Physics Beyond the Standard Models of Particles, Cosmology and Astrophysics

The following sections are included:

• Preface

• Contents

In this lecture, I will describe some recent work on the application of lattice-based simulations to strongly coupled gauge theories that might play a role in describing physics beyond the standard model. I will first discuss the exploration of conformal and near-conformal behavior in these theories employing a definition of the running coupling derived from the Schroedinger functional of the theory. I will then review some recent work on the chiral properties of gauge theories as the fermion number is adjusted to approach the critical value at which infrared conformal behavior replaces confinement and chiral symmetry breaking.

We review the capability of the CMS experiment to address the experimental searches for New Heavy Quarks at the LHC. In particular, we concentrate on the first year(s) of LHC operations, since new physics at the TeV scale may manifest itself even in modest data samples of the order of a few hundreds pb^-1. A few example searches for New Heavy Quarks are discussed, with emphasis on processes characterized by clean final states with electrons and muons.

As the LHC provided its first collisions at the energy of 7 TeV in the centre of mass in early spring 2010 and is expected to deliver an integrated luminosity of 1 fb^-1 per experiment over the years 2010 and 2011, the physics discovery prospects for the first few 100 pb^-1 (typically what is expected in 2010) are reviewed, following detailed simulation studies with the ATLAS detector. The status of the detector for the first collisions is also presented.

Supersymmetric (SUSY) models with R-parity conservation provide a perfect candidate for Dark Matter searches, The Lightest Supersymmetric Particle or LSP, will be actively searched for with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Several SUSY scenarios have been tested and simulation-based results with the first few fb-1 of ATLAS data are presented. Extension of the ATLAS discovery reach to Dark Matter searches show that such measurements can be used to constraint the underlying SUSY LSP scenarios and extract Dark Matter properties.

A set of key measurements of B decays which have the potential to uncover New Physics at the LHC is discussed. Together with the general purpose detectors ATLAS and CMS, the LHCb detector, which is devoted to B physics, can study these effects precisely. Due to the large cross section at 14 TeV, LHCb has access to 10¹² B meson decays per year. This allows significant measurements of even very rare B decays and, in particular, the precision study of the B system.

We consider the possibility of getting relatively light long-lived supersymmetric particles within the framework of the MSSM with gravity mediated SUSY breaking. It is shown that for the particular choice of parameters this possibility can be realized in the co-annihilation region with light staus, in the region with large negative trilinear scalar coupling A distinguished by light stops, and in the focus-point region where light charginos may be long-lived. It requires the fine-tuning of parameters, however the situation can take place in the constrained MSSM along the border LSP–NLSP lines. The phenomenology of the long-lived superparticles at the LHC is discussed.

Baryon and charge transport in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are investigated within a nonequilibrium-statistical Relativistic Diffusion Model (RDM), and using a QCD-based gluon saturation model. The theoretical results are compared with Pb + Pb data at SPS, and Au + Au data at RHIC energies. Predictions are made for charged-hadron, net-baryon and net-kaon rapidity distributions in central Pb + Pb collisions at CERN LHC energies of up to both at forward rapidities, and in the central rapidity region where data will soon be available.

An accelerator complex that can produce ultra-intense beams of muons presents many opportunities to explore new physics. This facility is unique in that it can present a physics program that can be staged and thus move forward incrementally, addressing exciting new physics at each step. An intense cooled low-energy muon source can be used to perform extraordinarily precise lepton flavor violating experiments and these same muons can be accelerated to be used in a Neutrino Factory or energy-frontier Muon Collider. In this paper I will give an introduction to muon accelerator facilities and their physics capabilities and then will discuss some of the limiting technologies that must be developed in order to make these concepts a reality.

We investigate a possibility of precision measurements for parameters of the Littlest Higgs model with T-parity at the International Linear Collider (ILC). The model predicts new gauge bosons (A_H, Z_H, and W_H), among which the heavy photon (A_H) is a candidate for dark matter. The masses of these new gauge bosons strongly depend on the vacuum expectation value that breaks a global symmetry of the model. Through Monte Carlo simulations of the processes: e⁺e^- → A_HZ_H and , we show how precisely the masses can be determined at the ILC for a representative parameter point of the model. We also discuss the determination of the Little Higgs parameters and its impact on the future measurement of the thermal abundance of the dark matter relics in our universe.

