BSM Journal Club

The particle theory graduate student journal club meets once a week to discuss topics of interest in beyond the Standard Model phenomenology and model building. Topics roughly alternate between review articles and new papers. For Fall 2011 our theme is collider physics (TBA), we will also have some talks by hep-ex grad students.

This semester we will also be coordinating with the LEPP [hep-ex] Journal Club. On the second Friday of each month the LEPP Journal Club will have a joint hep-ex/hep-ph meeting to discuss topics of mutual interest. For the Monday before each meeting, the BSM Journal Club will invite hep-ex grad students to discuss the relevant background material. The goal is to encourage student participation in the `big' meetings.

Image from CMS via B. Dorney

See also the 2012 Winter camp. Extra credit: soccer.

Mondays, 1:30pm -- 3:15pm
Physical Sciences Building, Room 470
Contact:

This is now an archived page that is no longer updated.

Return to the current journal club page.

Fall 2011 Schedule

Topics marked (R) are review talks where some previous reading is recommended but not necessary. Topics marked (E) are hep-ex. Otherwise topics are "current papers" and everyone is expected to have read the main paper in advance.

DATES	SPEAKER	TOPIC	REFERENCES
5 Sep 11	Flip Tanedo & Walter Hopkins	The Birds and the B_s → μμ	CDF page Some theory Walter's slides Flip's notes
9 Sep 11	LEPP JC: Julia Thom	B_s → μμ	Friday, 4PM in 301
12 Sep 11	Bibhushan Shakya	Deconstructing the Fifth Dimension	hep-th/0104005 hep-th/0104035
19 Sep 11	Dean Robinson	Geometry of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking	J. Phys. A. 14 2943 Isham
26 Sep 11	Josh Berger	The No BS guide to Bs Physics	Flavor notes PDG Sec. 11, 12 hep-ph/0101336 1109.1527 1106.6308
3 Oct 11	Mathieu Cliche	Higgs as a Window Beyond the MSSM	0707.0005
10 Oct 11	HEP-EX: None	None	None
14 Oct 11	LEPP JC: TBA	TBA	Postponed
17 Oct 11	Mario Martone	Topological obstruction for symmetry breaking	PRL 30, 943 Isham
24 Oct 11	Jack Collins	Talk 8	paper
31 Oct 11	Nicolas Rey-Le Lorier	A Ladder to Heaven: Bethe-Salpeter	Phys. Rev. 84, 1232 PTP Sup. 43 Phys. Rev. C56, 3369 Itzy & Zuber Ch. 10.
7 Nov 11	HEP-EX: Stephen Poprocki	Talk 10	Ref
11 Nov 11	LEPP JC: TBA	TBA	Friday, 4PM in 301
14 Nov 11	John Chae	Talk 11	Notes
21 Nov 11	THANKSGIVING, Extra slot?	Talk 12	Notes
28 Nov 11	Mike Saelim	Talk 13	Notes
5 Dec 11	HEP-EX: Don Teo	Talk 14	Paper
9 Dec 11	LEPP JC: TBA	TBA	Friday, 4PM in 301
12 Dec 11	Yuhsin Tsai	Natsume Yuujinchou	Paper

Suggested/requested theme topics

This semester our journal club will have a theme, collider physics. Speakers are free to follow this theme or not according to their own inclinations. The following is a list of proposed topics for themed talks:

Monte Carlo Tools
Experimental searches
What (theory/experiment) needs from (experiment/theory)
Signature-based model building

