Abstract: We investigate the production of gravitational waves (GWs) during preheating with monomial/polynomial inflationary potentials, considering a trilinear coupling & phi;x2 between a singlet inflaton & phi; and a daughter scalar field x. For sufficiently large couplings, the trilinear interaction leads to an exponential production of x particles and, as a result, a large stochastic GW background (SGWB) is generated throughout the process. We study the linear and non-linear dynamics of preheating with lattice simulations, following the production of GWs through all relevant stages. We find that large couplings lead to SGWBs with amplitudes today that can reach up to h2 �(0) GW <^> 5 & BULL; 10-9. These backgrounds are however peaked at high frequencies fp > 5 & BULL; 106 Hz, which makes them undetectable by current/planned GW observatories. As the amount of GWs produced is in any case remarkable, we discuss the prospects for probing the SGWB indirectly by using constraints on the effective number of relativistic species in the universe Neff.

Abstract: A search for neutral heavy resonances is performed in the WW -> e nu μnu decay channel using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1), collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence of such heavy resonances is found. In the search for production via the quark-antiquark annihilation or gluon-gluon fusion process, upper limits on sigma(X) x B(X -> WW) as a function of the resonance mass are obtained in the mass range between 200 GeV and up to 5 TeV for various benchmark models: a Higgs-like scalar in different width scenarios, a two-Higgs-doublet model, a heavy vector triplet model, and a warped extra dimensions model. In the vector-boson fusion process, constraints are also obtained on these resonances, as well as on a Higgs boson in the Georgi-Machacek model and a heavy tensor particle coupling only to gauge bosons.

Abstract: A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson (H) and a new particle (X) is reported, utilizing 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The particle Xis assumed to decay to a pair of light quarks, and the fully hadronic final state XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar is analysed. The search considers the regime of high XH resonance masses, where the X and H bosons are both highly Lorentz-boosted and are each reconstructed using a single jet with large radius parameter. A two-dimensional phase space of XH mass versus X mass is scanned for evidence of a signal, over a range of XH resonance mass values between 1 TeV and 4 TeV, and for X particles with masses from 50 GeV to 1000 GeV. All search results are consistent with the expectations for the background due to Standard Model processes, and 95% CL upper limits are set, as a function of XH and X masses, on the production cross-section of the XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar resonance.

Abstract: The decays B-s(0) -> J/psi pi(+)pi-K+K- are studied using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb(-1), collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13TeV. The decays B-s(0) -> J/psi K*(K) over bar *0 and B-s(0) -> chi(c1)(3872)K+K-, where the K+K- pair does not originate from a phi meson, are observed for the first time. Precise measurements of the ratios of branching fractions between intermediate chi(c1)(3872)phi, J/psi K*0 (K) over bar *0, psi(2S)phi and chi(c1)(3872)K+K- states are reported. A structure, denoted as X(4740), is observed in the J/psi phi mass spectrum and, assuming a Breit-Wigner parameterisation, its mass and width are determined to be m(X(4740)) = 4741 +/- 6 +/- 6 MeV/c(2), Gamma(X(4740)) = 53 +/- 15 +/- 11MeV, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. In addition, the most precise single measurement of the mass of the B-s(0) meson is performed and gives a value of m(Bs)(0) = 5366.98 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.13MeV/c(2).

Abstract: We present a comprehensive review of keV-scale sterile neutrino Dark Matter, collecting views and insights from all disciplines involved – cosmology, astrophysics, nuclear, and particle physics – in each case viewed from both theoretical and experimental/observational perspectives. After reviewing the role of active neutrinos in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, we focus on sterile neutrinos in the context of the Dark Matter puzzle. Here, we first review the physics motivation for sterile neutrino Dark Matter, based on challenges and tensions in purely cold Dark Matter scenarios. We then round out the discussion by critically summarizing all known constraints on sterile neutrino Dark Matter arising from astrophysical observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical considerations. In this context, we provide a balanced discourse on the possibly positive signal from X-ray observations. Another focus of the paper concerns the construction of particle physics models, aiming to explain how sterile neutrinos of keV-scale masses could arise in concrete settings beyond the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. The paper ends with an extensive review of current and future astrophysical and laboratory searches, highlighting new ideas and their experimental challenges, as well as future perspectives for the discovery of sterile neutrinos.