Fernandez-Soler, P., & Ruiz Arriola, E. (2017). Coarse graining of NN inelastic interactions up to 3 GeV: Repulsive versus structural core. Phys. Rev. C, 96(1), 014004–14pp.
Abstract: The repulsive short-distance core is one of the main paradigms of nuclear physics which even seems confirmed by QCD lattice calculations. On the other hand nuclear potentials at short distances are motivated by high energy behavior where inelasticities play an important role. We analyze NN interactions up to 3 GeV in terms of simple coarse grained complex and energy dependent interactions. We discuss two possible and conflicting scenarios which share the common feature of a vanishing wave function at the core location in the particular case of S waves. We find that the optical potential with a repulsive core exhibits a strong energy dependence whereas the optical potential with the structural core is characterized by a rather adiabatic energy dependence which allows one to treat inelasticity perturbatively. We discuss the possible implications for nuclear structure calculations of both alternatives.
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Aristizabal Sierra, D., De Romeri, V., & Rojas, N. (2018). COHERENT analysis of neutrino generalized interactions. Phys. Rev. D, 98(7), 075018–14pp.
Abstract: Effective neutrino-quark generalized interactions are entirely determined by Lorentz invariance, so they include all possible four-fermion nonderivative Lorentz structures. They contain neutrino-quark nonstandard interactions as a subset, but span over a larger set that involves effective scalar, pseudoscalar, axial and tensor operators. Using recent COHERENT data, we derive constraints on the corresponding couplings by considering scalar, vector and tensor quark currents and assuming no lepton flavor dependence. We allow for mixed neutrino-quark Lorentz couplings and consider two types of scenarios in which: (i) one interaction at the nuclear level is present at a time, (ii) two interactions are simultaneously present. For scenarios (i) our findings show that scalar interactions are the most severely constrained, in particular for pseudoscalar-scalar neutrino-quark couplings. In contrast, tensor and nonstandard vector interactions still enable for sizable effective parameters. We find as well that an extra vector interaction improves the data fit when compared with the result derived assuming only the standard model contribution. In scenarios (ii) the presence of two interactions relaxes the bounds and opens regions in parameter space that are otherwise closed, with the effect being more pronounced in the scalar-vector and scalar-tensor cases. We point out that barring the vector case, our results represent the most stringent bounds on effective neutrino-quark generalized interactions for mediator masses of order similar to 1 GeV. They hold as well for larger mediator masses, case in which they should be compared with limits from neutrino deep-inelastic scattering data.
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Papoulias, D. K. (2020). COHERENT constraints after the COHERENT-2020 quenching factor measurement. Phys. Rev. D, 102(11), 113004–10pp.
Abstract: Recently, an improved quenching factor (QF) measurement for low-energy nuclear recoils in CsI[Na] has been reported by the COHERENT Collaboration. The new energy-dependent QF is characterized by a reduced systematic uncertainty and leads to a better agreement between the experimental COHERENT data and the Standard Model (SM) expectation. In this work, we report updated constraints on parameters that describe the process of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering within and beyond the SM, and we also present how the new QF affects their interpretation.
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Baxter, D., Collar, J. I., Coloma, P., Dahl, C. E., Esteban, I., Ferrario, P., et al. (2020). Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering at the European Spallation Source. J. High Energy Phys., 02(2), 123–38pp.
Abstract: The European Spallation Source (ESS), presently well on its way to completion, will soon provide the most intense neutron beams for multi-disciplinary science. Fortuitously, it will also generate the largest pulsed neutrino flux suitable for the detection of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE nu NS), a process recently measured for the first time at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source. We describe innovative detector technologies maximally able to profit from the order-of-magnitude increase in neutrino flux provided by the ESS, along with their sensitivity to a rich particle physics phenomenology accessible through high-statistics, precision CE nu NS measurements.
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Candela, P. M., De Romeri, V., & Papoulias, D. K. (2023). COHERENT production of a dark fermion. Phys. Rev. D, 108(5), 055001–19pp.
Abstract: We consider the possible production of a new MeV-scale fermion at the COHERENT experiment. The new fermion, belonging to a dark sector, can be produced through the up-scattering process of neutrinos off the nuclei and the electrons of the detector material, via the exchange of a light vector or scalar mediator. We perform a detailed statistical analysis of the combined COHERENT CsI and LAr datasets and obtain up-to-date constraints on the couplings and masses of the dark fermion and mediators. We finally briefly comment about the stability of the dark fermion.
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Alonso, I. et al, & Bernabeu, J. (2022). Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map. EPJ Quantum Technol., 9(1), 30–55pp.
Abstract: We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.
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Diamanti, R., Ando, S., Gariazzo, S., Mena, O., & Weniger, C. (2017). Cold dark matter plus not-so-clumpy dark relics. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 008–17pp.
