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Barenboim, G., Kinney, W. H., & Morse, M. J. P. (2018). Phantom Dirac-Born-Infeld dark energy. Phys. Rev. D, 98(8), 083531–11pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the apparent discrepancy between cosmic microwave background measurements of the Hubble constant and measurements from Type-la supernovae, we construct a model for dark energy with equation of state w = p/rho < -1, violating the null energy condition. Naive canonical models of so-called “phantom” dark energy require a negative scalar kinetic term, resulting in a Hamiltonian unbounded from below and associated vacuum instability. We construct a scalar field model for dark energy with w < -1, which nonetheless has a Hamiltonian bounded from below in the comoving reference frame, i.e., in the rest frame of the fluid. We demonstrate that the solution is a cosmological attractor, and find that early-time cosmological boundary conditions consist of a “frozen” scalar field, which relaxes to the attractor solution once the dark energy component dominates the cosmological energy density. We consider the model in an arbitrary choice of gauge, and find that, unlike the case of comoving gauge, the fluid Hamiltonian is in fact unbounded from below in the reference frame of a highly boosted observer, corresponding to a nonlinear gradient instability. We discuss this in the context of general NEC-violating perfect fluids, for which this instability is a general property.
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T2K Collaboration(Abe, K. et al), Antonova, M., Cervera-Villanueva, A., Fernandez, P., Izmaylov, A., & Novella, P. (2018). Search for CP Violation in Neutrino and Antineutrino Oscillations by the T2K Experiment with 2.2 x 10(21) Protons on Target. Phys. Rev. Lett., 121(17), 171802–9pp.
Abstract: The T2K experiment measures muon neutrino disappearance and electron neutrino appearance in accelerator-produced neutrino and antineutrino beams. With an exposure of 14.7(7.6) x 10(20) protons on target in the neutrino (antineutrino) mode, 89 nu(e) candidates and seven anti-nu(e) candidates are observed, while 67.5 and 9.0 are expected for delta(CP) = 0 and normal mass ordering. The obtained 2 sigma confidence interval for the CP-violating phase, delta(CP), does not include the CP-conserving cases (delta(CP) = 0, pi). The best-fit values of other parameters are sin(2) theta(23) = 0.526(-0.036)(+0.032) and Delta m(32)(2) = 2.463(-0.070)(+0.071) x 10(-3) eV(2)/c(4).
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Bailey, A. J., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo, F. L., et al. (2018). Measurement of the suppression and azimuthal anisotropy of muons from heavy-flavor decays in Pb plus Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. C, 98(4), 044905–34pp.
Abstract: ATLAS measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavor decays in root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions and root s = 2.76 TeV pp collisions at the LHC are presented. Integrated luminosities of 0.14 nb(-1) and 570 nb(-1) are used for the Pb+Pb and pp measurements, respectively, which are performed over the muon transverse momentum range 4 < pT < 14 GeV and for five Pb+Pb centrality intervals. Backgrounds arising from in-flight pion and kaon decays, hadronic showers, and misreconstructed muons are statistically removed using a template-fitting procedure. The heavy-flavor muon differential cross sections and per-event yields are measured in pp and Pb+Pb collisions, respectively. The nuclear modification factor R-AA obtained from these is observed to be independent of pT, within uncertainties, and to be less than unity, which indicates suppressed production of heavy-flavor muons in Pb+Pb collisions. For the 10% most central Pb+Pb events, the measured R-AA is approximately 0.35. The azimuthal modulation of the heavy-flavor muon yields is also measured and the associated Fourier coefficients v(n) for n = 2, 3, and 4 are given as a function of pT and centrality. They vary slowly with pT and show a systematic variation with centrality which is characteristic of other anisotropy measurements, such as that observed for inclusive hadrons. The measured R-AA and v(n) values are also compared with theoretical calculations.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Bailey, A. J., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo, F. L., et al. (2018). Probing the Quantum Interference between Singly and Doubly Resonant Top-Quark Production in pp Collisions at root s=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector. Phys. Rev. Lett., 121(15), 152002–20pp.
Abstract: This Letter presents a normalized differential cross-section measurement in a fiducial phase-space region where interference effects between top-quark pair production and associated production of a single top quark with a W boson and a b-quark are significant. Events with exactly two leptons (ee, μmu, or e mu) and two b-tagged jets that satisfy a multiparticle invariant mass requirement are selected from 36.1 fb(-1) of protonproton collision data taken at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. The results are compared with predictions from simulations using various strategies for the interference. The standard prescriptions for interference modeling are significantly different from each other but are within 2 sigma of the data. State-of-the-art predictions that naturally incorporate interference effects provide the best description of the data in the measured region of phase space most sensitive to these effects. These results provide an important constraint on interference models and will guide future model development and tuning.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Henry, L., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Remon Alepuz, C., et al. (2018). Observation of B-s(0) -> (D)over-bar*(0)phi and search for B-0 -> (D)over-bar(0)phi decays. Phys. Rev. D, 98(7), 071103–10pp.
Abstract: The first observation of the B-s(0) -> (D) over bar*(0)phi decay is reported, with a significance of more than seven standard deviations, from an analysis of pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb -1 , collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The branching fraction is measured relative to that of the topologically similar decay B-0 -> (D) over bar (0)pi(+)pi(-) and is found to be B(B-s(0) -> (D) over bar*(0)phi) = (3.7 +/- 05 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.2) x 10(-5), where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third from the branching fraction of the B-0 -> (D) over bar (0)pi(+)pi(-) decay. The fraction of longitudinal polarization in this decay is measured to be f(L) = (73 +/- 15 +/- 4)%. The most precise determination of the branching fraction for the B-s(0) -> (D) over bar (0)phi decay is also obtained, B(B-s(0) -> (D) over bar (0)phi) = (3.0 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.2) x 10(-5). An upper limit, B(B-s(0) -> (D) over bar (0)phi) < 2.0 (2.3) x 10(-6) at 90% (95%) confidence level is set. A constraint on the omega – phi mixing angle delta is set at vertical bar delta vertical bar < 5.2 degrees (5.5 degrees) at 90% (95%) confidence level.
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