NEXT Collaboration(Serra, L. et al), Sorel, M., Alvarez, V., Carcel, S., Cervera-Villanueva, A., Diaz, J., et al. (2015). An improved measurement of electron-ion recombination in high-pressure xenon gas. J. Instrum., 10, P03025–21pp.
Abstract: We report on results obtained with the NEXT-DEMO prototype of the NEXT-100 high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber (TPC), filled with pure xenon gas at 10 bar pressure and exposed to an alpha decay calibration source. Compared to our previous measurements with alpha particles, an upgraded detector and improved analysis techniques have been used. We measure event-by-event correlated fluctuations between ionization and scintillation due to electronion recombination in the gas, with correlation coefficients between -0.80 and -0.56 depending on the drift field conditions. By combining the two signals, we obtain a 2.8% FWHM energy resolution for 5.49 MeV alpha particles and a measurement of the optical gain of the electroluminescent TPC. The improved energy resolution also allows us to measure the specific activity of the radon in the gas due to natural impurities. Finally, we measure the average ratio of excited to ionized atoms produced in the xenon gas by alpha particles to be 0.561 +/- 0.045, translating into an average energy to produce a primary scintillation photon of W-ex = (39.2 +/- 3.2) eV.
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Van Isacker, P., Algora, A., Vitéz-Sveiczer, A., Kiss, G. G., Orrigo, S. E. A., Rubio, B., et al. (2023). Gamow-Teller Beta Decay and Pseudo-SU(4) Symmetry. Symmetry-Basel, 15(11), 2001–15pp.
Abstract: We report on recent experimental results on beta decay into self-conjugate ( N = Z) nuclei with mass number 58 <= A <= 70. Super-allowed b decays from the J(pi) = 0(+) ground state of a Z = N + 2 parent nucleus are to the isobaric analogue state through so-called Fermi transitions and to J(pi) = 1(+) states by way of Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions. The operator of the latter decay is a generator of Wigner's SU(4) algebra and as a consequence GT transitions obey selection rules associated with this symmetry. Since SU(4) is progressively broken with increasing A, mainly as a consequence of the spinorbit interaction, this symmetry is not relevant for the nuclei considered here. We argue, however, that the pseudo-spin-orbit splitting can be small in nuclei with 58 <= A <= 70, in which case nuclear states exhibit an approximate pseudo-SU(4) symmetry. To test this conjecture, GT decay strength is calculated with use of a schematic Hamiltonian with pseudo-SU(4) symmetry. Some generic features of the GT beta decay due to pseudo-SU(4) symmetry are pointed out. The experimentally observed GT strength indicates a restoration of pseudo-SU(4) symmetry for A = 70.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). Measurement of CP asymmetry in B-s(0) -> D-s(-/+) K-/+ decays. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 060–30pp.
Abstract: We report on measurements of the time-dependent CP violating observables in B-s(0) -> D-s(-/+) K--/+ decays using a dataset corresponding to 1.0 fb(-1) of pp collisions recorded with the LHCb detector. We find the CP violating observables C-f = 0.53 +/- 0.25 +/- 0.04, A(f)(Delta Gamma) = 0.37 +/- 0.42 +/- 0.20, A((f) over bar)(Delta Gamma) = 0.20 +/- 0.41 +/- 0.20, S-f = -1.09 +/- 0.33 +/- 0.08, S-(f) over bar = -0.36 +/- 0.34 +/- 0.08, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. Using these observables together with a recent measurement of the B-s(0) mixing phase -2 beta(s) leads to the first extraction of the CKM angle gamma from B-s(0) -> D-s(-/+) K--/+ decays, finding gamma = (115(-43)(+28))degrees modulo 180 degrees at 68% CL, where the error contains both statistical and systematic uncertainties.
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Amerio, A., Cuoco, A., & Fornengo, N. (2023). Extracting the gamma-ray source-count distribution below the Fermi-LAT detection limit with deep learning. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 09(9), 029–39pp.
Abstract: We reconstruct the extra-galactic gamma-ray source-count distribution, or dN/dS, of resolved and unresolved sources by adopting machine learning techniques. Specifically, we train a convolutional neural network on synthetic 2-dimensional sky-maps, which are built by varying parameters of underlying source-counts models and incorporate the FermiLAT instrumental response functions. The trained neural network is then applied to the Fermi-LAT data, from which we estimate the source count distribution down to flux levels a factor of 50 below the Fermi-LAT threshold. We perform our analysis using 14 years of data collected in the (1, 10) GeV energy range. The results we obtain show a source count distribution which, in the resolved regime, is in excellent agreement with the one derived from cataloged sources, and then extends as dN/dS " S-2 in the unresolved regime, down to fluxes of 5 center dot 10-12 cm-2 s-1. The neural network architecture and the devised methodology have the flexibility to enable future analyses to study the energy dependence of the source-count distribution.
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Arbelaez, C., Carcamo Hernandez, A. E., Cepedello, R., Kovalenko, S., & Schmidt, I. (2020). Sequentially loop suppressed fermion masses from a single discrete symmetry. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 043–24pp.
Abstract: We propose a systematic and renormalizable sequential loop suppression mechanism to generate the hierarchy of the Standard Model fermion masses from one discrete symmetry. The discrete symmetry is sequentially softly broken in order to generate one-loop level masses for the bottom, charm, tau and muon leptons and two-loop level masses for the lightest Standard Model charged fermions. The tiny masses for the light active neutrinos are produced from radiative type-I seesaw mechanism, where the Dirac mass terms are effectively generated at two-loop level.
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