Abstract: Various particle physics models suggest that, besides the (nearly) cold dark matter that accounts for current observations, additional but sub-dominant dark relics might exist. These could be warm, hot, or even contribute as dark radiation. We present here a comprehensive study of two-component dark matter scenarios, where the first component is assumed to be cold, and the second is a non-cold thermal relic. Considering the cases where the non-cold dark matter species could be either a fermion or a boson, we derive consistent upper limits on the non-cold dark relic energy density for a very large range of velocity dispersions, covering the entire range from dark radiation to cold dark matter. To this end, we employ the latest Planck Cosmic Microwave Background data, the recent BOSS DR11 and other Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements, and also constraints on the number of Milky Way satellites, the latter of which provides a measure of the suppression of the matter power spectrum at the smallest scales due to the free-streaming of the non-cold dark matter component. We present the results on the fraction f(ncdm) of non-cold dark matter with respect to the total dark matter for different ranges of the non-cold dark matter masses. We find that the 2 sigma limits for non-cold dark matter particles with masses in the range 1-10 keV are f(ncdm) <= 0.29 (0.23) for fermions (bosons), and for masses in the 10-100 keV range they are f(ncdm) <= 0.43 (0.45), respectively.
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SCiMMA and SNEWS Collaborations(Baxter, A. L. et al), & Colomer, M. (2022). Collaborative experience between scientific software projects using Agile Scrum development. Softw.-Pract. Exp., 52, 2077–2096.
Abstract: Developing sustainable software for the scientific community requires expertise in software engineering and domain science. This can be challenging due to the unique needs of scientific software, the insufficient resources for software engineering practices in the scientific community, and the complexity of developing for evolving scientific contexts. While open-source software can partially address these concerns, it can introduce complicating dependencies and delay development. These issues can be reduced if scientists and software developers collaborate. We present a case study wherein scientists from the SuperNova Early Warning System collaborated with software developers from the Scalable Cyberinfrastructure for Multi-Messenger Astrophysics project. The collaboration addressed the difficulties of open-source software development, but presented additional risks to each team. For the scientists, there was a concern of relying on external systems and lacking control in the development process. For the developers, there was a risk in supporting a user-group while maintaining core development. These issues were mitigated by creating a second Agile Scrum framework in parallel with the developers' ongoing Agile Scrum process. This Agile collaboration promoted communication, ensured that the scientists had an active role in development, and allowed the developers to evaluate and implement the scientists' software requirements. The collaboration provided benefits for each group: the scientists actuated their development by using an existing platform, and the developers utilized the scientists' use-case to improve their systems. This case study suggests that scientists and software developers can avoid scientific computing issues by collaborating and that Agile Scrum methods can address emergent concerns.
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Pakarinen, J. et al, & Algora, A. (2017). Collectivity in Pb-196, Pb-198 isotopes probed in Coulomb-excitation experiments at REX-ISOLDE. J. Phys. G, 44(6), 064009–10pp.
Abstract: The neutron-deficient Pb-196,Pb-198 isotopes have been studied in Coulomb-excitation experiments employing the Miniball gamma-ray spectrometer and radioactive ion beams from the REX-ISOLDE post-accelerator at CERN. The reduced transition probabilities of the first excited 2(+) states in Pb-196 and Pb-198 nuclei have been measured for the first time. Values of B (E2) = 18.2(-4.1)(+4.8) W. u. and B (E2) = 13.1(-3.5)(+4.9) W. u., were obtained, respectively. The experiment sheds light on the development of collectivity when moving from the regime governed by the generalised seniority scheme to a region, where intruding structures, associated with different deformed shapes, start to come down in energy and approach the spherical ground state.
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Abada, A., Escribano, P., Marcano, X., & Piazza, G. (2022). Collider searches for heavy neutral leptons: beyond simplified scenarios. Eur. Phys. J. C, 82(11), 1030–17pp.
Abstract: With very few exceptions, the large amount of available experimental bounds on heavy neutral leptons – HNL – have been derived relying on the assumption of the existence of a single (usually Majorana) sterile fermion state that mixes with only one lepton flavour. However, most of the extensions of the Standard Model involving sterile fermions predict the existence of several HNLs, with complex mixing patterns to all flavours. Consequently, most of the experimental bounds for HNLs need to be recast before being applied to a generic scenario. In this work, we focus on LHC searches of heavy neutral leptons and discuss how to reinterpret the available bounds when it comes to consider mixings to all active flavours, not only in the case with a single HNL, but also in the case when more heavy neutral leptons are involved. In the latter case, we also consider the possibility of interference effects and show how the bounds on the parameter space should be recast.
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