ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Cerda Alberich, L., et al. (2016). A search for an excited muon decaying to a muon and two jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. New J. Phys., 18, 073021–21pp.
Abstract: Anew search signature for excited leptons is explored. Excited muons are sought in the channel pp -> μmu* -> μμjet jet, assuming both the production and decay occur via a contact interaction. The analysis is based on 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV taken with the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider. No evidence of excited muons is found, and limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the cross section times branching ratio as a function of the excited-muon mass m(mu)*. For m(mu)* between 1.3 and 3.0 TeV, the upper limit on sigma B(mu* -> μq (q) over bar) is between 0.6 and 1 fb. Limits on sB are converted to lower bounds on the compositeness scale Lambda. In the limiting case Lambda = m(mu)*, excited muons with a mass below 2.8 TeV are excluded. With the same model assumptions, these limits at larger mu* masses improve upon previous limits from traditional searches based on the gauge-mediated decay mu* -> μgamma.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Cerda Alberich, L., et al. (2016). Search for scalar leptoquarks in pp collisions at root s=13TeV with the ATLAS experiment. New J. Phys., 18, 093016–25pp.
Abstract: An inclusive search for a new-physics signature of lepton-jet resonances has been performed by the ATLAS experiment. Scalar leptoquarks, pair-produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the large hadron collider, have been considered. An integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1), corresponding to the full 2015 dataset was used. First (second) generation leptoquarks were sought in events with two electrons (muons) and two or more jets. The observed event yield in each channel is consistent with Standard Model background expectations. The observed (expected) lower limits on the leptoquark mass at 95% confidence level are 1100 and 1050 GeV (1160 and 1040 GeV) for first and second generation leptoquarks, respectively, assuming a branching ratio into a charged lepton and a quark of 100%. Upper limits on the aforementioned branching ratio are also given as a function of leptoquark mass. Compared with the results of earlier ATLAS searches, the sensitivity is increased for leptoquark masses above 860 GeV, and the observed exclusion limits confirm and extend the published results.
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Di Molfetta, G., & Perez, A. (2016). Quantum walks as simulators of neutrino oscillations in a vacuum and matter. New J. Phys., 18, 103038–8pp.
Abstract: We analyze the simulation of Dirac neutrino oscillations using quantum walks, both in a vacuum and in matter. We show that this simulation, in the continuum limit, reproduces a set of coupled Dirac equations that describe neutrino flavor oscillations, and we make use of this to establish a connection with neutrino phenomenology, thus allowing one to fix the parameters of the simulation for a given neutrino experiment. We also analyze how matter effects for neutrino propagation can be simulated in the quantum walk. In this way, important features, such as the MSW effect, can be incorporated. Thus, the simulation of neutrino oscillations with the help of quantum walks might be useful to illustrate these effects in extreme conditions, such as the solar interior or supernovae.
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Perez, A. (2016). Asymptotic properties of the Dirac quantum cellular automaton. Phys. Rev. A, 93(1), 012328–10pp.
Abstract: We show that the Dirac quantum cellular automaton [A. Bisio, G. M. D'Ariano, and A. Tosini, Ann. Phys. (N. Y.) 354, 244 (2015)] shares many properties in common with the discrete-time quantum walk. These similarities can be exploited to study the automaton as a unitary process that takes place at regular time steps on a one-dimensional lattice, in the spirit of general quantum cellular automata. In this way, it becomes an alternative to the quantum walk, with a dispersion relation that can be controlled by a parameter that plays a similar role to the coin angle in the quantum walk. The Dirac Hamiltonian is recovered under a suitable limit. We provide two independent analytical approximations to the long-term probability distribution. It is shown that, starting from localized conditions, the asymptotic value of the entropy of entanglement between internal and motional degrees of freedom overcomes the known limit that is approached by the quantum walk for the same initial conditions and is similar to the ones achieved by highly localized states of the Dirac equation.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2016). First observation of the decay B-s(0) -> (KSK)-K-0*(892)(0) at LHCb. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 012–17pp.
Abstract: A search for B-(s)(0) -> K-S (0) K*(892)(0) decays is performed using pp collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb(-1), collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The B-s (0) -> (KSK)-K-0*(892)(0) decay is observed for the first time, with a significance of 7.1 standard deviations. The branching fraction is measured to be B(B-s(0) -> (K) over bar K-0*(892)(0)) + B(B-s(0) -> K-0(K) over bar*(892)(0)) = (16.4 +/- 3.4 +/- 2.3) x10(-6), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. No evidence is found for the decay B-0 ->(KSK)-K-0*(892)(0) and an upper limit is set on the branching fraction, B(B-0 -> (K) over bar K-0*(892)(0)) + B(B-0 -> K-0(K) over bar*(892)(0)) < 0.96 x 10(-6) , at 90 % confidence level. All results are consistent with Standard Model predictions.
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Chen, P., Ding, G. J., Rojas, A. D., Vaquera-Araujo, C. A., & Valle, J. W. F. (2016). Warped flavor symmetry predictions for neutrino physics. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 007–27pp.