Recent developments in accelerator physics and superconducting magnet technology make it reasonable to design a hadron collider with 90 TeV collision energy and > 10³⁵cm^-2s^-1 to be located in the existing SSC tunnel. We present a conceptual design for Petavac, a 100 TeV collider in which a ring of double-bore 15 T magnets is located in the SSC tunnel. We discuss the physics reach of Petavac, in which boson-boson collisions should dominate for production of new gauge phenomena. We discuss ways to control synchrotron radiation, electron cloud effect, and beam-beam interactions

In thorium-cycle fission, fast neutrons are used to transmute thorium to fissionable ²³³U and then stimulate fission. In accelerator-driven thorium-cycle fission (ADTC) the fast neutrons are produced by injecting a symmetric pattern of 7 energetic proton beams into a Pb spallation zone in the core. The fast neutrons are adiabatically moderated by the Pb so that they capture efficiently on ²³²Th, and fission heat is transferred via a convective Pb column above the core. The 7 proton beams are generated by a flux-coupled stack of isochronous cyclotrons. ADTC offers a green solution to the Earth's energy needs: the core operates as a sub-critical pile and cannot melt down; it eats its own long-lived fission products; a GW ADTC core can operate with uniform power density for a 7-year fuel cycle without shuffling fuel pins, and there are sufficient thorium reserves to run man's energy needs for the next 2000 years.

In this talk I review recent issues in leptogenesis which are relevant for the correct quantitative calculation of the final baryon asymmetry of the Universe, focusing on diverse lepton flavour effects. I also briefly present a new model for leptogenesis based on color octets, whose main motivation is its testability at the LHC.

In this paper, we explore the possibility of lepton number creation in the early universe via the effective electromagnetic dipole couplings which link the ordinary light neutrinos to their postulated heavy counterparts. Since the presence of these operators can provide an alternative way for the heavy neutrinos to decay, new sources of L and CP violation can be expected. It has been found that there exists a parameter space where leptogenesis of this type can give rise to the required cosmic baryon asymmetry, and that the resulting relationship between the scales of leptogenesis and light neutrino masses is very much akin to the situation as seen in the standard Yukawa-mediated version.

We calculate the decay rate of the lightest heavy Majorana neutrino in a thermal bath using finite temperature cutting rules and effective Green's functions according to the hard thermal loop resummation technique. Compared to the usual approach where thermal masses are inserted into the kinematics of final states, we find that deviations arise through two different leptonic dispersion relations. The decay rate differs from the usual approach by more than one order of magnitude in the temperature range which is interesting for the weak washout regime. This work summarizes the results of Ref. 1, to which we refer the interested reader.

Anomaly cancellation between different sectors of a theory may mediate new interactions between gauge bosons. Such interactions lead to observable effects both at precision laboratory experiments and at accelerators. Such experiments may reveal the presence of hidden sectors or hidden extra dimensions.

There are three cosmological constant problems in particle physics. Here, I discuss Hawking's idea of calculating the probability amplitude for our Universe to be at and the initial inflationary period in a self-tuning model. I review what has been discussed on the Hawking type calculation with H² Lagrangian, present a (probably) correct way to calculate the amplitude, and show that the Kim-Kyae-Lee self-tuning model allows a finite range of parameters for the to have a singularly large probability.

While there exists a large multitude of inflationary models, the connection of inflation to particle physics is still an unsolved puzzle. In particular, in supergravity theories, where the so-called η-problem tends to spoil slow-roll inflation, the construction of convincing and technically natural models of inflation is challenging. We discuss some recent developments regarding the quest for particle physics models of inflation in supergravity. One such development is provided by a new class of inflationary models, referred to as "tribrid inflation", which is taylor-made for solving the η-problem by shift symmetry or Heisenberg symmetry. Based on this approach, it has recently been shown that inflation can be consistently realised with a gauge non-singlet inflaton field (residing e.g. in a GUT representation), with, simultaneously, the η-problem solved by a Heisenberg symmetry.

We show that, by using amplitude-based resummation techniques for Feynman's formulation of Einstein's theory, we get quantum field theoretic 'first principles' predictions for the UV fixed-point values of the dimensionless gravitational and cosmological constants. We discuss our results in the framework of the phenomenological asymptotic safety analysis of Planck scale cosmology by Bonanno and Reuter.

Several refinements are made in a theory which starts with a Planck-scale statistical picture and ends with supersymmetry and a coupling of fundamental fermions and bosons to SO(N) gauge fields. In particular, more satisfactory treatments are given for (1) the transformation from the initial Euclidean form of the path integral for fermionic fields to the usual Lorentzian form, (2) the corresponding transformation for bosonic fields (which is much less straightforward), (3) the transformation from an initial primitive supersymmetry to the final standard form (containing, e.g., scalar sfermions and their auxiliary fields), (4) the initial statistical picture, and (5) the transformation to an action which is invariant under general coordinate transformations.

