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Sobczyk, J. E., Hernandez, E., Nakamura, S. X., Nieves, J., & Sato, T. (2018). Angular distributions in electroweak pion production off nucleons: Odd parity hadron terms, strong relative phases, and model dependence. Phys. Rev. D, 98(7), 073001–39pp.
Abstract: The study of pion production in nuclei is important for signal and background determinations in current and future neutrino oscillation experiments. The first step, however, is to understand the pion production reactions at the free nucleon level. We present an exhaustive study of the charged-current and neutral-current neutrino and antineutrino pion production off nucleons, paying special attention to the angular distributions of the outgoing pion. We show, using general arguments, that parity violation and time-reversal odd correlations in the weak differential cross sections are generated from the interference between different contributions to the hadronic current that are not relatively real. Next, we present a detailed comparison of three state-of-the-art, microscopic models for electroweak pion production off nucleons, and we also confront their predictions with polarized electron data, as a test of the vector content of these models. We also illustrate the importance of carrying out a comprehensive test at the level of outgoing pion angular distributions, going beyond comparisons done for partially integrated cross sections, where model differences cancel to a certain extent. Finally, we observe that all charged and neutral current distributions show sizable anisotropies, and identify channels for which parity-violating effects are clearly visible. Based on the above results, we conclude that the use of isotropic distributions for the pions in the center of mass of the final pion-nucleon system, as assumed by some of the Monte Carlo event generators, needs to be improved by incorporating the findings of microscopic calculations.
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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). Angular moments of the decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda mu(+)mu(-) at low hadronic recoil. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 146–27pp.
Abstract: An analysis of the angular distribution of the decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda mu(+)mu(-) is presented, using data collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 fb(-1). Angular observables are determined using a moment analysis of the angular distribution at low hadronic recoil, corresponding to the dimuon invariant mass squared range 15 < q(2) < 20 GeV2/c(4). The full basis of observables is measured for the first time. The lepton-side, hadron-side and combined forward-backward asymmetries of the decay are determined to be A(FB)(l) = -0.39 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.01 (syst), AFB(h) = -0.30 +/- 0.05 (stat) +/- 0.02 (syst), A(FB)(lh) = +0.25 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.01 (syst). The measurements are consistent with Standard Model predictions.
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Wilson, J. N. et al, & Algora, A. (2021). Angular momentum generation in nuclear fission. Nature, 590(7847), 566–570.
Abstract: When a heavy atomic nucleus splits (fission), the resulting fragments are observed to emerge spinning(1); this phenomenon has been a mystery in nuclear physics for over 40 years(2,3). The internal generation of typically six or seven units of angular momentum in each fragment is particularly puzzling for systems that start with zero, or almost zero, spin. There are currently no experimental observations that enable decisive discrimination between the many competing theories for the mechanism that generates the angular momentum(4-12). Nevertheless, the consensus is that excitation of collective vibrational modes generates the intrinsic spin before the nucleus splits (pre-scission). Here we show that there is no significant correlation between the spins of the fragment partners, which leads us to conclude that angular momentum in fission is actually generated after the nucleus splits (post-scission). We present comprehensive data showing that the average spin is strongly mass-dependent, varying in saw-tooth distributions. We observe no notable dependence of fragment spin on the mass or charge of the partner nucleus, confirming the uncorrelated post-scission nature of the spin mechanism. To explain these observations, we propose that the collective motion of nucleons in the ruptured neck of the fissioning system generates two independent torques, analogous to the snapping of an elastic band. A parameterization based on occupation of angular momentum states according to statistical theory describes the full range of experimental data well. This insight into the role of spin in nuclear fission is not only important for the fundamental understanding and theoretical description of fission, but also has consequences for the gamma-ray heating problem in nuclear reactors(13,14), for the study of the structure of neutron-rich isotopes(15,16), and for the synthesis and stability of super-heavy elements(17,18). gamma-ray spectroscopy experiments on the origin of spin in the products of nuclear fission of spin-zero nuclei suggest that the fission fragments acquire their spin after scission, rather than before.
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Beltran Jimenez, J., de Andres, D., & Delhom, A. (2020). Anisotropic deformations in a class of projectively-invariant metric-affine theories of gravity. Class. Quantum Gravity, 37(22), 225013–25pp.
Abstract: Among the general class of metric-affine theories of gravity, there is a special class conformed by those endowed with a projective symmetry. Perhaps the simplest manner to realise this symmetry is by constructing the action in terms of the symmetric part of the Ricci tensor. In these theories, the connection can be solved algebraically in terms of a metric that relates to the spacetime metric by means of the so-called deformation matrix that is given in terms of the matter fields. In most phenomenological applications, this deformation matrix is assumed to inherit the symmetries of the matter sector so that in the presence of an isotropic energy-momentum tensor, it respects isotropy. In this work we discuss this condition and, in particular, we show how the deformation matrix can be anisotropic even in the presence of isotropic sources due to the non-linear nature of the equations. Remarkably, we find that Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld (EiBI) theories do not admit anisotropic deformations, but more general theories do. However, we find that the anisotropic branches of solutions are generally prone to a pathological physical behaviour.
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Vicente, A. (2018). Anomalies in b -> s transitions and dark matter. Adv. High. Energy Phys., 2018, 3905848–11pp.
Abstract: Since 2013, the LHCb collaboration has reported on the measurement of several observables associated with b -> s transitions, finding various deviations from their predicted values in the Standard Model. These include a set of deviations in branching ratios and angular observables, as well as in the observables R-k and R-k*, specially built to test the possible violation of Lepton Flavor Universality. Even though these tantalizing hints are not conclusive yet, the b -> s* anomalies have gained considerable attention in the flavor community. Here we review new physics models that address these anomalies and explore their possible connection to the dark matter of the Universe. After discussing some of the ideas introduced in these works and classifying the proposed models, two selected examples are presented in detail in order to illustrate the potential interplay between these two areas of current particle physics.
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