Physics At The Terascale PDF Download

In the next few years, particle collider experiments at CERN and dark matter searches throughout the world will directly and indirectly probe the physics of the Terascale. In preparation for these experiments, this thesis examines the possible signals of new physics, and what that new physics might be. We first consider signals of dark matter that depend very little on its underlying nature. We now have precise measurements of the cosmological dark matter abundance; this allows us to predict the flux of high energy gamma rays from dark matter self-annihilation in a generic theory. We also draw attention to a feature in the spectrum that has previously been overlooked: the sharp decrease in the flux at the WIMP mass for photons emitted as final state radiation. This feature, if observed, would provide unambiguous evidence of a non-astrophysical source. We next study a specific theory of new physics, the Littlest Higgs with T Parity. Assuming that this model offers the correct description of dark matter, we predict the expected flux of gamma rays and neutrinos, as well as the direct detection signal. Since each theory has a different pattern of signals, we can use the future experimental data to identify the model that best describes reality. This particular model is well hidden from these detection channels. We then conclude by studying a new possible model for physics at the Terascale, based on combining string theory with the Randall-Sundrum theory of extra dimensions. We develop the theoretical framework for such a model, generalising known results in flat space into an effective field theory in curved space. We then calculate the production and decay of one of the lightest new particles at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN; we find that detection is plausible at that experiment.