Lepton flavor violation (LFV) is studied in the framework of supersymmetric type I seesaw models. Imposing the constraints from neutrino data and present bounds on charged lepton flavor violation I discuss in particular the prospects of searching for LFV at the LHC and ILC.

We argue that there may be no intermediate particle physics energy scale between the Planck mass M_Pl ~ 10¹⁹ GeV and the electroweak scale M_W ~ 100 GeV. At the same time, the number of problems of the Standard Model (neutrino masses and oscillations, dark matter, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, strong CP-problem, gauge coupling unification, inflation) could find their solution at M_Pl or M_W.

Neutrinoless nuclear double 0νββ decay, recently experimentally observed for ⁷⁶Ge on a confidence level of > 6 σ, has fundamental consequences for particle physics - violation of (total) lepton number, Majorana nature of the neutrino. It further leads to sharp restrictions for SUSY theories, sneutrino mass, right-handed W-boson mass, superheavy neutrino masses, compositeness, leptogenesis, violation of Lorentz violation and equivalence principle in the neutrino sector.

The masses of light neutrinos follow to be degenerate, and to be at least 0.22 ± 0.02 eV. This fixed the contribution of neutrinos as hot dark matter to ≥ 4.7% of the total observed dark matter. The neutrino mass determined might also solve the dark energy puzzle.

The observation of 0νββ decay is naturally a great challenge for future experiments, in particular also with other 0νββ - emitter isotopes. There are several important experiments under construction. Present experiments have hardly a chance to reach the sensitivity required for confirmation - although sometimes this impression is given (e.g. by unproperly comparing 1.5 σ limits (of CUORICINO etc.) with the 6σ result obtained for ⁷⁶Ge.

LUCIFER (Low-background Underground Cryogenic Installation For Elusive Rates) is a new project for the study of neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, based on the technology of the scintillating bolometers. These devices promise a very efficient rejection of the a background, opening the way to a virtually background-free experiment if candidates with a transition energy higher than 2615 keV are investigated. The baseline candidate for LUCIFER is ⁸²Se. This isotope will be embedded in ZnSe crystals grown with enriched selenium and operated as scintillating bolometers in a low-radioactivity underground dilution refrigerator. In this paper, the LUCIFER concept will be introduced and the sensitivity and the prospects related to this project will be discussed.

KATRIN is a direct neutrino mass experiment with sub-eV sensitivity for neutrino masses from tritium β decay. It is currently set up at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, and combines a high luminosity windowless molecular tritium gas source with a high resolution electrostatic retarding spectrometer (MAC-E Filter) to investigate the β decay spectrum near the endpoint E₀ with very high precision. It will improve the neutrino mass sensitivity by one order of magnitude down to 0.2 eV, sufficient to cover the degenerate neutrino mass scenarios and the cosmologically relevant neutrino mass range.

Neutrinoless double electron capture (0νECEC) of atomic nuclei has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its potential in accessing the absolute mass scale of the neutrino. In particular, the resonant 0νECEC is interesting based on the possible huge enhancement of the corresponding decay rate by a resonance condition. Recently the mass differences of two atom pairs were measured in order to study the enhancement of the 0νECEC rates of ⁷⁴Se and ¹¹²Sn. We have evaluated the associated nuclear matrix elements by using the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation with realistic two-body interactions. The absolute mass scale of the neutrino can also be accessed through beta decays of small decay energy. Related to this we have also studied the recently discovered rare ultra-low-Q-value beta-decay branch of ¹¹⁵In by using microscopic phonon-quasiparticle coupling schemes. Our calculations suggest that the effects of atomic origin may introduce non-negligible, even dramatic effects on this and other decays with a Q value in this extreme regime of only hundreds of eV.

If we are to understand the basic nature of the Universe in which we live, we must to understand and observe relic neutrinos. A possibility of direct detection of relic neutrinos within the KATRIN and MARE experiments is discussed. Further, theoretical questions associated with fundamental properties of neutrinos are addressed in the context of single and double beta decays. The subject of interest are nature of neutrinos (Dirac or Majorana) and the absolute mass scale of neutrinos.

