Figueroa, D. G., Hindmarsh, M., Lizarraga, J., & Urrestilla, J. (2020). Irreducible background of gravitational waves from a cosmic defect network: Update and comparison of numerical techniques. Phys. Rev. D, 102(10), 103516–25pp.
Abstract: Cosmological phase transitions in the early Universe may produce relics in the form of a network of cosmic defects. Independently of the order of a phase transition, topology of the defects, and their global or gauge nature, the defects are expected to emit gravitational waves (GWs) as the network energy-momentum tensor adapts itself to maintaining scaling. We show that the evolution of any defect network (and for that matter any scaling source) emits a GW background with spectrum Omega(GW) proportional to f(3) for f << f(0), Omega(GW) proportional to 1/f(2) for f(0) less than or similar to f less than or similar to feq, and Omega(GW) proportional to const (i.e., exactly scale invariant) for f >> f(eq), where f(0) and f(eq) denote respectively the frequencies corresponding to the present and matter-radiation equality horizons. This background represents an irreducible emission of GWs from any scaling network of cosmic defects, with its amplitude characterized only by the symmetry-breaking scale and the nature of the defects. Using classical lattice simulations we calculate the GW signal emitted by defects created after the breaking of a global symmetry O(N) -> O(N – 1). We obtain the GW spectrum for N between 2 and 20 with two different techniques: integrating over unequal-time correlators of the energy-momentum tensor, updating our previous work on smaller lattices, and for the first time, comparing the result with the real-time evolution of the tensor perturbations sourced by the same defects. Our results validate the equivalence of the two techniques. Using cosmic microwave background upper bounds on the defects' energy scale, we discuss the difficulty of detecting this GW background in the case of global defects.
|
Caputo, A., Liu, H. W., Mishra-Sharma, S., & Ruderman, J. T. (2020). Modeling dark photon oscillations in our inhomogeneous Universe. Phys. Rev. D, 102(10), 103533–26pp.
Abstract: A dark photon may kinetically mix with the Standard Model photon, leading to observable cosmological signatures. The mixing is resonantly enhanced when the dark photon mass matches the primordial plasma frequency, which depends sensitively on the underlying spatial distribution of electrons. Crucially, inhomogeneities in this distribution can have a significant impact on the nature of resonant conversions. We develop and describe, for the first time, a general analytic formalism to treat resonant oscillations in the presence of inhomogeneities. Our formalism follows from the theory of level crossings of random fields and only requires knowledge of the one-point probability density function (PDF) of the underlying electron number density fluctuations. We validate our formalism using simulations and illustrate the photon-to-dark photon conversion probability for several different choices of PDFs that are used to characterize the low-redshift Universe.
|
Nebot, M. (2020). Bounded masses in two Higgs doublets models, spontaneous CP violation and Z(2) symmetry. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 115002–16pp.
Abstract: In two Higgs doublet models (2HDMs) shaped by some unbroken symmetry, imposing perturbativity requirements on the quartic couplings can imply that the allowed masses of all the fundamental scalars are bounded from above. This important property is analyzed in detail for the only two realistic 2HDMs with an exact symmetry, the case with Z(2) symmetry and the case with CP symmetry. It is also noticeable that one exception arises in each case: when the vacuum is assumed to respect the imposed symmetry, a decoupling regime can nevertheless appear without violating perturbativity requirements. In both models with an exact symmetry and no decoupling regime, soft symmetry breaking terms can however lead to a decoupling regime: the possibility that this regime might be unnatural, since it requires some fine-tuning, is also analyzed.
|
LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Henry, L., Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., et al. (2020). Measurement of the relative branching fractions of B+ -> h(+) h('+) h('-) decays. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 112010–19pp.
Abstract: The relative branching fractions of B+ -> h(+)h('+)h('-) decays, where h((')) is a pion or kaon, are measured. The analysis is performed with a data sample, collected with the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1) of pp collisions. The results obtained improve significantly on previous measurements of these quantities, and are important for the interpretation of Dalitz plot analyses of three-body charmless hadronic decays of B+ mesons.
|
Papoulias, D. K. (2020). COHERENT constraints after the COHERENT-2020 quenching factor measurement. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 113004–10pp.
Abstract: Recently, an improved quenching factor (QF) measurement for low-energy nuclear recoils in CsI[Na] has been reported by the COHERENT Collaboration. The new energy-dependent QF is characterized by a reduced systematic uncertainty and leads to a better agreement between the experimental COHERENT data and the Standard Model (SM) expectation. In this work, we report updated constraints on parameters that describe the process of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering within and beyond the SM, and we also present how the new QF affects their interpretation.
|
ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo, F. L., Castillo Gimenez, V., et al. (2020). Search for resonances decaying into a weak vector boson and a Higgs boson in the fully hadronic final state produced in proton – proton collisions at root s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 112008–27pp.
