae, and the cosmic microwave background incorporating all cross-correlations between the observables for an extensive cosmological parameter set. We allow for nonzero curvature and parameterize our ignorance of the early universe by allowing for a non-negligible fraction of dark energy (DE) at high redshifts. We find that early DE density can be constrained to 0.2% of the critical density of the universe with Planck combined with a ground-based LSST-like survey, while curvature can be constrained to 0.06%. However, these additional degrees of freedom degrade our ability to measure late-time dark energy and the sum of neutrino masses. We find that the combination of cosmological probes can break degeneracies and constrain the sum of neutrino masses to 0.04 eV, present DE density also to 0.2% of the critical density, and the equation of state to 0.01—roughly a factor of 2 degradation in the constraints overall compared to the case without allowing for early DE. The constraints for a space-based mission are similar. Even a modest 1% dark energy fraction of the critical density at high redshift, if not accounted for in future analyses, biases the cosmological parameters by up to $2\sigma$. Our analysis suggests that throwing out nonlinear scales (multipoles $>1000$) may not result in significant degradation in future parameter measurements when multiple cosmological probes are combined. We find that including cross-correlations between the different probes can result in improved constraints by up to a factor of 2 for the sum of neutrino masses and early dark energy density.

It has recently been pointed out that a substantial amount of e-folds can occur during the waterfall regime of hybrid inflation. Moreover, Kodama et al. have derived analytic approximations for the trajectories of the inflaton and of the waterfall fields. Based on these, we derive here the consequences for $F$- and $D$-term supersymmetric hybrid inflation: a substantial amount of e-folds may occur in the waterfall regime, provided $\kappa \ll M^2/M_{\mathrm{P}}^2$, where $\kappa$ is the superpotential coupling, $M$ the scale of symmetry breaking and $M_{\mathrm{P}}$ the reduced Planck mass. When this condition is amply fulfilled, a number of e-folds much larger than $N_{\mathrm{e}}\approx 60$ can occur in the waterfall regime and the scalar spectral index is then given by the expression found by Kodama et al. $n_{\mathrm{s}}=1-4/N_{\mathrm{e}}$. This value may be increased up to unity, if only about $N_{\mathrm{e}}$ e-folds occur during the waterfall regime, such that the largest observable scale leaves the horizon close to the critical point of hybrid inflation, what can be achieved for $\kappa \approx {10}^{-13}$ and $M\approx 5\times {10}^{12}\mathrm{GeV}$ in $F$-term inflation. Imposing the normalization of the power spectrum leads to a lower bound on the scale of symmetry breaking.

The CRESST-II collaboration have announced evidence for the direct detection of dark matter in 730 kg-days exposure of a ${\mathrm{CaWO}}_4$ target. We examine these new results, along with DAMA and CoGeNT data, in the context of the mirror dark matter framework. We show that all three experiments can be simultaneously explained via kinetic mixing-induced elastic scattering of a mirror metal component off target nuclei. This metal component can be as heavy as ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{\prime }$ if the galactic rotational velocity is relatively low: $v_{\mathrm{rot}}\lesssim 220\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}$. This explanation is consistent with the constraints from the other experiments, such as CDMS/Ge, CDMS/Si and XENON100 when modest $\sim 20–30\%$ uncertainties in energy scale are considered.

We consider a phenomenological extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) which incorporates nonminimal chaotic inflation, driven by a quadratic potential in conjunction with a linear term in the frame function. Inflation is followed by a Peccei-Quinn phase transition, based on renormalizable superpotential terms, which resolves the strong $CP$ and $\mu$ problems of MSSM and provide masses lower than about ${10}^{12}\mathrm{GeV}$ for the right-handed (RH) (s)neutrinos. Baryogenesis occurs via nonthermal leptogenesis, realized by the out-of-equilibrium decay of the RH sneutrinos, which are produced by the inflaton’s decay. Confronting our scenario with the current observational data on the inflationary observables, the light-neutrino masses, the baryon asymmetry of the universe and the gravitino limit on the reheat temperature, we constrain the strength of the gravitational coupling to rather large values ($\sim 45–2950$) and the Dirac neutrino masses to values between about 1 and 10 GeV.

