Abstract: We test an alternative proposal by Bruno and Hansen (J High Energy Phys 2021(6), https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2021)043, 2021) to extract the scattering length from lattice simulations in a finite volume. For this, we use a scalar phi(4) theory with two mass nondegenerate particles and explore various strategies to implement this new method. We find that the results are comparable to those obtained from the Luscher method, with somewhat smaller statistical uncertainties at larger volumes.

Abstract: The first observation of the Omega(-)(b) -> Xi(+)(c) K-pi(-) decay is reported using p p collision data at center of mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb(-1). Four excited Omega(0)(c) baryons are observed in the Xi K-+(c)- mass projection of the Omega(-)(b) -> Xi K-+(c)-pi(-) decays with the significance of each exceeding five standard deviations. They coincide with the states previously observed in prompt pp and e(+)e(-) production. Relative production rates, masses, and natural widths of the states are measured, and a test of spin hypotheses is performed. Moreover, the branching ratio of Omega(-)(b) -> Xi K-+(c)-pi(-) is measured relative to the Omega(-)(b) -> Omega(0)(c)pi(-) decay mode and a precise measurement of the Omega(-)(b) mass of 6044.3 +/- 1.2 +/- 1.1(-0.22)(+0.19) MeV is obtained.

Abstract: Several improvements to the ATLAS triggers used to identify jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) were implemented for data-taking during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider from 2016 to 2018. These changes include reconfiguring the b-jet trigger software to improve primary-vertex finding and allow more stable running in conditions with high pile-up, and the implementation of the functionality needed to run sophisticated taggers used by the offline reconstruction in an online environment. These improvements yielded an order of magnitude better light-flavour jet rejection for the same b-jet identification efficiency compared to the performance in Run 1 (2011-2012). The efficiency to identify b-jets in the trigger, and the conditional efficiency for b-jets that satisfy offline b-tagging requirements to pass the trigger are also measured. Correction factors are derived to calibrate the b-tagging efficiency in simulation to match that observed in data. The associated systematic uncertainties are substantially smaller than in previous measurements. In addition, b-jet triggers were operated for the first time during heavy-ion data-taking, using dedicated triggers that were developed to identify semileptonic b-hadron decays by selecting events with geometrically overlapping muons and jets.

Abstract: We present a consistent framework to set limits on properties of light sterile neutrinos coupled to all three active neutrinos using a combination of the latest cosmological data and terrestrial measurements from oscillations, beta-decay, and neutrinoless double-beta-decay (0 nu beta beta) experiments. We directly constrain the full 3 + 1 active-sterile mixing matrix elements vertical bar U-alpha 4 vertical bar(2) , with alpha is an element of (e,mu,tau), and the mass-squared splitting Delta m(41)(2) (math) m(4)(2) – m(1)(2). We find that results for a 3 + 1 case differ from previously studied 1 + 1 scenarios where the sterile is coupled to only one of the neutrinos, which is largely explained by parameter space volume effects. Limits on the mass splitting and the mixing matrix elements are currently dominated by the cosmological datasets. The exact results are slightly prior dependent, but we reliably find all matrix elements to be constrained below vertical bar U-alpha 4 vertical bar(2) less than or similar to 10(-3) . Short-baseline neutrino oscillation hints in favor of eV-scale sterile neutrinos arc in serious tension with these bounds, irrespective of prior assumptions. We also translate the bounds from the cosmological analysis into constraints on the parameters probed by laboratory searches, such as m(beta) or m(beta)(beta), the effective mass parameters probed by beta-decay and 0 nu beta beta searches, respectively. When allowing for mixing with a light sterile neutrino, cosmology leads to upper bounds of m(beta) < 0.09 eV and m(beta)(beta )< 0.07 eV at 95% CL, more stringent than the limits from current laboratory experiments.

Abstract: We propose that neutrino masses are “seeded” by a dark sector within the inverse seesaw mechanism. This way we have a new, “hidden”, variant of the scotogenic scenario for radiative neutrino masses. We discuss both explicit and dynamical lepton number violation. In addition to invisible Higgs decays with majoron emission, we discuss in detail the pheneomenolgy of dark matter, as well as the novel features associated to charged lepton flavour violation, and neutrino physics.