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Di Valentino, E., Giusarma, E., Mena, O., Melchiorri, A., & Silk, J. (2016). Cosmological limits on neutrino unknowns versus low redshift priors. Phys. Rev. D, 93(8), 083527–11pp.
Abstract: Recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy measurements from the Planck mission have significantly improved previous constraints on the neutrino masses as well as the bounds on extended models with massless or massive sterile neutrino states. However, due to parameter degeneracies, additional low redshift priors are mandatory in order to sharpen the CMB neutrino bounds. We explore here the role of different priors on low redshift quantities, such as the Hubble constant, the cluster mass bias, and the reionization optical depth tau. Concerning current priors on the Hubble constant and the cluster mass bias, the bounds on the neutrino parameters may differ appreciably depending on the choices adopted in the analyses. With regard to future improvements in the priors on the reionization optical depth, a value of tau = 0.05 +/- 0.01, motivated by astrophysical estimates of the reionization redshift, would lead to Sigma m(nu) < 0.0926 eV at 90% C.L., when combining the full Planck measurements, baryon acoustic oscillation, and Planck clusters data, thereby opening the window to unravel the neutrino mass hierarchy with existing cosmological probes.
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Centelles Chulia, S., Srivastava, R., & Valle, J. W. F. (2016). CP violation from flavor symmetry in a lepton quarticity dark matter model. Phys. Lett. B, 761, 431–436.
Abstract: We propose a simple Delta (27) circle times Z(4) model where neutrinos are predicted to be Dirac fermions. The smallness of their masses follows from a type-I seesaw mechanism and the leptonic CP violating phase correlates with the pattern of Delta(27) flavor symmetry breaking. The scheme naturally harbors a WIMP dark matter candidate associated to the Dirac nature of neutrinos, in that the same Z(4) lepton number symmetry also ensures dark matter stability.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Cerda Alberich, L., et al. (2016). Dark matter interpretations of ATLAS searches for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in root s=8 TeV proton-proton collisions. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 175–44pp.
Abstract: A selection of searches by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC for the electroweak production of SUSY particles are used to study their impact on the constraints on dark matter candidates. The searches use 20 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV. A likelihood-driven scan of a five-dimensional effective model focusing on the gaugino-higgsino and Higgs sector of the phenomenological minimal supersymmetric Standard Model is performed. This scan uses data from direct dark matter detection experiments, the relic dark matter density and precision flavour physics results. Further constraints from the ATLAS Higgs mass measurement and SUSY searches at LEP are also applied. A subset of models selected from this scan are used to assess the impact of the selected ATLAS searches in this five-dimensional parameter space. These ATLAS searches substantially impact those models for which the mass m((chi) over tilde (0)(1)) of the lightest neutralino is less than 65 GeV, excluding 86% of such models. The searches have limited impact on models with larger m((chi) over tilde (0)(1)) due to either heavy electroweakinos or compressed mass spectra where the mass splittings between the produced particles and the lightest supersymmetric particle is small.
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Di Valentino, E., Gariazzo, S., Gerbino, M., Giusarma, E., & Mena, O. (2016). Dark radiation and inflationary freedom after Planck 2015. Phys. Rev. D, 93(8), 083523–28pp.
Abstract: The simplest inflationary models predict a primordial power spectrum (PPS) of the curvature fluctuations that can be described by a power-law function that is nearly scale invariant. It has been shown, however, that the low-multipole spectrum of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies may hint at the presence of some features in the shape of the scalar PPS, which could deviate from its canonical power-law form. We study the possible degeneracies of this nonstandard PPS with the active neutrino masses, the effective number of relativistic species, and a sterile neutrino or a thermal axion mass. The limits on these additional parameters are less constraining in a model with a nonstandard PPS when including only the temperature autocorrelation spectrum measurements in the data analyses. The inclusion of the polarization spectra noticeably helps in reducing the degeneracies, leading to results that typically show no deviation from the Lambda CDM model with a standard power-law PPS. These findings are robust against changes in the function describing the noncanonical PPS. Albeit current cosmological measurements seem to prefer the simple power-law PPS description, the statistical significance to rule out other possible parametrizations is still very poor. Future cosmological measurements are crucial to improve the present PPS uncertainties.
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Pragati, Deo, A. Y., Podolyak, Z., Walker, P. M., Algora, A., Rubio, B., et al. (2016). Decay of the N=126, Fr-213 nucleus. Phys. Rev. C, 94(6), 064316–8pp.
Abstract: gamma rays following the EC/beta(+) and alpha decay of the N = 126, Fr-213 nucleus have been observed at the CERN isotope separator on-line (ISOLDE) facility with the help of gamma-ray and conversion-electron spectroscopy. These gamma rays establish several hitherto unknown excited states in Rn-213. Also, five new a-decay branches from the Fr-213 ground state have been discovered. Shell model calculations have been performed to understand the newly observed states in Rn-213.
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Gomis, P., & Perez, A. (2016). Decoherence effects in the Stern-Gerlach experiment using matrix Wigner functions. Phys. Rev. A, 94(1), 012103–11pp.
