The Utility of Naturalness, and its Application to Quantum Electrodynamics
Recently posted on the arXiv:
J.D. Wells, “The Utility of Naturalness, and how its Application to Quantum Electrodynamics envisages the Standard Model and Higgs Boson,” arXiv:1305.3434.
Abstract:
With the Higgs boson discovery and no new physics found at the LHC, confidence in Naturalness as a guiding principle for particle physics is under increased pressure. We wait to see if it proves its mettle in the LHC upgrades ahead, and beyond. In the meantime, in a series of “realistic intellectual leaps” I present a justification a posteriori of the Naturalness criterion by suggesting that uncompromising application of the principle to quantum electrodynamics leads toward the Standard Model and Higgs boson without additional experimental input. Potential lessons for today and future theory building are commented upon.
Globalization’s Orthographical Challenge: Choosing How to Spell English
I have written an essay on how to choose English spelling for documents in an international environment. This is a draft, and comments are welcomed.
Globalization’s Orthographical Challenge: Choosing How to Spell English
Globalization has created situations where collaborators across many countries write articles together. In this essay I suggest how to decide on spelling convention, and then review some fundamentals for the American and British conventions. The most challenging suggestion proposed to adherents of the British conventions is that, when given a choice, one should always use acceptable British variants that most closely match the American convention. For example, use ‘-ize’ rather than ‘-ise’ to end words such as ‘organize’. The most challenging suggestion proposed to adherents of the American spelling convention is that they should be much more willing to learn and use the British convention in global contexts.
Swiss Television Interview: Interactions of Art and Science
Here is my interview with Swiss Info television regarding the Arts@CERN programme. I was fortunate to be the “science inspiration partner” to Julius von Bismarck, who was selected to be the first artist in residence at CERN.
English-German particle physics vocabulary
I have compiled a German vocabulary useful when giving talks in German about particle physics. The link is here. Please let me know if you have any corrections or additions to make to this vocabulary.
Effective Theories in Physics: From Planetary Motion to Elementary Particle Masses
Springer Verlag has announced the publication of my book, Effective Theories in Physics: From Planetary Motion to Elementary Particle Masses. It is now available for purchase, or direct download to institutions that have access to Springer Online.
Here is the blurb from the publisher: ”There is significant interest in the Philosophy of Science community to understand the role that “effective theories” have in the work of forefront science. The ideas of effective theories have been implicit in science for a long time, but have only been articulated well in the last few decades. Since Wilson’s renormalization group revolution in the early 1970′s, the science community has come to more fully understand its power, and by the mid-1990′s it had gained its apotheosis. It is still one of the most powerful concepts in science, which has direct impact in how one thinks about and formulates theories of nature. It is this power that this Brief sets out to emphasize through historical analysis and current examples.”
Effective Field Theories and the Role of Consistency in Theory Choice
Lecture delivered at the physics and philosophy conference “The Epistemology of the Large Hadron Collider”, Wuppertal University, January 2012
James D. Wells, “Effective Field Theories and the Role of Consistency in Theory Choice,” http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1211.0634
Abstract: Promoting a theory with a finite number of terms into an effective field theory with an infinite number of terms worsens simplicity, predictability, falsifiability, and other attributes often favored in theory choice. However, the importance of these attributes pales in comparison with consistency, both observational and mathematical consistency, which propels the effective theory to be superior to its simpler truncated version of finite terms, whether that theory be renormalizable (e.g., Standard Model of particle physics) or nonrenormalizable (e.g., gravity). Some implications for the Large Hadron Collider and beyond are discussed, including comments on how directly acknowledging the preeminence of consistency can affect future theory work.
Hidden-Sector Higgs Bosons at High-Energy Electron-Positron Colliders
On arXiv today: Jack H. Collins, James D. Wells, “Hidden-Sector Higgs Bosons at High-Energy Electron-Positron Colliders,” http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1210.0205
Abstract: The possibility of a scalar messenger that can couple the Standard Model (SM) to a hidden sector has been discussed in a variety of contexts in the literature in recent years. We consider the case that a new scalar singlet charged under an exotic spontaneously broken Abelian gauge symmetry mixes weakly with the SM Higgs resulting in two scalar mass states, one of which has heavily suppressed couplings to the SM particles. Previous phenomenological studies have focussed on potential signatures for such a model at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However, there are interesting regions of the parameter space in which the heavier Higgs state would be out of reach for LHC searches if its mass is greater than 1 TeV. We therefore investigate the discovery potential for such a particle at a 3 TeV electron-positron collider, which is motivated by the recent developments of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). We find that such an experiment could substantially extend our discovery reach for a heavy, weakly coupled Higgs boson, and we discuss three possible search channels.
