Servant, G., & Simakachorn, P. (2024). Ultrahigh frequency primordial gravitational waves beyond the kHz: The case of cosmic strings. Phys. Rev. D, 109(10), 103538–24pp.
Abstract: We investigate gravitational -wave backgrounds (GWBs) of primordial origin that would manifest only at ultrahigh frequencies, from kilohertz to 100 gigahertz, and leave no signal at LIGO, the Einstein Telescope, the Cosmic Explorer, LISA, or pulsar -timing arrays. We focus on GWBs produced by cosmic strings and make predictions for the GW spectra scanning over high-energy scale (beyond 10 10 GeV) particle physics parameters. Signals from local string networks can easily be as large as the big bang nucleosynthesis/ cosmic microwave background bounds, with a characteristic strain as high as 10 – 26 in the 10 kHz band, offering prospects to probe grand unification physics in the 10 14 -10 17 GeV energy range. In comparison, GWB from axionic strings is suppressed (with maximal characteristic strain similar to 10 – 31 ) due to the early matter era induced by the associated heavy axions. We estimate the needed reach of hypothetical futuristic GW detectors to probe such GWB and, therefore, the corresponding high-energy physics processes. Beyond the information of the symmetry -breaking scale, the high -frequency spectrum encodes the microscopic structure of the strings through the position of the UV cutoffs associated with cusps and kinks, as well as potential information about friction forces on the string. The IR slope, on the other hand, reflects the physics responsible for the decay of the string network. We discuss possible strategies for reconstructing the scalar potential, particularly the scalar self -coupling, from the measurement of the UV cutoff of the GW spectrum.
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del Rio, A., & Ester, E. A. (2024). Electrically charged black hole solutions in semiclassical gravity and dynamics of linear perturbations. Phys. Rev. D, 109(10), 105022–23pp.
Abstract: We explore quantum corrections of electrically charged black holes subject to vacuum polarization effects of fermion fields in QED. Solving this problem exactly is challenging so we restrict to perturbative corrections that one can obtain using the heat kernel expansion in the one -loop effective action for electrons. Starting from the corrections originally computed by Drummond and Hathrell, we solve the full semiclassical Einstein -Maxwell system of coupled equations to leading order in Planck 's constant and find a new electrically charged, static black hole solution. To probe these quantum corrections, we study electromagnetic and gravitational (axial) perturbations on this background and derive the coupled system of Regge-Wheeler master equations that govern the propagation of these waves. In the classical limit, our results agree with previous findings in the literature. We finally compare these results with those that one can obtain by working out the Euler-Heisenberg effective action. We find again a new electrically charged static black hole spacetime and derive the coupled system of Regge-Wheeler equations governing the propagation of axial electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations. Results are qualitatively similar in both cases. We briefly discuss some challenges found in the numerical computation of the quasinormal mode frequency spectra when quantum corrections are included.
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Navarro, P., Gimeno, B., Monzo-Cabrera, J., Diaz-Morcillo, A., & Blas, D. (2024). Study of a cubic cavity resonator for gravitational waves detection in the microwave frequency range. Phys. Rev. D, 109(10), 104048–19pp.
Abstract: The direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs) of frequencies above MHz has recently received considerable attention. In this work, we present a precise study of the reach of a cubic cavity resonator to GWs in the microwave range, using for the first time tools allowing to perform realistic simulations. Concretely, the boundary integral -resonant mode expansion (BI-RME) 3D method, which allows us to obtain not only the detected power but also the detected voltage (magnitude and phase), is used here. After analyzing three cubic cavities for different frequencies and working simultaneously with three different degenerate modes at each cavity, we conclude that the sensitivity of the experiment is strongly dependent on the polarization and incidence angle of the GW. The presented experiment can reach sensitivities up to 1 x 10 – 19 at 100 MHz, 2 x 10 – 20 at 1 GHz, and 6 x 10 – 19 at 10 GHz for optimal angles and polarizations, and where in all cases we assumed an integration time of Delta t 1 / 4 1 ms. These results provide a strong case for further developing the use of cavities to detect GWs. Moreover, the possibility of analyzing the detected voltage (magnitude and phase) opens a new interferometric detection scheme based on the combination of the detected signals from multiple cavities.
