Abstract: In this paper, we address the question of whether the almost four standard deviations difference between theory and experiment for the muon anomalous magnetic moment a(mu) can be explained as a higher-order Standard Model perturbation effect in the pion form factor measurements. This question has, until now, remained open, obscuring the source of discrepancies between the measurements. We calculate the last radiative corrections for the extraction of the pion form factor, which were believed to be potentially substantial enough to explain the data within the Standard Model. We find that the corrections are too small to diminish existing discrepancies in the determination of the pion form factor for different kinematical configurations of low-energy BABAR, BES-III and KLOE experiments. Consequently, they cannot noticeably change the previous predictions for a(mu) and decrease the deviations between theory and direct measurements. To solve the above issues, new data and better understanding of low-energy experimental setups are needed, especially as new direct a(mu) measurements at Fermilab and J-PARC will provide new insights and substantially shrink the experimental error.

Abstract: We show that a good description of the Upsilon(10860) properties, in particular the mass, the e(+) e(-) leptonic widths and the pi(+) pi(-) Upsilon(ns) (n = 1, 2, 3) production rates, can be obtained under the assumption that Upsilon(10860) is a mixing of the conventional Upsilon(5s) quark model state with the lowest P-wave hybrid state.

Abstract: From lattice indications we follow a Born-Oppenheimer approximation to build a quark-antiquark static potential for J(Pc) = 1(--) charmonium states below their first S-wave meson-meson threshold. We show that a good description of the mass and decay properties of the experimentally well established psi(4260) resonance is feasible.

Abstract: The framed Standard Model (FSM) predicts a 0(+) boson with mass around 20 MeV in the “hidden sector,” which mixes at tree level with the standard Higgs hW and hence acquires small couplings to quarks and leptons which can be calculated in the FSM apart from the mixing parameter rho Uh. The exchange of this mixed state U will contribute to g – 2 and to the Lamb shift. By adjusting rho Uh alone, it is found that the FSM can satisfy all present experimental bounds on the g – 2 and Lamb shift anomalies for μand e, and for the latter for both hydrogen and deuterium. The FSM predicts also a 1(-) boson in the “hidden sector” with a mass of 17 MeV, that is, right on top of the Atomki anomaly X. This mixes with the photon at 1-loop level and couples thereby like a dark photon to quarks and leptons. It is however a compound state and is thought likely to possess additional compound couplings to hadrons. By adjusting the mixing parameter and the X's compound coupling to nucleons, the FSM can reproduce the production rate of the X in beryllium decay as well as satisfy all the bounds on X listed so far in the literature. The above two results are consistent in that the U, being 0(+), does not contribute to the Atomki anomaly if parity and angular momentum are conserved, while X, though contributing to g – 2 and Lamb shift, has smaller couplings than U and can, at first instance, be neglected there. Thus, despite the tentative nature of the three anomalies in experiment on the one hand and of the FSM as theory on the other, the accommodation of the former in the latter has strengthened the credibility of both. Indeed, if this FSM interpretation were correct, it would change the whole aspect of the anomalies from just curiosities to windows into a vast hitherto hidden sector comprising at least in part the dark matter which makes up the bulk of our universe.

Abstract: Although weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) have long been among the most studied and theoretically attractive classes of candidates for the dark matter of our universe, the lack of their detection in direct detection and collider experiments has begun to dampen enthusiasm for this paradigm. In this study, we set out to appraise the status of the WIMP paradigm, focusing on the case of dark matter candidates that interact with the Standard Model through a new gauge boson. After considering a wide range of Z' mediated dark matter models, we quantitatively evaluate the fraction of the parameter space that has been excluded by existing experiments, and that is projected to fall within the reach of future direct detection experiments. Despite the existence of stringent constraints, we find that a sizable fraction of this parameter space remains viable. More specifically, if the dark matter is a Majorana fermion, we find that an order one fraction of the parameter space is in many cases untested by current experiments. Future direct detection experiments with sensitivity near the irreducible neutrino floor will be able to test a significant fraction of the currently viable parameter space, providing considerable motivation for the next generation of direct detection experiments.