Abstract: The energy-dependent cross section of the (7)Bed(n,alpha)He-4 reaction, of interest for the so-called cosmological lithium problem in big bang nucleosynthesis, has been measured for the first time from 10 meV to 10 keV neutron energy. The challenges posed by the short half-life of Be-7 and by the low reaction cross section have been overcome at nTOF thanks to an unprecedented combination of the extremely high luminosity and good resolution of the neutron beam in the new experimental area (EAR2) of the nTOF facility at CERN, the availability of a sufficient amount of chemically pure Be-7, and a specifically designed experimental setup. Coincidences between the two alpha particles have been recorded in two Si-Be-7-Si arrays placed directly in the neutron beam. The present results are consistent, at thermal neutron energy, with the only previous measurement performed in the 1960s at a nuclear reactor. The energy dependence reported here clearly indicates the inadequacy of the cross section estimates currently used in BBN calculations. Although new measurements at higher neutron energy may still be needed, the n_TOF results hint at a minor role of this reaction in BBN, leaving the long-standing cosmological lithium problem unsolved.

Abstract: A search for heavy pseudoscalar (A) and scalar (H) Higgs bosons decaying into a top quark pair (t (t) over bar) has been performed with 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy root s = 8 TeV. Interference effects between the signal process and standard model t (t) over bar production, which are expected to distort the signal shape from a single peak to a peak-dip structure, are taken into account. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed in the t (t) over bar invariant mass spectrum in final states with an electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum, and at least four jets. The results are interpreted within the context of a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model. Exclusion limits on the signal strength are derived as a function of the mass m(A/H) and the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the two Higgs fields, tan beta, for m(A/H) > 500 GeV.

Abstract: We measure the mass difference, Delta m(+), between the D* (2010)(+) and the D+ using the decay chain D* (2010)(+) -> D+ pi(0) with D+ -> K- pi(+)pi(+). The data were recorded with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies at and near the (sic)(4S) resonance, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 468 fb(-1). We measure Delta m(+) = (140601.0 +/- 6.8[stat] +/- 12.9[syst]) keV. We combine this result with a previous BABAR measurement of Delta m(0) = m(D* (2010)(+)) – m(D-0) to obtain Delta m(D) = m(D+) – m(D-0) = (4824.9 +/- 6.8[stat] +/- 12.9[syst]) keV. These results are compatible with and approximately five times more precise than the Particle Data Group averages.

Abstract: The first observation of the decay of a B0 meson to a purely baryonic final state, B-0 -> p$(p)over-bar-$ , is reported. The proton-proton collision data sample used was collected with the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1). The branching fraction is determined to be B(B-0 -> p$(p)over-bar-$) = (1.25 +/- 0.27 +/- 0.18) x 10(-8), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The decay mode B-0 -> p$(p)over-bar-$ is the rarest decay of the B-0 meson observed to date. The decay B-s(0 )-> p$(p)over-bar-$ is also investigated. No signal is seen and the upper limit B(B-s(0) -> p$(p)over-bar-$) < 1.5 x 10(-8) at 90% confidence level is set on the branching fraction.

Abstract: Searches are performed for both promptlike and long-lived dark photons, A', produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using A' -> mu(+)mu(-) decays and a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 fb(-1) collected with the LHCb detector. The promptlike A' search covers the mass range from near the dimuon threshold up to 70 GeV, while the long-lived A' search is restricted to the low-mass region 214 < mo(A') < 350 MeV. No evidence for a signal is found, and 90% confidence level exclusion limits are placed on the gamma-A' kinetic-mixing strength. The constraints placed on promptlike dark photons are the most stringent to date for the mass range 10.6 < m(A') < 70 GeV, and are comparable to the best existing limits for m(A') < 0.5 GeV. The search for long-lived dark photons is the first to achieve sensitivity using a displaced-vertex signature.