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Abreu, L. M., Dai, L. R., & Oset, E. (2023). J/Psi decay to omega, phi, K*0 plus f0(1370), f0(1710), K0*(1430), f2(1270), f'2 (1525) and K2*(1430): Role of the D-wave for tensor production. Phys. Lett. B, 843, 137999–10pp.
Abstract: We reassess the decay of the J/Psi into an omega, phi, K*0 and one of the f0(1370), f0(1710), f2(1270), f'2 (1525), K0*(1430) and K2*(1430) resonances. We benefit from previous works that considered this reaction as a J/Psi decay into three vector mesons, with a scalar or tensor resonance being formed from the interaction of two of these vectors. The novelty here with respect to former studies is the investigation of the relation between the scalar meson and tensor productions for the first time. To this end, the spin structure of the four vectors present in the production vertex is analyzed, and the D-wave mechanism in the tensor production is included. Then, beyond the ratios studied previously involving scalar states and tensor states independently, new ratios relating the scalar and tensor meson productions are estimated. Our results suggest that the D-wave mechanism of tensor production assumes a relevant contribution. New experimental data reporting the angular distributions of these processes will be important for checking this conclusion.
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Beaulieu, L., Ballester, F., Granero, D., Tedgren, A. C., Haworth, A., Lowenstein, J. R., et al. (2023). AAPM WGDCAB Report 372: A joint AAPM, ESTRO, ABG, and ABS report on commissioning of model-based dose calculation algorithms in brachytherapy. Med. Phys., 50(8), e946–e960.
Abstract: The introduction of model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs) in brachytherapy provides an opportunity for a more accurate dose calculation and opens the possibility for novel, innovative treatment modalities. The joint AAPM, ESTRO, and ABG Task Group 186 (TG-186) report provided guidance to early adopters. However, the commissioning aspect of these algorithms was described only in general terms with no quantitative goals. This report, from the Working Group on Model-Based Dose Calculation Algorithms in Brachytherapy, introduced a field-tested approach to MBDCA commissioning. It is based on a set of well-characterized test cases for which reference Monte Carlo (MC) and vendor-specific MBDCA dose distributions are available in a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine-Radiotherapy (DICOM-RT) format to the clinical users. The key elements of the TG-186 commissioning workflow are now described in detail, and quantitative goals are provided. This approach leverages the well-known Brachytherapy Source Registry jointly managed by the AAPM and the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Houston Quality Assurance Center (with associated links at ESTRO) to provide open access to test cases as well as step-by-step user guides. While the current report is limited to the two most widely commercially available MBDCAs and only for Ir-192-based afterloading brachytherapy at this time, this report establishes a general framework that can easily be extended to other brachytherapy MBDCAs and brachytherapy sources. The AAPM, ESTRO, ABG, and ABS recommend that clinical medical physicists implement the workflow presented in this report to validate both the basic and the advanced dose calculation features of their commercial MBDCAs. Recommendations are also given to vendors to integrate advanced analysis tools into their brachytherapy treatment planning system to facilitate extensive dose comparisons. The use of the test cases for research and educational purposes is further encouraged.
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Brzezinski, K. et al. (2023). Detection of range shifts in proton beam therapy using the J-PET scanner: a patient simulation study. Phys. Med. Biol., 68(14), 145016–17pp.
Abstract: Objective. The Jagiellonian positron emission tomography (J-PET) technology, based on plastic scintillators, has been proposed as a cost effective tool for detecting range deviations during proton therapy. This study investigates the feasibility of using J-PET for range monitoring by means of a detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of 95 patients who underwent proton therapy at the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) in Krakow, Poland. Approach. Discrepancies between prescribed and delivered treatments were artificially introduced in the simulations by means of shifts in patient positioning and in the Hounsfield unit to the relative proton stopping power calibration curve. A dual-layer, cylindrical J-PET geometry was simulated in an in-room monitoring scenario and a triple-layer, dual-head geometry in an in-beam protocol. The distribution of range shifts in reconstructed PET activity was visualized in the beam's eye view. Linear prediction models were constructed from all patients in the cohort, using the mean shift in reconstructed PET activity as a predictor of the mean proton range deviation. Main results. Maps of deviations in the range of reconstructed PET distributions showed agreement with those of deviations in dose range in most patients. The linear prediction model showed a good fit, with coefficient of determination r (2) = 0.84 (in-room) and 0.75 (in-beam). Residual standard error was below 1 mm: 0.33 mm (in-room) and 0.23 mm (in-beam). Significance. The precision of the proposed prediction models shows the sensitivity of the proposed J-PET scanners to shifts in proton range for a wide range of clinical treatment plans. Furthermore, it motivates the use of such models as a tool for predicting proton range deviations and opens up new prospects for investigations into the use of intra-treatment PET images for predicting clinical metrics that aid in the assessment of the quality of delivered treatment.
