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Forero, D. V., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2014). Neutrino oscillations refitted. Phys. Rev. D, 90(9), 093006–10pp.
Abstract: Here, we update our previous global fit of neutrino oscillations by including the recent results that have appeared since the Neutrino 2012 conference. These include the measurements of reactor antineutrino disappearance reported by Daya Bay and RENO, together with latest T2K and MINOS data including both disappearance and appearance channels. We also include the revised results from the third solar phase of Super-Kamiokande, SK-III, as well as new solar results from the fourth phase of Super-Kamiokande, SK-IV. We find that the preferred global determination of the atmospheric angle theta(23) is consistent with maximal mixing. We also determine the impact of the new data upon all the other neutrino oscillation parameters with an emphasis on the increasing sensitivity to the CP phase, thanks to the interplay between accelerator and reactor data. In the Appendix, we present the updated results obtained after the inclusion of new reactor data presented at the Neutrino 2014 conference. We discuss their impact on the global neutrino analysis.
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Fornengo, N., Lineros, R. A., Regis, M., & Taoso, M. (2014). The isotropic radio background revisited. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 008–36pp.
Abstract: We present an extensive analysis on the determination of the isotropic radio background. We consider six different radio maps, ranging from 22 MHz to 2.3 GHz and covering a large fraction of the sky. The large scale emission is modeled as a linear combination of an isotropic component plus the Galactic synchrotron radiation and thermal bremsstrahlung. Point-like and extended sources are either masked or accounted for by means of a template. We find a robust estimate of the isotropic radio background, with limited scatter among different Galactic models. The level of the isotropic background lies significantly above the contribution obtained by integrating the number counts of observed extragalactic sources. Since the isotropic component dominates at high latitudes, thus making the profile of the total emission flat, a Galactic origin for such excess appears unlikely. We conclude that, unless a systematic offset is present in the maps, and provided that our current understanding of the Galactic synchrotron emission is reasonable, extragalactic sources well below the current experimental threshold seem to account for the majority of the brightness of the extragalactic radio sky.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Fraval, K. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Giubrone, G., & Tain, J. L. (2014). Measurement and analysis of the Am-241(n,gamma) cross section with liquid scintillator detectors using time-of-flight spectroscopy at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Phys. Rev. C, 89(4), 044609–14pp.
Abstract: The Am-241(n,gamma) cross section has been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN using deuterated benzene liquid scintillators, commonly known as C6D6 detectors, and time-of-flight spectrometry. The results in the resolved resonance range bring new constraints to evaluations below 150 eV, and the energy upper limit was extended from 150 to 320 eV with a total of 172 new resonances not present in current evaluations. The thermal capture cross section was found to be sigma(th) = 678 +/- 68 b, which is in good agreement with evaluations and most previous measurements. The capture cross section in the unresolved resonance region was extracted in the remaining energy range up to 150 keV, and found to be larger than current evaluations and previous measurements.
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Fujita, Y. et al, Algora, A., Estevez-Aguado, E., Molina, F., & Rubio, B. (2014). Observation of Low- and High-Energy Gamow-Teller Phonon Excitations in Nuclei. Phys. Rev. Lett., 112(11), 112502–5pp.
Abstract: Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions in atomic nuclei are sensitive to both nuclear shell structure and effective residual interactions. The nuclear GT excitations were studied for the mass number A = 42, 46, 50, and 54 “f-shell” nuclei in (He-3, t) charge-exchange reactions. In the Ca-42 -> Sc-42 reaction, most of the GT strength is concentrated in the lowest excited state at 0.6 MeV, suggesting the existence of a low-energy GT phonon excitation. As A increases, a high-energy GT phonon excitation develops in the 6-11 MeV region. In the Fe-54 -> Co-54 reaction, the high-energy GT phonon excitation mainly carries the GT strength. The existence of these two GT phonon excitations are attributed to the 2 fermionic degrees of freedom in nuclei.
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Garzon, E. J., Molina, R., Hosaka, A., & Oset, E. (2014). Strategies for an accurate determination of the X(3872) energy from QCD lattice simulations. Phys. Rev. D, 89(1), 014504–9pp.
Abstract: We develop a method to determine accurately the binding energy of the X( 3872) from lattice data for the D (D) over bar* interaction. We show that, because of the small difference between the neutral and charged components of the X( 3872), it is necessary to differentiate them in the energy levels of the lattice spectrum if one wishes to have a precise determination of the the binding energy of the X( 3872). The analysis of the data requires the use of coupled channels. Depending on the number of levels available and the size of the box, we determine the precision needed in the lattice energies to finally obtain a desired accuracy in the binding energy.
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Ghosh, P., Lopez-Fogliani, D. E., Mitsou, V. A., Muñoz, C., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2014). Probing the μnu SSM with light scalars, pseudoscalars and neutralinos from the decay of a SM-like Higgs boson at the LHC. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 102–57pp.
Abstract: The “mu from nu” supersymmetric standard model (mu nu SSM) can accommodate the newly discovered Higgs-like scalar boson with a mass around 125GeV. This model provides a solution to the mu-problem and simultaneously reproduces correct neutrino physics by the simple use of right-handed neutrino superfields. These new superfields together with the introduced R-parity violation can produce novel and characteristic signatures of the μnu SSM at the LHC. We explore the signatures produced through two-body Higgs decays into the new states, provided that these states lie below in the mass spectrum. For example, a pair produced light neutralinos depending on the associated decay length can give rise to displaced multi-leptons/taus/jets/photons with small/moderate missing transverse energy. In the same spirit, a Higgs-like scalar decaying to a pair of scalars/pseudoscalars can produce final states with prompt multi-leptons/taus/jets/photons.
