Abstract: We analyse a model that connects the neutrino sector and the dark sector of the universe via a mediator 41., stabilised by a discrete Z4 symmetry that breaks to a remnant Z2 upon 41. acquiring a non -zero vacuum expectation value (v phi). The model accounts for the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe via additional contributions to the canonical Type -I leptogenesis. The Z4 symmetry breaking scale (v phi) in the model not only establishes a connection between the neutrino sector and the dark sector, but could also lead to gravitational wave signals that are within the reach of current and future experimental sensitivities.

Abstract: We use the latest constraints on the population of stellar origin binary black holes (SOBBH) from LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA (LVK) observations, to estimate the stochastic gravi-tational wave background (SGWB) they generate in the frequency band of LISA. In order to account for the faint and distant binaries, which contribute the most to the SGWB, we extend the merger rate at high redshift assuming that it tracks the star formation rate. We adopt different methods to compute the SGWB signal: we perform an analytical evaluation, we use Monte Carlo sums over the SOBBH population realisations, and we account for the role of the detector by simulating LISA data and iteratively removing the resolvable signals until only the confusion noise is left. The last method allows the extraction of both the expected SGWB and the number of resolvable SOBBHs. Since the latter are few for signal-to-noise ratio thresholds larger than five, we confirm that the spectral shape of the SGWB in the LISA band agrees with the analytical prediction of a single power law. We infer the probability dis-tribution of the SGWB amplitude from the LVK GWTC-3 posterior of the binary population model: at the reference frequency of 0.003 Hz it has an interquartile range of h(2 Omega)GW(f = 3 x 10(-3) Hz) is an element of [5.65, 11.5] x 10(-13), in agreement with most previous estimates. We then perform a MC analysis to assess LISA's capability to detect and characterise this signal. Ac-counting for both the instrumental noise and the galactic binaries foreground, with four years of data, LISA will be able to detect the SOBBH SGWB with percent accuracy, narrowing down the uncertainty on the amplitude by one order of magnitude with respect to the range of possible amplitudes inferred from the population model. A measurement of this signal by LISA will help to break the degeneracy among some of the population parameters, and pro-vide interesting constraints, in particular on the redshift evolution of the SOBBH merger rate.

Abstract: If present in the early universe, primordial black holes (PBHs) would have accreted matter and emitted high-energy photons, altering the statistical properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This mechanism has been used to constrain the fraction of dark matter that is in the form of PBHs to be much smaller than unity for PBH masses well above one solar mass. Moreover, the presence of dense dark matter mini -halos around the PBHs has been used to set even more stringent constraints, as these would boost the accretion rates. In this work, we critically revisit CMB constraints on PBHs taking into account the role of the local ionization of the gas around them. We discuss how the local increase in temperature around PBHs can prevent the dark matter mini -halos from strongly enhancing the accretion process, in some cases significantly weakening previously derived CMB constraints. We explore in detail the key ingredients of the CMB bound and derive a conservative limit on the cosmological abundance of massive PBHs.

Abstract: Quantum optical metrology aims to identify ultimate sensitivity bounds for the estimation of parameters encoded into quantum states of the electromagnetic field. In many practical applications, including imaging, microscopy, and remote sensing, the parameter of interest is not only encoded in the quantum state of the field, but also in its spatio-temporal distribution, i.e. in its mode structure. In this mode-encoded parameter estimation setting, we derive an analytical expression for the quantum Fisher information valid for arbitrary multimode Gaussian fields. To illustrate the power of our approach, we apply our results to the estimation of the transverse displacement of a beam and to the temporal separation between two pulses. For these examples, we show how the estimation sensitivity can be enhanced by adding squeezing into specific modes.

Abstract: The y decay of the elusive narrow, near-threshold proton resonance in 11 B was investigated at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (INFN) in a particle-y coincidence experiment, using the 6 Li( 6 Li,py) fusion-evaporation reaction and the GALILEO-GALTRACE setup. No clear signature was found for a possible E1 decay to the 1/2-1, – 1 , first-excited state of 11 B, predicted by the Shell Model Embedded in the Continuum (SMEC) with a branching of 0.98+167 +167 -69 x 10-3 -3 with respect to the dominant particle-decaying modes. The statistical analysis of the y-ray spectrum provided an average upper limit of 2.37 x 10-3 -3 for this y-ray branching, with a global significance of 5 sigma. On the other hand, by imposing a global confidence level of 3 sigma, a significant excess of counts was observed for Ey y = 9300(20) keV, corresponding to a resonance energy of 11429(20) keV (namely 200(20) keV above the proton separation energy of 11 B) and a y-ray branching of 1.12(35) x10-3. -3 . This result is compatible with the SMEC calculations, potentially supporting the existence of a near-threshold proton resonance in 11 B.