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ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Colomer, M., Gozzini, R., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Khan-Chowdhury, N. R., et al. (2020). Search for dark matter towards the Galactic Centre with 11 years of ANTARES data. Phys. Lett. B, 805, 135439–6pp.
Abstract: Neutrino detectors participate in the indirect search for the fundamental constituents of dark matter (DM) in form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). In WIMP scenarios, candidate DM particles can pair-annihilate into Standard Model products, yielding considerable fluxes of high-energy neutrinos. A detector like ANTARES, located in the Northern Hemisphere, is able to perform a complementary search looking towards the Galactic Centre, where a high density of dark matter is thought to accumulate. Both this directional information and the spectral features of annihilating DM pairs are entered into an unbinned likelihood method to scan the data set in search for DM-like signals in ANTARES data. Results obtained upon unblinding 3170 days of data reconstructed with updated methods are presented, which provides a larger, and more accurate, data set than a previously published result using 2101 days. A non-observation of dark matter is converted into limits on the velocity-averaged cross section for WIMP pair annihilation.
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Boronat, M., Fullana, E., Fuster, J., Gomis, P., Hoang, A. H., Widl, A., et al. (2020). Top quark mass measurement in radiative events at electron-positron colliders. Phys. Lett. B, 804, 135353–9pp.
Abstract: In this letter, we evaluate the potential of linear e(+)e(-) colliders to measure the top quark mass in radiative events and in a suitable short-distance scheme. We present a calculation of the differential cross section for production of a top quark pair in association with an energetic photon from initial state radiation, as a function of the invariant mass of the t (t) over bar. This matchedcalculation includes the QCD enhancement of the cross section around the t (t) over bar production threshold and remains valid in the continuum well above the threshold. The uncertainty in the top mass determination is evaluated in realistic operating scenarios for the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC), including the statistical uncertainty and the theoretical and experimental systematic uncertainties. With this method, the top quark mass can be determined with a precision of 110 MeV in the initial stage of CLIC, with 1 ab(-1) at root s = 380 GeV, and with a precision of approximately 150 MeV at the ILC, with L = 4 ab(-1) at root s = 500GeV. Radiative events allow measurements of the top quark mass at different renormalization scales, and we demonstrate that such a measurement can yield a statistically significant test of the evolution of the MSR mass m(t)(MSR)(R) for scales R < m(t).
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n_TOF Collaboration(Mazzone, A. et al), Babiano-Suarez, V., Caballero, L., Domingo-Pardo, C., Ladarescu, I., & Tain, J. L. (2020). Measurement of the Gd-154(n, gamma) cross section and its astrophysical implications. Phys. Lett. B, 804, 135405–6pp.
Abstract: The neutron capture cross section of Gd-154 was measured from 1 eV to 300 keV in the experimental area located 185 m from the CERN n_TOF neutron spallation source, using a metallic sample of gadolinium, enriched to 67% in Gd-154. The capture measurement, performed with four C6D6 scintillation detectors, has been complemented by a transmission measurement performed at the GELINA time-of-flight facility (JRC-Geel), thus minimising the uncertainty related to sample composition. An accurate Maxwellian averaged capture cross section (MACS) was deduced over the temperature range of interest for s process nucleosynthesis modelling. We report a value of 880(50) mb for the MACS at kT = 30 keV, significantly lower compared to values available in literature. The new adopted Gd-154(n, gamma) cross section reduces the discrepancy between observed and calculated solar s-only isotopic abundances predicted by s-process nucleosynthesis models.
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AGATA Collaboration(Siciliano, M. et al), Gadea, A., Perez-Vidal, R. M., & Domingo-Pardo, C. (2020). Pairing-quadrupole interplay in the neutron-deficient tin nuclei: First lifetime measurements of low-lying states in Sn-106,Sn-108. Phys. Lett. B, 806, 135474–7pp.
Abstract: The lifetimes of the low-lying excited states 2(+) and 4(+) have been directly measured in the neutron-deficient Sn-106,Sn-108 isotopes. The nuclei were populated via a deep-inelastic reaction and the lifetime measurement was performed employing a differential plunger device. The emitted gamma rays were detected by the AGATA array, while the reaction products were uniquely identified by the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. Large-Scale Shell-Model calculations with realistic forces indicate that, independently of the pairing content of the interaction, the quadrupole force is dominant in the B(E2; 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s)(+)) values and it describes well the experimental pattern for Sn104-114 ; the B(E2;(+)(4) -> 2(1)(+)) values, measured here for the first time, depend critically on a delicate pairing-quadrupole balance, disclosed by the very precise results in Sn-108.
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Leite, J., Morales, A., Valle, J. W. F., & Vaquera-Araujo, C. A. (2020). Scotogenic dark matter and Dirac neutrinos from unbroken gauged B – L symmetry. Phys. Lett. B, 807, 135537–5pp.
Abstract: We propose a simple extension of the standard model where neutrinos get naturally small “scotogenic” Dirac masses from an unbroken gauged B – L symmetry, ensuring dark matter stability. The associated gauge boson gets mass through the Stueckelberg mechanism. Two scenarios are identified, and the resulting phenomenology briefly sketched.
