Abstract: NEXT, a double beta decay experiment that will operate in Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Spain), aims at measuring the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the 136Xe isotope using a TPC filled with enriched Xenon gas at high pressure operated in electroluminescence mode. One technological challenge of the experiment is to achieve resolution better than 1% in the energy measurement using a plane of UV sensitive photomultipliers readout with appropriate custom-made front-end electronics. The front-end is designed to be sensitive to the single photo-electron to detect the weak primary scintillation light produced in the chamber, and also to be able to cope with the electroluminescence signal (several hundred times higher and with a duration of microseconds). For efficient primary scintillation detection and precise energy measurement of the electroluminescent signals the front-end electronics features low noise and adequate amplification. The signal shaping provided allows the digitization of the signals at a frequency as low as 40 MHz.

Abstract: From a picture of the X(3872) where the resonance is a bound state of D (D) over bar*- c.c., we evaluate the decay width into the J/psi gamma channel, which is sensitive to the internal structure of this state. For this purpose we evaluate the loops through which the X(3872) decays into its components, and the J/psi and the photon are radiated from these components. We use the local hidden gauge approach extrapolated to SU(4) with a particular SU(4) breaking. The radiative decay involves anomalous couplings, and we obtain acceptable values which are compared to experiments and results of other calculations. Simultaneously, we evaluate the decay rate for the X(3872) into J/psi omega and J/psi rho, and the results obtained for the ratio of these decay widths are compatible with the experiment. We also show that considering only the (D) over bar D-0*(0) – c.c. component in the radiative decay reduces the partial decay width in more than three orders of magnitude, in large discrepancy with experiment.

Abstract: We consider supersymmetric models in which sneutrinos are viable dark matter candidates. These are either simple extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with additional singlet superfields, such as the inverse or linear seesaw, or a model with an additional U(1) group. All of these models can accomodate the observed small neutrino masses and large mixings. We investigate the properties of sneutrinos as dark matter candidates in these scenarios. We check for phenomenological bounds, such as correct relic abundance, consistency with direct detection cross section limits and laboratory constraints, among others lepton flavour violating (LFV) charged lepton decays. While inverse and linear seesaw lead to different results for LFV, both models have very similar dark matter phenomenology, consistent with all experimental bounds. The extended gauge model shows some additional and peculiar features due to the presence of an extra gauge boson Z' and an additional light Higgs. Specifically, we point out that for sneutrino LSPs there is a strong constraint on the mass of the Z' due to the experimental bounds on the direct detection scattering cross section.