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Mandic, I., Cindro, V., Debevc, J., Gorisek, A., Hiti, B., Kramberger, G., et al. (2022). Study of neutron irradiation effects in Depleted CMOS detector structures. J. Instrum., 17(3), P03030–13pp.
Abstract: In this paper the results of Edge-TCT and I-V measurements with passive test structures made in LFoundry 150 nm HV-CMOS process on p-type substrates with different initial resistivities ranging from 0.5 to 3 k Omega cm are presented. Samples were irradiated with reactor neutrons up to a fluence of 2.10(15) n(eq)/cm(2). The depletion depth was measured with Edge-TCT. The effective space charge concentration N-eff was estimated from the dependence of the depletion depth on bias voltage and studied as a function of neutron fluence. The dependence of N-eff on fluence changes with initial acceptor concentration in agreement with other measurements with p-type silicon. A long term accelerated annealing study of N-eff and detector current up to 1280 minutes at 60 degrees C was made. It was found that N-eff and current in reverse biased detector behave as expected for irradiated silicon.
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AbdusSalam, S. S. et al, & Eberhardt, O. (2022). Simple and statistically sound recommendations for analysing physical theories. Rep. Prog. Phys., 85(5), 052201–11pp.
Abstract: Physical theories that depend on many parameters or are tested against data from many different experiments pose unique challenges to statistical inference. Many models in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology fall into one or both of these categories. These issues are often sidestepped with statistically unsound ad hoc methods, involving intersection of parameter intervals estimated by multiple experiments, and random or grid sampling of model parameters. Whilst these methods are easy to apply, they exhibit pathologies even in low-dimensional parameter spaces, and quickly become problematic to use and interpret in higher dimensions. In this article we give clear guidance for going beyond these procedures, suggesting where possible simple methods for performing statistically sound inference, and recommendations of readily-available software tools and standards that can assist in doing so. Our aim is to provide any physicists lacking comprehensive statistical training with recommendations for reaching correct scientific conclusions, with only a modest increase in analysis burden. Our examples can be reproduced with the code publicly available at Zenodo.
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Coloma, P., Esteban, I., Gonzalez-Garcia, M. C., Larizgoitia, L., Monrabal, F., & Palomares-Ruiz, S. (2022). Bounds on new physics with data of the Dresden-II reactor experiment and COHERENT. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 037–33pp.
Abstract: Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering was first experimentally established five years ago by the COHERENT experiment using neutrinos from the spallation neutron source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The first evidence of observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering with reactor antineutrinos has now been reported by the Dresden-II reactor experiment, using a germanium detector. In this paper, we present constraints on a variety of beyond the Standard Model scenarios using the new Dresden-II data. In particular, we explore the constraints imposed on neutrino nonstandard interactions, neutrino magnetic moments, and several models with light scalar or light vector mediators. We also quantify the impact of their combination with COHERENT (CsI and Ar) data. In doing so, we highlight the synergies between spallation neutron source and nuclear reactor experiments regarding beyond the Standard Model searches, as well as the advantages of combining data obtained with different nuclear targets. We also study the possible signal from beyond the Standard Model scenarios due to elastic scattering off electrons (which would pass selection cuts of the COHERENT CsI and the Dresden-II experiments) and find more stringent constraints in certain parts of the parameter space than those obtained considering coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering.
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Briz, J. A., Nerio, A. N., Ballesteros, C., Borge, M. J. G., Martinez, P., Perea, A., et al. (2022). Proton Radiographs Using Position-Sensitive Silicon Detectors and High-Resolution Scintillators. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 69(4), 696–702.
Abstract: Proton therapy is a cancer treatment technique currently in growth since it offers advantages with respect to conventional X-ray and gamma-ray radiotherapy. In particular, better control of the dose deposition allowing to reach higher conformity in the treatments causing less secondary effects. However, in order to take full advantage of its potential, improvements in treatment planning and dose verification are required. A new prototype of proton computed tomography scanner is proposed to design more accurate and precise treatment plans for proton therapy. Our prototype is formed by double-sided silicon strip detectors and scintillators of LaBr3(Ce) with high energy resolution and fast response. Here, the results obtained from an experiment performed using a 100-MeV proton beam are presented. Proton radiographs of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) samples of 50-mm thickness with spatial patterns in aluminum were taken. Their properties were studied, including reproduction of the dimensions, spatial resolution, and sensitivity to different materials. Structures of up to 2 mm are well resolved and the sensitivity of the system was enough to distinguish the thicknesses of 10 mm of aluminum or PMMA. The spatial resolution of the images was 0.3 line pairs per mm (MTF-10%). This constitutes the first step to validate the device as a proton radiography scanner.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Remon Alepuz, C., & Ruiz Vidal, J. (2022). Precision measurement of forward Z boson production in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 026–57pp.
