Borexino Collaboration(Bellini, G. et al), & Pena-Garay, C. (2014). Final results of Borexino Phase-I on low-energy solar neutrino spectroscopy. Phys. Rev. D, 89(11), 112007–68pp.
Abstract: Borexino has been running since May 2007 at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy with the primary goal of detecting solar neutrinos. The detector a large unsegmented liquid scintillator calorimeter characterized by unprecedented low levels of intrinsic radioactivity is optimized for the study of the lower energy part of the spectrum. During Phase-I (2007-2010) Borexino first detected and then precisely measured the flux of the Be-7 solar neutrinos ruled out any significant day-night asymmetry of their interaction rate made the first direct observation of the pep neutrinos and set the tightest upper limit on the flux of solar neutrinos produced in the CNO cycle (carbon nitrogen oxigen) where carbon nitrogen and oxygen serve as catalysts in the fusion process. In this paper we discuss the signal signature and provide a comprehensive description of the backgrounds quantify their event rates describe the methods for their identification selection or subtraction and describe data analysis. Key features are an extensive in situ calibration program using radioactive sources the detailed modeling of the detector response the ability to define an innermost fiducial volume with extremely low background via software cuts and the excellent pulse-shape discrimination capability of the scintillator that allows particle identification. We report a measurement of the annual modulation of the Be-7 neutrino interaction rate. The period the amplitude and the phase of the observed modulation are consistent with the solar origin of these events and the absence of their annual modulation is rejected with higher than 99% C.L. The physics implications of Phase-I results in the context of the neutrino oscillation physics and solar models are presented.
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., & Villanueva-Perez, P. (2014). Antideuteron production in Upsilon(nS) decays and in e(+)e(-) -> q(q) over bar at root s approximate to 10.58 GeV. Phys. Rev. D, 89(11), 111102–8pp.
Abstract: We present measurements of the inclusive production of antideuterons in e(+)e(-) annihilation into hadrons at approximate to 10.58 GeV center-of-mass energy and in Upsilon(1S, 2S, 3S) decays. The results are obtained using data collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II electron-positron collider. Assuming a fireball spectral shape for the emitted antideuteron momentum, we find B(Upsilon(1S) -> (d) over barX) = (2.81 +/- 0.49(stat)-(+0.20)(0.24)(syst)) x 10(-5), B(Upsilon(2S) -> (d) over barX) = (2.64 +/- 0.11(stat)(-0.21)(+0.26)(syst)) x 10(-5), B(Upsilon(3S) -> (d) over barX) = (2.33 +/- 0.15(stat)(-0.28)(+0.31)(syst)) x 10(-5), and sigma(e(+)e(-) -> (d) over barX) = (9.63 +/- 0.41(stat)(-1.01)(+1.17)(syst) fb.
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Albertus, C., Hernandez, E., & Nieves, J. (2014). B -> rho semileptonic decays and vertical bar V-ub vertical bar. Phys. Rev. D, 90(1), 013017–11pp.
Abstract: We reevaluate the B -> rho l(+) nu(l) decay width as a full B. pi pi iota(+)nu iota four-particle decay, in which the two final pions are produced via an intermediate. meson. The decay width can be written as a convolution of the B -> rho l(+) nu(l) decay width, for an off-shell., with the.. pp line shape. This allows us to fully incorporate the effects of the finite. meson width and a better comparison with actual experiments. We use an Omn s representation to provide the dependence of the B.. semileptonic form factors on q2. The Omn s subtraction constants and the overall normalization parameter jVubj are fitted to light cone sum rules and lattice QCD theoretical form-factor calculations, in the low and high q2 regions, respectively, together to the CLEO, BABAR, and Belle experimental partial branching fraction distributions. The extracted value from this global fit is jVubj d3.40 +/- 0.15_ x 10-3, in agreement with jVubj extracted using all other inputs in Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa fits and the exclusive semileptonic B. p channel, but showing a clear disagreement with jVubj extracted from inclusive semileptonic b. u decays. As estimated by [U.-G. Mei beta ner andW. Wang, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2014) 107], taking into account the. meson width effects and the actual acceptance of the experiments is essential to render the jVubj determinations from exclusive B. p and B.. decays totally compatible.
