ATLAS and CMS Collaborations(Aad, G. et al), Aikot, A., Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Bouchhar, N., et al. (2024). Evidence for the Higgs Boson Decay to a Z Boson and a Photon at the LHC. Phys. Rev. Lett., 132(2), 021803–32pp.
Abstract: The first evidence for the Higgs boson decay to a Z boson and a photon is presented, with a statistical significance of 3.4 standard deviations. The result is derived from a combined analysis of the searches performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations with proton -proton collision datasets collected at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from 2015 to 2018. These correspond to integrated luminosities of around 140 fb-1 for each experiment, at a center -of -mass energy of 13 TeV. The measured signal yield is 2.2 +/- 0.7 times the standard model prediction, and agrees with the theoretical expectation within 1.9 standard deviations.
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Escrihuela, F. J., Flores, L. J., Miranda, O. G., Rendon, J., & Sanchez-Velez, R. (2024). Examining the sensitivity of FASERν to generalized neutrino interactions. J. High Energy Phys., 04(4), 102–25pp.
Abstract: We investigate the sensitivity of the FASER nu detector, a novel experimental setup at the LHC, to probe and constrain generalized neutrino interactions (GNI). Employing a comprehensive theoretical framework, we model the effects of generalized neutrino interactions on neutrino-nucleon deep inelastic scattering processes within the FASER nu detector. By considering all the neutrino channels produced at the LHC, we perform a statistical analysis to determine the sensitivity of FASER nu to constrain these interactions. Our results demonstrate that FASER nu can place stringent constraints on the GNI effective couplings. Additionally, we study the relation between GNI and a minimal Leptoquark model where the SM is augmented by a singlet Leptoquark with hypercharge 1/3. We have found that the sensitivities for various combinations of the Leptoquark Yukawa couplings are approximately O(1), particularly when considering a Leptoquark mass in the TeV range.
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Jungclaus, A. et al, Gadea, A., & Montaner-Piza, A. (2024). Excited-State Half-Lives in 130 Cd and the Isospin Dependence of Effective Charges. Phys. Rev. Lett., 132(22), 222501–7pp.
Abstract: The known I pi = 8 & thorn; 1 , E x = 2129-keV isomer in the semimagic nucleus 130 Cd 82 was populated in the projectile fission of a 238 U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. The high counting statistics of the accumulated data allowed us to determine the excitation energy, E x = 2001.2(7) keV, and half-life, T 1 =2 = 57(3) ns, of the I pi = 6 & thorn; 1 state based on gamma gamma coincidence information. Furthermore, the halflife of the 8 & thorn; 1 state, T 1 =2 = 224(4) ns, was remeasured with high precision. The new experimental information, combined with available data for 134 Sn and large-scale shell model calculations, allowed us to extract proton and neutron effective charges for 132 Sn, a doubly magic nucleus far -off stability. A comparison to analogous information for 100 Sn provides first reliable information regarding the isospin dependence of the isoscalar and isovector effective charges in heavy nuclei.
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Heidari, N., Hassanabadi, H., Araujo Filho, A. A., & Kriz, J. (2024). Exploring non-commutativity as a perturbation in the Schwarzschild black hole: quasinormal modes, scattering, and shadows. Eur. Phys. J. C, 84(6), 566–11pp.
Abstract: In this work, by a novel approach to studying the scattering of a Schwarzschild black hole, the non-commutativity is introduced as perturbation. We begin by reformulating the Klein-Gordon equation for the scalar field in a new form that takes into account the deformed non-commutative spacetime. Using this formulation, an effective potential for the scattering process is derived. To calculate the quasinormal modes, we employ the WKB method and also utilize fitting techniques to investigate the impact of non-commutativity on the scalar quasinormal modes. We thoroughly analyze the results obtained from these different methods. Moreover, the greybody factor and absorption cross section are investigated. Additionally, we explore the behavior of null geodesics in the presence of non-commutativity. Specifically, we examine the photonic, and shadow radius as well as the light trajectories for different non-commutative parameters. Therefore, by addressing these various aspects, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of non-commutativity on the scattering of a Schwarzschild-like black hole and its implications for the behavior of scalar fields and light trajectories.
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Real, D., Calvo, D., Zornoza, J. D., Manzaneda, M., Gozzini, R., Ricolfe-Viala, C., et al. (2024). Fast Coincidence Filter for Silicon Photomultiplier Dark Count Rate Rejection. Sensors, 24(7), 2084–12pp.
Abstract: Silicon Photomultipliers find applications across various fields. One potential Silicon Photomultiplier application domain is neutrino telescopes, where they may enhance the angular resolution. However, the elevated dark count rate associated with Silicon Photomultipliers represents a significant challenge to their widespread utilization. To address this issue, it is proposed to use Silicon Photomultipliers and Photomultiplier Tubes together. The Photomultiplier Tube signals serve as a trigger to mitigate the dark count rate, thereby preventing undue saturation of the available bandwidth. This paper presents an investigation into a fast and resource-efficient method for filtering the Silicon Photomultiplier dark count rate. A low-resource and fast coincident filter has been developed, which removes the Silicon Photomultiplier dark count rate by using as a trigger the Photomultiplier Tube input signals. The architecture of the coincidence filter, together with the first results obtained, which validate the effectiveness of this method, is presented.