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Fadel, M., Yadin, B., Mao, Y. P., Byrnes, T., & Gessner, M. (2023). Multiparameter quantum metrology and mode entanglement with spatially split nonclassical spin ensembles. New J. Phys., 25(7), 073006–25pp.
Abstract: We identify the multiparameter sensitivity of entangled spin states, such as spin-squeezed and Dicke states that are spatially distributed into several addressable spatial modes. Analytical expressions for the spin-squeezing matrix of families of states that are accessible by current atomic experiments reveal the quantum gain in multiparameter metrology, as well as the optimal strategies to maximize the sensitivity gain for the estimation of any linear combination of parameters. We further study the mode entanglement of these states by deriving a witness for genuine k-partite mode entanglement from the spin-squeezing matrix. Our results highlight the advantage of mode entanglement for distributed sensing, and outline optimal protocols for multiparameter estimation with nonclassical spatially-distributed spin ensembles. We illustrate our findings with the design of a protocol for gradient sensing with a Bose-Einstein condensate in an entangled spin state in two modes.
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Oliver, S., Vijande, J., Tejedor-Aguilar, N., Miro, R., Rovira-Escutia, J. J., Ballester, F., et al. (2023). Monte Carlo flattening filter design to high energy intraoperative electron beam homogenization. Radiat. Phys. Chem., 212, 111102–6pp.
Abstract: Intraoperative radiotherapy using mobile linear accelerators is used for a wide variety of malignancies. However, when large fields are used in combination with high energies, a deterioration of the flatness dose profile is measured with respect to smaller fields and lower energies. Indeed, for the LIAC HWL of Sordina, this deterioration is observed for the 12 MeV beam combined with 10 cm (or larger) diameter applicator. Aimed to solve this problem, a flattening filter has been designed and validated evaluating the feasibility of its usage at the upper part of the applicator. The design of the filter was based on Monte Carlo simulations because of its accuracy in modeling components of clinical devices, among other purposes. The LIAC 10 cm diameter applicator was modeled and simulated independently by two different research groups using two different MC codes, reproducing the heterogeneity of the 12 MeV energy beam. Then, an iterative process of filter design was carried out. Finally, the MC designed conical filter with the optimal size and height to obtain the desired flattened beam was built in-house using a 3D printer. During the experimental validation of the applicator-filter, percentage depth dose, beam profiles, absolute and peripheral dose measurements were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the filter addition in the applicator. These measurements conclude that the beam has been flattened, from 5.9% with the standard configuration to 1.6% for the configuration with the filter, without significant increase of the peripheral dose. Consequently, the new filter-applicator LIAC configuration can be used also in a conventional surgery room. A reduction of 16% of the output dose and a reduction of 1.1 mm in the D50 of the percentage depth dose was measured with respect to the original configuration. This work is a proof-of-concept that demonstrates that it is possible to add a filter able to flatten the beam delivered by the Sordina LIAC HWL. Future studies will focus on more refined technical solutions fully compatible with the integrity of the applicator, including its sterilization, to be safely introduced in the clinical practice.
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Caron, S., Eckner, C., Hendriks, L., Johannesson, G., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Zaharijas, G. (2023). Mind the gap: the discrepancy between simulation and reality drives interpretations of the Galactic Center Excess. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 013–56pp.
Abstract: The Galactic Center Excess (GCE) in GeV gamma rays has been debated for over a decade, with the possibility that it might be due to dark matter annihilation or undetected point sources such as millisecond pulsars (MSPs). This study investigates how the gamma-ray emission model (-yEM) used in Galactic center analyses affects the interpretation of the GCE's nature. To address this issue, we construct an ultra-fast and powerful inference pipeline based on convolutional Deep Ensemble Networks. We explore the two main competing hypotheses for the GCE using a set of-yEMs with increasing parametric freedom. We calculate the fractional contribution (fsrc) of a dim population of MSPs to the total luminosity of the GCE and analyze its dependence on the complexity of the ryEM. For the simplest ryEM, we obtain fsrc = 0.10 f 0.07, while the most complex model yields fsrc = 0.79 f 0.24. In conclusion, we find that the statement about the nature of the GCE (dark matter or not) strongly depends on the assumed ryEM. The quoted results for fsrc do not account for the additional uncertainty arising from the fact that the observed gamma-ray sky is out-of-distribution concerning the investigated ryEM iterations. We quantify the reality gap between our ryEMs using deep-learning-based One-Class Deep Support Vector Data Description networks, revealing that all employed ryEMs have gaps to reality. Our study casts doubt on the validity of previous conclusions regarding the GCE and dark matter, and underscores the urgent need to account for the reality gap and consider previously overlooked “out of domain” uncertainties in future interpretations.
