ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Evidence of off-shell Higgs boson production from ZZ leptonic decay channels and constraints on its total width with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 846, 138223–29pp.
Abstract: This Letter reports on a search for off-shell production of the Higgs boson using 139 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The signature is a pair of Z bosons, with contributions from both the production and subsequent decay of a virtual Higgs boson and the interference of that process with other processes. The two observable final states are ZZ -> 4l and Z Z -> 2l2 nu with l = e or mu. In the ZZ -> 4l final state, a dense Neural Network is used to enhance analysis sensitivity with respect to matrix element-based discrimination. The background-only hypothesis is rejected with an observed (expected) significance of 3.3 (2.2) standard deviations, representing experimental evidence for off-shell Higgs boson production. Assuming that no new particles enter the production of the virtual Higgs boson, its total width can be deduced from the measurement of its off-shell production cross-section. The measured total width of the Higgs boson is 4.5(-2.5)(+3.3) MeV, and the observed (expected) upper limit on the total width is found to be 10.5 (10.9) MeV at 95% confidence level.
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Choi, K. Y., Gong, J. O., Joh, J., Park, W. I., & Seto, O. (2023). Light cold dark matter from non-thermal decay. Phys. Lett. B, 845, 138126–8pp.
Abstract: We investigate the mass range and the corresponding free-streaming length scale of dark matter produced non-thermally from decay of heavy objects which can be either dominant or sub-dominant at the moment of decay. We show that the resulting dark matter could be very light well below keV scale with a free-streaming length satisfying the Lyman-alpha constraints. We demonstrate two explicit examples for such light cold dark matter.
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Martinez-Reviriego, P., Esperante, D., Grudiev, A., Gimeno, B., Blanch, C., Gonzalez-Iglesias, D., et al. (2024). Dielectric assist accelerating structures for compact linear accelerators of low energy particles in hadrontherapy treatments. Front. Physics, 12, 1345237–12pp.
Abstract: Dielectric Assist Accelerating (DAA) structures based on ultralow-loss ceramic are being studied as an alternative to conventional disk-loaded copper cavities. This accelerating structure consists of dielectric disks with irises arranged periodically in metallic structures working under the TM02-pi mode. In this paper, the numerical design of an S-band DAA structure for low beta particles, such as protons or carbon ions used for Hadrontherapy treatments, is shown. Four dielectric materials with different permittivity and loss tangent are studied as well as different particle velocities. Through optimization, a design that concentrates most of the RF power in the vacuum space near the beam axis is obtained, leading to a significant reduction of power loss on the metallic walls. This allows to fabricate cavities with an extremely high quality factor, over 100,000, and shunt impedance over 300 M omega/m at room temperature. During the numerical study, the design optimization has been improved by adjusting some of the cell parameters in order to both increase the shunt impedance and reduce the peak electric field in certain locations of the cavity, which can lead to instabilities in its normal functioning.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Search for exclusive Higgs and Z boson decays to ωγ and Higgs boson decays to K*γ with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 847, 138292–23pp.
Abstract: Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs boson to an omega meson and a photon or a K* meson and a photon can probe flavour-conserving and flavour-violating Higgs boson couplings to light quarks, respectively. Searches for these decays, along with the analogous Z boson decay to an omega meson and a photon, are performed with a pp collision data sample corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 134 fb(-1) collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The obtained 95% confidence-level upper limits on the respective branching fractions are B(H -> omega gamma) < 5.5 x 10(-4), B(H -> K*gamma) < 2.2 x 10(-4) and B(Z -> omega gamma) < 3.9 x 10(-6). The limits for H -> omega gamma and Z -> omega gamma) are 370 times and 140 times the Standard Model expected values, respectively. The result for Z -> omega gamma corresponds to a two-orders-of-magnitude improvement over the limit obtained by the DELPHI experiment at LEP.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles in the full LHC Run 2 pp collision data at √s=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 847, 138316–25pp.