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Beltran, R., Günther, J., Hirsch, M., Titov, A., & Wang, Z. S. (2024). Heavy neutral leptons from kaons in effective field theory. Phys. Rev. D, 109(11), 115014–19pp.
Abstract: In the framework of the low -energy effective theory containing, in addition to the Standard -Model fields, heavy neutral leptons (HNLs), we compute the decay rates of neutral and charged kaons into HNLs. We consider both lepton -number -conserving and lepton -number -violating four-fermion operators, taking into account also the contribution of active -heavy neutrino mixing. Assuming that the produced HNLs are longlived, we perform simulations and calculate the sensitivities of future long -lived -particle (LLP) detectors at the high -luminosity LHC as well as the near detector of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE -ND) to the considered scenario. When applicable, we also recast the existing bounds on the minimal mixing case obtained by NA62, T2K, and PS191. Our findings show that, while the future LHC LLP detectors can probe currently allowed parameter space only in certain benchmark scenarios, DUNE -ND should be sensitive to parameter space beyond the current bounds in almost all the benchmark scenarios, and, for some of the effective operators considered, it can even probe new -physics scales in excess of 3000 TeV.
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Krupczak, R., da Silva, T. N., Domingues, T. S., Luzum, M., Denicol, G. S., Gardim, F. G., et al. (2024). Causality violations in simulations of large and small heavy-ion collisions. Phys. Rev. C, 109(3), 034908–12pp.
Abstract: Heavy-ion collisions, such as Pb-Pb or p-Pb, produce extreme conditions in temperature and density that make the hadronic matter transition to a new state, called quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Simulations of heavy-ion collisions provide a way to improve our understanding of the QGP's properties. These simulations are composed of a hybrid description that results in final observables in agreement with accelerators like LHC and RHIC. However, recent works pointed out that these hydrodynamic simulations can display acausal behavior during the evolution in certain regions, indicating a deviation from a faithful representation of the underlying QCD dynamics. To pursue a better understanding of this problem and its consequences, this work simulated two different collision systems, Pb-Pb and p-Pb at root sNN = 5.02 TeV. In this context, our results show that causality violation, even though always present, typically occurs on a small part of the system, quantified by the total energy fraction residing in the acausal region. In addition, the acausal behavior can be reduced with changes in the prehydrodynamic factors and the definition of the bulk-viscous relaxation time. Since these aspects are fairly arbitrary in current simulation models, without solid guidance from the underlying theory, it is reasonable to use the disturbing presence of acausal behavior in current simulations to guide improvements towards more realistic modeling. While this work does not solve the acausality problem, it sheds more light on this issue and also proposes a way to solve this problem in simulations of heavy-ion collisions.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Jaimes Elles, S. J., Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Rebollo De Miguel, M., et al. (2024). Measurement of Ξc+ production in pPb collisions at √sNN=8.16 TeV at LHCb. Phys. Rev. C, 109(4), 044901–14pp.
Abstract: A study of prompt Xi(+)(c) production in proton-lead collisions is performed with the LHCb experiment at a centerof-mass energy per nucleon pair of 8.16 TeV in 2016 in pPb and Pbp collisions with an estimated integrated luminosity of approximately 12.5 and 17.4 nb(-1), respectively. The Xi(+)(c) roduction cross section, as well as the Xi(+)(c) to Lambda(+)(c) production cross-section ratio, are measured as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity and compared to the latest theory predictions. The forward-backward asymmetry is also measured as a function of the Xi(+)(c) ransverse momentum. The results provide strong constraints on theoretical calculation and are a unique input for hadronization studies in different collision systems.
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Nascimento, J. R., Olmo, G. J., Petrov, A. Y., & Porfirio, P. J. (2024). On metric-affine bumblebee model coupled to scalar matter. Nucl. Phys. B, 1004, 116577–10pp.
