ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., Cabrera Urban, S., et al. (2023). Search for heavy Majorana or Dirac neutrinos and right-handed W gauge bosons in final states with charged leptons and jets in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 83(12), 1164–35pp.
Abstract: A search for heavy right-handed Majorana or Dirac neutrinos N-R and heavy right-handed gauge bosons W-R is performed in events with energetic electrons or muons, with the same or opposite electric charge, and energetic jets. The search is carried out separately for topologies of clearly separated final-state products (“resolved” channel) and topologies with boosted final states with hadronic and/or leptonic products partially overlapping and reconstructed as a large-radius jet (“boosted” channel). The events are selected from pp collision data at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector at root s = 13 TeV. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed. The results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of a left-right symmetric model, and lower limits are set on masses in the heavy right-handed W-R boson and N-R plane. The excluded region extends to about m(W-R) = 6.4 TeV for both Majorana and Dirac N-R neutrinos at m(N-R) < 1 TeV. N-R with masses of less than 3.5 (3.6) TeV are excluded in the electron (muon) channel at m(W-R) = 4.8 TeV for the Majorana neutrinos, and limits of m(N-R) up to 3.6 TeV for m(W-R) = 5.2 (5.0) TeV in the electron (muon) channel are set for the Dirac neutrinos. These constitute the most stringent exclusion limits to date for the model considered.
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Alicki, R., Barenboim, G., & Jenkins, A. (2023). Quantum thermodynamics of de Sitter space. Phys. Rev. D, 108(12), 123530–13pp.
Abstract: We consider the local physics of an open quantum system embedded in an expanding three-dimensional space x, evolving in cosmological time t, weakly coupled to a massless quantum field. We derive the corresponding Markovian master equation for the system's nonunitary evolution and show that, for a de Sitter space with Hubble parameter h 1/4 const, the background fields act as a physical heat bath with temperature TdS 1/4 h/2z. The energy density of this bath obeys the Stefan-Boltzmann law pdS proportional to h4. We comment on how these results clarify the thermodynamics of de Sitter space and support previous arguments for its instability in the infrared. The cosmological implications are considered in an accompanying Letter.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Akiot, A., Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., et al. (2023). Search for vector-boson resonances decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark using pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 073–63pp.
Abstract: A search for a new massive charged gauge boson, W ', is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis was collected from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). The reconstructed tb invariant mass is used to search for a W ' boson decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark. The result is interpreted in terms of a W ' boson with purely right-handed or left-handed chirality in a mass range of 0.5-6 TeV. Different values for the coupling of the W ' boson to the top and bottom quarks are considered, taking into account interference with single-top-quark production in the s-channel. No significant deviation from the background prediction is observed. The results are expressed as upper limits on the W ' -> tb production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the W '-boson mass and in the plane of the coupling vs the W '-boson mass.
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Araujo Filho, A. A. (2024). Implications of a Simpson-Visser solution in Verlinde's framework. Eur. Phys. J. C, 84(1), 73–22pp.
Abstract: This study focuses on investigating a regular black hole within the framework of Verlinde's emergent gravity. In particular, we explore the main aspects of the modified Simpson-Visser solution. Our analysis reveals the presence of a unique physical event horizon under certain conditions. Moreover, we study the thermodynamic properties, including the Hawking temperature, the entropy, and the heat capacity. Based on these quantities, our results indicate several phase transitions. Geodesic trajectories for photon-like particles, encompassing photon spheres and the formation of black hole shadows, are also calculated to comprehend the behavior of light in the vicinity of the black hole. Additionally, we also provide the calculation of the time delay and the deflection angle. Corroborating our results, we include an additional application in the context of high-energy astrophysical phenomena: neutrino energy deposition. Finally, we investigate the quasinormal modes using third-order WKB approximation.
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Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Martin-Albo, J., Menendez, J., Mezzetto, M., Monrabal, F., & Sorel, M. (2024). The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Riv. Nuovo Cimento, 46, 619–692.
Abstract: Neutrinos are the only particles in the Standard Model that could be Majorana fermions, that is, completely neutral fermions that are their own antiparticles. The most sensitive known experimental method to verify whether neutrinos are Majorana particles is the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. The last 2 decades have witnessed the development of a vigorous program of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments, spanning several isotopes and developing different strategies to handle the backgrounds masking a possible signal. In addition, remarkable progress has been made in the understanding of the nuclear matrix elements of neutrinoless double-beta decay, thus reducing a substantial part of the theoretical uncertainties affecting the particle-physics interpretation of the process. On the other hand, the negative results by several experiments, combined with the hints that the neutrino mass ordering could be normal, may imply very long lifetimes for the neutrinoless double-beta decay process. In this report, we review the main aspects of such process, the recent progress on theoretical ideas and the experimental state of the art. We then consider the experimental challenges to be addressed to increase the sensitivity to detect the process in the likely case that lifetimes are much longer than currently explored, and discuss a selection of the most promising experimental efforts.
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