Gambino, P., Melis, A., & Simula, S. (2017). Extraction of heavy-quark-expansion parameters from unquenched lattice data on pseudoscalar and vector heavy-light meson masses. Phys. Rev. D, 96(1), 014511–17pp.
Abstract: We present a precise lattice computation of pseudoscalar and vector heavy-light meson masses for heavy-quark masses ranging from the physical charm mass up to similar or equal to 4 times the physical b-quark mass. We employ the gauge configurations generated by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration (ETMC) with N-f = 2 + 1 + 1 dynamical quarks at three values of the lattice spacing (a similar or equal to 0.062; 0.082; 0.089 fm) with pion masses in the range M-pi similar or equal to 210-450 MeV. The heavy-quark mass is simulated directly on the lattice up to similar or equal to 3 times the physical charm mass. The interpolation to the physical b-quark mass is performed using the ETMC ratio method, based on ratios of the meson masses computed at nearby heavy-quark masses, and adopting the kinetic mass scheme. The extrapolation to the physical pion mass and to the continuum limit yields m(b)(kin) (1 GeV) = 4.61(20) GeV, which corresponds to (m) over bar (b) ((m) over bar (b)) 4.26(18) GeV in the (MS) over bar scheme. The lattice data are analyzed in terms of the heavy-quark expansion (HQE) and the matrix elements of dimension-four and dimension-five operators are extracted with a good precision, namely,(Lambda) over bar = 0.552(26) GeV, mu(2)(pi) = 0.321(32) GeV2, and mu(2)(G)(m(b)) = 0.253(25) GeV2. The data also allow for a rough estimate of the dimension-six operator matrix elements. As the HQE parameters play a crucial role in the inclusive determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements V-ub and V-cb, their precise determination on the lattice may eventually validate and improve the analyses based on fits to the semileptonic moments.
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Fuentes-Martin, J., Reig, M., & Vicente, A. (2019). Strong CP problem with low-energy emergent QCD: The 4321 case. Phys. Rev. D, 100(11), 115028–7pp.
Abstract: We analyze the strong CP problem and the implications for axion physics in the context of U-1 vector leptoquark models, recently put forward as an elegant solution to the hints of lepton flavor universality violation in B-meson decays. It is shown that in minimal gauge models containing the U-1 as a gauge boson, the Peccei-Quinn solution of the strong CP problem requires the introduction of two axions. Characteristic predictions for the associated axions can be deduced from the model parameter space hinted by B-physics, allowing the new axion sector to account for the dark matter of the Universe. We also provide a specific ultraviolet completion of the axion sector that connects the Peccei-Quinn mechanism to the generation of neutrino masses.
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Franca, U., Lineros, R. A., Palacio, J., & Pastor, S. (2013). Probing interactions within the dark matter sector via extra radiation contributions. Phys. Rev. D, 87(12), 123521–6pp.
Abstract: The nature of dark matter is one of the most thrilling riddles for both cosmology and particle physics nowadays. While in the typical models the dark sector is composed only by weakly interacting massive particles, an arguably more natural scenario would include a whole set of gauge interactions which are invisible for the standard model but that are in contact with the dark matter. We present a method to constrain the number of massless gauge bosons and other relativistic particles that might be present in the dark sector using current and future cosmic microwave background data, and provide upper bounds on the size of the dark sector. We use the fact that the dark matter abundance depends on the strength of the interactions with both sectors, which allows one to relate the freeze-out temperature of the dark matter with the temperature of this cosmic background of dark gauge bosons. This relation can then be used to calculate how sizable is the impact of the relativistic dark sector in the number of degrees of freedom of the early Universe, providing an interesting and testable connection between cosmological data and direct/indirect detection experiments. The recent Planck data, in combination with other cosmic microwave background experiments and baryonic acoustic oscillations data, constrains the number of relativistic dark gauge bosons, when the freeze-out temperature of the dark matter is larger than the top mass, to be N less than or similar to 14 for the simplest scenarios, while those limits are slightly relaxed for the combination with the Hubble constant measurements to N less than or similar to 20. Future releases of Planck data are expected to reduce the uncertainty by approximately a factor of 3, which will reduce significantly the parameter space of allowed models.
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Fourdrinoy, J., Robertson, S., James, N., Fabbri, A., & Rousseaux, G. (2022). Correlations on weakly time-dependent transcritical white-hole flows. Phys. Rev. D, 105(8), 085022–14pp.
Abstract: We report observations made on a run of transcritical flows over an obstacle in a narrow channel. Downstream from the obstacle, the flows decelerate from supercritical to subcritical, typically with an undulation on the subcritical side (known in hydrodynamics as an undular hydraulic jump). In the Analogue Gravity context, this transition corresponds to a white-hole horizon. Free-surface deformations are analyzed, mainly via the two-point correlation function which shows the presence of a checkerboard pattern in the vicinity of the undulation. In nongated flows where the white-hole horizon occurs far downstream from the obstacle, this checkerboard pattern is shown to be due to low-frequency fluctuations associated with slow longitudinal movement of the undulation. Tt can thus be considered as an artifact due to a time-varying background. In gated flows, however, the undulation is typically “attached” to the obstacle, and the fluctuations associated with its movement are strongly suppressed. In this case, the observed correlation pattern is likely due to a stochastic ensemble of surface waves, scattering on a background that is essentially stationary.