Abstract: A realistic five-dimensional warped scenario with all standard model fields propagating in the bulk is proposed. Mass hierarchies would in principle be accounted for by judicious choices of the bulk mass parameters, while fermion mixing angles are restricted by a Delta(27) flavor symmetry broken on the branes by flavon fields.The latter gives stringent predictions for the neutrino mixing parameters, and the Dirac CP violation phase, all described in terms of only two independent parameters at leading order. The scheme also gives an adequate CKM fit and should be testable within upcoming oscillation experiments.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Cerda Alberich, L., Costa, M. J., et al. (2016). Measurement of the production cross-section of a single top quark in association with a W boson at 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 064–48pp.
Abstract: The cross-section for the production of a single top quark in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at is measured. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1), collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Events containing two leptons and one central b-jet are selected. The W t signal is separated from the backgrounds using boosted decision trees, each of which combines a number of discriminating variables into one classifier. Production of W t events is observed with a significance of 7.7 sigma. The cross-section is extracted in a profile likelihood fit to the classifier output distributions. The W t cross-section, inclusive of decay modes, is measured to be 23.0 +/- 1.3(stat.) (-aEuro parts per thousand 3.5) (+ 3.2) (syst.)+/- 1.1(lumi.) pb. The measured cross-section is used to extract a value for the CKM matrix element |V (tb) | of 1.01 +/- 0.10 and a lower limit of 0.80 at the 95% confidence level. The cross-section for the production of a top quark and a W boson is also measured in a fiducial acceptance requiring two leptons with p (T) > 25 GeV and |eta| < 2.5, one jet with p (T) > 20 GeV and |eta| < 2.5, and E (T) (miss) > 20 GeV, including both W t and top-quark pair events as signal. The measured value of the fiducial cross-section is 0.85 +/- A 0.01(stat.) (-aEuro parts per thousand 0.07) (+ 0.07) (syst.)+/- 0.03(lumi.) pb.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2016). Search for invisible decays of a Higgs boson using vector-boson fusion in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 172–44pp.
Abstract: A search for a Higgs boson produced via vector-boson fusion and decaying into invisible particles is presented, using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. For a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, assuming the Standard Model production cross section, an upper bound of 0.28 is set on the branching fraction of H -> invisible at 95% confidence level, where the expected upper limit is 0.31. The results are interpreted in models of Higgs-portal dark matter where the branching fraction limit is converted into upper bounds on the dark-matter-nucleon scattering cross section as a function of the dark-matter particle mass, and compared to results from the direct dark-matter detection experiments.
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Double Chooz collaboration(Abe, Y. et al), & Novella, P. (2016). Measurement of theta(13) in Double Chooz using neutron captures on hydrogen with novel background rejection techniques. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 163–29pp.
Abstract: The Double Chooz collaboration presents a measurement of the neutrino mixing angle theta(13) using reactor (nu) over bar (e) observed via the inverse beta decay reaction in which the neutron is captured on hydrogen. This measurement is based on 462.72 live days data, approximately twice as much data as in the previous such analysis, collected with a detector positioned at an average distance of 1050m from two reactor cores. Several novel techniques have been developed to achieve significant reductions of the backgrounds and systematic uncertainties. Accidental coincidences, the dominant background in this analysis, are suppressed by more than an order of magnitude with respect to our previous publication by a multi-variate analysis. These improvements demonstrate the capability of precise measurement of reactor (nu) over bar (e) without gadolinium loading. Spectral distortions from the (nu) over bar (e) reactor flux predictions previously reported with the neutron capture on gadolinium events are confirmed in the independent data sample presented here. A value of sin(2) 2 theta(13) = 0.095(0.039)(+0.039)(stat+syst) is obtained from a fit to the observed event rate as a function of the reactor power, a method insensitive to the energy spectrum shape. A simultaneous fit of the hydrogen capture events and of the gadolinium capture events yields a measurement of sin(2) 2 theta(13) = 0.088 +/- 0.033(stat+syst).
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2016). Measurement of forward W and Z boson production in pp collisions at root s=8TeV. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 155–45pp.
Abstract: Measurements are presented of electroweak boson production using data from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8TeV. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of 2.0 fb(-1) recorded with the LHCb detector. The bosons are identified in the W -> μnu and Z -> mu(+)mu(-) decay channels. The cross-sections are measured for muons in the pseudorapidity range 2.0 < eta < 4.5, with transverse momenta p(T) > 20 GeV/c and, in the case of the Z boson, a dimuon mass within 60 < M mu+mu- < 120 GeV/c(2). The results are sigma(W+) -> mu(+)nu(-) = 1093.6 +/- 2.1 +/- 7.2 +/- 10.9 +/- 12.7 pb, sigma(W-) -> mu(-)nu(-) = 818.4 +/- 1.9 +/- 5.0 +/- 7.0 +/- 9.5 pb, sigma(Z) -> mu(+)mu(-) = 95.0 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.7 +/- 1.1 +/- 1.1 pb, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. The evolution of the W and Z boson cross-sections with centre-of-mass energy is studied using previously reported measurements with 1.0 fb(-1) of data at 7 TeV. Differential distributions are also presented. Results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
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