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Torres-Sanchez, P., Steiger, H. T. J., Mastinu, P., Wyss, J. L., Kayser, L., Silvestrin, L., et al. (2024). Fast neutron production at the LNL Tandem from the 7Li(14N,xn)X reaction. Eur. Phys. J. C, 84(4), 372–11pp.
Abstract: Fast neutron beams (E-n>1 MeV) are of relevance for many scientific and industrial applications. This paper explores fast neutron production using a TANDEM accelerator at the Legnaro National Laboratories, via an energetic ion beam (90 MeV N-14) onto a lithium target. The high energy models for nuclear collision of FLUKA foresee large neutron yields for reactions of this kind. The experiment aimed at validating the expected neutron yields from FLUKA simulations, using two separate and independent set-ups: one based on the multi-foil activation technique, and the other on the time of flight technique, by using liquid scintillator detectors. The results of the experiment show clear agreement of the measured spectra with the FLUKA simulations, both in the shape and the magnitude of the neutron flux at the mea-sured positions. The neutron spectrum is centered around the 8 MeV range with mild tails, and a maximum neutron energy spanning up to 50 MeV. These advantageous results provide a starting point in the development of fast neutron beams based on high energy ion beams from medium-sized accelerator facilities
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Baran, J. et al, & Brzezinski, K. (2024). Feasibility of the J-PET to monitor the range of therapeutic proton beams. Phys. Medica, 118, 103301–9pp.
Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography (J -PET) scanner for intra-treatment proton beam range monitoring. Methods: The Monte Carlo simulation studies with GATE and PET image reconstruction with CASToR were performed in order to compare six J -PET scanner geometries. We simulated proton irradiation of a PMMA phantom with a Single Pencil Beam (SPB) and Spread -Out Bragg Peak (SOBP) of various ranges. The sensitivity and precision of each scanner were calculated, and considering the setup's cost-effectiveness, we indicated potentially optimal geometries for the J -PET scanner prototype dedicated to the proton beam range assessment. Results: The investigations indicate that the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer double -head configurations are the most promising for clinical application. We found that the scanner sensitivity is of the order of 10-5 coincidences per primary proton, while the precision of the range assessment for both SPB and SOBP irradiation plans was found below 1 mm. Among the scanners with the same number of detector modules, the best results are found for the triple -layer dual -head geometry. The results indicate that the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer double -head configurations are the most promising for the clinical application, Conclusions: We performed simulation studies demonstrating that the feasibility of the J -PET detector for PET -based proton beam therapy range monitoring is possible with reasonable sensitivity and precision enabling its pre -clinical tests in the clinical proton therapy environment. Considering the sensitivity, precision and cost-effectiveness, the double -layer cylindrical and triple -layer dual -head J -PET geometry configurations seem promising for future clinical application.
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Banerjee, U., Chakraborty, S., Prakash, S., & Rahaman, S. U. (2024). Feasibility of ultrarelativistic bubbles in SMEFT. Phys. Rev. D, 110(5), 055002–17pp.
Abstract: A first order electroweak phase transition probes physics beyond the Standard Model on multiple frontiers and therefore is of immense interest for theoretical exploration. We conduct a model-independent study of the effects of relevant dimension 6 and dimension 8 operators, of the Standard Model effective field theory, on electroweak phase transition. We use a thermally corrected and renormalization group improved potential and study its impact on nucleation temperature. We then outline bubble dynamics that lead to ultrarelativistic bubble wall velocities which are mainly motivated from the viewpoint of gravitational wave detection. We highlight the ranges of the Wilson coefficients that give rise to such bubble wall velocities and predict gravitational wave spectra generated by such transitions which can be tested in future experiments.
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Agius, D., Essig, R., Gaggero, D., Scarcella, F., Suczewski, G., & Valli, M. (2024). Feedback in the dark: a critical examination of CMB bounds on primordial black holes. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 07(7), 003–36pp.
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.
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Cepedello, R., Esser, F., Hirsch, M., & Sanz, V. (2024). Fermionic UV models for neutral triple gauge boson vertices. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 275–28pp.
Abstract: Searches for anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings (NTGCs) provide important tests for the gauge structure of the standard model. In SMEFT (“standard model effective field theory”) NTGCs appear only at the level of dimension-8 operators. While the phenomenology of these operators has been discussed extensively in the literature, renormalizable UV models that can generate these operators are scarce. In this work, we study a variety of extensions of the SM with heavy fermions and calculate their matching to d = 8 NTGC operators. We point out that the complete matching of UV models requires four different CP-conserving d = 8 operators and that the single CPC d = 8 operator, most commonly used by the experimental collaborations, does not describe all possible NTGC form factors. Despite stringent experimental constraints on NTGCs, limits on the scale of UV models are relatively weak, because their contributions are doubly suppressed (being d = 8 and 1-loop). We suggest a series of benchmark UV scenarios suitable for interpreting searches for NTGCs in the upcoming LHC runs, obtain their current limits and provide estimates for the expected sensitivity of the high-luminosity LHC.
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