Abstract: We analyze the Stern-Gerlach experiment in phase space with the help of the matrix Wigner function, which includes the spin degree of freedom. Such analysis allows for an intuitive visualization of the quantum dynamics of the device. We include the interaction with the environment, as described by the Caldeira-Leggett model. The diagonal terms of the matrix provide us with information about the two components of the state that arise from interaction with the magnetic field gradient. In particular, from the marginals of these components, we obtain an analytical formula for the position and momentum probability distributions in the presence of decoherence that shows a diffusive behavior for large values of the decoherence parameter. These features limit the dynamics of the present model. We also observe the decay of the nondiagonal terms with time and use this fact to quantify the amount of decoherence from the norm of those terms in phase space. From here, we can define a decoherence time scale, which differs from previous results that make use of the same model. We analyze a typical experiment and show that, for that setup, the decoherence time is much smaller than the characteristic time scale for the separation of the two beams, implying that they can be described as an incoherent mixture of atoms traveling in the up and down directions with opposite values of the spin projection. Therefore, entanglement is quickly destroyed in the setup we analyzed.
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Hiller Blin, A. N., Ledwig, T., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2016). Delta(1232) resonance in the (gamma)over-right-arrowp -> p pi(0) reaction at threshold. Phys. Rev. D, 93(9), 094018–19pp.
Abstract: We calculate the neutral pion photoproduction on the proton near threshold in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory, including the Delta(1232) resonance as an explicit degree of freedom, up to chiral order p(7/2) in the delta counting. We compare our results with recent low-energy data from the Mainz Microtron for angular distributions and photon asymmetries. The convergence of the chiral series of the covariant approach is found to improve substantially with the inclusion of the Delta(1232) resonance.
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Candela-Juan, C., Niatsetski, Y., van der Laarse, R., Granero, D., Ballester, F., Perez-Calatayud, J., et al. (2016). Design and characterization of a new high-dose-rate brachytherapy Valencia applicator for larger skin lesions. Med. Phys., 43(4), 1639–1648.
Abstract: Purpose: The aims of this study were (i) to design a new high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy applicator for treating surface lesions with planning target volumes larger than 3 cm in diameter and up to 5 cm in size, using the microSelectron-HDR or Flexitron afterloader (Elekta Brachytherapy) with a Ir-192 source; (ii) to calculate by means of the Monte Carlo (MC) method the dose distribution for the new applicator when it is placed against a water phantom; and (iii) to validate experimentally the dose distributions in water. Methods: The PENELOPE2008 MC code was used to optimize dwell positions and dwell times. Next, the dose distribution in a water phantom and the leakage dose distribution around the applicator were calculated. Finally, MC data were validated experimentally for a 192Ir mHDR-v2 source by measuring (i) dose distributions with radiochromic EBT3 films (ISP); (ii) percentage depth-dose (PDD) curve with the parallel-plate ionization chamber Advanced Markus (PTW); and (iii) absolute dose rate with EBT3 films and the PinPoint T31016 (PTW) ionization chamber. Results: The new applicator is made of tungsten alloy (Densimet) and consists of a set of interchangeable collimators. Three catheters are used to allocate the source at prefixed dwell positions with preset weights to produce a homogenous dose distribution at the typical prescription depth of 3 mm in water. The same plan is used for all available collimators. PDD, absolute dose rate per unit of air kerma strength, and off-axis profiles in a cylindrical water phantom are reported. These data can be used for treatment planning. Leakage around the applicator was also scored. The dose distributions, PDD, and absolute dose rate calculated agree within experimental uncertainties with the doses measured: differences of MC data with chamber measurements are up to 0.8% and with radiochromic films are up to 3.5%. Conclusions: The new applicator and the dosimetric data provided here will be a valuable tool in clinical practice, making treatment of large skin lesions simpler, faster, and safer. Also the dose to surrounding healthy tissues is minimal.
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Molina, R., Doring, M., & Oset, E. (2016). Determination of the compositeness of resonances from decays: The case of the B-s(0) -> J/Psi f(1)(1285). Phys. Rev. D, 93(11), 114004–10pp.
Abstract: We develop a method to measure the amount of compositeness of a resonance, mostly made as a bound state of two hadrons, by simultaneously measuring the rate of production of the resonance and the mass distribution of the two hadrons close to threshold. By using different methods of analysis we conclude that the method allows one to extract the value of 1-Z with about 0.1 of uncertainty. The method is applied to the case of the (B) over bar (0)(s) -> J/Psi f(1)(1285) decay, by looking at the resonance production and the mass distribution of K (K) over bar*.
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Pich, A., & Rodriguez-Sanchez, A. (2016). Determination of the QCD coupling from ALEPH tau decay data. Phys. Rev. D, 94(3), 034027–26pp.
Abstract: We present a comprehensive study of the determination of the strong coupling from tau decay, using the most recent release of the experimental ALEPH data. We critically review all theoretical strategies used in previous works and put forward various novel approaches which allow one to study complementary aspects of the problem. We investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods, trying to uncover their potential hidden weaknesses and test the stability of the obtained results under slight variations of the assumed inputs. We perform several determinations, using different methodologies, and find a very consistent set of results. All determinations are in excellent agreement, and allow us to extract a very reliable value for alpha(s)(m(tau)(2)). The main uncertainty originates in the pure perturbative error from unknown higher orders. Taking into account the systematic differences between the results obtained with the contour-improved perturbation theory and fixed-order perturbation theory prescriptions, we find alpha((nf=3))(s) (m(tau)(2)) = 0.328 +/- 0.013 which implies alpha((nf=5))(s) (M-Z(2)) = 0.1197 +/- 0.0015.
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