Abstract: The LHCb Collaboration has recently observed four J/psi phi structures called X(4140), X(4274), X(4500), and X(4700) in the B+ -> J/psi phi K+ decays. We study them herein using a nonrelativistic constituent quark model in which the degrees of freedom are quark-antiquark and meson-meson components. The X(4140) resonance appears as a cusp in the J/psi phi channel due to the near coincidence of the D-s(+/-) D-s(*+/-) and J/psi phi mass thresholds. The remaining three [X(4274), X(4500), and X(4700)] appear as conventional charmonium states with quantum numbers 3(3)P(1), 4(3)P(0), and 5(3)P(0), respectively, and their masses and widths are slightly modified due to their coupling with the corresponding closest meson-meson thresholds. A particular feature of our quark model is a lattice-based screened linear confining interaction that has been constrained in the light-quark sector and usually produces higher excited heavy-quark states with lower masses than standard quark model predictions.

Abstract: Background: In the neutron-rich A approximate to 100 mass region, rapid shape changes as a function of nucleon number as well as coexistence of prolate, oblate, and triaxial shapes are predicted by various theoretical models. Lifetime measurements of excited levels in the molybdenum isotopes allow the determination of transitional quadrupole moments, which in turn provides structural information regarding the predicted shape change. Purpose: The present paper reports on the experimental setup, the method that allowed one to measure the lifetimes of excited states in even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 up to mass A = 108, and the results that were obtained. Method: The isotopes of interest were populated by secondary knock-out reaction of neutron-rich nuclei separated and identified by the GSI fragment separator at relativistic beam energies and detected by the sensitive PreSPEC-AGATA experimental setup. The latter included the Lund-York-Cologne calorimeter for identification, tracking, and velocity measurement of ejectiles, and AGATA, an array of position sensitive segmented HPGe detectors, used to determine the interaction positions of the gamma ray enabling a precise Doppler correction. The lifetimes were determined with a relativistic version of the Doppler-shift-attenuation method using the systematic shift of the energy after Doppler correction of a gamma-ray transition with a known energy. This relativistic Doppler-shift-attenuation method allowed the determination of mean lifetimes from 2 to 250 ps. Results: Even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 to A = 108 were studied. The decays of the low-lying states in the ground-state band were observed. In particular, two mean lifetimes were measured for the first time: tau = 29.7(-9.1)(+11.3) ps for the 4(+) state of Mo-108 and tau = 3.2(-0.7)(+ 0.7) ps for the 6(+) state of Mo-102. Conclusions: The reduced transition strengths B(E2), calculated from lifetimes measured in this experiment, compared to beyond-mean-field calculations, indicate a gradual shape transition in the chain of molybdenum isotopes when going from A = 100 to A = 108 with a maximum reached at N = 64. The transition probabilities decrease for Mo-108 which may be related to its well-pronounced triaxial shape indicated by the calculations.

Abstract: Multiquark states have been advocated to explain recent experimental data in the heavy-light sector, and there are already speculations about multiquarks containing only heavy quarks and antiquarks. With a rigorous treatment of the four-body problem in current quark models, full-charm (cc (c) over bar(c) over bar) and full-beauty(bb (b) over bar(b) over bar) tetraquarks are found to be unbound. Thus their stability should rely on more subtle effects that are not included in the simple picture of constituent quarks. The case of (bc (b) over bar(c) over bar) might be more favorable if the naive color-additive model of confinement is replaced by a string-inspired interaction.

Abstract: A measurement of the phase difference between the short- and long-distance contributions to the decay is performed by analysing the dimuon mass distribution. The analysis is based on pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 collected by the LHCb experiment in 2011 and 2012. The long-distance contribution to the decay is modelled as a sum of relativistic Breit-Wigner amplitudes representing different vector meson resonances decaying to muon pairs, each with their own magnitude and phase. The measured phases of the and resonances are such that the interference with the short-distance component in dimuon mass regions far from their pole masses is small. In addition, constraints are placed on the Wilson coefficients, and , and the branching fraction of the short-distance component is measured.

Abstract: Despite dedicated research has been carried out to adequately map the distribution of the sperm whale in the Mediterranean Sea, unlike other regions of the world, the species population status is still presently uncertain. The analysis of two years of continuous acoustic data provided by the ANTARES neutrino telescope revealed the year-round presence of sperm whales in the Ligurian Sea, probably associated with the availability of cephalopods in the region. The presence of the Ligurian Sea sperm whales was demonstrated through the real-time analysis of audio data streamed from a cabled-to-shore deep-sea observatory that allowed the hourly tracking of their long-range echolocation behaviour on the Internet. Interestingly, the same acoustic analysis indicated that the occurrence of surface shipping noise would apparently not condition the foraging behaviour of the sperm whale in the area, since shipping noise was almost always present when sperm whales were acoustically detected. The continuous presence of the sperm whale in the region confirms the ecological value of the Ligurian sea and the importance of ANTARES to help monitoring its ecosystems.