The CLIC Programme: Towards a Staged e+e- Linear Collider Exploring the Terascale : CLIC Conceptual Design Report
This is volume 3 of the CLIC CDR, which is a shortened version that combines the machine and physics analyses of a staged high-energy CLIC collider.
P. Lebrun, L. Linssen, A. Lucaci-Timoce, D. Schulte, F. Simon, S. Stapnes, N. Toge, H. Weerts, J.D. Wells, “The CLIC Programme: Towards a Staged e+e- Linear Collider Exploring the Terascale”, CLIC CDR vol. 3, http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1209.2543
Abstract: This report describes the exploration of fundamental questions in particle physics at the energy frontier with a future TeV-scale e+e- linear collider based on the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) two-beam acceleration technology. A high-luminosity high-energy e+e- collider allows for the exploration of Standard Model physics, such as precise measurements of the Higgs, top and gauge sectors, as well as for a multitude of searches for New Physics, either through direct discovery or indirectly, via high-precision observables. Given the current state of knowledge, following the observation of a 125 GeV Higgs-like particle at the LHC, and pending further LHC results at 8 TeV and 14 TeV, a linear e+e- collider built and operated in centre-of-mass energy stages from a few-hundred GeV up to a few TeV will be an ideal physics exploration tool, complementing the LHC. In this document, an overview of the physics potential of CLIC is given. Two example scenarios are presented for a CLIC accelerator built in three main stages of 500 GeV, 1.4 (1.5) TeV, and 3 TeV, together with operating schemes that will make full use of the machine capacity to explore the physics. The accelerator design, construction, and performance are presented, as well as the layout and performance of the experiments. The proposed staging example is accompanied by cost estimates of the accelerator and detectors and by estimates of operating parameters, such as power consumption. The resulting physics potential and measurement precisions are illustrated through detector simulations under realistic beam conditions.
CLIC e+e- Linear Collider Studies
Another document submitted to the European Strategy Preparatory Group. Like all documents submitted it was restricted to be less than 15 pages. This is a good place to start to see in a short read what CLIC can do.
D. Dannheim, P. Lebrun, L. Linssen, D. Schulte, F. Simon, S. Stapnes, N. Toge, H. Weerts, J. Wells, “CLIC e+e- Linear Collider Studies,” http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1208.1402
Abstract: This document provides input from the CLIC e+e- linear collider studies to the update process of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. It is submitted on behalf of the CLIC/CTF3 collaboration and the CLIC physics and detector study. It describes the exploration of fundamental questions in particle physics at the energy frontier with a future TeV-scale e+e- linear collider based on the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) two-beam acceleration technique. A high-luminosity high-energy e+e- collider allows for the exploration of Standard Model physics, such as precise measurements of the Higgs, top and gauge sectors, as well as for a multitude of searches for New Physics, either through direct discovery or indirectly, via high-precision observables. Given the current state of knowledge, following the observation of a sim125 GeV Higgs-like particle at the LHC, and pending further LHC results at 8 TeV and 14 TeV, a linear e+e- collider built and operated in centre-of-mass energy stages from a few-hundred GeV up to a few TeV will be an ideal physics exploration tool, complementing the LHC. Two example scenarios are presented for a CLIC accelerator built in three main stages of 500 GeV, 1.4 (1.5) TeV, and 3 TeV, together with the layout and performance of the experiments and accompanied by cost estimates. The resulting CLIC physics potential and measurement precisions are illustrated through detector simulations under realistic beam conditions.
Physics performances for Z’ searches at 3 TeV and 1.5 TeV CLIC
Announcing: Jean-Jacques Blaising, James D. Wells, “Physics performances for Z’ searches at 3 TeV and 1.5 TeV CLIC,” http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:1208.1148
Abstract: Extra neutral gauge bosons (Z’) are predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model (SM). In the minimal anomaly-free Z’ model (AFZ’), the phenomenology is controlled by only three parameters beyond the SM ones, the Z’ mass and two effective coupling constants g’_Y and g’_{BL}. We study the Z’ 5-sigma discovery potential in e+e- collisions at 1.4 and 3 TeV CLIC. Assuming LHC discovers a Z’ of 5 TeV mass, the expected accuracies on the Z’mu+mu- couplings are presented. We discuss also the requirements on detector performance and beam polarization.
