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Forconi, M., Giare, W., Mena, O., Ruchika, Di Valentino, E., Melchiorri, A., et al. (2024). A double take on early and interacting dark energy from JWST. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 05(5), 097–37pp.
Abstract: The very first light captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealed a population of galaxies at very high redshifts more massive than expected in the canonical Lambda CDM model of structure formation. Barring, among others, a systematic origin of the issue, in this paper, we test alternative cosmological perturbation histories. We argue that models with a larger matter component ohm m and/or a larger scalar spectral index n s can substantially improve the fit to JWST measurements. In this regard, phenomenological extensions related to the dark energy sector of the theory are appealing alternatives, with Early Dark Energy emerging as an excellent candidate to explain (at least in part) the unexpected JWST preference for larger stellar mass densities. Conversely, Interacting Dark Energy models, despite producing higher values of matter clustering parameters such as sigma 8 , are generally disfavored by JWST measurements. This is due to the energy -momentum flow from the dark matter to the dark energy sector, implying a smaller matter energy density. Upcoming observations may either strengthen the evidence or falsify some of these appealing phenomenological alternatives to the simplest Lambda CDM picture.
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Bottoni, S. et al, Gadea, A., & Perez-Vidal, R. M. (2024). Search for the γ decay of the narrow near-threshold proton resonance in 11B. Phys. Lett. B, 855, 138851–4pp.
Abstract: The y decay of the elusive narrow, near-threshold proton resonance in 11 B was investigated at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (INFN) in a particle-y coincidence experiment, using the 6 Li( 6 Li,py) fusion-evaporation reaction and the GALILEO-GALTRACE setup. No clear signature was found for a possible E1 decay to the 1/2-1, – 1 , first-excited state of 11 B, predicted by the Shell Model Embedded in the Continuum (SMEC) with a branching of 0.98+167 +167 -69 x 10-3 -3 with respect to the dominant particle-decaying modes. The statistical analysis of the y-ray spectrum provided an average upper limit of 2.37 x 10-3 -3 for this y-ray branching, with a global significance of 5 sigma. On the other hand, by imposing a global confidence level of 3 sigma, a significant excess of counts was observed for Ey y = 9300(20) keV, corresponding to a resonance energy of 11429(20) keV (namely 200(20) keV above the proton separation energy of 11 B) and a y-ray branching of 1.12(35) x10-3. -3 . This result is compatible with the SMEC calculations, potentially supporting the existence of a near-threshold proton resonance in 11 B.
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Aristizabal Sierra, D., De Romeri, V., & Ternes, C. A. (2024). Reactor neutrino background in next-generation dark matter detectors. Phys. Rev. D, 109(11), 115026–7pp.
Abstract: Third -generation dark matter detectors will be fully sensitive to the 8 B solar neutrino flux. Because of this, the characterization of such a background has been the subject of extensive analyses over the last few years. In contrast, little is known about the impact of reactor neutrinos. In this paper, we report on the implications of such a flux for dark matter direct -detection searches. We consider five potential detector deployment sites envisioned by the recently established XLZD Consortium: SURF, SNOLAB, Kamioka, LNGS, and Boulby. By using public reactor data, we construct five reactor clusters -involving about 100 currently operating commercial nuclear reactors each -and determine the net neutrino flux at each detector site. Assuming a xenon -based detector and a 50 ton -year exposure, we show that in all cases the neutrino event rate may be sizable, depending on energy recoil thresholds. Of all possible detector sites, SURF and LNGS are those with the smallest reactor neutrino background. On the contrary, SNOLAB and Boulby are subject to the strongest reactor neutrino fluxes, with Kamioka being subject to a more moderate background. Our findings demonstrate that reactor neutrino fluxes should be taken into account in the next round of dark matter searches. We argue that this background may be particularly relevant for directional detectors, provided they meet the requirements we have employed in this analysis.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Aikot, A., Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., et al. (2024). Search for the Zy decay mode of new high-mass resonances in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 848, 138394–23pp.
Abstract: This letter presents a search for narrow, high-mass resonances in the Zy final state with the Z boson decaying into a pair of electrons or muons. The root s = 13 TeV pp collision data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and have an integrated luminosity of 140 fb-1. The data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model background expectation. Upper limits are set on the resonance production cross section times the decay branching ratio into Zy. For spin-0 resonances produced via gluon-gluon fusion, the observed limits at 95% confidence level vary between 65.5 fb and 0.6 fb, while for spin-2 resonances produced via gluon-gluon fusion (or quark-antiquark initial states) limits vary between 77.4 (76.1) fb and 0.6 (0.5) fb, for the mass range from 220 GeV to 3400 GeV.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Aikot, A., Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., et al. (2024). Study of High-Transverse-Momentum Higgs Boson Production in Association with a Vector Boson in the qqbb Final State with the ATLAS Detector. Phys. Rev. Lett., 132(13), 131802–23pp.
Abstract: This Letter presents the first study of Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson (V = W or Z) in the fully hadronic qqbb final state using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in ffiffiproton-proton collisions at root root s= 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137fb(-1). The vector bosons and Higgs bosons are each reconstructed as large-radius jets and tagged using jet substructure techniques. Dedicated tagging algorithms exploiting b-tagging properties are used to identify jets consistent with Higgs bosons decaying into b (b) over bar. Dominant backgrounds from multijet production are determined directly from the data, and a likelihood fit to the jet mass distribution of Higgs boson candidates is used to extract the number of signal events. The VH production cross section is measured inclusively and differentially in several ranges of Higgs boson transverse momentum: 250-450, 450-650, and greater than 650 GeV. The inclusive signal yield relative to the standard model expectation is observed to be μ= 1.4(-0.9)(+1.0) and the corresponding cross section is 3.1 +/- 1.3(stat)(-1.4)(+1.8) (syst) pb.
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