Fall 2011 Abstracts

The Birds and the B_s → μμ, Flip Tanedo & Walter Hopkins (5 Sep).
Preparation for the 9 September joint hep-ex/ph LEPP journal club meeting. We will present some basic theory and experiment background for the decay B_s → μμ and highlight recent developments this year's summer conferences. Reference: tba.
Deconstructing the Fifth Dimension, Bibhushan Shakya (12 Sep).
This talk will definitely not be about penguins. Reference: hep-th/0104005, hep-th/0104035.
Geometry of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, Dean Robinson (19 Sep).
As a hold-over from our previous journal club series on geometry, we'll discuss the fibre bundle theoretic description of spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this first of two parts, our goal will be to develop sufficient technology to understand and prove a 'fundamental theorem' which specifies the necessary and sufficient topological conditions under which spontaneous symmetry breaking may occur. In contrast to the local coordinate chart approach, along the way we'll develop the intrinsic (non-coordinate) description of principal, associated and pull-back fibre bundles and their corresponding bundle maps. Reference: Isham, Modern Differential Geometry for Physicists, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 14 2943.
The No BS guide to Bs physics, Josh Berger (26 Sep).
The B mesons are particularly likely to yield observables that deviate from Standard Model (SM) predictions and to illuminate the flavor structure of any new states discovered at the LHC. The wealth of observables in B physics is exciting, but can also be daunting. We begin by providing an introduction to the types of observables in the B systems. We then give an overview of the most interesting of these observables, emphasizing why they are interesting, what deviations from the SM could mean, and what the status of measurements is. Finally, we tie these observables together to understand where we are in the field as a whole and where we are going. Reference: Flavor notes, PDG Sec. 11, 12, hep-ph/0101336, 1109.1527, 1106.6308.
Higgs as a Window Beyond the MSSM, Mathieu Cliche (3 Oct).
If nature is supersymmetric we may need additional degrees of freedom beyond the MSSM to account for the current experimental lower bound on the Higgs mass. In this talk we study BMSSM physics under the assumption that new physics lies at a scale M significantly above the typical mass of the MSSM fields which allows us to use an effective field theory approach. After reviewing the Higgs sector of the MSSM we show that the leading order of the supersymmetric EFT contains only two new operators such that the change in the Higgs spectrum is highly constrained. We conclude with a discussion of the microscopic models which can generate these operators Reference: M Dine, N. Seiberg and S. Thomas, Higgs Physics as a Window Beyond the MSSM (BMSSM), Phys. Rev. D 76, 095004 (2007), [0707.0005].
Talk 6, None
None. Reference: none.
Topological obstruction for symmetry breaking, Mario Martone (17 Oct).
This talk is going to be a follow up of a first talk on the bundle formulation of spontaneous symmetry breaking. We will first refresh the audience about what the possible topological obstructions to the definition of the Higgs field can be and hopefully clarify the differential geometrical picture. We will then discuss few examples focusing mainly in the impossibility of SU(5) -> SU(3) x U(1) in the presence of monopoles. If there is time we will also explain the obstruction in defining spinors on a manifold, issue which can be addressed with the machinery of reductions of principal bundles. The talk will mostly be bouncing back and forth from abstract mathematical concepts and possibly concrete physical examples. Reference: PRL 30, 943 ,Isham
Talk 8, Jack Collins (24 Oct).
Talk 8 Reference: Pirates of the Caribbean or Doctor Who.
A Ladder to Heaven: An Introduction to the Bethe-Salpeter Equation, Nicolas Rey-Le Lorier (31 Oct).
The Bethe-Salpeter equation can be seen as the generalization of the Schrodinger equation to quantum field theory: it allows us (in principle!) to determine the energies and “wave functions” of the bound states in a given theory. In this talk we will go over the derivation and meaning of the B-S equation, verify that it reduces to the Schrodinger equation in the non-relativistic limit, and give an overview of the practical uses of this equation. Reference: Phys. Rev. 84, 1232 (1951), Prog. Theor. Phys. Sup. 43, Phys. Rev. C56, 3369 (1997), Itzykson and Zuber Ch. 10.
Talk 10, Stephen Poprocki (7 Nov).
Preparation for the 11 November joint hep-ex/ph LEPP journal club meeting. Reference: Ref.
Little Higgs, John Chae (11 Dec).
Talk 11 Reference: Ref.
Talk 12, tba (21 Nov).
Talk 12 Reference: Refs.
Talk 13, Mike Saelim (28 Nov).
Talk 13 Reference: Refs.
Talk 14, Don Teo (5 Dec).
Preparation for the 9 December joint hep-ex/ph LEPP journal club meeting. Reference: Refs.
Talk 11, Yuhsin Tsai (14 Nov).
Natsume Yuujinchou. Reference: Refs.

2012 Winter Workshop: 16-20 January 2012

Bibhushan is in charge of organizing this year's winter workshop. Potential topics are collider physics and AdS/CFT.

Resources

Unsure about places to start looking for talk ideas? Here are a few suggestions, geared towards the pedagogical side.

Collections of reviews and lectures: The Net Advance of Physics, Ulrich Theis' page, F. Borzumati's page, D. E. Kaplan's page, or The String Wiki.
It may also be worth looking through journals that specialize in review articles: RMP, Physics Reports, Annual Reviews, Reports on Progress in Physics, Proceedings of Science, Living Reviews.
You can also use tools like SPIRES and arXiv Structure to find papers and reviews. For example, you can search for proceedings from summer schools (TASI, Les Houches, SLAC, Cargese, Cracow)

Scanning: it is often helpful to share your notes with the journal club, especially for review talks. Hand written notes may be scanned easily using the document scanner on the 5th floor of Clark or Mann library (photocopiers with free scanning option). These have automatic document feeders and can e-mail you a pdf of your notes.

Guidelines

Announce your topic two weeks in advance, include a link to the relevant paper(s).
You should give one pedagogical talk and one 'new paper' talk over the course of the semester.
All members are required to have read 'new papers' that are being presented. Pedagogical talks should be accessible without pre-reading. Review and 'new paper' talks should alternate to give students time to read the new paper.
Use discretion when presenting a new paper; if it is based on a topic that is unfamiliar to our group, it would be better to coordinate a pedagogical talk before presenting the paper.
Speakers should focus on leading a discussion rather than giving a lecture; students are expected to participate actively. Chalkboard talks are strongly preferred.
Because of the composition of phenomenology students we have, we are in a unique position to take advantage of this kind of activity. This will only work if we all make this a priority.