Abstract: It is currently widely accepted that gluons, while massless at the level of the fundamental QCD Lagrangian, acquire an effective mass through the non-Abelian implementation of the classic Schwinger mechanism. The key dynamical ingredient that triggers the onset of this mechanism is the formation of composite massless poles inside the fundamental vertices of the theory. These poles enter the evolution equation of the gluon propagator and nontrivially affect the way the Slavnov-Taylor identities of the vertices are resolved, inducing a smoking-gun displacement in the corresponding Ward identities. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of the pivotal concepts associated with this dynamical scenario, emphasizing the synergy between functional methods and lattice simulations and highlighting recent advances that corroborate the action of the Schwinger mechanism in QCD.

Abstract: Ratios of isospin amplitudes in hadron decays are a useful probe of the interplay between weak and strong interactions and allow searches for physics beyond the standard model. We present the first results on isospin amplitudes in b-baryon decays, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb(-1), collected with the LHCb detector in pp collisions at center of mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. The isospin amplitude ratio vertical bar A(1) (Delta(0)(b) -> J/psi(Sigma(0)) /A(0) (Delta(0)(b) -> J/psi Lambda)vertical bar, where the subscript on A indicates the final-state isospin, is measured to be less than 1/21.8 at 95% confidence level. The Cabibbo suppressed Xi(0)(b) -> J/psi Lambda decay is observed for the first time, allowing for the measurement vertical bar A(0) (Xi(0)(b) -> J/psi Lambda) / A(1/2 )(Xi(0)(b) -> J/psi Xi(0))vertical bar = 0.37 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.02, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.

Abstract: A measurement of mixing and CP violation in neutral charm mesons is performed using data reconstructed in proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment from 2016 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb(-1). A total of 30.6 million D0 -> K-s(0)pi(+)pi(-) decays are analyzed using a method optimized for the measurement of the mass difference between neutral charmmeson eigenstates. Allowing for CP violation in mixing and in the interference between mixing and decay, the mass and decay-width differences are measured to be x(CP) = [3.97 +/- 0.46(stat) +/- 0.29(syst)] x 10(-3) and y(CP) = [4.59 +/- 1.20(stat) +/- 0.85(syst)] x 10(-3), respectively. The CP-violating parameters are measured as Delta x= [-0.27 +/- 0.18(stat)+/- 0.01(syst)] x 10 (-3) and Delta y = [0.20 +/- 0.36(stat) +/- 0.13(syst)] x 10(-3). This is the first observation of a nonzero mass difference in the D-0 meson system, with a significance exceeding seven standard deviations. The data are consistent with CP symmetry and improve existing constraints on the associated parameters.

Abstract: Inspired by a recent experiment by Steinhauer and co-workers, we present a simple model which describes the formation of an acoustic black hole in a Bose-Einstein condensate, allowing an analytical computation of the evolution in time of the corresponding density-density correlator. We show the emergence of analog Hawking radiation out of a “quantum atmosphere” region significantly displaced from the horizon. This is quantitatively studied both at T = 0 and even in the presence of an initial temperature T, as is always the case experimentally.

Abstract: Intraoperative radiotherapy using mobile linear accelerators is used for a wide variety of malignancies. However, when large fields are used in combination with high energies, a deterioration of the flatness dose profile is measured with respect to smaller fields and lower energies. Indeed, for the LIAC HWL of Sordina, this deterioration is observed for the 12 MeV beam combined with 10 cm (or larger) diameter applicator. Aimed to solve this problem, a flattening filter has been designed and validated evaluating the feasibility of its usage at the upper part of the applicator. The design of the filter was based on Monte Carlo simulations because of its accuracy in modeling components of clinical devices, among other purposes. The LIAC 10 cm diameter applicator was modeled and simulated independently by two different research groups using two different MC codes, reproducing the heterogeneity of the 12 MeV energy beam. Then, an iterative process of filter design was carried out. Finally, the MC designed conical filter with the optimal size and height to obtain the desired flattened beam was built in-house using a 3D printer. During the experimental validation of the applicator-filter, percentage depth dose, beam profiles, absolute and peripheral dose measurements were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the filter addition in the applicator. These measurements conclude that the beam has been flattened, from 5.9% with the standard configuration to 1.6% for the configuration with the filter, without significant increase of the peripheral dose. Consequently, the new filter-applicator LIAC configuration can be used also in a conventional surgery room. A reduction of 16% of the output dose and a reduction of 1.1 mm in the D50 of the percentage depth dose was measured with respect to the original configuration. This work is a proof-of-concept that demonstrates that it is possible to add a filter able to flatten the beam delivered by the Sordina LIAC HWL. Future studies will focus on more refined technical solutions fully compatible with the integrity of the applicator, including its sterilization, to be safely introduced in the clinical practice.