NEXT Collaboration(Ferrario, P. et al), Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., Kekic, M., Renner, J., Uson, A., Alvarez, V., et al. (2019). Demonstration of the event identification capabilities of the NEXT-White detector. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 052–20pp.
Abstract: In experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay, the possibility of identifying the two emitted electrons is a powerful tool in rejecting background events and therefore improving the overall sensitivity of the experiment. In this paper we present the first measurement of the efficiency of a cut based on the different event signatures of double and single electron tracks, using the data of the NEXT-White detector, the first detector of the NEXT experiment operating underground. Using a Th-228 calibration source to produce signal-like and background-like events with energies near 1.6 MeV, a signal efficiency of 71.6 +/- 1.5(stat) +/- 0.3(sys) % for a background acceptance of 20.6 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.3(sys)% is found, in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. An extrapolation to the energy region of the neutrinoless double beta decay by means of Monte Carlo simulations is also carried out, and the results obtained show an improvement in background rejection over those obtained at lower energies.
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Botella, F. J., Cornet-Gomez, F., & Nebot, M. (2020). Electron and muon g-2 anomalies in general flavor conserving two-Higgs-doublet models. Phys. Rev. D, 102(3), 035023–19pp.
Abstract: In general two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs) without scalar flavor changing neutral couplings (SFCNC) in the lepton sector, the electron, muon, and tau interactions can be decoupled in a robust framework, stable under renormalization group evolution. In this framework, the breaking of lepton flavor universality (LFU) goes beyond the mass proportionality, opening the possibility to accommodate in a simple manner a different behavior among charged leptons. We analyze simultaneously the electron and muon (g – 2) anomalies in the context of these general flavor conserving models in the leptonic sector (gtlFC). We consider two different models, I-gtlFC and II-gelFC, in which the quark Yukawa couplings coincide, respectively, with the ones in type I and in type II 2HDMs. We find two types of solutions that fully reproduce both (g – 2) anomalies, and which are compatible with experimental constraints from LEP and LHC, from LFU, from flavor and electroweak physics, and with theoretical constraints in the scalar sector. In the first type of solution, all the new scalars have masses in the 1-2.5 TeV range, the vacuum expectation values (vevs) of both doublets are quite similar in magnitude, and both anomalies are dominated by two loop Barr-Zee contributions. This solution appears in both models. There is a second type of solution, where one loop contributions are dominant in the muon anomaly, all new scalars have masses below 1 TeV, and the ratio of vevs is in the range 10-100. The second neutral scalar H is the lighter among the new scalars, with a mass in the 210-390 GeV range while the pseudoscalar A is the heavier, with a mass in the range 400-900 GeV. The new charged scalar H-+/- is almost degenerate either with the scalar or with the pseudoscalar. This second type of solution only appears in the I-gelFC model. Both solutions require the soft breaking of the Z(2) symmetry of the Higgs potential.
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Hooper, D., Leane, R. K., Tsai, Y. D., Wegsman, S., & Witte, S. J. (2020). A systematic study of hidden sector dark matter: application to the gamma-ray and antiproton excesses. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 163–38pp.
Abstract: In hidden sector models, dark matter does not directly couple to the particle content of the Standard Model, strongly suppressing rates at direct detection experiments, while still allowing for large signals from annihilation. In this paper, we conduct an extensive study of hidden sector dark matter, covering a wide range of dark matter spins, mediator spins, interaction diagrams, and annihilation final states, in each case determining whether the annihilations are s-wave (thus enabling efficient annihilation in the universe today). We then go on to consider a variety of portal interactions that allow the hidden sector annihilation products to decay into the Standard Model. We broadly classify constraints from relic density requirements and dwarf spheroidal galaxy observations. In the scenario that the hidden sector was in equilibrium with the Standard Model in the early universe, we place a lower bound on the portal coupling, as well as on the dark matter's elastic scattering cross section with nuclei. We apply our hidden sector results to the observed Galactic Center gamma-ray excess and the cosmic-ray antiproton excess. We find that both of these excesses can be simultaneously explained by a variety of hidden sector models, without any tension with constraints from observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
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Garani, R., Gasparotto, F., Mastrolia, P., Munch, H. J., Palomares-Ruiz, S., & Primo, A. (2021). Two-photon exchange in leptophilic dark matter scenarios. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 212–42pp.
Abstract: In leptophilic scenarios, dark matter interactions with nuclei, relevant for direct detection experiments and for the capture by celestial objects, could only occur via loop-induced processes. If the mediator is a scalar or pseudo-scalar particle, which only couples to leptons, the dominant contribution to dark matter-nucleus scattering would take place via two-photon exchange with a lepton triangle loop. The corresponding diagrams have been estimated in the literature under different approximations. Here, we present new analytical calculations for one-body two-loop and two-body one-loop interactions. The two-loop form factors are presented in closed analytical form in terms of generalized polylogarithms up to weight four. In both cases, we consider the exact dependence on all the involved scales, and study the dependence on the momentum transfer. We show that some previous approximations fail to correctly predict the scattering cross section by several orders of magnitude. Moreover, we quantitatively show that form factors in the range of momentum transfer relevant for local galactic dark matter, can be significantly smaller than their value at zero momentum transfer, which is the approach usually considered.
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Lattanzi, M., Gerbino, M., Freese, K., Kane, G., & Valle, J. W. F. (2020). Cornering (quasi) degenerate neutrinos with cosmology. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 213–24pp.
