Abstract: The MoEDAL's Apparatus for Penetrating Particles (MAPP) Experiment is designed to expand the search for new physics at the LHC, significantly extending the physics program of the baseline MoEDAL Experiment. The Phase-1 MAPP detector (MAPP-1) is currently undergoing installation at the LHC's UA83 gallery adjacent to the LHCb/MoEDAL region at Interaction Point 8 and will begin data-taking in early 2024. The focus of the MAPP experiment is on the quest for new feebly interacting particles – avatars of new physics with extremely small Standard Model couplings, such as minicharged particles (mCPs). In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive analysis of MAPP-1's sensitivity to mCPs arising in the canonical model involving the kinetic mixing of a massless dark U(1) gauge field with the Standard Model hypercharge gauge field. We focus on several dominant production mechanisms of mCPs at the LHC across the mass-mixing parameter space of interest to MAPP: Drell-Yan pair production, direct decays of heavy quarkonia and light vector mesons, and single Dalitz decays of pseudoscalar mesons. The 95% confidence level background-free sensitivity of MAPP-1 for mCPs produced at the LHC's Run 3 and the HL-LHC through these mechanisms, along with projected constraints on the minicharged strongly interacting dark matter window, are reported. Our results indicate that MAPP-1 exhibits sensitivity to sizable regions of unconstrained parameter space and can probe effective charges as low as 8 x 10 -4 e and 6 x 10 -4 e for Run 3 and the HL-LHC, respectively.

Abstract: The muon anomalous magnetic moment a(mu) is investigated in the MSSM for tan beta -> infinity. This is an attractive example of radiative muon mass generation with completely different qualitative parameter dependence compared to the MSSM with the usual, finite tan beta. The observed, positive difference between the experimental and Standard Model values can only be explained if there are mass splittings, such that bino contributions dominate over wino ones. The two most promising cases are characterized either by large Higgsino mass μor by large left-handed smuon mass m(L). The required mass splittings and the resulting a(mu)(SUSY) are studied in detail. It is shown that the current discrepancy in a(mu) can be explained even in cases where all SUSY masses are at the TeV scale. The paper also presents useful analytical formulas, approximations for limiting cases, and benchmark points.

Abstract: The nature of the three narrow hidden-charm pentaquark P-c states, i.e., P-c (4312), P-c (4440) and P-c (4457), is under intense discussion since their discovery from the updated analysis of the process Lambda(0)(b) -> I ) J/psi pK(-) by LHCb. In this work we extend our previous coupled-channel approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 072001 (2020)], in which the Pc states are treated as Sigma(()(c)*()) (D) over bar (()*()) molecules, by including the Lambda(c)(D) over bar (()*()) and eta(c)p as explicit inelastic channels in addition to the J/psi p, as required by unitarity and heavy quark spin symmetry (HQSS), respectively. Since inelastic parameters are very badly constrained by the current data, three calculation schemes are considered: (a) scheme I with pure contact interactions between the elastic, i.e., Sigma(()(c)*()) (D) over bar (()*()), and inelastic channels and without the Lambda(c)(D) over bar (()*()) interactions, (b) scheme II, where the one-pion exchange (OPE) is added to scheme I, and (c) scheme III, where the Lambda(c)(D) over bar (()*()) interactions are included in addition. It is shown that to obtain cutoff independent results, OPE in the multichannel system is to be supplemented with S-wave-to-D-wave mixing contact terms. As a result, in line with our previous analysis, we demonstrate that the experimental data for the J/psi p invariant mass distribution are consistent with the interpretation of the P-c(4312) and P-c(4440)/P-c(4457) as Sigma(c)(D) over bar and Sigma(c)(D) over bar* hadronic molecules, respectively, and that the data show clear evidence for a new narrow state, P-c(4380), identified as a Sigma(c)*(D) over bar molecule, which should exist as a consequence of HQSS. While two statistically equally good solutions are found in scheme I, only one of these solutions with the quantum numbers of the P-c (4440) and P-c (4457) being J(P) = 3/2(-) and 1/2(-), respectively, survives the requirement of regulator independence once the OPE is included. Moreover, we predict the line shapes in the elastic and inelastic channels and demonstrate that those related to the P-c (4440) and the P-c (4457) in the Sigma(()(c)*())<(D)over ( )anf eta(c)p mass distributions from Lambda(0)(b) ->( )Sigma(()(c)*()) (D) over barK(-) and Lambda(0)(b) -> eta(c)pK(-) will shed light on the quantum numbers of those states, once the data are available. We also investigate possible pentaquark signals in the Lambda(c)(D) over bar (()*()) final states.

Abstract: The NEXT experiment aims at searching for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta decay from the Xe-136 isotope using a high-purity xenon TPC. Efficient discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionisation tracks is a major requirement for the experiment. However, it is limited by the diffusion of electrons. It is known that the addition of a small fraction of a molecular gas to xenon reduces electron diffusion. On the other hand, the electroluminescence (EL) yield drops and the achievable energy resolution may be compromised. We have studied the effect of adding several molecular gases to xenon (CO2, CH4 and CF4) on the EL yield and energy resolution obtained in a small prototype of driftless gas proportional scintillation counter. We have compared our results on the scintillation characteristics (EL yield and energy resolution) with a microscopic simulation, obtaining the diffusion coefficients in those conditions as well. Accordingly, electron diffusion may be reduced from about 10 for pure xenon down to 2.5 using additive concentrations of about 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.02% for CO2, CH4 and CF4, respectively. Our results show that CF4 admixtures present the highest EL yield in those conditions, but very poor energy resolution as a result of huge fluctuations observed in the EL formation. CH4 presents the best energy resolution despite the EL yield being the lowest. The results obtained with xenon admixtures are extrapolated to the operational conditions of the NEXT-100 TPC. CO2 and CH4 show potential as molecular additives in a large xenon TPC. While CO2 has some operational constraints, making it difficult to be used in a large TPC, CH4 shows the best performance and stability as molecular additive to be used in the NEXT-100 TPC, with an extrapolated energy resolution of 0.4% at 2.45 MeV for concentrations below 0.4%, which is only slightly worse than the one obtained for pure xenon. We demonstrate the possibility to have an electroluminescence TPC operating very close to the thermal diffusion limit without jeopardizing the TPC performance, if CO2 or CH4 are chosen as additives.

Abstract: The NEXT experiment aims to observe the neutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136 in a high-pressure xenon gas TPC using electroluminescence (EL) to amplify the signal from ionization. One of the main advantages of this technology is the possibility to reconstruct the topology of events with energies close to Q(beta beta). This paper presents the first demonstration that the topology provides extra handles to reject background events using data obtained with the NEXT-DEMO prototype. Single electrons resulting from the interactions of Na-22 1275 keV gammas and electron-positron pairs produced by conversions of gammas from the Th-228 decay chain were used to represent the background and the signal in a double beta decay. These data were used to develop algorithms for the reconstruction of tracks and the identification of the energy deposited at the end-points, providing an extra background rejection factor of 24.3 +/- 1.4 (stat.)%, while maintaining an efficiency of 66.7 +/- 1.% for signal events.