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Forero, D. V., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2012). Global status of neutrino oscillation parameters after Neutrino-2012. Phys. Rev. D, 86(7), 073012–8pp.
Abstract: Here we update the global fit of neutrino oscillations in Refs. [T. Schwetz, M. Tortola, and J. W. F. Valle, New J. Phys. 13, 063004 (2011); T. Schwetz, M. Tortola, and J. W. F. Valle, New J. Phys. 13, 109401 (2011)] including the recent measurements of reactor antineutrino disappearance reported by the Double Chooz, Daya Bay, and RENO experiments, together with latest MINOS and T2K appearance and disappearance results, as presented at the Neutrino-2012 conference. We find that the preferred global fit value of theta(13) is quite large: sin(2)theta(13) similar or equal to 0.025 for normal and inverted neutrino mass ordering, with theta(13) = 0 now excluded at more than 10 sigma. The impact of the new theta(13) measurements over the other neutrino oscillation parameters is discussed as well as the role of the new long-baseline neutrino data and the atmospheric neutrino analysis in the determination of a non-maximal atmospheric angle theta(23).
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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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Forero, D. V., Morisi, S., Romao, J. C., & Valle, J. W. F. (2013). Neutrino mixing with revamped A(4) flavor symmetry. Phys. Rev. D, 88(1), 016003–7pp.
Abstract: We suggest a minimal extension of the simplest A(4) flavor model that can induce a nonzero theta(13) value, as required by recent neutrino oscillation data from reactors and accelerators. The predicted correlation between the atmospheric mixing angle theta(23) and the magnitude of theta(13) leads to an allowed region substantially smaller than indicated by neutrino-oscillation global fits. Moreover, the scheme correlates CP violation in neutrino oscillations with the octant of the atmospheric mixing parameter theta(23) in such a way that, for example, maximal mixing necessarily violates CP. We briefly comment on other phenomenological features of the model.
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Forero, D. V., & Guzzo, M. M. (2011). Constraining nonstandard neutrino interactions with electrons. Phys. Rev. D, 84(1), 013002–7pp.
Abstract: We update the phenomenological constraints of the nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSNI) with electrons including in the analysis, for the first time, data from LAMPF, Krasnoyarsk, and the latest Texono observations. We assume that NSNI modify the cross section of elastic scattering of (anti) neutrinos off electrons, using reactor and accelerator data, and the cross section of the electron-positron annihilation, using the four LEP experiments, in particular, new data from DELPHI. We find more restrictive allowed regions for the NSNI parameters: -0.11< epsilon(eR)(ee) < 0.05 and -0.02 < epsilon(eL)(ee) < 0.09 (90% C.L.). We also recalculate the parameters of tauonic flavor obtaining -0.35 < epsilon(eR)(tau tau) < 0.50 and -0.51 < epsilon(eL)(tau tau) < 0.34 (90% C.L.). Although more severe than the limits already present in the literature, our results indicate that NSNI are allowed by the present data as a subleading effect, and the standard electroweak model continues consistent with the experimental panorama at 90% C.L. Further improvement on this picture will deserve a lot of engagement of upcoming experiments.
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Forero, D. V., Giunti, C., Ternes, C. A., & Tortola, M. (2021). Nonunitary neutrino mixing in short and long-baseline experiments. Phys. Rev. D, 104(7), 075030–11pp.
Abstract: Nonunitary neutrino mixing in the light neutrino sector is a direct consequence of type-I seesaw neutrino mass models. In these models, light neutrino mixing is described by a submatrix of the full lepton mixing matrix and, then, it is not unitary in general. In consequence, neutrino oscillations are characterized by additional parameters, including new sources of CP violation. Here we perform a combined analysis of short and long-baseline neutrino oscillation data in this extended mixing scenario. We did not find a significant deviation from unitary mixing, and the complementary data sets have been used to constrain the nonunitarity parameters. We have also found that the T2K and NOvA tension in the determination of the Dirac CP-phase is not alleviated in the context of nonunitary neutrino mixing.
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Fontoura, C. E., Krein, G., Valcarce, A., & Vijande, J. (2019). Production of exotic tetraquarks QQ(q)over-bar (q)over-bar in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. Phys. Rev. D, 99(9), 094037–8pp.
Abstract: We investigate the production of exotic tetraquarks, QQ (q) over bar (q) over bar T-QQ (Q = c or b and q = u or d), in relativistic heavy-ion collisions using the quark coalescence model. The T-QQ yield is given by the overlap of the density matrix of the constituents in the emission source with the Wigner function of the produced tetraquark. The tetraquark wave function is obtained from exact solutions of the four-body problem using realistic constituent models. The production yields are typically one order of magnitude smaller than previous estimations based on simplified wave functions for the tetraquarks. We also evaluate the consequences of the partial restoration of chiral symmetry at the hadronization temperature on the coalescence probability. Such effects, in addition to increasing the stability of the tetraquarks, lead to an enhancement of the production yields, pointing towards an excellent discovery potential in forthcoming experiments. We discuss further consequences of our findings for the search of exotic tetraquarks in central Pb + Pb collisions at the LHC.
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