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Maso-Ferrando, A., Sanchis-Gual, N., Font, J. A., & Olmo, G. J. (2023). Birth of baby universes from gravitational collapse in a modified-gravity scenario. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 028–19pp.
Abstract: We consider equilibrium models of spherical boson stars in Palatini f (R) = R + CR2 gravity and study their collapse when perturbed. The Einstein-Klein-Gordon system is solved using a recently established correspondence in an Einstein frame representation. We find that, in that frame, the endpoint is a nonrotating black hole surrounded by a quasi -stationary cloud of scalar field. However, the dynamics in the f (R) frame is dramatically different. The innermost region of the collapsing object exhibits the formation of a finite -size, exponentially-expanding baby universe connected with the outer (parent) universe via a minimal area surface (a throat or umbilical cord). Our simulations indicate that this surface is at all times hidden inside a horizon, causally disconnecting the baby universe from observers above the horizon. The implications of our findings in other areas of gravitational physics are also discussed.
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Delhom, A., Olmo, G. J., & Singh, P. (2023). A diffeomorphism invariant family of metric-affine actions for loop cosmologies. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 059–21pp.
Abstract: In loop quantum cosmology (LQC) the big bang singularity is generically resolved by a big bounce. This feature holds even when modified quantization prescriptions of the Hamiltonian constraint are used such as in mLQC-I and mLQC-II. While the later describes an effective description qualitatively similar to that of standard LQC, the former describes an asymmetric evolution with an emergent Planckian de-Sitter pre-bounce phase even in the absence of a potential. We consider the potential relation of these canonically quantized non-singular models with effective actions based on a geometric description. We find a 3-parameter family of metric-affine f (R) theories which accurately approximate the effective dynamics of LQC and mLQC-II in all regimes and mLQC-I in the post-bounce phase. Two of the parameters are fixed by enforcing equivalence at the bounce, and the background evolution of the relevant observables can be fitted with only one free parameter. It is seen that the non-perturbative effects of these loop cosmologies are universally encoded by a logarithmic correction that only depends on the bounce curvature of the model. In addition, we find that the best fit value of the free parameter can be very approximately written in terms of fundamental parameters of the underlying quantum description for the three models. The values of the best fits can be written in terms of the bounce density in a simple manner, and the values for each model are related to one another by a proportionality relation involving only the Barbero-Immirzi parameter.
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Capozzi, F., Ferreira, R. Z., Lopez-Honorez, L., & Mena, O. (2023). CMB and Lyman-alpha constraints on dark matter decays to photons. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 060–23pp.
Abstract: Dark matter energy injection in the early universe modifies both the ionization history and the temperature of the intergalactic medium. In this work, we improve the CMB bounds on sub-keV dark matter and extend previous bounds from Lyman-& alpha; observations to the same mass range, resulting in new and competitive constraints on axion-like particles (ALPs) decaying into two photons. The limits depend on the underlying reionization history, here accounted self-consistently by our modified version of the publicly available DarkHistory and CLASS codes. Future measurements such as the ones from the CMB-S4 experiment may play a crucial, leading role in the search for this type of light dark matter candidates.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Combination of searches for invisible decays of the Higgs boson using 139 fb-1 of proton-proton collision data at root s=13 TeV collected with the ATLAS experiment. Phys. Lett. B, 842, 137963–19pp.
Abstract: Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. Sufficiently light dark matter particles may be produced in decays of the Higgs boson that would appear invisible to the detector. This Letter presents a statistical combination of searches for H & RARR; invisible decays where multiple production modes of the Standard Model Higgs boson are considered. These searches are performed with the ATLAS detector using 139 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of & RADIC;s = 13 TeV at the LHC. In combination with the results at & RADIC;s = 7 TeV and 8 TeV, an upper limit on the H & RARR; invisible branching ratio of 0.107 (0.077) at the 95% confidence level is observed (expected). These results are also interpreted in the context of models where the 125 GeV Higgs boson acts as a portal to dark matter, and limits are set on the scattering cross-section of weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons.
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