Abstract: A precision measurement of the Z boson production cross-section at root s = 13 TeV in the forward region is presented, using pp collision data collected by the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 fb(-1). The production cross-section is measured using Z -> mu(+)mu(-) events within the fiducial region defined as pseudorapidity 2.0 < eta < 4.5 and transverse momentum p(T) > 20 GeV/c for both muons and dimuon invariant mass 60 < M-mu μ< 120 GeV/c(2). The integrated cross-section is determined to be sigma(Z -> mu(+)mu(-)) = 196.4 +/- 0.2 +/- 1.6 +/- 3.9 pb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the luminosity determination. The measured results are in agreement with theoretical predictions within uncertainties.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Henry, L., Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Remon Alepuz, C., et al. (2022). Study of coherent J/psi production in lead-lead collisions at root S-NN=5 TeV. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 117–19pp.
Abstract: Coherent production of J/psi mesons is studied in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5 TeV, using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 10 μb(-1). The J/psi mesons are reconstructed in the dimuon final state and are required to have transverse momentum below 1 GeV. The cross-section within the rapidity range of 2.0 < y < 4.5 is measured to be 4.45 +/- 0.24 +/- 0.18 +/- 0.58 mb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the luminosity determination. The cross-section is also measured in J/psi rapidity intervals. The results are compared to predictions from phenomenological models.
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Assam, I., Vijande, J., Ballester, F., Perez-Calatayud, J., Poppe, B., & Siebert, F. A. (2022). Evaluation of dosimetric effects of metallic artifact reduction and tissue assignment on Monte Carlo dose calculations for I-125 prostate implants. Med. Phys., 49, 6195–6208.
Abstract: Purpose Monte Carlo (MC) simulation studies, aimed at evaluating the magnitude of tissue heterogeneity in I-125 prostate permanent seed implant brachytherapy (BT), customarily use clinical post-implant CT images to generate a virtual representation of a realistic patient model (virtual patient model). Metallic artifact reduction (MAR) techniques and tissue assignment schemes (TAS) are implemented on the post-implant CT images to mollify metallic artifacts due to BT seeds and to assign tissue types to the voxels corresponding to the bright seed spots and streaking artifacts, respectively. The objective of this study is to assess the combined influence of MAR and TAS on MC absorbed dose calculations in post-implant CT-based phantoms. The virtual patient models used for I-125 prostate implant MC absorbed dose calculations in this study are derived from the CT images of an external radiotherapy prostate patient without BT seeds and prostatic calcifications, thus averting the need to implement MAR and TAS. Methods The geometry of the IsoSeed I25.S17plus source is validated by comparing the MC calculated results of the TG-43 parameters for the line source approximation with the TG-43U1S2 consensus data. Four MC absorbed dose calculations are performed in two virtual patient models using the egs_brachy MC code: (1) TG-43-based D-w,w-TG(43), (2) D-w,D-w-MBDC that accounts for interseed scattering and attenuation (ISA), (3) D-m,D-m that examines ISA and tissue heterogeneity by scoring absorbed dose in tissue, and (4) D-w,D-m that unlike D-m,D-m scores absorbed dose in water. The MC absorbed doses (1) and (2) are simulated in a TG-43 patient phantom derived by assigning the densities of every voxel to 1.00 g cm(-3) (water), whereas MC absorbed doses (3) and (4) are scored in the TG-186 patient phantom generated by mapping the mass density of each voxel to tissue according to a CT calibration curve. The MC absorbed doses calculated in this study are compared with VariSeed v8.0 calculated absorbed doses. To evaluate the dosimetric effect of MAR and TAS, the MC absorbed doses of this work (independent of MAR and TAS) are compared to the MC absorbed doses of different I-125 source models from previous studies that were calculated with different MC codes using post-implant CT-based phantoms generated by implementing MAR and TAS on post-implant CT images. Results The very good agreement of TG-43 parameters of this study and the published consensus data within 3% validates the geometry of the IsoSeed I25.S17plus source. For the clinical studies, the TG-43-based calculations show a D-90 overestimation of more than 4% compared to the more realistic MC methods due to ISA and tissue composition. The results of this work generally show few discrepancies with the post-implant CT-based dosimetry studies with respect to the D-90 absorbed dose metric parameter. These discrepancies are mainly Type B uncertainties due to the different I-125 source models and MC codes. Conclusions The implementation of MAR and TAS on post-implant CT images have no dosimetric effect on the I-125 prostate MC absorbed dose calculation in post-implant CT-based phantoms.