TeO₂ bolometric detectors have shown to be a promizing technique for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (ββ(0ν)) research. With an analyzed statistics of ~18.14 kg ¹³⁰Te × years the CUORICINO experiment has reached a limit on ¹³⁰Te half life for this decay of 2.94×10²⁴ years (90% C.L.). After an intense R&D aimed to background reduction, the next generation CUORE experiment is presently under construcion and foreseen to take data in 2013. Its sensitivity on the electron neutrino Majorana mass 〈m_ee〉 is expected to probe the Inverted Hierarchy Region (IHR) of the neutrino mass spectrum.

Four is the maximum number of texture zeros allowed in the Yukawa coupling matrix of three massive neutrinos. These completely fix the high scale CP violation needed for leptogenesis in terms of that accessible at laboratory energies. μτ symmetry drastically reduces such allowed textures. Only one form of the light neutrinos mass matrix survives comfortably while another is marginally allowed.

Sensitivity of a neutrino factory to various mixing angles in a scheme with one sterile neutrino is studied using ν_e → ν_μ, ν_μ → ν_μ, ν_e → ν_τ and ν_μ → ν_τ. While the "discovery-channel" ν_μ,→ ν_μ is neither useful in the standard three flavor scheme nor very powerful in the sensitivity study of sterile neutrino mixings, this channel is important to check unitarity and to probe the new CP phase in the scheme beyond the standard neutrino mixing framework.

The discovery of neutrino oscillations is a direct indication of physics beyond the Standard Model. The so-called atmospheric and solar sectors have been explored by several experiments, meanwhile the mixing angle θ₁₃ connecting both sectors remains unknown. In contrast to accelerator experiments, reactor neutrinos arise as a clean probe to search for a non-vanishing value of this angle. A new generation of multi-detector reactor experiments, starting operation by 2010-2011, aims at achieving sensitivities to sin²(2θ₁₃) down to 0.01. This will allow for the exploration of the first hints pointing to a non-zero value of θ₁₃, provided by global fits of available neutrino data.

The goal of the Double Chooz reactor experiment is the measurement of the θ₁₃ neutrino mixing angle using two identical detectors at two different distances. Now the construction of the far detector is in the final stage and the data taking will be started soon. The near detector is expected to be started 2 years later. After 3 years of operation, the sensitivity on sin²2θ₁₃ will be 0.03. The paper presents the overview, the status and the prospects of the experiment.

We overview the status of the studies on neutrino oscillations with accelerators at the present running experiments. Past and present results enlighten the path towards the observation of massive neutrinos and the settling of their oscillations. The very near future may still have addiction from the outcome of the on-going experiments. OPERA is chosen as a relevant example justified by the very recent results released.

The current status and near term physics goals of the T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment are presented. Recently, T2K completed the construction of the neutrino beam line and of the near detectors including the upgrade of the Super-Kamiokande far detector. The first physics run started in January 2010. Goals for this first physics run are also discussed.

Attempts to detect high energy neutrinos originating in violent Galactic or Extragalactic processes have been carried out for many years, both using the polar-cap ice and the sea as a target/detection medium. The first large detector built and operated for several years has been the AMANDA Ĉerenkov array, installed under about two km of ice at the South Pole. More recently a much larger detector, ICECUBE is being installed at the same location. Attempts by several groups to install similar arrays under large sea depths have been carried out following the original pioneering attempts by the DUMAND collaboration, initiated in 1990 and terminated only six years later. ANTARES has been so far the only experiment installed at large sea depths and successfully operated for several years. This report will provide a short review of the expected ν sources, of the detector characteristics, the installation operations performed, the data collected and the first results obtained.

