Ruiz, Richard
(2015)
HADRON COLLIDER TESTS OF NEUTRINO MASS-GENERATING MECHANISMS.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The Standard Model of particle physics (SM) is presently the best description of nature at small distances and high energies. However, with tiny but nonzero neutrino masses, a Higgs boson mass unstable under radiative corrections, and little guidance on understanding the hierarchy of fermion masses, the SM remains an unsatisfactory description of nature. Well-motivated scenarios that resolve these issues exist but also predict extended gauge (e.g., Left-Right Symmetric Models), scalar (e.g., Supersymmetry), and/or fermion sectors (e.g., Seesaw Models). Hence, discovering such new states would have far-reaching implications.
After reviewing basic tenets of the SM and collider physics, several beyond the SM (BSM) scenarios that alleviate these shortcomings are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the production of a heavy Majorana neutrinos at hadron colliders in the context of low-energy, effective theories that simultaneously explain the origin of neutrino masses and their smallness compared to other elementary fermions, the so-called Seesaw Mechanisms. As probes of new physics, rare top quark decays to Higgs bosons in the context of the SM, the Types I and II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM), and the semi-model independent framework of Effective Field Theory (EFT) have also been investigated. Observation prospects and discovery potentials of these models at current and future collider experiments are quantified.
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Details
Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
Status: |
Unpublished |
Creators/Authors: |
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ETD Committee: |
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Date: |
27 September 2015 |
Date Type: |
Publication |
Defense Date: |
24 April 2015 |
Approval Date: |
27 September 2015 |
Submission Date: |
1 April 2015 |
Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
Number of Pages: |
221 |
Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Physics |
Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
Refereed: |
Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Hadron Colliders, Seesaw Mechanisms, Neutrino Physics, Neutrino Masses, Collider Phenomenology |
Date Deposited: |
28 Sep 2015 01:51 |
Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:26 |
URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24277 |
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