We discuss evolution of density perturbations in cosmological models which admit finite scale factor singularities. After solving the matter perturbations equations we find that there exists a set of parameters which admits a finite scale factor singularity in future and instantaneously recover matter density evolution history which is indistinguishable from the standard $\Lambda \mathrm{CDM}$ scenario.

Some inflationary models predict the existence of isocurvature primordial fluctuations, in addition to the well known adiabatic perturbation. Such mixed models are not yet ruled out by available data sets. In this paper we explore the possibility of obtaining better constraints on the isocurvature contribution from future astronomical data. We consider the axion and curvaton inflationary scenarios, and use Planck satellite experimental specifications together with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy survey to forecast for the best parameter error estimation by means of the Fisher information matrix formalism. In particular, we consider how cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing information can improve this forecast. We found substantial improvements for all the considered cosmological parameters. In the case of isocurvature amplitude this improvement is strongly model-dependent, varying between less than 1% and above 20% around its fiducial value. Furthermore, CMB lensing enables the degeneracy break between the isocurvature amplitude and correlation phase in one of the models. In this sense, CMB lensing information will be crucial in the analysis of future data.

We propose a mean-field approach to analyze many-body systems of fermions in the gauge/gravity duality. We introduce a nonvanishing classical fermionic field in the gravity dual, which we call the holographic mean-field for fermions. The holographic mean-field takes account of the many-body dynamics of the fermions in the bulk. The regularity condition of the holographic mean-field fixes the relationship between the chemical potential and the density unambiguously. Our approach provides a new framework of gauge/gravity duality for finite-density systems of baryons in the confinement phase.

We discuss the possibility of observing a loosely bound molecular state in a three-body hadronic B decay. In particular, we use the QCD sum rule approach to study a ${\eta }^{\prime }-\pi$ molecular current. We consider an isovector-scalar $I^G{J}^{\mathrm{PC}}=1^{-}{0}^{++}$ molecular current, and we use two- and three-point functions to study the mass and decay width of such a state. We consider the contributions of condensates up to dimension six, and we work at leading order in ${\alpha }_s$. We obtain a mass around 1.1 GeV, consistent with a loosely bound state, and a ${\eta }^{\prime }-\pi \to K^{+}{K}^{-}$ decay width around 10 MeV.

Beyond the MSSM framework is an effective theory approach that encapsulates a variety of extensions beyond the MSSM with which it shares the same field content. The lightest Higgs mass can be much heavier than in the MSSM without creating a tension with naturalness or requiring superheavy stops. The phenomenology of the Higgs sector is at the same time much richer. We critically review the properties of a Higgs with mass around 125 GeV in this model. In particular, we investigate how the rates in the important inclusive $2\gamma$ channel, the $2\gamma +2$ jets and the $ZZ\to 4l$ (and/or $WW$) can be enhanced or reduced compared to the standard model and what kind of correlations between these rates are possible. We consider both a vanilla model where stops have moderate masses with no trilinear stop mixing term and a model having a large stop mixing with a light stop. We show that in both cases there are scenarios that lead to enhancements in these rates at a mass of 125 GeV corresponding to either the lightest Higgs or the heaviest $CP$-even Higgs of the model. In all of these scenarios we study the prospects of finding other signatures of either the 125 GeV Higgs or those of the heavier Higgses. In most cases the $\overline{\tau }\tau$ channels are the most promising. Exclusion limits from the recent LHC Higgs searches are folded in our analyses while the tantalizing hints for a Higgs signal at 125 GeV are used as an example of how to constrain beyond the MSSM and/or direct future searches.

We propose a new model for producing a Higgs boson mass near 125 GeV within the MSSM. By coupling the MSSM Higgs boson to a set of strongly interacting fields, large corrections to the Higgs quartic coupling are induced. Although the Higgs doublets do not participate in the strong dynamics, they feel the effects of the strongly coupled sector via (semi)perturbative interactions. These same strong dynamics are also capable of generating the $\mu$ term. Additionally, this strong sector is in the conformal window, which drives the couplings to an infrared fixed point and naturally generates model parameters of the appropriate size.