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Bernigaud, J., Blanke, M., de Medeiros Varzielas, I., Talbert, J., & Zurita, J. (2022). LHC signatures of tau-flavoured vector leptoquarks. J. High Energy Phys., 08(8), 127–31pp.
Abstract: We consider the phenomenological signatures of Simplified Models of Flavourful Leptoquarks, whose Beyond-the-Standard Model (SM) couplings to fermion generations occur via textures that are well motivated from a broad class of ultraviolet flavour models (which we briefly review). We place particular emphasis on the study of the vector leptoquark Delta(mu) with assignments (3, 1, 2/3) under the SM's gauge symmetry, SU(3)(C) x SU(2)(L) x U(1)(Y), which has the tantalising possibility of explaining both R-K(*) and R-D(*) anomalies. Upon performing global likelihood scans of the leptoquark's coupling parameter space, focusing in particular on models with tree-level couplings to a single charged lepton species, we then provide confidence intervals and benchmark points preferred by low(er)-energy flavour data. Finally, we use these constraints to further evaluate the (promising) Large Hadron Collider (LHC) detection prospects of pairs of tau-flavoured Delta(mu), through their distinct (a)symmetric decay channels. Namely, we consider direct third-generation leptoquark and jets plus missing-energy searches at the LHC, which we find to be complementary. Depending on the simplified model under consideration, the direct searches constrain the Delta(mu), mass up to 1500-1770 GeV when the branching fraction of Delta(mu), is entirely to third-generation quarks (but are significantly reduced with decreased branching ratios to the third generation), whereas the missing-energy searches constrain the mass up to 1150-1700 GeV while being largely insensitive to the third-generation branching fraction.
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Coito, L., Faubel, C., Herrero-Garcia, J., Santamaria, A., & Titov, A. (2022). Sterile neutrino portals to Majorana dark matter: effective operators and UV completions. J. High Energy Phys., 08(8), 085–36pp.
Abstract: Stringent constraints on the interactions of dark matter with the Standard Model suggest that dark matter does not take part in gauge interactions. In this regard, the possibility of communicating between the visible and dark sectors via gauge singlets seems rather natural. We consider a framework where the dark matter talks to the Standard Model through its coupling to sterile neutrinos, which generate active neutrino masses. We focus on the case of Majorana dark matter, with its relic abundance set by thermal freeze-out through annihilations into sterile neutrinos. We use an effective field theory approach to study the possible sterile neutrino portals to dark matter. We find that both lepton-number-conserving and lepton-number-violating operators are possible, yielding an interesting connection with the Dirac/Majorana character of active neutrinos. In a second step, we open the different operators and outline the possible renormalisable models. We analyse the phenomenology of the most promising ones, including a particular case in which the Majorana mass of the sterile neutrinos is generated radiatively.
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Gola, S., Mandal, S., & Sinha, N. (2022). ALP-portal majorana dark matter. Int. J. Mod. Phys. A, 37, 2250131–14pp.
Abstract: Axion like particles (ALPs) and right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) are two well-motivated dark matter (DM) candidates. However, these two particles have a completely different origin. Axion was proposed to solve the strong CP problem, whereas RHNs were introduced to explain light neutrino masses through seesaw mechanisms. We study the case of ALP portal RHN DM (Majorana DM) taking into account existing constraints on ALPs. We consider the leading effective operators mediating interactions between the ALP and Standard Model (SM) particles and three RHNs to generate light neutrino masses through type-I seesaw. Further, ALP-RHN neutrino coupling is introduced to generalize the model which is restricted by the relic density and indirect detection constraint.
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