Abstract: While the hunt for new states beyond the standardmodel (SM) goes on for various well motivated theories, the leptoquarks are among the most appealing scenarios at recent times due to a series of tensions observed in B-meson decays. We consider SU(2) singlet and triplet scalar leptoquarks separately, which contribute to charged and neutral current B-meson decays. Focusing on the single production of these two scalar leptoquarks, we perform a PYTHIA-based simulation considering all the dominant SM backgrounds at the current and future setups of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The mono-b-jet + p(T) finalstate gives the strongest signal for the singlet leptoquark at the 30 TeV LHC or Future Circular Collider (FCC), with a possibility of 5 sigma signal significance with greater than or similar to 1000 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, for the chosen benchmark scenarios. The finalstate consisting of a c-jet and two tau-jets provides highest reach for the singlet leptoquark, probing an O(10(-1)) value of the Yukawa-type couplings for up to 3.0 TeV leptoquark mass. For the triplet leptoquark, 1 – jet + 2 μ+ p(T) topology is the most optimistic signature at the LHC, probing leptoquark couplings to fermions at O(10(-1)) value for the leptoquark mass range up to 4.0 TeV. The invariant mass edge distribution is found to be instrumental in determination of the leptoquarkmass scale at the LHC. We also perform the analysis at the proposed multiTeV muon collider, where an O(10(-1)) leptoquark Yukawa coupling can be probed for a 5.0 TeV leptoquark mass.

Abstract: Machine-learning techniques have become fundamental in high-energy physics and, for new physics searches, it is crucial to know their performance in terms of experimental sensitivity, understood as the statistical significance of the signal-plus-background hypothesis over the background-only one. We present here a simple method that combines the power of current machine-learning techniques to face high-dimensional data with the likelihood-based inference tests used in traditional analyses, which allows us to estimate the sensitivity for both discovery and exclusion limits through a single parameter of interest, the signal strength. Based on supervised learning techniques, it can perform well also with high-dimensional data, when traditional techniques cannot. We apply the method to a toy model first, so we can explore its potential, and then to a LHC study of new physics particles in dijet final states. Considering as the optimal statistical significance the one we would obtain if the true generative functions were known, we show that our method provides a better approximation than the usual naive counting experimental results.

Abstract: We study for the first time the p Sigma(-) -> K- d and K- d -> p Sigma(-) reactions close to threshold and show that they are driven by a triangle mechanism, with the Lambda(1405), a proton and a neutron as intermediate states, which develops a triangle singularity close to the (K) over bard threshold. We find that a mechanism involving virtual pion exchange and the K- p -> pi(+)Sigma(-) amplitude dominates over another one involving kaon exchange and the K- p -> K- p amplitude. Moreover, of the two Lambda(1405) states, the one with higher mass around 1420 MeV, gives the largest contribution to the process. We show that the cross section, well within measurable range, is very sensitive to different models that, while reproducing (K) over barN observables above threshold, provide different extrapolations of the (K) over barN amplitudes below threshold. The observables of this reaction will provide new constraints on the theoretical models, leading to more reliable extrapolations of the (K) over barN amplitudes below threshold and to more accurate predictions of the Lambda(1405) state of lower mass.

Abstract: We study a special Schwinger-Dyson equation in the context of a pure SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, formulated in the background field method. Specifically, we consider the corresponding equation for the vertex that governs the interaction of two background gluons with a ghost-antighost pair. By virtue of the background gauge invariance, this vertex satisfies a naive Slavnov-Taylor identity, which is not deformed by the ghost sector of the theory. In the all-soft limit, where all momenta vanish, the form of this vertex may be obtained exactly from the corresponding Ward identity. This special result is subsequently reproduced at the level of the Schwinger-Dyson equation, by making extensive use of Taylor's theorem and exploiting a plethora of key relations, particular to the background field method. This information permits the determination of the error associated with two distinct truncation schemes, where the potential advantage from employing lattice data for the ghost dressing function is quantitatively assessed.

Abstract: We present the details and first results of a new strategy for the determination of alpha s(mZ) (ALPHA Collaboration et al. in Phys. Lett. B 807:135571, 2020). By simultaneously decoupling 3 fictitious heavy quarks we establish a relation between the A-parameters of three-flavor QCD and pure gauge theory. Very precise recent results in the pure gauge theory (Dalla Brida and Ramos in Eur. Phys. J. C 79(8):720, 2019; Nada and Ramos in Eur Phys J C 81(1):1, 2021) can thus be leveraged to obtain the three flavour A-parameter in units of a common decoupling scale. Connecting this scale to hadronic physics in 3-flavour QCD leads to our result in physical units, A(3)/MS = 336(12) MeV, which translates to alpha s(m(Z)) = 0.11823(84). This is compatible with both the FLAG average (Aoki et al. in FLAG review 2021. arXiv:2111.09849 [hep-lat]) and the previous ALPHA result (ALPHA Collaboration et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119(10):102001, 2017), with a comparable, yet still statistics dominated, error. This constitutes a highly non-trivial check, as the decoupling strategy is conceptually very different from the 3-flavour QCD step-scaling method, and so are their systematic errors. These include the uncertainties of the combined decoupling and continuum limits, which we discuss in some detail. We also quantify the correlation between both results, due to some common elements, such as the scale determination in physical units and the definition of the energy scale where we apply decoupling.