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De Romeri, V., Puerta, M., & Vicente, A. (2022). Dark matter in a charged variant of the Scotogenic model. Eur. Phys. J. C, 82(7), 623–16pp.
Abstract: Scotogenic models are among the most popular possibilities to link dark matter and neutrino masses. In this work we discuss a variant of the Scotogenic model that includes charged fermions and a doublet with hypercharge 3/2. Neutrino masses are induced at the one-loop level thanks to the states belonging to the dark sector. However, in contrast to the standard Scotogenic model, only the scalar dark matter candidate is viable in this version. After presenting the model and explaining some particularities about neutrino mass generation, we concentrate on its dark matter phenomenology. We show that the observed dark matter relic density can be correctly reproduced in the usual parameter space regions found for the standard Scotogenic model or the Inert Doublet model. In addition, the presence of the charged fermions opens up new viable regions, not present in the original scenarios, provided some tuning of the parameters is allowed.
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Hueso-Gonzalez, F., Casaña Copado, J. V., Fernandez Prieto, A., Gallas Torreira, A., Lemos Cid, E., Ros Garcia, A., et al. (2022). A dead-time-free data acquisition system for prompt gamma-ray measurements during proton therapy treatments. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1033, 166701–9pp.
Abstract: In cancer patients undergoing proton therapy, a very intense secondary radiation is produced during the treatment, which lasts around one minute. About one billion prompt gamma-rays are emitted per second, and their detection with fast scintillation detectors is useful for monitoring a correct beam delivery. To cope with the expected count rate and pile-up, as well as the scarce statistics due to the short treatment duration, we developed an eidetic data acquisition system capable of continuously digitizing the detector signal with a high sampling rate and without any dead time. By streaming the fully unprocessed waveforms to the computer, complex pile-up decomposition algorithms can be applied and optimized offline. We describe the data acquisition architecture and the multiple experimental tests designed to verify the sustained data throughput speed and the absence of dead time. While the system is tailored for the proton therapy environment, the methodology can be deployed in any other field requiring the recording of raw waveforms at high sampling rates with zero dead time.
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Coloma, P., Hernandez, P., & Urrea, S. (2022). New bounds on axion-like particles from MicroBooNE. J. High Energy Phys., 08(8), 025–25pp.
Abstract: Neutrino experiments lie at the edge of the intensity frontier and therefore can be exploited to search for new light particles weakly coupled to the visible sector. In this work we derive new constraints on axion-like particles (ALPs) using data from the MicroBooNE experiment, from a search for e(+)e(-) pairs pointing in the direction of the NuMI absorber. In particular, we consider the addition of higher-dimensional effective operators coupling the ALP to the electroweak gauge bosons. These would induce K -> pi a from kaon decay at rest in the NuMI absorber, as well as ALP decays into pairs of leptons or photons. We discuss in detail and compare various results obtained for the decay width K -> pi a in previous literature. For the operator involving the Higgs, MicroBooNE already sets competitive bounds (comparable to those of NA62) for ALP masses between 100 and 200 MeV. We also compute the expected sensitivities from the full NuMI dataset recorded at MicroBooNE. Our results show that a search for a -> gamma gamma signal may be able to improve over current constraints from beam-dump experiments on the operator involving the ALP coupling to the W.
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Albaladejo, M., & Nieves, J. (2022). Compositeness of S-wave weakly-bound states from next-to-leading order Weinberg's relations. Eur. Phys. J. C, 82(8), 724–12pp.
Abstract: We discuss a model-independent estimator of the likelihood of the compositeness of a shallow S-wave bound or virtual state. The approach is based on an extension of Weinberg's relations in Weinberg (Phys Rev 137:B672, 1965) and it relies only on the proximity of the energy of the state to the two-hadron threshold to which it significantly couples. The scheme only makes use of the experimental scattering length and the effective range low energy parameters, and it is shown to be fully consistent for predominantly molecular hadrons. As explicit applications, we analyse the case of the deuteron, the S-1(0) nucleon virtual state and the exotic D-so(*)(2317)(+/-) , and find strong support to the molecular interpretation in all cases. Results are less conclusive for the D* (s0)(2317)+/-, since the binding energy of this state would be significantly higher than that of the deuteron, and the approach employed here is at the limit of its applicability. We also qualitatively address the case of the recently discovered T + cc state, within the isospin limit to avoid the complexity of the very close thresholds (DD)-D-0*+ and D + D*(0), which could mask the ingredients of the approach proposed in this work.
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Sanchis-Lozano, M. A. (2022). Stringy Signals from Large-Angle Correlations in the Cosmic Microwave Background? Universe, 8(8), 396–13pp.
Abstract: We interpret the lack of large-angle temperature correlations and the even-odd parity imbalance observed in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by COBE, WMAP and Planck satellite missions as a possible stringy signal ultimately stemming from a composite inflaton field (e.g., a fermionic condensate). Based on causality arguments and a Fourier analysis of the angular two-point correlation function, two infrared cutoffs k(min)(even,odd) (satisfying k(min)(even) similar or equal to 2k(min)(odd)) are introduced to the CMB power spectrum associated, respectively, with periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions of the fermionic constituents (echoing the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond model in superstring theory), without resorting to any particular model.
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