Abstract: In modular invariant models of flavor, observables must be modular invariant. The observables discussed so far in the literature are functions of the modulus tau and its conjugate, (tau) over bar. We point out that certain combinations of observables depend only on tau , i.e. are meromorphic, and in some cases even holomorphic functions of tau. These functions, which we dub “invariants” in this Letter, are highly constrained, renormalization group invariant, and allow us to derive many of the models' features without the need for extensive parameter scans. We illustrate the robustness of these invariants in two existing models in the literature based on modular symmetries, Gamma(3) and Gamma(5). We find that, in some cases, the invariants give rise to robust relations among physical observables that are independent of tau. Furthermore, there are instances where additional symmetries exist among the invariants. These symmetries are relevant phenomenologically and may provide a dynamical way to realize symmetries of mass matrices.

Abstract: We analyze the modifications that a dense nuclear medium induces in the D-s0*(2317)(+/-) and D-s1(2460)(+/-). In the vacuum, we consider them as isoscalar D-(*K-) and (D) over bar (()*())(K) over bar S-wave bound states, which are dynamically generated from effective interactions that lead to different Weinberg compositeness scenarios. Matter effects are incorporated through the two-meson loop functions, taking into account the self energies that the D-(*()), (D) over bar (()*()), K, and (K) over bar develop when embedded in a nuclear medium. Although particle-antiparticle [D-s0,s1(()*())(2317,2460)(+) versus D-s0,s1(()*())(2317,2460)(-)] lineshapes are the same in vacuum, we find extremely different density patterns in matter. This charge-conjugation asymmetry mainly stems from the very different kaon and antikaon interaction with the nucleons of the dense medium. We show that the in-medium lineshapes found for these resonances strongly depend on their D-(*()), K/(D) over bar (()*()), K molecular content, and discuss how this novel feature can be used to better determine/constrain the inner structure of these exotic states.

Abstract: The production of eta and eta' mesons is studied in proton -proton and proton -lead collisions collected with the LHCb detector. Proton -proton collisions are studied at center -of -mass energies of 5.02 and 13 TeV and proton -lead collisions are studied at a center -of -mass energy per nucleon of 8.16 TeV. The studies are performed in center -of -mass (c.m.) rapidity regions 2.5 < y(c.m.) < 3.5 (forward rapidity) and -4.0 < y(c.m.) < -3.0 (backward rapidity) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The eta and eta' production cross sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum for 1.5 < p(T) < 10 GeV and 3 < p(T) < 10 GeV, respectively. The differential cross sections are used to calculate nuclear modification factors. The nuclear modification factors for eta and eta' mesons agree at both forward and backward rapidity, showing no significant evidence of mass dependence. The differential cross sections of eta mesons are also used to calculate eta/pi 0 cross-section ratios, which show evidence of a deviation from the world average. These studies offer new constraints on mass -dependent nuclear effects in heavy -ion collisions, as well as eta and eta' meson fragmentation.

Abstract: Heavy-ion collisions, such as Pb-Pb or p-Pb, produce extreme conditions in temperature and density that make the hadronic matter transition to a new state, called quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Simulations of heavy-ion collisions provide a way to improve our understanding of the QGP's properties. These simulations are composed of a hybrid description that results in final observables in agreement with accelerators like LHC and RHIC. However, recent works pointed out that these hydrodynamic simulations can display acausal behavior during the evolution in certain regions, indicating a deviation from a faithful representation of the underlying QCD dynamics. To pursue a better understanding of this problem and its consequences, this work simulated two different collision systems, Pb-Pb and p-Pb at root sNN = 5.02 TeV. In this context, our results show that causality violation, even though always present, typically occurs on a small part of the system, quantified by the total energy fraction residing in the acausal region. In addition, the acausal behavior can be reduced with changes in the prehydrodynamic factors and the definition of the bulk-viscous relaxation time. Since these aspects are fairly arbitrary in current simulation models, without solid guidance from the underlying theory, it is reasonable to use the disturbing presence of acausal behavior in current simulations to guide improvements towards more realistic modeling. While this work does not solve the acausality problem, it sheds more light on this issue and also proposes a way to solve this problem in simulations of heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract: We test the impact of the ATLAS and CMS multilepton searches performed at the LHC with 8 as well as 13 TeV center-of-mass energy (using only the pre-2018 results) on the chargino and neutralino sector of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). Our purpose consists in analyzing the actual reach of these searches for a full model and in emphasizing effects beyond the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) that affect the performance of current (MSSM-inspired) electroweakino searches. To this end, we consider several scenarios characterizing specific features of the NMSSM electroweakino sector. We then perform a detailed collider study, generating Monte Carlo events through PYTHIA and testing against current LHC constraints implemented in the public tool CheckMATE. We find e.g., that supersymmetric decay chains involving intermediate singlino or Higgs-singlet states can modify the naive MSSM-like picture of the constraints by inducing final states with softer or less easily identifiable SM particles-reversely, a compressed configuration with singlino next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle occasionally induces final states that are rich with photons, which could provide complementary search channels.