Abstract: We consider the coupling of the metric-affine bumblebee gravity model to scalar matter and calculate the lower -order contributions to two -point functions of bumblebee and scalar fields in the weak gravity approximation. We also obtain the one -loop effective potentials for both scalar and vector fields.
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Miyagawa, P. S. et al, Bernabeu, P., Lacasta, C., Solaz, C., & Soldevila, U. (2024). Analysis of the results from Quality Control tests performed on ATLAS18 Strip Sensors during on-going production. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1064, 169457–9pp.
Abstract: The ATLAS experiment will replace its existing Inner Detector with the new all -silicon Inner Tracker (ITk) to cope with the operating conditions of the forthcoming high -luminosity phase of the LHC (HL-LHC). The outer regions of the ITk will be instrumented with similar to 18000 ATLAS18 strip sensors fabricated by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK). With the launch of full-scale sensor production in 2021, the ITk strip sensor community has undertaken quality control (QC) testing of these sensors to ensure compliance with mechanical and electrical specifications agreed with HPK. The testing is conducted at seven QC sites on each of the monthly deliveries of similar to 500 sensors. This contribution will give an overview of the QC procedures and analysis; the tests most likely to determine pass/fail for a sensor are IV, long-term leakage current stability, full strip test and visual inspection. The contribution will then present trends in the results and properties following completion of similar to 60% of production testing. It will also mention challenges overcome through collaborative efforts with HPK during the early phases of production. With less than 5% of sensors rejected by QC testing, the overall production quality has been very good.
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Bach, E. et al, Bernabeu, J., Lacasta, C., Solaz, C., & Soldevila, U. (2024). Analysis of the quality assurance results from the initial part of production of the ATLAS18 ITK strip sensors. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1064, 169435–8pp.
Abstract: The production of strip sensors for the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) started in 2021. Since then, a Quality Assurance (QA) program has been carried out continuously, by using specific test structures, in parallel to the Quality Control (QC) inspection of the sensors. The QA program consists of monitoring sensor-specific characteristics and the technological process variability, before and after the irradiation with gammas, neutrons, and protons. After two years, half of the full production volume has been reached and we present an analysis of the parameters measured as part of the QA process. The main devices used for QA purposes are miniature strip sensors, monitor diodes, and the ATLAS test chip, which contains several test structures. Such devices are tested by several sites across the collaboration depending on the type of samples (non-irradiated components or irradiated with protons, neutrons, or gammas). The parameters extracted from the tests are then uploaded to a database and analyzed by Python scripts. These parameters are mainly examined through histograms and timeevolution plots to obtain parameter distributions, production trends, and meaningful parameter-to-parameter correlations. The purpose of this analysis is to identify possible deviations in the fabrication or the sensor quality, changes in the behavior of the test equipment at different test sites, or possible variability in the irradiation processes. The conclusions extracted from the QA program have allowed test optimization, establishment of control limits for the parameters, and a better understanding of device properties and fabrication trends. In addition, any abnormal results prompt immediate feedback to a vendor.
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Martins, A., da Mota, A. F., Stanford, C., Contreras, T., Martin-Albo, J., Kish, A., et al. (2024). Simple strategy for the simulation of axially symmetric large-area metasurfaces. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 41(5), 1261–1269.
Abstract: Metalenses are composed of nanostructures for focusing light and have been widely explored in many exciting applications. However, their expanding dimensions pose simulation challenges. We propose a method to simulate metalenses in a timely manner using vectorial wave and ray tracing models. We sample the metalens's radial phase gradient and locally approximate the phase profile by a linear phase response. Each sampling point is modeled as a binary blazed grating, employing the chosen nanostructure, to build a transfer function set. The metalens transmission or reflection is then obtained by applying the corresponding transfer function to the incoming field on the regions surrounding each sampling point. Fourier optics is used to calculate the scattered fields under arbitrary illumination for the vectorial wave method, and a Monte Carlo algorithm is used in the ray tracing formalism. We validated our method against finite -difference time domain simulations at 632 nm, and we were able to simulate metalenses larger than 3000 wavelengths in diameter on a personal computer.
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