Abstract: A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2015-2018 at root s = 13 TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionization, consistent with long-lived spin-1/2 massive particles with electric charges from |q| = 2e to |q| = 7e are searched for. No statistically significant evidence of such particles is observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are calculated and interpreted as the lower mass limits for a Drell-Yan plus photon-fusion production mode. The least stringent limit, 1060 GeV, is obtained for |q| = 2e particles, and the most stringent one, 1600 GeV, is for |q| = 6e particles.
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KM3NeT Collaboration(Aiello, S. et al), Alves Garre, S., Calvo, D., Carretero, V., Garcia Soto, A., Gozzini, S. R., et al. (2024). Embedded software of the KM3NeT central logic board. Comput. Phys. Commun., 296, 109036–15pp.
Abstract: The KM3NeT Collaboration is building and operating two deep sea neutrino telescopes at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The telescopes consist of latices of photomultiplier tubes housed in pressure-resistant glass spheres, called digital optical modules and arranged in vertical detection units. The two main scientific goals are the determination of the neutrino mass ordering and the discovery and observation of high-energy neutrino sources in the Universe. Neutrinos are detected via the Cherenkov light, which is induced by charged particles originated in neutrino interactions. The photomultiplier tubes convert the Cherenkov light into electrical signals that are acquired and timestamped by the acquisition electronics. Each optical module houses the acquisition electronics for collecting and timestamping the photomultiplier signals with one nanosecond accuracy. Once finished, the two telescopes will have installed more than six thousand optical acquisition nodes, completing one of the more complex networks in the world in terms of operation and synchronization. The embedded software running in the acquisition nodes has been designed to provide a framework that will operate with different hardware versions and functionalities. The hardware will not be accessible once in operation, which complicates the embedded software architecture. The embedded software provides a set of tools to facilitate remote manageability of the deployed hardware, including safe reconfiguration of the firmware. This paper presents the architecture and the techniques, methods and implementation of the embedded software running in the acquisition nodes of the KM3NeT neutrino telescopes. Program summary Program title: Embedded software for the KM3NeT CLB CPC Library link to program files: https://doi.org/10.17632/s847hpsns4.1 Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License 3 Programming language: C Nature of problem: The challenge for the embedded software in the KM3NeT neutrino telescope lies in orchestrating the Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) to achieve the synchronized data acquisition of the incoming optical signals. The DOMs are the crucial component responsible for capturing neutrino interactions deep underwater. The embedded software must configure and precisely time the operation of each DOM. Any deviation or timing mismatch could compromise data integrity, undermining the scientific value of the experiment. Therefore, the embedded software plays a critical role in coordinating, synchronizing, and operating these modules, ensuring they work in unison to capture and process neutrino signals accurately, ultimately advancing our understanding of fundamental particles in the Universe. Solution method: The embedded software on the DOMs provides a solution based on a C-based bare-metal application, operating without a real-time embedded OS. It is loaded into the RAM during FPGA configuration, consuming less than 256 kB of RAM. The software architecture comprises two layers: system software and application. The former offers OS-like features, including a multitasking scheduler, firmware updates, peripheral drivers, a UDP-based network stack, and error handling utilities. The application layer contains a state machine ensuring consistent program states. It is navigated via slow control events, including external inputs and autonomous responses. Subsystems within the application code control specific acquisition electronics components via the associated driver abstractions. Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: Due to the operation conditions of the neutrino telescope, where access is restricted, the embedded software implements a fail-safe procedure to reconfigure the firmware where the embedded software runs.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Search for pairs of muons with small displacements in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 846, 138172–22pp.
Abstract: A search for new phenomena giving rise to pairs of opposite electrically charged muons with impact parameters in the millimeter range is presented, using 139 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV pp collision data from the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search targets the gap in coverage between existing searches targeting final states with leptons with large displacement and prompt leptons. No significant excess over the background expectation is observed and exclusion limits are set on the mass of long-lived scalar supersymmetric muon-partners (smuons) with much lower lifetimes than previously targeted by displaced muon searches. Smuon lifetimes down to 1 ps are excluded for a smuon mass of 100 GeV, and smuon masses up to 520 GeV are excluded for a proper lifetime of 10 ps, at 95% confidence level. Finally, model-independent limits are set on the contribution from new phenomena to the signal-region yields.