Till very recent the real-time solar neutrino experiments were detecting the tiny fraction of about 0.01% of the total neutrino flux above some MeV energy, the sub-MeV region remained explored only by radiochemical experiments without spectroscopical capabilities. The Borexino experiment, an unsegmented large volume liquid scintillator detector located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in central Italy, is at present the only experiment in the world acquiring the real-time solar neutrino data in the low-energy region, via the elastic scattering on electrons in the target mass. The data taking campaign started in 2007 and rapidly lead to the first independent measurement of the mono-cromatic line of ⁷Be of the solar neutrino spectrum at 862keV, which is of special interest because of the very loose limits coming from existing experiments. The latest measurement, after 41.3t · yr of exposure, is (49 ± 3_stat ± 4_syst)c/(day · 100t) and leaves the hypothesis of no oscillation inconsistent with data at 4σ level. It also represents the first direct measurement of the survival probability for solar in the vacuum-dominates oscillation regime. Recently Borexino was also able to measure of the ⁸B solar neutrinos interaction rate down to the threshold energy of 3 MeV, the lowest achieved so far. The inferred electron neutrino flux is . The corresponding mean electron neutrino survival probability, is at the effective energy of 8.9 MeV. Both measurements are in good agreement with other existing measurements and with predictions from the SSM in the hypothesis of MSW-LMA oscillation scenario. For the first time, thanks to the unprecedented radio-purity of the Borexino target and construction materials, we confirm with a single detector, the presence of a transition between the low energy vacuum-dominated and the high-energy matter-enhanced solar neutrino oscillations. A further confirmations of the LMA scenario is provided by the absence of a day-night asymmetry in the ⁷Be signal. These experimental results allow to improve the knowledge of the pp neutrino flux, to place an upper limit on the CNO flux and also to explore non standard neutrino properties, improving the upper limit on the neutrino effective magnetic moment. Calibration campaigns aiming to reduce the systematical errors on fiducial volume definition and detector energy response have been performed and data analysis is presently in progress. Borexino has also recently observed antineutrinos from the Earth, for the first time at more the 3σ C.L. and has measured a rate of events/(100ton-yr) at 68.3%(99.73%) C.L. Borexino is also a powerful supernova neutrino detector. Future prospects of the experiment include reducing the systematic error on the ⁷Be flux to below 5% and direct measurement of additional solar neutrino emissions such as pep, CNO and possibly pp.

The IceCube Observatory is a kilometer-cube neutrino telescope under construction at the South Pole and planned to be completed in early 2011. When completed it will consist of 4,800 Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) which detect Cherenkov radiation from the charged particles produced in neutrino interactions and by cosmic ray initiated atmospheric showers. IceCube construction is currently 90% complete. A selection of the most recent scientific results are shown here. The measurement of the anisotropy in arrival direction of galactic cosmic rays will also be presented and discussed.

I discuss a framework for the construction of codimension-1 domain-wall brane models. Various dynamical mechanisms are invoked to localize 3+1-dimensional scalars, fermions, gauge bosons and gravitons. These pieces of the puzzle are then assembled into an explicit model that may reproduce the standard model as the effective 3 + 1-dimensional theory for the dynamically-localized fields. I discuss how the fermion mass hierarchy problem can be addressed in this model through the fact that the fermions and the scalars are automatically split along the extra dimension. Quark and lepton masses that are much smaller than the electroweak scale are obtained in a natural way due to small overlap integrals for their extra-dimensional profile functions.

The MEG experiment aims at testing the lepton-flavour symmetry, present in the Standard Model, by searching for the μ⁺ → e⁺γ decay with a sensitivity of a few × 10^-13, two orders of magnitude better than the present experimental limit. Novel detectors were developed for this measurement as well as multiple and redundant calibrations which are mandatory to constantly monitor the performance and possible drifts in the apparatus. The experiment had a start-up physics run in the last three months of 2008 at reduced acceptance. From the analysis of the first data a limit on the branching ratio of BR(μ⁺ → e⁺γ) < 2.8 × 10^-11 was obtained, which is about a factor of two larger than the present experimental limit set by the previous experiment. The experiment finished a second short run in 2009 and is scheduled to take data in 2010 and 2011 to reach its full sensitivity.

The searches for classical Magnetic Monopoles (MMs) at accelerators, for GUT Super-heavy MMs in the penetrating cosmic radiation and for Intermediate Mass MMs at high altitudes are discussed. The status of the search for other massive exotic particles such as nuclearites and Q-balls is briefly reviewed.

Quantum tunneling in Reissner–Nordström geometry is studied and the tunneling rate is determined. A possible scenario for cosmic inflation, followed by reheating phases and subsequent radiation-domination expansion, is proposed.

The infrared sector of QCD contains all the necessary ingredients, once laid onto a time-dependent, curved background, to cater for the much needed cosmological vacuum energy. This is achieved through the fields that describe the impact of the long-range interactions of QCD, the Veneziano ghost and its dipolar partner. Although technically extremely challenging, the physics is well understood and the estimated dark energy density is of the correct order of magnitude. A further tantalising application of this proposal is the ability of generating cosmological magnetic fields via a Standard Model anomalous coupling between the ghost and photons. As a spin-off it is possible to show that the QCD vacuum possesses a Casimir-like energy density if enclosed in a non-trivial compact manifold.