Abstract: In light of the improved sensitivities of cosmological observations, we examine the status of quasi-degenerate neutrino mass scenarios. Within the simplest extension of the standard cosmological model with massive neutrinos, we find that quasi-degenerate neutrinos are severely constrained by present cosmological data and neutrino oscillation experiments. We find that Planck 2018 observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies disfavour quasi-degenerate neutrino masses at 2.4 Gaussian sigma 's, while adding baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) data brings the rejection to 5.9 sigma 's. The highest statistical significance with which one would be able to rule out quasi-degeneracy would arise if the sum of neutrino masses is Sigma m(v) = 60 meV (the minimum allowed by neutrino oscillation experiments); indeed a sensitivity of 15 meV, as expected from a combination of future cosmological probes, would further improve the rejection level up to 17 sigma. We discuss the robustness of these projections with respect to assumptions on the underlying cosmological model, and also compare them with bounds from beta decay endpoint and neutrinoless double beta decay studies.
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Addazi, A., Ricciardi, G., Scarlatella, S., Srivastava, R., & Valle, J. W. F. (2022). Interpreting B anomalies within an extended 331 gauge theory. Phys. Rev. D, 106(3), 035030–14pp.
Abstract: In light of the recent R-K(*) data on neutral current flavor anomalies in B -> K-(*())l(+)l(-) decays, we reexamine their quantitative interpretation in terms of an extended 331 gauge theory framework. We achieve this by adding two extra lepton species with novel 331 charges, while ensuring that the model remains anomaly-free. In contrast to the canonical 331 models, the gauge charges of the first and second lepton families differ from each other, allowing lepton-flavor universality violation. We further expand the model by adding the neutral fermions required to provide an adequate description for small neutrino masses.
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Delhom, A., Olmo, G. J., & Singh, P. (2023). A diffeomorphism invariant family of metric-affine actions for loop cosmologies. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 059–21pp.
Abstract: In loop quantum cosmology (LQC) the big bang singularity is generically resolved by a big bounce. This feature holds even when modified quantization prescriptions of the Hamiltonian constraint are used such as in mLQC-I and mLQC-II. While the later describes an effective description qualitatively similar to that of standard LQC, the former describes an asymmetric evolution with an emergent Planckian de-Sitter pre-bounce phase even in the absence of a potential. We consider the potential relation of these canonically quantized non-singular models with effective actions based on a geometric description. We find a 3-parameter family of metric-affine f (R) theories which accurately approximate the effective dynamics of LQC and mLQC-II in all regimes and mLQC-I in the post-bounce phase. Two of the parameters are fixed by enforcing equivalence at the bounce, and the background evolution of the relevant observables can be fitted with only one free parameter. It is seen that the non-perturbative effects of these loop cosmologies are universally encoded by a logarithmic correction that only depends on the bounce curvature of the model. In addition, we find that the best fit value of the free parameter can be very approximately written in terms of fundamental parameters of the underlying quantum description for the three models. The values of the best fits can be written in terms of the bounce density in a simple manner, and the values for each model are related to one another by a proportionality relation involving only the Barbero-Immirzi parameter.
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Chen, M. C., Li, X. Q., Liu, X. G., Medina, O., & Ratz, M. (2024). Modular invariant holomorphic observables. Phys. Lett. B, 852, 138600–13pp.
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.
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Alves, J. M., Botella, F. J., Miro, C., & Nebot, M. (2023). Spontaneous CP violation and μ-τ symmetry intwo-Higgs-doublet models with flavour conservation. Eur. Phys. J. C, 83(10), 940–12pp.
Abstract: In multi-Higgs-doublet models, requiring simultaneously that (i) CP violation only arises spontaneously, (ii)tree level scalar flavour changing couplings are absent and (iii) the fermion mixing matrix is CP violating, can only be achieved in a very specific manner. A general approach with new clarifying insights on the question is presented. Considering the quark sector, that peculiar possibility is not viable on phenomenological grounds. We show that, considering the lepton sector, it is highly interesting and leads to viable models with mu-tau symmetric PMNS matrices. Phenomenological implications of the models, both for Dirac and Majorana (in a type I seesaw scenario) neutrinos, are analysed.
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Ruhr, F. et al, Escobar, C., & Miñano, M. (2020). Testbeam studies of barrel and end-cap modules for the ATLAS ITk strip detector before and after irradiation. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 979, 164430–6pp.
Abstract: In order to cope with the occupancy and radiation doses expected at the High-Luminosity LHC, the ATLAS experiment will replace its Inner Detector with an all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk), consisting of pixel and strip subsystems. In the last two years, several prototype ITk strip modules have been tested using beams of high energy electrons produced at the DESY-II testbeam facility. Tracking was provided by EUDET telescopes. The modules tested are built from two sensor types: the rectangular ATLAS17LS, which will be used in the outer layers of the central barrel region of the detector, and the annular ATLAS12EC, which will be used in the innermost ring (R0) of the forward region. Additionally, a structure with two RO modules positioned back-to-back has been measured, demonstrating space point reconstruction using the stereo angle of the strips. Finally, one barrel and one RO module have been measured after irradiation to 40% beyond the expected end-of-lifetime fluence. The data obtained allow for thorough tests of the module performance, including charge collection, noise occupancy, detection efficiency, and tracking performance. The results give confidence that the ITk strip detector will meet the requirements of the ATLAS experiment.
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