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KM3NeT Collaboration(Adriani, O. et al), Alves Garre, S., Bariego-Quintana, A., Calvo, D., Cecchini, V., Garcia Soto, A., et al. (2026). Optimizing the potential of KM3NeT in detecting core-collapse supernovae. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 038–27pp.
Abstract: Core-collapse supernovae mark the end of life of massive stars. However, despite their importance in astrophysics, their underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Neutrinos that emerge from the dense core of the star offer a promising way to study supernova dynamics. A strategy is presented to improve the potential of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope to detect core-collapse supernovae in our Galaxy or the Large Magellanic Cloud by further exploiting the properties of its optical modules equipped with multiple photomultipliers. A supernova burst is expected to produce a sudden hit rate increase in the KM3NeT detectors, which could be used to detect a supernova even in the absence of triggers from other experiments. New observables have been defined for individual optical modules that exploit the geometry and time distribution of the detected hits, enabling a better discrimination between signal and background signatures. In addition, a thorough investigation of the related systematic uncertainties is presented for the first time. When implemented, this new methodology allowed KM3NeT to probe 46% more Galactic core-collapse supernova candidates than with the previous trigger strategy, reaching the dense Galactic bulge. It is now expected that, once completed, KM3NeT will achieve full Galactic sensitivity to core-collapse supernovae independently from other experiments.
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Centelles Chulia, S., Lindner, M., & Rink, T. (2026). Testing lepton nonunitarity with the next generation of germanium-based CEνNS reactor experiments. Phys. Rev. D, 113(9), 096010–20pp.
Abstract: Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEuNS) has been experimentally confirmed using neutrinos from pion decay at rest, solar neutrinos, and reactor antineutrinos. Future CEuNS experiments will lead to precision measurements, which will be a powerful tool to search for new physics beyond the standard model. In this work, we investigate possible deviations from unitarity in the 3 & times; 3 leptonic mixing matrix that controls the propagation of active neutrinos. Such deviations may originate from the mixing with additional gauge singlet fermions, and depending on their mass scale and mixing, the resulting phenomenology can differ substantially. We explore two well-motivated regimes: the seesaw limit, where the new fermions are heavy and kinematically inaccessible, leading to effective deviations from unitarity in the active sector, and the light sterile limit, where they are light enough to be produced and participate in neutrino propagation and scattering processes. We show how these scenarios modify both CEuNS and elastic neutrino-electron scattering, and we present the corresponding sensitivity projections for a future CEuNS reactor experiment obtained by upscaling the CONUS+ experiment, which reported the first observation of reactor CEuNS. We identify the leading experimental systematics relevant for such an upscaling and demonstrate the resulting capability to probe TeV-scale new physics. Our results highlight the strong potential of CEuNS to test the structure of the lepton sector and to search for physics beyond the standard model.
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Ingram, S., Brualla, L., Delbaere, A., Zarepisheh, M., Piersma, H., Apte, A., et al. (2026). Resource sharing and open-source software in radiation oncology: From challenges to opportunities for community-wide benefit☆. Radiother. Oncol., 220, 111587–9pp.
Abstract: Modern radiotherapy workflows depend heavily on software, yet proprietary solutions limit adaptability and transparency. Many institutions create in-house tools, resulting in duplicated efforts and sustainability challenges. Free and open-source software (FOSS) offers transparency, customization, and collaborative development opportunities, but faces barriers including fragmented efforts, regulatory complexity, and clinical adoption hurdles. This vision paper, inspired by the 2024 ESTRO Physics Workshop on “Resource sharing: open-source software & development in radiotherapy” explores these challenges and proposes strategies to promote sustainable and discoverable open-source ecosystems in radiation oncology. Key recommendations include improving interoperability, clear licensing, risk management, validation frameworks, and creating a centralised registry for resource visibility. Embracing open-source practices can accelerate innovation, reduce redundancy, and enhance patient care.
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Romo-Luque, C., Salor-Iguiñiz, N., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Esteve, R., Aliaga, R. J., Alvarez, V., et al. (2026). Measurement of the scintillation resolution in liquid xenon and its impact for future segmented calorimeters. Phys. Rev. Res., 8(2), 023138–9pp.
Abstract: We report on a measurement of the energy resolution that can be attained in liquid xenon when recording only the scintillation light. Our setup is optimized to maximize light collection and uses state-of-the-art, high-PDE (photodetection efficiency), VUV-sensitive silicon photomultipliers. We find a value of 3.7% +/- 0.4% at 511 keV, once saturation effects are corrected for, a result close to the Poissonian resolution that we expect in our setup (2.8% +/- 0.4% at 511 keV). Our results in the intrinsic resolution (2.3% +/- 0.8%) are compatible, within errors, at 511 keV, with those found by theoretical estimations that have been standing for the last 20 years, 1.8%. Our work opens possibilities for apparatus based on liquid xenon and using scintillation only. In particular, it suggests that modular scintillation detectors using liquid xenon can be very competitive as building blocks in segmented calorimeters, with applications to Positron Emission Tomography technology.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Fernandez Casani, A., Jaimes Elles, S. J., Jashal, B. K., Libralon, S., Lucio Martinez, M., et al. (2026). Differential decay rate of B+ → J/ψK+ with the LHCb Upgrade I experiment. J. High Energy Phys., 04(4), 170–30pp.
Abstract: The normalised decay rate of B+ -> J/psi(-> mu(+) mu(-))K+ is measured as a function of the lepton helicity angle using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.1 fb(-1) collected during October 2024 with the upgraded (Upgrade I) LHCb detector. This angular distribution can be parameterised by two coefficients, the forward-backward asymmetry, A(FB), and the flatness parameter, F-H, whose values are constrained by conservation of angular momentum. These coefficients are measured both integrated and differentially across various kinematic and detector-response variables, and the results are found to be in good agreement with expectations. These measurements show that the detector response of the LHCb Upgrade I experiment is understood to the precision required to reliably extract the angular coefficients associated with rare b -> s mu(+) mu(-) and b -> d mu(+) mu(-) transitions, which are particularly sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model.
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