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de Gouvea, A., Herrero-Garcia, J., & Kobach, A. (2014). Neutrino masses, grand unification, and baryon number violation. Phys. Rev. D, 90(1), 016011–11pp.
Abstract: If grand unification is real, searches for baryon-number violation should be included on the list of observables that may reveal information regarding the origin of neutrino masses. Making use of an effective-operator approach and assuming that nature is SU(5) invariant at very short distances, we estimate the consequences of different scenarios that lead to light Majorana neutrinos for low-energy phenomena that violate baryon number minus lepton number (B – L) by two (or more) units, including neutron-antineutron oscillations and B – L violating nucleon decays. We find that, among all possible effective theories of lepton-number violation that lead to nonzero neutrino masses, only a subset is, broadly speaking, consistent with grand unification.
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Bazeia, D., Losano, L., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2014). Black holes in five-dimensional Palatini f(R) gravity and implications for the AdS/CFT correspondence. Phys. Rev. D, 90(4), 044011–8pp.
Abstract: We show that theories having second-order field equations in the context of higher-dimensional modified gravity are not restricted to the family of Lovelock Lagrangians, but can also be obtained if no a priori assumption on the relation between the metric and affine structures of space-time is made (the Palatini approach). We illustrate this fact by considering the case of Palatini f(R) gravities in five dimensions. Our results provide an alternative avenue to explore new domains of the AdS/CFT correspondence without resorting to ad hoc quasitopological constructions.
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Aab, A. et al), & Pastor, S. (2014). Muons in air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory: Measurement of atmospheric production depth. Phys. Rev. D, 90(1), 012012–15pp.
Abstract: The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory provides information about the longitudinal development of the muonic component of extensive air showers. Using the timing information from the flash analog-to-digital converter traces of surface detectors far from the shower core, it is possible to reconstruct a muon production depth distribution. We characterize the goodness of this reconstruction for zenith angles around 60 degrees and different energies of the primary particle. From these distributions, we define X-max(mu) as the depth along the shower axis where the production of muons reaches maximum. We explore the potentiality of X-max(mu) as a useful observable to infer the mass composition of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. Likewise, we assess its ability to constrain hadronic interaction models.
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Odintsov, S. D., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2014). Born-Infeld gravity and its functional extensions. Phys. Rev. D, 90(4), 044003–8pp.
Abstract: We investigate the dynamics of a family of functional extensions of the (Eddington-inspired) Born-Infeld gravity theory, constructed with the inverse of the metric and the Ricci tensor. We provide a generic formal solution for the connection and an Einstein-like representation for the metric field equations of this family of theories. For particular cases we consider applications to the early-time cosmology and find that nonsingular universes with a cosmic bounce are very generic and robust solutions.
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Di Valentino, E., Giusarma, E., Lattanzi, M., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2014). Axion cold dark matter: Status after Planck and BICEP2. Phys. Rev. D, 90(4), 043534–11pp.