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Gillam, J. E., Solevi, P., Oliver, J. F., Casella, C., Heller, M., Joram, C., et al. (2014). Sensitivity recovery for the AX-PET prototype using inter-crystal scattering events. Phys. Med. Biol., 59(15), 4065–4083.
Abstract: The development of novel detection devices and systems such as the AX-positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrator often introduce or increase the measurement of atypical coincidence events such as inter-crystal scattering (ICS). In more standard systems, ICS events often go undetected and the small measured fraction may be ignored. As the measured quantity of such events in the data increases, so too does the importance of considering them during image reconstruction. Generally, treatment of ICS events will attempt to determine which of the possible candidate lines of response (LoRs) correctly determine the annihilation photon trajectory. However, methods of assessment often have low success rates or are computationally demanding. In this investigation alternative approaches are considered. Experimental data was taken using the AX-PET prototype and a NEMA phantom. Three methods of ICS treatment were assessed-each of which considered all possible candidate LoRs during image reconstruction. Maximum likelihood expectation maximization was used in conjunction with both standard (line-like) and novel (V-like in this investigation) detection responses modeled within the system matrix. The investigation assumed that no information other than interaction locations was available to distinguish between candidates, yet the methods assessed all provided means by which such information could be included. In all cases it was shown that the signal to noise ratio is increased using ICS events. However, only one method, which used full modeling of the ICS response in the system matrix-the V-like model-provided enhancement in all figures of merit assessed in this investigation. Finally, the optimal method of ICS incorporation was demonstrated using data from two small animals measured using the AX-PET demonstrator.
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Giusarma, E., Di Valentino, E., Lattanzi, M., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2014). Relic neutrinos, thermal axions, and cosmology in early 2014. Phys. Rev. D, 90(4), 043507–17pp.
Abstract: We present up-to-date cosmological bounds on the sum of active neutrino masses as well as on extended cosmological scenarios with additional thermal relics, as thermal axions or sterile neutrino species. Our analyses consider all the current available cosmological data in the beginning of year 2014, including the very recent and most precise baryon acoustic oscillation measurements from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. In the minimal three-active-neutrino scenario, we find Sigma m(nu) < 0.22 eV at 95% C.L. from the combination of cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryon acoustic oscillation, and Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the Hubble constant. A nonzero value for the sum of the three active neutrino masses of similar to 0.3 eV is significantly favored at more than three standard deviations when adding the constraints on s 8 and Om from the Planck cluster catalog on galaxy number counts. This preference for nonzero thermal relic masses disappears almost completely in both the thermal axion and massive sterile neutrino schemes. Extra light species contribute to the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, parametrized via N-eff. We found that when the recent detection of B mode polarization from the BICEP2 experiment is considered, an analysis of the combined CMB data in the framework of LCDM + r models gives N-eff = 3.90 +/- 0.42, suggesting the presence of an extra relativistic relic at more than 95% C.L. from CMB-only data.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., Fiorini, L., et al. (2014). Measurement of the t(t)over-bar production cross-section using e μevents with b-tagged jets in pp collisions at root s=7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(10), 3109–32pp.
Abstract: The inclusive top quark pair (t (t) over tilde) production cross-section sigma(t (t) over bar) has been measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV and root s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, using t (t) over bar events with an opposite-charge e μpair in the final state. The measurement was performed with the 2011 7 TeV dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) and the 2012 8 TeV dataset of 20.3 fb(-1). The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets were counted and used to simultaneously determine sigma(t (t) over bar) and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section was measured to be: sigma(t (t) over bar) = 182.9 +/- 3.1 +/- 4.2 +/- 3.6 +/- 3.3 pb (root s = 7 TeV) and sigma(t (t) over bar) = 242.4 +/- 1.7 +/- 5.5 +/- 7.5 +/- 4.2 pb (root s = 8 TeV), where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, knowledge of the integrated luminosity and of the LHC beam energy. The results are consistent with recent theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. Fiducial measurements corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons are also reported, together with the ratio of cross-sections measured at the two centre-of-mass energies. The inclusive cross-section results were used to determine the top quark pole mass via the dependence of the theoretically predicted cross-section on m(t)(pole) giving a result of m(t)(pole) = 172.9(-2.6)(+2.5) GeV. By looking for an excess of t (t) over bar production with respect to the QCD prediction, the results were also used to place limits on the pair-production of supersymmetric top squarks (t) over tilde (1) with masses close to the top quarkmass, decaying via (t) over tilde (1) -> t (chi) over tilde (0)(1) 1 to predominantly right-handed top quarks and a light neutralino (chi) over tilde (0)(1) 1, the lightest supersymmetric particle. Top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 177 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.
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Goasduff, A., Valiente-Dobon, J. J., Lunardi, S., Haas, F., Gadea, A., de Angelis, G., et al. (2014). Counting rate measurements for lifetime experiments using the RDDS method with the new generation gamma-ray array AGATA. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 758, 1–3.
Abstract: The differential Recoil Distance Doppler Shift (RDDS) method after multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions to measure lifetimes of excited states in neutron-rich nuclei requires the use of a thick energy degrader for the recoiling ejectiles that are then detected in a spectrometer. This type of measurements greatly benefits from the use of the new generation segmented gamma-ray detectors, such as the AGATA demonstrator which offers unprecedented energy and angular resolutions. In order to make an optimized choice of the material and the thickness of the degrader for lifetime measurements using the RODS method after MNT, an experiment has been performed with the AGATA demonstrator. Counting rate measurements for different degraders are presented.
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