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Addazi, A., Marciano, A., Morais, A. P., Pasechnik, R., Srivastava, R., & Valle, J. W. F. (2020). Gravitational footprints of massive neutrinos and lepton number breaking. Phys. Lett. B, 807, 135577–8pp.
Abstract: We investigate the production of primordial Gravitational Waves (GWs) arising from First Order Phase Transitions (FOPTs) associated to neutrino mass generation in the context of type-I and inverse seesaw schemes. We examine both “high-scale” as well as “low-scale” variants, with either explicit or spontaneously broken lepton number symmetry U(1)(L), in the neutrino sector. In the latter case, a pseudo-Goldstone majoron-like boson may provide a candidate for cosmological dark matter. We find that schemes with softly-broken U(1)(L), and with single Higgs-doublet scalar sector lead to either no FOPTs or too weak FOPTs, precluding the detestability of GWs in present or near future measurements. Nevertheless, we found that, in the majoron-like seesaw scheme with spontaneously broken U(1)(L), at finite temperatures, one can have strong FOPTs and non-trivial primordial GW spectra which can fall well within the frequency and amplitude sensitivity of upcoming experiments, including LISA, BBO and u-DECIGO. However, GWs observability clashes with invisible Higgs decay constraints from the LHC. A simple and consistent fix is to assume the majoron-like mass to lie above the Higgs-decay kinematical threshold. We also found that the majoron-like variant of the low-scale seesaw mechanism implies a different GW spectrum than the one expected in the high-scale seesaw. This feature will be testable in future experiments. Our analysis shows that GWs can provide a new and complementary portal to test the neutrino mass generation mechanism.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo, F. L., Castillo Gimenez, V., et al. (2020). Measurement of azimuthal anisotropy of muons from charm and bottom hadrons Pb plus Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 807, 135595–23pp.
Abstract: Azimuthal anisotropies of muons from charm and bottom hadron decays are measured in Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2018 with integrated luminosities of 0.5 nb(-1) and 1.4 nb(-1), respectively. The kinematic selection for heavy-flavor muons requires transverse momentum 4 < p(T) < 30 GeV and pseudorapidity vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.0. The dominant sources of muons in this p -r range are semi-leptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons. These heavy-flavor muons are separated from light-hadron decay muons and punch-through hadrons using the momentum imbalance between the measurements in the tracking detector and in the muon spectrometers. Azimuthal anisotropies, quantified by flow coefficients, are measured via the eventplane method for inclusive heavy-flavor muons as a function of the muon p(T) and in intervals of Pb+Pb collision centrality. Heavy-flavor muons are separated into contributions from charm and bottom hadron decays using the muon transverse impact parameter with respect to the event primary vertex. Non-zero elliptic (v(2)) and triangular (v(3)) flow coefficients are extracted for charm and bottom muons, with the charm muon coefficients larger than those for bottom muons for all Pb+Pb collision centralities. The results indicate substantial modification to the charm and bottom quark angular distributions through interactions in the quark-gluon plasma produced in these Pb+Pb collisions, with smaller modifications for the bottom quarks as expected theoretically due to their larger mass.
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NA62 Collaboration(Cortina Gil, E. et al), & Husek, T. (2020). Search for heavy neutral lepton production in K+ decays to positrons. Phys. Lett. B, 807, 135599–9pp.
Abstract: A search for heavy neutral lepton (N) production in K+ -> e(+)N decays using the data sample collected by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2017-2018 is reported. Upper limits of the extended neutrino mixing matrix element vertical bar U-e4 vertical bar(2) are established at the level of 10(-9) over most of the accessible heavy neutral lepton mass range 144-462 MeV/c(2), with the assumption that the lifetime exceeds 50 ns. These limits improve significantly upon those of previous production and decay searches. The vertical bar U-e4 vertical bar(2) range favoured by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is excluded up to a mass of about 340 MeV/c(2).
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Miranda, O. G., Papoulias, D. K., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2020). XENON1T signal from transition neutrino magnetic moments. Phys. Lett. B, 808, 135685–5pp.
Abstract: The recent puzzling results of the XENONIT collaboration at few keV electronic recoils could be due to the scattering of solar neutrinos endowed with finite Majorana transition magnetic moments (TMMs). Within such general formalism, we find that the observed excess in the XENONIT data agrees well with this interpretation. The required TMM strengths lie within the limits set by current experiments, such as Borexino, specially when one takes into account a possible tritium contamination.
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Aristizabal Sierra, D., De Romeri, V., Flores, L. J., & Papoulias, D. K. (2020). Light vector mediators facing XENON1T data. Phys. Lett. B, 809, 135681–5pp.
Abstract: Recently the XENON1T collaboration has released new results on searches for new physics in low-energy electronic recoils. The data shows an excess over background in the low-energy tail, particularly pronounced at about 2-3 keV. With an exposure of 0.65 tonne-year, large detection efficiency and energy resolution, the detector is sensitive as well to solar neutrino backgrounds, with the most prominent contribution given by pp neutrinos. We investigate whether such signal can be explained in terms of new neutrino interactions with leptons mediated by a light vector particle. We find that the excess is consistent with this interpretation for vector masses below less than or similar to 0.1 MeV. The region of parameter space probed by the XENON1T data is competitive with constraints from laboratory experiments, in particular GEMMA, Borexino and TEXONO. However we point out a severe tension with astrophysical bounds and cosmological observations.
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