Based on tentative evidence for a peak in the Fermi gamma-ray spectrum originating from near the center of the galaxy, it has been suggested that dark matter of mass $\sim 130\mathrm{GeV}$ is annihilating directly into photons with a cross section $\sim 24$ times smaller than that needed for the thermal relic density. We propose a simple particle physics model in which the dark matter is a scalar $X$, with a coupling ${\lambda }_X{X}^2|S{|}^2$ to a scalar multiplet $S$ carrying electric charge, which allows for $XX\to \gamma \gamma$ at one loop due to the virtual $S$. We predict a second monochromatic photon peak at 114 GeV due to $XX\to \gamma Z$. The $S$ is colored under a hidden sector SU(N) or QCD to help boost the $XX\to \gamma \gamma$ cross section. The analogous coupling ${\lambda }_h{h}^2|S{|}^2$ to the Higgs boson can naturally increase the partial width for $h\to \gamma \gamma$ by an amount comparable to its standard model value, as suggested by recent measurements from CMS. Due to the hidden sector SU(N) (or QCD), $S$ binds to its antiparticle to form $S$ mesons, which will be pair-produced in colliders and then decay predominantly to $XX$, $hh$, or to glueballs of the SU(N) which subsequently decay to photons. The cross section for $X$ on nucleons is close to the Xenon100 upper limit, suggesting that it should be discovered soon by direct detection.

We present data from our investigation of the anomalous orange-colored afterglow that was seen in the GammeV Chameleon Afterglow Search (CHASE). These data include information about the broadband color of the observed glow, the relationship between the glow and the temperature of the apparatus, and other data taken prior to, and during the science operations of CHASE. While differing in several details, the generic properties of the afterglow from CHASE are similar to luminescence seen in some vacuum compounds. Contamination from this, or similar, luminescent signatures will likely impact the design of implementation of future experiments involving single photon detectors and high intensity light sources in a cryogenic environment.

We report a set of measurements of inclusive invariant $p_T$ differential cross sections of ${\Lambda }^0$, ${\overline{\Lambda }}^0$, ${\Xi }^{\pm }$, and ${\Omega }^{\pm }$ hyperons reconstructed in the central region with pseudorapidity $|\eta |<1$ and $p_T$ up to $10\mathrm{GeV}/c$. Events are collected with a minimum-bias trigger in $p\overline{p}$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV using the CDF II detector at the Tevatron Collider. As $p_T$ increases, the slopes of the differential cross sections of the three particles are similar, which could indicate a universality of the particle production in $p_T$. The invariant differential cross sections are also presented for different charged-particle multiplicity intervals.

It is found that de Sitter spacetime, the constant-curvature matter-free solution of the Einstein equations with a positive cosmological constant, becomes classically unstable due to the dynamic effects of a certain type of vector field (fundamentally different from a gauge field). The perturbed de Sitter universe evolves towards a final singularity. The relevant vector-field configurations violate the strong and dominant energy conditions.

In the six-dimensional Kaluza-Klein model with the multidimensional cosmological constant ${\Lambda }_6$, we obtain the black brane with spherical compactification of the internal space. The matter source for this exact solution consists of two parts. First, it is a fine-tuned homogeneous perfect fluid which provides spherical compactification of the internal space. Second, it is a gravitating massive body with the dustlike equation of state in the external space and tension ${\widehat{p}}_1=-(1/2)\widehat{\epsilon }$ in the internal space. This solution exists both in the presence and absence of ${\Lambda }_6$. In the weak-field approximation, we also get solutions of the linearized Einstein equations for the model with spherical compactification. Here, the gravitating matter source has the dustlike equation of state in the external space and an arbitrary equation of state ${\widehat{p}}_1=\Omega \widehat{\epsilon }$ in the internal space. In the case ${\Lambda }_6>0$ and $\Omega \ne -1/2$, these approximate solutions tend asymptotically to the weak-field limit of the exact black brane solution. Both the exact and asymptotic black branes satisfy the gravitational experiments at the same level of accuracy as general relativity.

