Talks

Higgs coupling deviations from Standard Model predictions contain information about two scales of Nature: that of new physics responsible for the deviation, and the scale where new bosons must appear. The two can coincide, but they do not have to. The scale of new bosons can be calculated by going beyond an effective field theory description of the coupling deviation. I will discuss model-independent upper bounds on the scale of new bosons for deviations in Higgs to WW and ZZ couplings, and explain how any measured deviation at present or future colliders requires the existence of new bosons within experimental reach. This has potentially interesting implications for naturalness.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/97203814123?pwd=U3F3N2xxTmJSQmxIQ0Rib3ZwN3Fldz09

Recent observations point to a surprisingly economical description of the universe on both very small and very large scales. Stimulated by these findings, Boyle and I have proposed a new, potentially more complete theoretical framework than currently popular paradigms. Our search has so far led to 1) the simplest-yet explanation for the cosmic dark matter, soon to be tested by galaxy surveys, 2) a thermodynamic explanation for the large scale geometry of the cosmos, based on the concept of gravitational entropy à la Hawking, 3) a new account of the big bang singularity as a “mirror” enforcing CPT-symmetric boundary conditions, realising Penrose's "Weyl curvature hypothesis" and 4) a new mechanism for cancelling the divergent vacuum energy and the trace anomalies in the Standard Model (SM). The new mechanism successfully predicts the primordial density perturbations in terms of the SM’s gauge couplings. It also explains why there are 3 generations of elementary particles, each including a RH neutrino, one of which is stable and comprises the dark matter. I’ll outline the challenges the new picture faces and the opportunities it presents, ranging from solving the gauge hierarchy problem to an improved description of quantum gravity along with prospective observational tests.

I will discuss two versions of the simplicial Lorentizian path integral, namely the (Lorentzian) quantum Regge and the spin foam version. I will do so in the simple context of de Sitter cosmology. This simple example will reveal the important role of light cone irregular configurations in the simplicial path integral — I will show that these can either lead to an exponentially enhanced or an exponentially suppressed amplitude. I will then highlight an important difference between the spin foams and quantum Regge path integral, which affects the probability for the creation of the (de Sitter) universe.

Warped extra dimensions were originally introduced as a way of addressing the hierarchy problem. But insights from these scenarios have extended to black hole physics, cosmology, and even mechanisms for addressing issues in purely four dimensions. We investigate this scenario and some compelling lessons. The presenter will be joining via Zoom for this talk.