We discuss the possibility of light dark matter in a general singlet extension of the MSSM. Singlino LSPs with masses of a few GeV can explain the signals reported by the CRESST, CoGeNT and possibly also DAMA experiments. The interactions between singlinos and nuclei are mediated by a scalar whose properties coincide with those of the SM Higgs up to two crucial differences: the scalar has a mass of a few GeV and its interaction strengths are suppressed by a universal factor. We show that such a scalar can be consistent with current experimental constraints, and that annihilation of singlinos into such scalars in the early universe can naturally lead to a relic abundance consistent with the observed density of cold dark matter. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

In scenarios with gravitino lightest supersymmetric particles, there exist strong big bang nucleosynthesis constraints on the abundance of possible stau next-to-lightest supersymmetric particles. We find that in settings with substantial left-right mixing of the stau mass eigenstates these constraints can be evaded even for very long-lived staus. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd.

The most promising MSSM candidates of the heterotic string reveal some distinctive properties. These include gauge-top unification, a specific solution to the μ-problem and mirage pattern for the gaugino masses. The location of the top- and the Higgs-multiplets in extra dimensions differs significantly from that of the other quarks and leptons leading to a characteristic signature of suppressed soft breaking terms, reminiscent of a scheme known as natural supersymmetry. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

We revisit the implications of naturalness and gauge unification in the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We find that precision unification of the couplings in connection with a small μ parameter requires a highly compressed gaugino pattern as it is realized in mirage mediation. Due to the small mass difference between the gluino and lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), collider limits on the gluino mass are drastically relaxed. Without further assumptions, the relic density of the LSP is very close to the observed dark matter density due to coannihilation effects. © 2013 American Physical Society.

The cullin-RING E3 ligases (CRLs) regulate diverse cellular processes in all eukaryotes. CRL activity is controlled by several proteins or protein complexes, including NEDD8, CAND1, and the CSN Recently, a mammalian protein called Glomulin (GLMN) was shown to inhibit CRLs by binding to the RING BOX (RBX1) subunit and preventing binding to the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. Here, we show that Arabidopsis ABERRANT LATERAL ROOT FORMATION4 (ALF4) is an ortholog of GLMN The alf4 mutant exhibits a phenotype that suggests defects in plant hormone response. We show that ALF4 binds to RBX1 and inhibits the activity of SCFTIR1, an E3 ligase responsible for degradation of the Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors. In vivo, the alf4 mutation destabilizes the CUL1 subunit of the SCF Reduced CUL1 levels are associated with increased levels of the Aux/IAA proteins as well as the DELLA repressors, substrate of SCFSLY1 We propose that the alf4 phenotype is partly due to increased levels of the Aux/IAA and DELLA proteins.

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposal to create a cavern with the space and infrastructure to support a suite of far-forward experiments at the Large Hadron Collider during the High Luminosity era. Located along the beam collision axis and shielded from the interaction point by at least 100 m of concrete and rock, the FPF will house experiments that will detect particles outside the acceptance of the existing large LHC experiments and will observe rare and exotic processes in an extremely low-background environment. In this work, we summarize the current status of plans for the FPF, including recent progress in civil engineering in identifying promising sites for the FPF and the experiments currently envisioned to realize the FPF's physics potential. We then review the many Standard Model and new physics topics that will be advanced by the FPF, including searches for long-lived particles, probes of dark matter and dark sectors, high-statistics studies of TeV neutrinos of all three flavors, aspects of perturbative and non-perturbative QCD, and high-energy astroparticle physics.

High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential.