Theoretical Issues in Astro Particle Physics

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Theoretical Issues in Astro Particle Physics
J.W. van Holten April 26, 2004
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The solar system is made from quarks (baryons)
and leptons, interacting via weak,
electro-magnetic and strong color forces.
This are the only forms of matter we have been
able to create in accelerators at energies up 1
TeV
The dominant contribution to the mass of the
universe apparently comes from other forms of
matter.
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Neutrino masses
See-saw mechanism large Majorana mass-scale M
Higss-induced Dirac masses m generates large
neutrino hierarchy
( )
0 m m M
2
2
m ½M ½?(M 4 m ) M or m /M m

m
_
2
M
6-8
2
-3
2
with M 10 GeV ?m 10 eV
(Superkamiokande, SNO)
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Accelerator physics
Extrapolation of running gauge couplings of
standard model
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M 10 GeV
GUT
Extrapolation of gauge couplings in the MSSM with
TeV-scale supersymmetry breaking
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Supersymmetry and MSSM

• All gauge and Higgs bosons have spin-1/2
  partners
• All quarks and leptons have spin-0 partners
• The known MSM particles are distinguished from
  their
• superpartners by a new quantum number
  R-parity
• R-parity conservation a lightest superpartner
  stable
• LSP candidate
• neutralino ? partner of photon / Z-boson /
  Higgs boson
• gravitino ? partner of graviton

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• Neutrino masses, mixing and oscillations
• dark matter ? supersymmetry / LSP
• UHE cosmics -gt GUTs, relics, black holes
• compact objects -gt new types/phases of bulk
  matter
• dark energy -gt inflation, cosmic scalars
• quantum gravity -gt black holes, big bang

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Rotational velocities of stars in galaxies

deviation from Kepler motion
Dark matter
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WMAP survey of Cosmic Microwave Background
flat universe 5 baryonic matter 25
non-baryonic matter 70 dark energy
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Neutralinos have standard weak interactions
? p cross-sections 10 pb lt s lt 10 pb
for 100 GeV lt m lt 400 GeV (Ellis et al.,
2003) can accumulate in compact objects
(stars, planets) can annihilate to produce
neutrinos
-11
-7
?
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New phases of matter

• QCD changes collective behaviour of quarks and
  gluons at high temperature and/or density
• deconfinement quarks become free
• chiral symmetry restoration quarks become
  massless
• color superconductivity
• BCS-type quark pairing
• massive gluons

(M. Alford)
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New phases of matter
Heavy-ion colliders QGP, color glass
condensate compact cosmic objects neutron
stars, strange stars, quark stars (?)
neutron matter, strange matter, color
superconductivity reflected in
equation of state (mass-radius relation)

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Cosmic accelerators
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Highest-energy cosmics E 3 x 10 eV On
collision with an oxygen nucleus
?s 3 x 10 GeV

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Accelerating mechanism? Travel through
intergalactic space? GKZ cut-off
Dynamics of interaction quark-gluon
plasma?
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HiSPARC Nijmegen (NAHSA) has recorded the
highest-energy event ever observed in the
Netherlands 0.3 J / nucleon
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Compact and hot early universe window on
ultra-short distance physics unification of
gauge interactions long-range scalar fields
(inflation, quintessence) quantum gravity,
gravitational waves
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Neutrinos

• solar neutrinos
• atmospheric neutrinos from cosmics interactions
• background neutrinos
• high-energy cosmic neutrinos