Abstract: This Letter presents a search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new (pseudo) scalar particles, H -> aa, where the a particle has a mass in the range 20-60 GeV, and where one of the a bosons decays into a pair of photons and the other to a pair of gluons. The search is performed in event samples enhanced in vector-boson fusion Higgs boson production by requiring two jets with large invariant mass in addition to the Higgs boson candidate decay products. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.7 fb(-1). The data are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions and an upper limit at the 95% confidence level is placed on the production cross section times the branching ratio for the decay H -> aa -> gamma gamma gg. This limit ranges from 3.1 pb to 9.0 pb depending on the mass of the a boson.

Abstract: We define a data exchange format for numerical values of Wilson coefficients of local operators parameterising low-energy effects of physics beyond the Standard Model. The format facilitates interfacing model-specific Wilson coefficient calculators, renormalisation group (RG) runners, and observable calculators. It is designed to be unambiguous (defining a non-redundant set of operators with fixed normalisation in each basis), extensible (allowing the addition of new EFTs or bases by the user), and robust (being based on industry standard file formats with parsers implemented in many programming languages). We have implemented the format for the Standard Model EFT (SMEFT) and for the weak effective theory (WET) below the electroweak scale and have added interfaces to a number of public codes dealing with SMEFT or WET. We also provide command-line utilities and a Python module for convenient manipulation of WCxf files, including translation between different bases and matching from SMEFT to WET. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract: We describe the main features of a new and updated version of the program PArthENoPE, which computes the abundances of light elements produced during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. As the previous first release in 2008, the new one, PArthENoPE2.0, is publicly available and distributed from the code site, http://parthenope.na.infn.it . Apart from minor changes, which will be also detailed, the main improvements are as follows. The powerful, but not freely accessible, NAG routines have been substituted by ODEPACK libraries, without any significant loss in precision. Moreover, we have developed a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which allows a friendly use of the code and a simpler implementation of running for grids of input parameters. New Version program summary Program Title: PArthENoPE2.0 Program Files doi : http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/wvgr7d8yt9.1 Licensing provisions: GPLv3 Programming language: Fortran 77 and Python Supplementary material: User Manual available on the web page http://parthenope.na.infn.it Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 178 (2008) 956 971 Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Yes Reasons for the new version: Make the code more versatile and user friendly Summary of revisions: (1) Publicly available libraries (2) GUI for configuration Nature of problem: Computation of yields of light elements synthesized in the primordial universe Solution method: Livermore Solver for Ordinary Differential Equations (LSODE) for stiff and nonstiff systems

Abstract: Within the framework of xenon-based double beta decay experiments, we propose the possibility to improve the background rejection of an electroluminescent Time Projection Chamber (EL TPC) by reducing the diffusion of the drifting electrons while keeping nearly intact the energy resolution of a pure xenon EL TPC. Based on state-of-the-art microscopic simulations, a substantial addition of helium, around 10 or 15 %, may reduce drastically the transverse diffusion down to 2.5 mm/root m from the 10.5 mm/root m of pure xenon. The longitudinal diffusion remains around 4 mm/root m. Light production studies have been performed as well. They show that the relative variation in energy resolution introduced by such a change does not exceed a few percent, which leaves the energy resolution practically unchanged. The technical caveats of using photomultipliers close to an helium atmosphere are also discussed in detail.

Abstract: The decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-) is observed using pp collision data collected with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of root s = 7 and 8 Tev, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1). The ratio of branching fractions between Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-) and Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-) decays is measured to be B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-) = 0.0540 +/- 0.0023 +/- 0.0032. Two resonant structures are observed in the Lambda(+)(c)pi(-) mass spectrum of the Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pp pi(-) decays, corresponding to the Xc(2455) and X (2520) states. The ratios of branching fractions with respect to the decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-) are B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Sigma(0)(c)p (p) over bar x B(Sigma(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-)) = 0.089 +/- 0.015 +/- 0.006, B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Sigma(c)*(0)p (p) over bar x B(Sigma(c)*(0) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)p (p) over bar pi(-)) = 0.119 +/- 0.020 +/- 0.014. In all of the above results, the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The phase space is also examined for the presence of dibaryon resonances. No evidence for such resonances is found.