The Twin Higgs model seeks to address the little hierarchy problem by making the Higgs a pseudo-Goldstone of a global SU(4) symmetry that is spontaneously broken to SU(3). Gauge and Yukawa couplings, which explicitly break SU(4), enjoy a discrete Z 2 symmetry that accidentally maintains SU(4) at the quadratic level and therefore keeps the Higgs light. Contrary to most beyond the Standard Model theories, the quadratically divergent corrections to the Higgs mass are cancelled by a mirror sector, which is uncharged under the Standard Model groups. However, the Twin Higgs with an exact Z 2 symmetry leads to equal vevs in the Standard Model and mirror sectors, which is phenomenologically unviable. An explicit Z 2 breaking potential must then be introduced and tuned against the SU(4) breaking terms to produce a hierarchy of vevs between the two sectors. This leads to a moderate but non-negligible tuning. We propose a model to alleviate this tuning, without the need for an explicit Z 2 breaking sector. The model consists of two SU(4) fundamental Higgses, one whose vacuum preserves Z 2 and one whose vacuum breaks it. As the interactions between the two Higgses are turned on, the Z 2 breaking is transmitted from the broken to the unbroken sector and a small hierarchy of vevs is naturally produced. The presence of an effective tadpole and feedback between the two Higgses lead to a sizable improvement of the tuning. The resulting Higgs boson is naturally very Standard Model like.

We examine the parameter space of supersymmetric models with R-parity violating interactions of the form λ LQD c to explain the various anomalies observed in b → s transitions. To generate the appropriate operator in the low energy theory, we are led to a region of parameter space where loop contributions dominate. In particular, we concentrate on parameters for which diagrams involving winos, which have not been previously considered, give large contributions. Many different potentially constraining processes are analyzed, including τ → µµµ, B s −B s mixing, B → K ( * ) νν, Z decays to charged leptons, and direct LHC searches. We find that it is possible to explain the anomalies, but it requires large values of λ , which lead to relatively low Landau poles.

Models in which the Higgs sector is extended by a single electroweak scalar multiplet X can possess an accidental global U(1) symmetry at the renormalizable level if X has isospin T greater or equal to 2. We show that all such U(1)-symmetric models are excluded by the interplay of the cosmological relic density of the lightest (neutral) component of X and its direct detection cross section via Z exchange. The sole exception is the T=2 multiplet, whose lightest member decays on a few-day to few-year timescale via a Planck-suppressed dimension-5 operator.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. Additional constraints from Higgs decay, typos corrected in Eqs. 26 and A3, refs added, version accepted by PR

We study models in which the Higgs sector is extended by a single scalar electroweak multiplet Z with isospin T = 5/2 (sextet) or 7/2 (octet) and the same hypercharge as the Standard Model Higgs doublet, in which Z is odd under a global Z2 symmetry. This Z2 symmetry keeps the lightest (neutral) member of Z stable and has interesting implications for phenomenology. We determine the constraints on these models from precision electroweak measurements and Higgs boson decays to two photons. We compute the thermal relic density of the stable member of Z and show that, for masses below 1 TeV, it can make up at most 1% of the dark matter in the universe. We also show that current dark matter direct detection experiments do not constrain the models, but future ton-scale experiments will probe their parameter space.

Abstract:We study the phenomenology of a supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model with an R-symmetry under which R-charges correspond to the baryon number. This identification allows for the presence in the superpotential of the R-parity violating term λ U c D c D c without breaking baryon number, which loosens several bounds on this operator while changing considerably the phenomenology. However, the R-symmetry cannot remain exact as it is at least broken by anomaly mediation. Under these conditions, we investigate the constraints coming from baryon number violating processes and flavour physics and find that, in general, they are lessened. Additionally, we examine recent AT-LAS and CMS experimental searches and use these to place limits on the parameter space of the model. This is done for both stop production, which now features both pair and resonant production, and pair production of the first two generations of squarks. Finally, we study the implications this model has on baryogenesis. We find that successful baryogenesis can potentially be achieved, but only at the cost of breaking the R-symmetry by a significant amount.

Stringent experimental constraints have raised the lower limit on the masses of squarks to TeV levels, while compatibility with the mass of the Higgs boson provides an upper limit. This two-sided bound has lead to the emergence of Mini-Split theories where gauginos are not far removed from the electroweak scale while scalars are somewhat heavier. This small hierarchy modifies the spectrum of standard anomaly and gauge mediation, leading to Mini-Split deflected anomaly and gauge mediation models. In this paper, we study LHC constraints on these models and their prospects at LHC 14 and a 100 TeV collider. Current constraints on their parameter space come from ATLAS and CMS supersymmetry searches, the known mass of the Higgs boson, and the absence of a color-breaking vacuum. Prospects at LHC 14 and a 100 TeV collider are obtained from these same theoretical constraints in conjunction with background estimates. As would be expected from renormalization group effects, a slightly lighter third generation of squarks is assumed. Higgsinos have masses similar to those of the scalars and are at the origin of the deflection.

We consider an interesting scenario, based on the existence of a mirror world, in which light Dirac neutrinos are generated from a seesaw mechanism and leptogenesis occurs at high scale without violating lepton number. Since lepton number is conserved, this model predicts no neutrinoless double beta decay. After leptogenesis, the conservation law of the theory implies the visible baryon-minus-lepton asymmetry to be equal to the mirror baryonminus-lepton asymmetry. The final baryon and mirror baryon asymmetries, however, will be related by an order one coefficient, which depends on the details of the model. In addition, we derive the full set of Boltzmann equations. This allows us to study the effects induced by Z 2 symmetry breaking terms and by lepton flavor. These effects can amount to a few orders of magnitude compared to the Z 2 symmetric and unflavored scenarios. Finally, if dark matter consists of mirror baryons, this can naturally explain the proximity of baryon and dark matter energy densities.

As part of a research team on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Initiative to Develop and Test Guidelines for Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts, WestEd conducted a policy and practice scan (also called an "environmental scan") to provide data on a small sample of local Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts (JDTCs) in the United States. This article is a synthesis of the information collected from 25 JDTCs on their current operations. The article first reviews key literature on JDTCs, followed by a description of the methodology used in this policy and practice scan. Then, the article presents findings about history, funding sources, partnerships, structures and operations, treatment options, challenges, and successes. We found little systematic performance evaluation or long‐term sustainability planning among the participating JDTCs. Finally, the article discusses the limitations of this study, implications for the new version of the JDTC guidelines, and practical recommendations for stakeholders in this field.