Abstract: A search for heavy resonances decaying into a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson produced in proton – proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at root s = 13 TeV is presented. The analysis utilizes the dominant W -> q (q) over bar' or Z -> q (q) over bar and H -> b (b) over bar decays with substructure techniques applied to large-radius jets. A sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector is analyzed and no significant excess of data is observed over the background prediction. The results are interpreted in the context of the heavy vector triplet model with spin-1 W' and Z' bosons. Upper limits on the cross section are set for resonances with mass between 1.5 and 5.0 TeV, ranging from 6.8 to 0.53 fb for W' -> WH and from 8.7 to 0.53 fb for Z' -> ZH at the 95% confidence level.
|
LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Henry, L., Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., et al. (2020). First observation of the decay Lambda(0)(b) -> eta(c) (1S)pK(-). Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 112012–12pp.
Abstract: The decay Lambda(0)(b) -> eta(c) (1S)pK(- )is observed for the first time using a data sample of proton-proton collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.5 fb I, collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The branching fraction of the decay is measured, using the Lambda(0)(b) -> J/psi pK(-) decay as a normalization mode, to be B(Lambda(0)(b) -> eta(c) (1S)pK(-)) = (1.06 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.06(-019)(+0.22)) x 10(-4), where the quoted uncertainties are statistical, systematic and due to external inputs, respectively. A study of the eta(c)(1S)p mass spectrum is performed to search for the P-c(4312)(+) pentaquark state. No evidence is B(Lambda(0)(b) -> P-c(4312)K-+(-))xB(P-c(4312)(+)-> eta(c)(1S)p)/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> eta(c) (1S)pK(-)) < 0.24( ) observed and an upper limit of < 0.24 is obtained at the 95% confidence level.
|
ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Colomer, M., Gozzini, R., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Khan-Chowdhury, N. R., et al. (2020). Observation of the cosmic ray shadow of the Sun with the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Phys. Rev. D, 102(12), 122007–7pp.
Abstract: The ANTARES detector is an undersea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. The search for pointlike neutrino sources is one of the main goals of the ANTARES telescope, requiring a reliable method to evaluate the detector angular resolution and pointing accuracy. This work describes the study of the Sun “shadow” effect with the ANTARES detector. The shadow is the deficit in the atmospheric muon flux in the direction of the Sun caused by the absorption of the primary cosmic rays. This analysis is based on the data collected between 2008 and 2017 by the ANTARES telescope. The observed statistical significance of the Sun shadow detection is 3.7 sigma, with an estimated angular resolution of 0.59 degrees +/- 0.10 degrees for downward-going muons. The pointing accuracy is found to be consistent with the expectations and no evidence of systematic pointing shifts is observed.
|
Miranda, O. G., Papoulias, D. K., Sanders, O., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2020). Future CEvNS experiments as probes of lepton unitarity and light sterile neutrinos. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 113014–14pp.
Abstract: We determine the sensitivities of short-baseline coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE nu NS) experiments using a pion decay at rest neutrino source as a probe for nonunitarity in the lepton sector, as expected in low-scale type-I seesaw schemes. We also identify the best configuration for probing light sterile neutrinos at future ton-scale liquid argon CE nu NS experiments, estimating the projected sensitivities on the sterile neutrino parameters. Possible experimental setups at the Spallation Neutron Source, Lujan facility and the European Spallation Source are discussed. Provided that systematic uncertainties remain under control, we find that CE nu NS experiments will be competitive with oscillation measurements in the long run.
|
Blas, D., & Witte, S. J. (2020). Quenching mechanisms of photon superradiance. Phys. Rev. D, 102(12), 123018–10pp.
Abstract: Rapidly rotating black holes are known to develop instabilities in the presence of a sufficiently light boson, a process which becomes efficient when the boson's Compton wavelength is roughly the size of the black hole. This phenomenon known as black hole superradiance generates an exponentially growing boson cloud at the expense of the rotational energy of the black hole. For astrophysical black holes with M similar to O(10)M-circle dot, the superradiant condition is achieved for bosons with m(b) similar to O(10(-11))eV; intriguingly, photons traversing the intergalactic medium acquire an effective mass (due to their interactions with the ambient plasma) which naturally resides in this range. The implications of photon superradiance, i.e., the evolution of the superradiant photon cloud and ambient plasma in the presence of scattering and particle production processes, have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Here, we enumerate and discuss a number of different processes capable of quenching the growth of the photon cloud, including particle interactions with the ambient electrons and backreactions on the effective mass (arising e.g., from thermal effects, pair production, ionization of the local background, and modifications to the dispersion relation from strong electric fields). This work naturally serves as a guide in understanding how interactions may allow light exotic bosons to evade superradiant constraints.
|