Abstract: We investigate the axion dark matter scenario (ADM), in which axions account for all of the dark matter in the Universe, in light of the most recent cosmological data. In particular, we use the Planck temperature data, complemented by WMAP E-polarization measurements, as well as the recent BICEP2 observations of B-modes. Baryon acoustic oscillation data, including those from the baryon oscillation spectroscopic survey, are also considered in the numerical analyses. We find that, in the minimal ADM scenario and for Delta(QCD) = 200 MeV, the full data set implies that the axion mass m(a) = 82.2 +/- 1.1 μeV [corresponding to the Peccei-Quinn symmetry being broken at a scale f(a) = (7.54 +/- 0.10) x 10(10) GeV], or m(a) = 76.6 +/- 2.6 μeV [f(a) = (8.08 +/- 0.27) x 10(10) GeV] when we allow for a nonstandard effective number of relativistic species N-eff. We also find a 2 sigma preference for N-eff > 3.046. The limit on the sum of neutrino masses is Sigma m(v) < 0.25 eV at 95% C.L. for N-eff = 3.046, or Sigma m(v) < 0.47 eV when N-eff is a free parameter. Considering extended scenarios where either the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w, the tensor spectral index n(t), or the running of the scalar index dn(s)/d ln k is allowed to vary does not change significantly the axion mass-energy density constraints. However, in the case of the full data set exploited here, there is a preference for a nonzero tensor index or scalar running, driven by the different tensor amplitudes implied by the Planck and BICEP2 observations. We also study the effect on our estimates of theoretical uncertainties, in particular the imprecise knowledge of the QCD scale Delta(QCD), in the calculation of the temperature-dependent axion mass. We find that in the simplest ADM scenario the Planck + WP data set implies that the axion mass m(a) = 63.7 +/- 1.2 μeV for Delta(QCD) = 400 MeV. We also comment on the possibility that axions do not make up for all the dark matter, or that the contribution of string-produced axions has been grossly underestimated; in that case, the values that we find for the mass can conservatively be considered as lower limits. Dark matter axions with mass in the 60-80 μeV (corresponding to an axion-photon coupling G(a gamma gamma) similar to 10(-14) GeV-1) range can, in principle, be detected by looking for axion-to-photon conversion occurring inside a tunable microwave cavity permeated by a high-intensity magnetic field, and operating at a frequency nu similar or equal to 15-20 GHz. This is out of the reach of current experiments like the axion dark matter experiment (limited to a maximum frequency of a few GHzs), but is, on the other hand, within the reach of the upcoming axion dark matter experiment-high frequency experiment that will explore the 4-40 GHz frequency range and then be sensitive to axion masses up to similar to 160 μeV.
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Ledwig, T., Martin Camalich, J., Geng, L. S., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2014). Octet-baryon axial-vector charges and SU(3)-breaking effects in the semileptonic hyperon decays. Phys. Rev. D, 90(5), 054502–16pp.
Abstract: The octet-baryon axial-vector charges and the g(1)/f(1) ratios measured in the semileptonic hyperon decays are studied up to O(p(3)) using the covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory with explicit decuplet contributions. We clarify the role of different low-energy constants and find a good convergence for the chiral expansion of the axial-vector charges of the baryon octet, g(1)(0), with O(p(3)) corrections typically around 20% of the leading ones. This is a consequence of strong cancellations between different next-to-leading- order terms. We show that considering only nonanalytic terms is not enough and that analytic terms appearing at the same chiral order play an important role in this description. The same effects still hold for the chiral extrapolation of the axial-vector charges and result in a rather mild quark-mass dependence. As a result, we report a determination of the leading-order chiral couplings, D = 0.623(61)(17) and F = 0.441(47)(2), as obtained from a completely consistent chiral analysis up to O(p(3)). Furthermore, we note that the appearance of an unknown low-energy constant precludes the extraction of the proton octet charge from semileptonic decay data alone, which is relevant for an analysis of the composition of the proton spin.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Search for supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in root s=8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. D, 90(5), 052001–33pp.
Abstract: Results from a search for supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons including electrons, muons and taus are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to 20.3 fb(-1) of proton proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at root s = 8 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Signal regions are designed to target supersymmetric scenarios that can be either enriched in or depleted of events involving the production of a Z boson. No significant deviations are observed in data from standard model predictions and results are used to set upper limits on the event yields from processes beyond the standard model. Exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles are obtained. In R-parity-violating simplified models with decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle to electrons and muons, limits of 1350 and 750 GeV are placed on gluino and chargino masses, respectively. In R-parity-conserving simplified models with heavy neutralinos decaying to a massless lightest supersymmetric particle, heavy neutralino masses up to 620 GeV are excluded. Limits are also placed on other supersymmetric scenarios.
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