Abstract: Light primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses smaller than 10(9) g (10(-24) M-circle dot) evaporate before the onset of Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, rendering their detection rather challenging. If efficiently produced, they may have dominated the universe energy density. We study how such an early matter-dominated era can be probed successfully using gravitational waves (GW) emitted by local and global cosmic strings. While previous studies showed that a matter era generates a single-step suppression of the GW spectrum, we instead find a double-step suppression for local-string GW whose spectral shape provides information on the duration of the matter era. The presence of the two steps in the GW spectrum originates from GW being produced through two events separated in time: loop formation and loop decay, taking place either before or after the matter era. The second step – called the knee – is a novel feature which is universal to any early matter-dominated era and is not only specific to PBHs. Detecting GWs from cosmic strings with LISA, ET, or BBO would set constraints on PBHs with masses between 10(6) and 10(9) g for local strings with tension G μ= 10(-11), and PBHs masses between 10(4) and 10(9) g for global strings with symmetry-breaking scale eta = 10(15) GeV. Effects from the spin of PBHs are discussed.

Abstract: Searches for electroweak production of wino-like chargino pairs, (chi) over tilde (+)(1)(chi) over tilde (-), 1, and of wino-like chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino, (chi) over tilde (+/-)(1)(chi) over tilde (0)(2), are presented. The models explored assume that the charginos decay into a W boson and the lightest neutralino, (chi) over tilde chi(+/-)(1) -> W-+/- (chi) over tilde (0)(1) The next-to-lightest neutralinos are degenerate in mass with the chargino and decay to (chi) over tilde (0)(1) and either a Z or a Higgs boson, (chi) over tilde (0)(2) -> Z (chi) over tildeX(1)(0) or h (chi) over tilde (0)(1). The searches exploit the presence of a single isolated lepton and missing transverse momentum from the W boson decay products and the lightest neutralinos, and the presence of jets from hadronically decaying Z or W bosons or from the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of b-quarks. The searches use 139 fb(-1) of root s = 13TeV proton-proton collisions data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No deviations from the Standard Model expectations are found, and 95% confidence level exclusion limits are set. Chargino masses ranging from 260 to 520 GeV are excluded for a massless (chi) over tilde (1)(0) in chargino pair production models. Degenerate chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino masses ranging from 260 to 420 GeV are excluded for a massless (chi) over tilde (1)(0) for (chi) over tilde (0)(2) -> Z (chi) over tilde (0)(1). For decays through an on-shell Higgs boson and for mass-splitting between (chi) over tilde (+/-)(1)/(chi) over tilde (0)(2) and (chi) over tilde (0)(1) as small as the Higgs boson mass, mass limits are improved by up to 40 GeV in the range of 200-260 GeV and 280-470 GeV compared to previous ATLAS constraints.

Abstract: We propose a minimal model where a dark sector seeds neutrino mass generation radiatively within the linear seesaw mechanism. Neutrino masses are calculable, since treelevel contributions are forbidden by symmetry. They arise from spontaneous lepton number violation by a small Higgs triplet vacuum expectation value. Lepton flavour violating processes e.g. μ-> e gamma can be sizeable, despite the tiny neutrino masses. We comment also on dark-matter and collider implications.

Abstract: A search for rare B. D mu+ mu- decays is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb-1. No significant signals are observed in the non-resonant mu+ mu- modes, and upper limits of B -> B0. D0 mu+ mu- < 5.1 x 10-8, B B+. D+ s mu+ mu- -> < 3.2 x 10-8, B -> B0 s. D0 mu+ mu--> < 1.6 x 10-7 and fc/fu center dot B B+ c. D+ s mu+ mu--> < 9.6 x 10-8 are set at the 95% confidence level, where fc and fu are the fragmentation fractions of a B meson with a c and u quark respectively in proton-proton collisions. Each result is either the first such measurement or an improvement by three orders of magnitude on an existing limit. Separate upper limits are calculated when the muon pair originates from a J/.. mu+ mu- decay. The branching fraction of B+ c. D+ s J/. multiplied by the fragmentation-fraction ratio is measured to be fc fu center dot B -> B+ c. D+ s J/.-> = (1.63 +/- 0.15 +/- 0.13) x 10-5, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

Abstract: The first measurement of the Z boson production cross-section at centre-of-mass energy v s = 5.02TeV in the forward region is reported, using pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment in year 2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 100 +/- 2 pb-1. The production cross-section is measured for final-state muons in the pseudorapidity range 2.0 <. < 4.5 with transverse momentum pT > 20 GeV/c. The integrated cross-section is determined to be sZ.mu+mu- = 39.6 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.6(syst) +/- 0.8(lumi) pb for the di-muon invariant mass in the range 60 < M μμ< 120 GeV/c2. This result and the differential cross-section results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant. Based on a previous LHCb measurement of the Z boson production cross-section in pPb collisions at v sNN = 5.02TeV, the nuclear modification factor RpPb is measured for the first time at this energy. The measured values are 1.2+0.5 -0.3(stat) +/- 0.1(syst) in the forward region (1.53 < y* μ< 4.03) and 3.6+1.6 -0.9(stat)+/- 0.2(syst) in the backward region (-4.97 < y* μ< -2.47), where y* μrepresents the muon rapidity in the centre-of-mass frame.