Abstract: A search for new particles decaying into a pair of top quarks is performed using proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). Events consistent with top-quark pair production and the fully hadronic decay mode of the top quarks are selected by requiring multiple high transverse momentum jets including those containing b-hadrons. Two analysis techniques, exploiting dedicated top-quark pair reconstruction in different kinematic regimes, are used to optimize the search sensitivity to new hypothetical particles over a wide mass range. The invariant mass distribution of the two reconstructed top-quark candidates is examined for resonant production of new particles with various spins and decay widths. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and limits are set on the production cross-section times branching fraction for new hypothetical Z' bosons, dark-matter mediators, Kaluza-Klein gravitons and Kaluza-Klein gluons. By comparing with the predicted production cross sections, the Z' boson in the topcolor-assisted-technicolor model is excluded for masses up to 3.1-3.6 TeV, the dark-matter mediators in a simplified framework are excluded in the mass ranges from 0.8 to 0.9 TeV and from 2.0 to 2.2 TeV, and the Kaluza-Klein gluon is excluded for masses up to 3.4 TeV, depending on the decay widths of the particles.

Abstract: Geoneutrinos can provide a unique insight into Earth's interior, its central engine, and its formation history. We study the detection of geoneutrinos in large direct detection experiments, which has been considered nonfeasible. We compute the geoneutrino-induced electron and nuclear recoil spectra in different materials, under several optimistic assumptions. We identify germanium as the most promising target element due to the low nuclear recoil energy threshold that could be achieved. The minimum exposure required for detection would be O(10) ton-years. The realistic low thresholds achievable in germanium and silicon permit the detection of K-40 geoneutrinos. These are particularly important to determining Earth's formation history, but they are below the kinematic threshold of inverse beta decay, the detection process used in scintillator-based experiments.

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.

Abstract: The decay of the narrow resonance (B) over bar (s2)*(0 )-> B(-)K(+)can be used to determine the B- momentum in partially reconstructed decays without any assumptions on the decay products of the r meson. This technique is employed for the first time to distinguish contributions from D-0, D*(0), and higher-mass charmed states (D(0)) in semileptonic B- decays by using the missing-mass distribution. The measurement is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1) collected with the LHCb detector in pp collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The resulting branching fractions relative to the inclusive B- -> (DX)-X-0 mu(-)(nu) over bar (mu )are f(D)(0)= B(B- -> D-0 mu(-)(nu) over bar mu/B(B- ->(DX)-D- -X-0 mu(-)(nu) over bar (mu))( )= 0.25( )+/- 0.06, f( D)(0 )= B(B- -> (D(0) -> (DX)-X-0)mu(-)(nu) over bar (mu))/B(B--> (DX)-X-0 mu(-)(nu) over bar (mu)) = 0.21 +/- 0.07, with f(D)*(0) = 1 – f(D)(0) – f(D)(0) making up the remainder.

Abstract: The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a leading experiment in neutrino physics which is presently under construction. DUNE aims to measure the yet unknown parameters in the three flavor oscillation scenario which includes discovery of leptonic CP violation, determination of the mass hierarchy and determination of the octant of theta(23). Additionally, the ancillary goals of DUNE include probing the subdominant effects induced by new physics. A widely studied new physics scenario is that of nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSI) in propagation which impacts the oscillations of neutrinos. We consider some of the essential NSI parameters impacting the oscillation signals at DUNE and explore the space of NSI parameters as well as study their correlations among themselves and with the yet unknown CP violating phase, delta appearing in the standard paradigm. The experiment utilizes a wide band beam and provides us with a unique opportunity to utilize different beam tunes at DUNE. We demonstrate that combining information from different beam tunes (low energy and medium energy) available at DUNE impacts the ability to probe some of these parameters and leads to altering the allowed regions in two-dimensional space of parameters considered.