I consider some of the issues we face in trying to understand dark energy. Huge fluctuations in the unknown dark energy equation of state can be hidden in distance data, so I argue that model-independent tests which signal if the cosmological constant is wrong are valuable. These can be constructed to remove degeneracies with the cosmological parameters. Gravitational effects can play an important role. Even small inhomogeneity clouds our ability to say something definite about dark energy. I discuss how the averaging problem confuses our potential understanding of dark energy by considering the backreaction from density perturbations to second-order in the concordance model: this effect leads to at least a 10% increase in the dynamical value of the deceleration parameter, and could be significantly higher. Large Hubble-scale inhomogeneity has not been investigated in detail, and could conceivably be the cause of apparent cosmic acceleration. I discuss void models which defy the Copernican principle in our Hubble patch, and describe how we can potentially rule out these models.

We consider the possibility that a simple system consisting of one species of Majorana fermion with a vacuum mass, m₀, interacting with a scalar field of mass, m_ζ, can be the source of repulsion in the Friedmann equation, leading to acceleration of the expansion of the Universe at particular epochs. We assume a very cold system, approximated by a degenerate Fermi gas. We examine numerical results appropriate to parameter ranges that would allow active neutrinos as candidate fermions, and show that this is an unlikely result. We then extend the parameter ranges to include the possibility that the fermion in question is the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle or a much lighter possible sterile neutrino and show that these possibilities survive.

Nonextensive statistics along with network science, an emerging branch of graph theory, are increasingly recognized as potential interdisciplinary frameworks whenever systems are subject to long-range interactions and memory. Such settings are characterized by non-local interactions evolving in a non-Euclidean fractal/multi-fractal space-time making their behavior nonextensive. After summarizing the theoretical foundations from first principles, along with a discussion of entropy bifurcation and duality in nonextensive systems, we focus on selected significant astrophysical consequences. Those include the gravitational equilibria of dark matter (DM) and hot gas in clustered structures, the dark energy(DE) negative pressure landscape governed by the highest degree of mutual correlations and the hierarchy of discrete cosmic structure scales, available upon extremizing the generalized nonextensive link entropy in a homogeneous growing network.

The case for a four-dimensional graviton mass (non zero) influencing reacceleration of the universe in both four and five dimensions is stated, with particular emphasis on the question whether 4D and 5D geometries as given here yield new physical insight as to cosmological evolution. Both cases give equivalent reacceleration one billion years ago, which leads to the question whether other criteria can determine the relative benefits of adding additional dimensions to cosmology models.

In this talk, we compute fluxes of neutrinos from Kaluza–Klein dark matter annihilations in the Sun based on cross-sections from both five- and six-dimensional models. For our numerical calculations, we use WimpSim and DarkSUSY. In addition, we compare our results with the ones derived earlier in the literature.

We consider a model of dark energy/matter unification based on a k-essence type of theory similar to tachyon condensate models. Using an extension of the general relativistic spherical model which incorporates the effects of both pressure and the acoustic horizon we show that an initially perturbative k-essence fluid evolves into a mixed system containing cold dark matter like gravitational condensate in significant quantities.

The latest results from DAMA/LIBRA, running at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the I.N.F.N., are presented. The cumulative exposure with those previously released by the former DAMA/NaI and by DAMA/LIBRA is 1.17 ton × yr, corresponding to 13 annual cycles. The data further confirm the model independent evidence of the presence of Dark Matter (DM) particles in the galactic halo on the basis of the DM annual modulation signature (8.9 σ C.L. for the cumulative exposure). The obtained results are summarized and the update of some of the many possible corollary model dependent quest for the candidate particle are given.

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS-II) experiment, at Soudan Underground Laboratory, used germanium low-temperature particle detectors to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), characterized by elastic nuclear scattering. We report results from the analysis of final data taken with the CDMS-II apparatus. Two events were observed in the signal region. Based on our background estimate, the probability of observing two or more background events is 23%. Combined with previous CDMS-II data, this results in an upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent interaction cross-section of 3.8×10^-44 cm² at 90% CL for a 70 GeV/c² WIMP. CDMS-II ended operations in March 2009, to be upgraded to SuperCDMS with detectors that are 2.5 times more massive and have improved background rejection. The first set of such detectors has been deployed at Soudan and is taking data.

The current goals of the TEXONO research program are on the development of germanium detectors with sub-keV sensitivities to realize experiments on neutrino magnetic moments, neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering, as well as WIMP dark matter searches. An energy threshold of 220 eV was achieved with a four-channel ultra-low-energy germanium prototype detector each with an active mass of 5 g at the Kuo-Sheng Neutrino Laboratory. New limits were placed for the couplings of low-mass WIMPs with matter with a ultra-low-energy germanium prototype detector. Data are being taken with a 500 g Point Contact Germanium detector, where a threshold of ~350 eV was demonstrated. The dark matter program will evolve into a dedicated experiment at an underground laboratory under construction in Sichuan, China.