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Bordes, J., Chan, H. M., & Tsou, S. T. (2023). Search for new physics in semileptonic decays of K and B as implied by the g-2 anomaly in FSM. Int. J. Mod. Phys. A, 38, 2350177–24pp.
Abstract: The framed standard model (FSM), constructed to explain, with some success, why there should be three and apparently only three generations of quarks and leptons in nature falling into a hierarchical mass and mixing pattern,(10) suggests also, among other things, a scalar boson U, with mass around 17 MeV and small couplings to quarks and leptons,(11) which might explain(9) the g – 2 anomaly reported in experiment.(12) The U arises in FSM initially as a state in the predicted “hidden sector” with mass around 17 MeV, which mixes with the standard model (SM) Higgs h(W), acquiring thereby a coupling to quarks and leptons and a mass just below 17 MeV. The initial purpose of this paper is to check whether this proposal is compatible with experiment on semileptonic decays of Ks and Bs where the U can also appear. The answer to this we find is affirmative, in that the contribution of U to new physics as calculated in the FSM remains within the experimental bounds, but only if m(U) lies within a narrow range just below the unmixed mass. As a result from this, one has an estimate m(U) similar to 15-17 MeV for the mass of U, and from some further considerations the estimate Gamma(U) similar to 0.02 eV for its width, both of which may be useful for an eventual search for it in experiment. If found, it will be, for the FSM, not just the discovery of a predicted new particle, but the opening of a window into a whole “hidden sector” containing at least some, perhaps even the bulk, of the dark matter in the universe.
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Yue, Z. et al, Algora, A., & Nacher, E. (2024). Magnetic moments of thallium isotopes in the vicinity of magic N=126. Phys. Lett. B, 849, 138452–7pp.
Abstract: The magnetic dipole moments (mu) of Tl-209(g)(N =128) and Tl-207(m)(N = 126) have been measured for the first time using the in -source laser resonance -ionization spectroscopy technique with the Laser Ion Source and Trap (LIST) at ISOLDE (CERN). The application of the LIST suppresses the usually overwhelming background of the isobaric francium isotopes and allows access to heavy thallium isotopes with >207. The self -consistent theory of finite Fermi systems based on the energy density functional by Fayans et al. well describes the N dependence of μfor 1/2(+) thallium ground states, as well as μfor the 11/2(-) isomeric states in europium, gold and thallium isotopes. The inclusion of particle-vibration coupling leads to a better agreement between the theory and experiment for mu(Tl-g , I-pi = 1/2(+)). It is shown that beyond mean-field contributions tocannot be neglected at least for thallium isotopes with I-pi = 1/2(+).
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Baran, J. et al, & Brzezinski, K. (2024). Feasibility of the J-PET to monitor the range of therapeutic proton beams. Phys. Medica, 118, 103301–9pp.
Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography (J -PET) scanner for intra-treatment proton beam range monitoring. Methods: The Monte Carlo simulation studies with GATE and PET image reconstruction with CASToR were performed in order to compare six J -PET scanner geometries. We simulated proton irradiation of a PMMA phantom with a Single Pencil Beam (SPB) and Spread -Out Bragg Peak (SOBP) of various ranges. The sensitivity and precision of each scanner were calculated, and considering the setup's cost-effectiveness, we indicated potentially optimal geometries for the J -PET scanner prototype dedicated to the proton beam range assessment. Results: The investigations indicate that the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer double -head configurations are the most promising for clinical application. We found that the scanner sensitivity is of the order of 10-5 coincidences per primary proton, while the precision of the range assessment for both SPB and SOBP irradiation plans was found below 1 mm. Among the scanners with the same number of detector modules, the best results are found for the triple -layer dual -head geometry. The results indicate that the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer double -head configurations are the most promising for the clinical application, Conclusions: We performed simulation studies demonstrating that the feasibility of the J -PET detector for PET -based proton beam therapy range monitoring is possible with reasonable sensitivity and precision enabling its pre -clinical tests in the clinical proton therapy environment. Considering the sensitivity, precision and cost-effectiveness, the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer dual -head J -PET geometry configurations seem promising for future clinical application.
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