Sanchis-Gual, N., & del Rio, A. (2023). Precessing binary black holes as engines of electromagnetic helicity. Phys. Rev. D, 108, 044052–11pp.
Abstract: We show that binary black hole mergers with precessing evolution can potentially excite photons from the quantum vacuum in such a way that total helicity is not preserved in the process. Helicity violation is allowed by quantum fluctuations that spoil the electric-magnetic duality symmetry of the classical Maxwell theory without charges. We show here that precessing binary black hole systems in astrophysics generate a flux of circularly polarized gravitational waves which, in turn, provides the required helical background that triggers this quantum effect. Solving the fully nonlinear Einstein’s equations with numerical relativity we explore the parameter space of binary systems and extract the detailed dependence of the quantum effect with the spins of the two black holes. We also introduce a set of diagrammatic techniques that allows us to predict when a binary black hole merger can or cannot emit circularly polarized gravitational radiation, based on mirror-symmetry considerations. This framework allows to understand and to interpret correctly the numerical results, and to predict the outcomes in potentially interesting astrophysical systems.
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Nieves, J., Sanchez, F., Ruiz Simo, I., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2012). Neutrino energy reconstruction and the shape of the charged current quasielastic-like total cross section. Phys. Rev. D, 85(11), 113008–9pp.
Abstract: We show that because of the multinucleon mechanism effects, the algorithm used to reconstruct the neutrino energy is not adequate when dealing with quasielastic-like events, and a distortion of the total flux-unfolded cross-section shape is produced. This amounts to a redistribution of strength from high to low energies, which gives rise to a sizable excess (deficit) of low (high) energy neutrinos. This distortion of the shape leads to a good description of the MiniBooNE unfolded charged current quasielastic-like cross sections published by A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo et al. [(MiniBooNE Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 81, 092005 (2010)]. However, these changes in the shape are artifacts of the unfolding process that ignores multinucleon mechanisms.
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Barenboim, G., & Park, W. I. (2016). Small changes to the inflaton potential can result in large changes in observables. Phys. Rev. D, 93(12), 123508–5pp.
Abstract: We show that a tiny correction to the inflaton potential can make critical changes in the inflationary observables for some types of inflation models.
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Huang, F., Sanz, V., Shu, J., & Xue, X. (2021). LIGO as a probe of dark sectors. Phys. Rev. D, 104(10), 095001–9pp.
Abstract: We show how current LIGO data is able to probe interesting theories beyond the Standard Model, particularly dark sectors where a dark Higgs boson triggers symmetry breaking via a first-order phase transition. We use publicly available LIGO O2 data to illustrate how these sectors, even if disconnected from the Standard Model, can be probed by gravitational wave detectors. We link the LIGO measurements with the model content and mass scale of the dark sector, finding that current O2 data are testing a broad set of scenarios that can be mapped into many different types of dark-sector models where the breaking of SU(N) theories with Nf fermions is triggered by a dark Higgs boson at scales ? similar or equal to 108-109 GeV with reasonable parameters for the scalar potential.
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Caputo, A., Esposito, A., & Polosa, A. D. (2019). Sub-MeV dark matter and the Goldstone modes of superfluid helium. Phys. Rev. D, 100(11), 116007–6pp.
Abstract: We show how a relativistic effective field theory for the superfluid phase of 4 He can replace the standard methods used to compute the production rates of low-momentum excitations due to the interaction with an external probe. This is done by studying the scattering problem of a light dark matter particle in the superfluid and comparing to some existing results. We show that the rate of emission of two phonons, the Goldstone modes of the effective theory, gets strongly suppressed for sub-MeV dark matter particles due to a fine cancellation between two different tree-level diagrams in the limit of small exchanged momenta. This phenomenon is found to be a consequence of the particular choice of the potential felt by the dark matter particle in helium. The predicted rates can vary by orders of magnitude if this potential is changed. We prove that the dominant contribution to the total emission rate is provided by excitations in the phonon branch. Finally, we analyze the angular distributions for the emissions of one and two phonons and discuss how they can be used to measure the mass of the hypothetical dark matter particle hitting the helium target.
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2012). Search for the Z(1)(4050)(+) and Z(2)(4250)(+) states in (B)over-bar(0) -> chi K-c1(-)pi(+) and B+ -> chi K-c1(S)0 pi(+). Phys. Rev. D, 85(5), 052003–12pp.
Abstract: We search for the Z(1)(4050)(+) and Z(2)(4250)(+) states, reported by the Belle Collaboration, decaying to chi(c1)pi(+) in the decays (B) over bar (0) -> chi K-c1(-)pi(+) and B+ -> chi K-c1(S)0 pi(+) where chi(c1) -> J/psi gamma. The data were collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider operating at center-of-mass energy 10.58 GeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 429 fb(-1). In this analysis, we model the background-subtracted, efficiency-corrected chi(c1)pi(+) mass distribution using the K pi mass distribution and the corresponding normalized K pi Legendre-polynomial moments, and then test the need for the inclusion of resonant structures in the description of the chi(c1)pi(+) mass distribution. No evidence is found for the Z(1)(4050)(+) and Z(2)(4250)(+) resonances, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions are reported for the corresponding B-meson decay modes.