The Approach unifying spin and charges,^1–3,5 assuming that all the internal degrees of freedom—the spin, all the charges and the families—originate in d > (1 + 3) in only two kinds of spins (the Dirac one and the only one existing beside the Dirac one and anticommuting with the Dirac one), is offering a new way in understanding the appearance of the families and the charges (in the case of charges the similarity with the Kaluza-Klein-like theories must be emphasized). A simple starting action in d > (1 + 3) for gauge fields (the vielbeins and the two kinds of the spin connections) and a spinor (which carries only two kinds of spins and interacts with the corresponding gauge fields) manifests after particular breaks of the starting symmetry the massless four (rather than three) families with the properties as assumed by the Standard model for the three known families, and the additional four massive families. The lowest of these additional four families is stable. A part of the starting action contributes, together with the vielbeins, in the break of the electroweak symmetry manifesting in d = (1+3) the Yukawa couplings (determining the mixing matrices and the masses of the lower four families of fermions and influencing the properties of the higher four families) and the scalar field, which determines the masses of the gauge fields. The fourth family might be seen at the LHC, while the stable fifth family might be what is observed as the dark matter.

Annihilations of WIMPs can occur in high density regions of our Galaxy such as the Galactic Centre, dwarf galaxies and other types of substructures in Galactic haloes. High energy gamma-rays can be produced and may be detected by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). After a short overview of observations with current IACTs, basic principles of indirect detection through gamma-rays are given. Selected results on targeted searches such as satellites galaxies of the Milky Way are shown. In the absence of a clear signal, modelling the dark matter halo profile of these objects allows to put constraints on the particle physics parameters such as the annihilation cross section and the mass of the dark matter particle in the framework of models beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Besides theses searches are wide-field survey searches for DM substructures in the Galactic halo. The case for dark matter spikes around intermediate mass black holes will be discussed. Finally, the next generation of IACTs is presented.

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid air shower experiment which uses multiple detection techniques to investigate the origin, spectrum, and composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We present recent results on these topics as well as their implications for physics beyond the Standard Model, such as violation of Lorentz invariance and "top-down" models of cosmic ray production. Future plans, including enhancements underway at the southern site, are also discussed.

Molecular clouds interact with the ambient cosmic rays. The decay of secondary particles may give rise to a detectable flux of very high-energy photons. Recently the H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS telescopes have observed such sources associated with large molecular clouds and shell-type supernova remnants. Emission lines of OH masers are also observed in coincidence. This ensures that the expanding wave front of the supernova interacts effectively with the cloud. Such natural configurations bring new material to confront with the hypothesis that supernova remnants are the Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators.

We describe the approach towards a systematic observation of such associations, present the current data and review the prospects of these studies for answering the question of the origin of the Galactic cosmic rays.

In this proceeding, we outline a test for the dark matter (DM) interpretation of the positron excess observed by the PAMELA cosmic-ray (CR) detector. It involves the identification of a Galactic diffuse gamma-ray component induced by DM at intermediate latitudes. The diffuse emission at mid-latitudes is a probe of the CR population in the nearby region, where (most likely) the positron source responsible for the excess is located. A different spatial distribution for the DM-induced component (having an extended profile) with respect to the astrophysical contribution (with sources confined within the stellar disc), make the disentanglement between these two interpretations viable. We show that, in general, the gamma-ray emission induced by PAMELA DM leads to a signature detectable in the forthcoming data of the Fermi Telescope at energies above 100 GeV and |b| ≥ 10°. An observational result in agreement with the prediction from standard CR components only would imply very strong constraints on the DM interpretation of the PAMELA excess.

We propose the minimal supersymmetric decaying dark matter model in which energetic decay products of dark matter explain excess of electron/positron cosmic-ray recently observed by PAMELA and Fermi-LAT. The decay process of the dark matter is mediated by superheavy charged lepton singlet E^c + E which can be incorporated naturally in the flipped-SU(5) grand unified theory. It fits well with observed electron/positron cosmic-ray excess as well as non-observation of anti-proton cosmic-ray flux.

