Abstract: The previously introduced class of two-parametric phenomenological inflationary models in general relativity in which the slow-roll assumption is replaced by the more general, constant-roll condition is generalized to the case of f (R) gravity. A simple constant-roll condition is defined in the original Jordan frame, and exact expressions for a scalaron potential in the Einstein frame, for a function f (R) (in the parametric form) and for inflationary dynamics are obtained. The region of the model parameters permitted by the latest observational constraints on the scalar spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio of primordial metric perturbations generated during inflation is determined.

Abstract: Detailed measurements of t-channel single top-quark production are presented. They use 20.2 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the LHC. Total, fiducial and differential cross-sections are measured for both top-quark and top-antiquark production. The fiducial cross-section is measured with a precision of 5.8% (top quark) and 7.8% (top antiquark), respectively. The total cross-sections are measured to be stot(tq) = 56.7(-3.8)(+4.3) pb for top-quark production and sigma(tot)((t) over barq) = 32.9(-2.7)(+3.0) pb for top-antiquark production, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. In addition, the ratio of top-quark to top-antiquark production cross-sections is determined to be R-t = 1.72 +/- 0.09. The differential cross-sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of both the top quark and the top antiquark are measured at both the parton and particle levels. The transverse momentum and rapidity differential cross-sections of the accompanying jet from the t-channel scattering are measured at particle level. All measurements are compared to various Monte Carlo predictions as well as to fixed-order QCD calculations where available.

Abstract: The rejection of forward jets originating from additional proton-proton interactions (pile-up) is crucial for a variety of physics analyses at the LHC, including Standard Model measurements and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. The identification of such jets is challenging due to the lack of track and vertex information in the pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar > 2.5. This paper presents a novel strategy for forward pile-up jet tagging that exploits jet shapes and topological jet correlations in pile-up interactions. Measurements of the per-jet tagging efficiency are presented using a data set of 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector. The fraction of pile-up jets rejected in the range 2.5 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 4.5 is estimated in simulated events with an average of 22 interactions per bunch-crossing. It increases with jet transverse momentum and, for jets with transverse momentum between 20 and 50 GeV, it ranges between 49% and 67% with an efficiency of 85% for selecting hard-scatter jets. A case study is performed in Higgs boson production via the vector-boson fusion process, showing that these techniques mitigate the background growth due to additional proton-proton interactions, thus enhancing the reach for such signatures.

Abstract: We show that, if they exist, lepton number asymmetries (L-alpha) of neutrino flavors should be distinguished from the ones (L-i) of mass eigenstates, since Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) bounds on the flavor eigenstates cannot be directly applied to the mass eigenstates. Similarly, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) constraints on the mass eigenstates do not directly constrain flavor asymmetries. Due to the difference of mass and flavor eigenstates, the cosmological constraint on the asymmetries of neutrino flavors can be much stronger than the conventional expectation, but they are not uniquely determined unless at least the asymmetry of the heaviest neutrino is well constrained. The cosmological constraint on L-i for a specific case is presented as an illustration.

Abstract: From the perspective that Lambda(C)(2595) and Lambda(C)(2625) are dynamically generated resonances from the DN, D*N interaction and coupled channels, we have evaluated the rates for Lambda(b) -> pi(-)Lambda(C)(2595) and Lambda(b) -> pi(-)Lambda(C)(2625) up to a global unknown factor that allows us to calculate the ratio of rates and compare with experiment, where good agreement is found. Similarly, we can also make predictions for the ratio of rates of the, yet unknown, decays of Lambda(b) -> D-s(-)Lambda(C)(2595) and Lambda(b) -> D-s(-)Lambda(c)(2625) and make estimates for their individual branching fractions.