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Lopez-March, N., Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2012). Search for the decay D-0 -> gamma gamma and measurement of the branching fraction for D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0). Phys. Rev. D, 85(9), 091107–8pp.
Abstract: We search for the rare decay of the D-0 meson to two photons, D-0 -> gamma gamma, and present a measurement of the branching fraction for a D-0 meson decaying to two neutral pions, B(D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)). The data sample analyzed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 470.5 fb(-1) collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider at SLAC. We place an upper limit on the branching fraction, B(D-0 -> gamma gamma) < 2.2 x 10(-6), at 90% confidence level. This limit improves on the existing limit by an order of magnitude. We also find B(D-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)) = (8.4 +/- 0.1 +/- 0.4 +/- 0.3 +/-) x 10(-4).
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., & Villanueva-Perez, P. (2013). Search for B -> K-(*()) v(v)over-bar and invisible quarkonium decays. Phys. Rev. D, 87(11), 112005–13pp.
Abstract: We search for the flavor-changing neutral-current decays B -> K-(*()) v (v) over bar, and the invisible decays J/psi -> v (v) over bar and psi(2S) -> v (v) over bar via B -> K-(*())J/psi and B -> K-(*()) psi(2S), respectively, using a data sample of 471 x 10(6) B (B) over bar pairs collected by the BABAR experiment. We fully reconstruct the hadronBic decay of one of the B mesons in the Y(4S) -> B (B) over bar decay, and search for the B -> K-(*()) v (v) over bar decay in the rest of the event. We observe no significant excess of signal decays over background and report branching fraction upper limits of B(B+ -> K+ v (v) over bar) < 3.7 x 10(-5), B(B-0 -> K-0 v<(v)over bar>) < 8.1 x 10(-5), B(B+ -> K*(+) v<(v)over bar>) < 11.6 x 10(-5), B(B-0 -> K*(0) v<(v)over bar>), < 9.3 x 10(-5), and combined upper limits of B(B -> K v<(v)over bar>) < 3.2 x 10(-5) and B(B -> K* v<(v)over bar>) < 7.9 x 10(-5), all at the 90% confidence level. For the invisible quarkonium decays, we report branching fraction upper limits of B(J/psi -> v<(v)over bar>) < 3.9 x 10(-3) and B(psi(2S) -> v<(v)over bar> < 15.5 x 10(-3) at the 90% confidence level. Using the improved kinematic resolution achieved from hadronic reconstruction, we also provide partial branching fraction limits for the B -> K-(*()) v<(v)over bar> decays over the full kinematic spectrum.
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., & Villanueva-Perez, P. (2013). Search for a light Higgs boson decaying to two gluons or s(s)over-bar in the radiative decays of Upsilon(1S). Phys. Rev. D, 88(3), 031701–7pp.
Abstract: We search for the decay Upsilon(1S) -> A(0), A(0) -> gg or s (s) over bar, where A(0) is the pseudoscalar light Higgs boson predicted by the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model. We use a sample of (17.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(6) Upsilon(1S) mesons produced in the BABAR experiment via e(+)e(-) -> Upsilon(2S) -> pi(+)pi(-)Upsilon(1S). We see no significant signal and set 90%-confidence-level upper limits on the product branching fraction B(Upsilon(1S) -> gamma A(0)) . B(A(0) -> gg or s (s) over bar ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-2) for A(0) masses in the range 0.5-9.0 GeV/c(2).
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., & Villanueva-Perez, P. (2013). Search for di-muon decays of a low-mass Higgs boson in radiative decays of the Gamma(1S). Phys. Rev. D, 87(3), 031102–8pp.
Abstract: We search for di-muon decays of a low-mass Higgs boson (A(0)) produced in radiative Gamma(1S) decays. The Gamma(1S) sample is selected by tagging the pion pair in the Gamma(2S, 3S) -> pi(+)pi(-) Gamma(1S) transitions, using a data sample of 92.8 x 10(6) Gamma(2S) and 116.8 x 10(6) Gamma(3S) events collected by the BABAR detector. We find no evidence for A(0) production and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product branching fraction B(Gamma(1S) -> gamma Lambda(0)) x B(Lambda(0)->mu(+)mu(-)) in the range of (0.28 – 9.7) x 10(-6) for 0.212 <= m(A0) <= 9.20 GeV/c(2). The results are combined with our previous measurements of Gamma(2S,3S) -> gamma Lambda(0), Lambda(0) -> mu(+)mu(-) to set limits on the effective coupling of the b quark to the Lambda(0).
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