Following the extraordinarily successful Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in May of 2009, the Observatory is now fully equipped with a broad array of powerful science instruments that put it at the pinnacle of its scientific power. Relevant to the subject matter of the Beyond 2010 Conference, HST will be well-placed over the next five-plus years to advance our knowledge of the formation of high-redshift galaxies and their growth with cosmic time; the emergence of structure in the early universe via Dark Matter-driven gravitational instability; and the universe's expansion history and any resulting implications for the temporal character of Dark Energy. These are fitting projects for the iconic facility now celebrating its 20th anniversary in orbit.

A physicist dealing with an archaeological object remains a physicist. Any interpretation or working hypothesis concerning this object must comply with the laws of statistics or tolerances of manufacture. It is shown that the Nebra Disk (about 1600 BC) and the much older Goseck circular enclosure (about 4800 BC) represent approximately the same level of astronomical knowledge.

This contribution conveys the power of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to measure ultra-low traces of long-lived radionuclides in two highly divers fields: Astrophysics and molecular biology. Our search for nuclides of superheavy elements (SHE) in several natural materials did not confirm the claims of positive evidence for SHEs reported by the group of Amnon Marinov from Jerusalem, even though the sensitivity of our AMS measurements were several orders of magnitude higher. We also report on the investigation by the group of Kirsty Spalding from Stockholm to date human DNA with the ¹⁴C bomb peak. This allows one to determine retrospectively the birth date of cells in sections of the human body. Ongoing efforts to miniaturize carbon samples down to the level of 10 μg C for AMS measurements will allow one to venture into ever smaller subsections of the human brain.

Experimental data from unpolarized and polarized neutron beta -decay yield accurate values for the basic parameters of the P-violating T-conserving charged current weak interaction, thereby posing a potentially stringent unitarity test of the CKM quark mixing matrix. Experimental studies of the radiative (BR ~3.10^-3) and two-body (BR ~ 4.10^-6) decay branches are currently in progress.

This paper gives a brief overview of the present and expected future limits on physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) from neutron beta decay, which is described by two parameters only within the SM. Since more than two observables are accessible, the problem is over-determined. Thus, precise measurements of correlations in neutron decay can be used to study the SM as well to search for evidence of possible extensions to it. Of particular interest in this context are the search for right-handed currents or for scalar and tensor interactions. Precision measurements of neutron decay observables address important open questions of particle physics and cosmology, and are generally complementary to direct searches for new physics beyond the SM in high-energy physics. Free neutron decay is therefore a very active field, with a number of new measurements underway worldwide. We present the impact of recent developments.

An extensive program on synthesis of superheavy elements (SHE) and investigating their nuclear structure as well as their chemical properties has been performed at the UNILAC accelerator at GSI during the past three decades. Highlights of this research program were the identification of the new elements with atomic numbers Z = 107-112, detailed nuclear structure investigations and discovery of new K isomers in the transfermium region, first chemical characterization of element 108 (hassium) and identification of the deformed doubly magic nucleus ²⁷⁰Hs. Part of the latest results are presented and discussed. Current and prospected upgrades of the facility and the experimental set-ups are presented.

Results of experiments on the synthesis of superheavy nuclei in ⁴⁸Ca-induced reactions are presented. The experiments were carried out at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) Dubna heavy ion cyclotron U400 in the framework of a large collaboration: FLNR ( JINR, Dubna, Russia), IAR (Dimitrovgrad, Russia), LLNL (Livermore, USA), ORNL (Oak-Ridge, USA).

Enriched isotopes of U ÷ Cf were used as targets. In the reactions studied in 2000 — 2010, decays of the heaviest isotopes of Rf ÷ Cn and isotopes of six new elements 113 ÷ 118 were observed.

The first generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors operates continuously at the design sensitivity. Up to now, no gravitational wave signal has been detected. However, the analysis of the data obtained so far gives upper limits that allow to make statements about, e.g., the ellipticity of neutron stars and to decide on theories predicting properties of the cosmic background radiation. The next generation of gravitational wave detectors is under construction. These will be able (by about 2014) to observe a thousand times larger volume of the Universe as now and to start gravitational wave astronomy.

A new general framework for studying relativistic spherical accretion of a self-gravitating fluid onto a central black hole is introduced in stationary coordinates for an observer at infinity. The important feature of gravitational back-reaction due to a self-gravitating fluid on the metric is included in the model. The model is solved numerically for the most simple case of a polytropic fluid and compared to analytical solutions, and the implications of these findings are discussed. Finally, the model is focused on the accretion of a relativistic Fermi gas and the implications this might have on the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

The following sections are included:

• List of Participants

• Authors Index