In this paper we develop a waveform model that accurately reproduces the dynamical evolution of intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals, as predicted by the effective-one-body (EOB) model introduced in [1], and which enables us to shed some light on the form of the self-force for events with mass-ratio $1:6$, $1:10$ and $1:100$. To complement this study, we make use of self-force results in the extreme-mass-ratio regime, and of predictions of the EOB model introduced in [1], to derive a prescription for the shift of the orbital frequency at the innermost stable circular orbit which consistently captures predictions from the extreme, intermediate and comparable-mass-ratio regimes.

We consider the Born-Infeld-type extension of (non-)critical gravity which is higher curvature gravity on anti-de Sitter space with specific combinations of scalar curvature and Ricci tensor. This theory may also be viewed as a natural extension of three-dimensional Born-Infeld new massive gravity to arbitrary dimensions. We show that this extension is consistent with the holographic $c$-theorem and that scalar graviton modes are absent in this theory. After showing that ghost modes in the theory can be truncated consistently by appropriate boundary conditions, we argue that the theory is classically equivalent to Einstein gravity at the nonlinear level. Black hole solutions are discussed from the viewpoint of the full nonlinear classical equivalence between the theory and Einstein gravity. Holographic entanglement entropy in the theory is also briefly commented on.

General relativity has a Hamiltonian formulation, which formally provides a canonical (Liouville) measure on the space of solutions. In ordinary statistical physics, the Liouville measure is used to compute probabilities of macrostates, and it would seem natural to use the similar measure arising in general relativity to compute probabilities in cosmology, such as the probability that the Universe underwent an era of inflation. Indeed, a number of authors have used the restriction of this measure to the space of homogeneous and isotropic universes with scalar field matter (minisuperspace)—namely, the Gibbons-Hawking-Stewart measure—to make arguments about the likelihood of inflation. We argue here that there are at least four major difficulties with using the measure of general relativity to make probability arguments in cosmology: (1) Equilibration does not occur on cosmological length scales. (2) Even in the minisuperspace case, the measure of phase space is infinite and the computation of probabilities depends very strongly on how the infinity is regulated. (3) The inhomogeneous degrees of freedom must be taken into account (we illustrate how) even if one is interested only in universes that are very nearly homogeneous. The measure depends upon how the infinite number of degrees of freedom are truncated, and how one defines “nearly homogeneous.” (4) In a Universe where the second law of thermodynamics holds, one cannot make use of our knowledge of the present state of the Universe to retrodict the likelihood of past conditions.

Future lensing surveys will be nearly full sky and reach an unprecedented depth, probing scales closer and closer to the Hubble radius. This motivates the study of the cosmic shear beyond the small-angle approximation, including general relativistic corrections that are usually suppressed on sub-Hubble scales. The complete expression of the reduced cosmic shear at second order including all relativistic effects was derived in [F. Bernardeau, C. Bonvin, and F. Vernizzi, Phys. Rev. D 81, 083002 (2010).]. In the present paper we compute the resulting cosmic shear bispectrum when all these effects are properly taken into account and we compare it to primordial non-Gaussianity of the local type. The new general relativistic effects are generically smaller than the standard nonlinear couplings. However, their relative importance increases at small multipoles and for small redshifts of the sources. The dominant effect among these nonstandard corrections is due to the inhomogeneity of the source redshift. In the squeezed limit, its amplitude can become of the order of the standard couplings when the redshift of the sources is below 0.5. Moreover, while the standard nonlinear couplings depend on the angle between the short and long mode, the relativistic corrections do not and overlap almost totally with local type non-Gaussianity. We find that they can contaminate the search for a primordial local signal by $f_{\mathrm{NL}}^{\mathrm{loc}}\gtrsim 10$.

The mixing between the $f_2(1270)$, the $f_2^{\prime }(1525)$, and the $2^{++}$ glueball is determined and tested. The mass and the hadronic decay widths of two bodies of the $G_2$ are predicted. The search for the $G_2$ state in the radiative decay of the $J/\psi$ is discussed.