Cosmology with a TeV mass Higgs field breaking the grand-unified-theory gauge symmetry

The Constrained NMSSM with right-handed neutrinos

In this article, we demonstrate that the inclusion of right-handed neutrino superfields in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) makes it possible to impose universality conditions on the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters at the Grand Unification scale, alleviating many of the problems of the so-called Constrained NMSSM. We have studied the renormalization group equations of this model, showing that right-handed neutrinos greatly contribute to driving the singlet Higgs mass-squared parameter negative, which makes it considerably easier to satisfy the conditions for radiative electroweak symmetry breaking. The new fields also lead to larger values of the Standard Model Higgs mass, thus making it easier to reproduce the measured value. As a consequence, all bounds from colliders and low-energy observables can be fulfilled in wide areas of the parameter space. However, the relic density in these regions is generally too high requiring some form of late entropy production to dilute the density of the lightest supersymmetric particle.

Entropic chiral symmetry breaking in self-organized two-dimensional colloidal crystals

Long-range chiral symmetry breaking (CSB) has been recently observed in 2D self-organized rhombic crystals of hard, achiral, 72 degree rhombic microparticles. However, purely entropic selection of a CSB crystal in an idealized system of hard achiral shapes, in which attractions are entirely absent and the shape does not dictate a chiral tiling, has not yet been quantitatively predicted. Overcoming limitations of a purely rotational cage model, we investigate a translational-rotational cage model (TRCM) of dense systems of hard achiral rhombs and quantitatively demonstrate that entropy can spontaneously drive the preferential self-organization of a chiral crystal composed of achiral shapes that also tile into an achiral crystal. At different particle area fractions, ϕA, we calculate the number of accessible translational-rotational microstates, Ω, of a mobile central rhomb in a static cage of neighboring rhombs, which can have different orientation angles, γ, relative to the bisector of the crystalline axes. As we raise ϕA, two maxima emerge in Ω(γ) at non-zero cage orientation angles, ±γmax. These maxima correspond to additional translational microstates that become accessible in the CSB crystalline polymorph through reduced translational tip-tip interference. Thus, entropy, often associated with structural disorder, can drive CSB in condensed phase systems of non-attractive achiral objects that do not tile into chiral structures. The success of the TRCM in explaining the entropic origin of CSB in systems of hard rhombs indicates that the TRCM will have significant utility in predicting the self-organized behavior of dense systems of other hard shapes in 2D.

A little inflation in the early universe at the QCD phase transition

We explore a scenario that allows for a strong first order phase transition of QCD at a non-negligible baryon number in the early Universe and its possible observable consequences. The main assumption is a quasistable QCD-vacuum state that leads to a short period of inflation, consequently diluting the net baryon to photon ratio to today's observed value. A strong mechanism for baryogenesis is needed to start out with a baryon asymmetry of order unity, e.g., as provided by Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. The cosmological implications are direct effects on primordial density fluctuations up to dark matter mass scales of M{max}∼1-10M{⊙}, change in the spectral slope up to M{max}∼10{6}-10{8}M{⊙}, production of strong primordial magnetic fields and a gravitational wave spectrum with present day peak strain amplitude of up to h{c}(ν{peak})∼5×10{-15} around ν{peak}∼4×10{-8}  Hz.

Inflation, dark matter, and dark energy in the string landscape

We consider the conditions needed to unify the description of dark matter, dark energy, and inflation in the context of the string landscape. We find that incomplete decay of the inflaton field gives the possibility that a single field is responsible for all three phenomena. By contrast, unifying dark matter and dark energy into a single field, separate from the inflaton, appears rather difficult.