Abstract: In this paper we present a novel CPT symmetry test in the neutral kaon system based, for the first time, on the direct comparison of the probabilities of a transition and its CPT reverse. The required interchange of in <-> out states for a given process is obtained exploiting the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations of neutral kaon pairs produced at a phi-factory. The observable quantities have been constructed by selecting the two semileptonic decays for flavour tag, the pi and 3 pi(0) decays for CP tag and the time orderings of the decay pairs. The interpretation in terms of the standard Weisskopf-Wigner approach to this system, directly connects CPT violation in these observables to the violating R delta parameter in the mass matrix of K-0 – (K) over bar (0), a genuine CPT violating effect independent of Delta Gamma and not requiring the decay as an essential ingredient. Possible spurious effects induced by CP violation in the decay and/or a violation of the Delta S = Delta Q rule have been shown to be well under control. The proposed test is thus fully robust, and might shed light on possible new CPT violating mechanisms, or further improve the precision of the present experimental limits. It could be implemented at the DA Phi NE facility in Frascati, where the KLOE-2 experiment might reach a statistical sensitivity of O (10(-3)) on the newly proposed observable quantities.

Abstract: Although CP violation in the B meson system has been well established by the B factories, there has been no direct observation of time-reversal violation. The decays of entangled neutral B mesons into definite flavor states (B-0 or (B) over bar (0)), and J/psi K-L(0) or c (c) over barK(S)(0) final states (referred to as B+ or B-), allow comparisons between the probabilities of four pairs of T-conjugated transitions, for example, (B) over bar (0) -> B- and B- -> (B) over bar (0), as a function of the time difference between the two B decays. Using 468 X 10(6) B (B) over bar pairs produced in Y(4S) decays collected by the BABAR detector at SLAC, we measure T-violating parameters in the time evolution of neutral B mesons, yielding Delta S-T(+) = -137 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.06(syst) and Delta S-T(-) = 1.17 +/- 0.18(stat) +/- 0.11(syst). These nonzero results represent the first direct observation of T violation through the exchange of initial and final states in transitions that can only be connected by a T-symmetry transformation.

Abstract: The absolute mass of neutrinos and their nature are presently unknown. Aggregate matter has a coherent weak charge leading to a repulsive interaction mediated by a neutrino pair. The virtual neutrinos are non-relativistic at micron distances, giving a distinct behavior for Dirac versus Majorana mass terms. This effective potential allows for the disentanglement of the Dirac or Majorana nature of the neutrino via magnitude and distance dependence. We propose an experiment to search for this potential based on the concept that the density-dependent interaction of an atomic probe with a material source in one arm of an atomic clock interferometer generates a differential phase. The appropriate geometry of the device is selected using the saturation of the weak potential as a guide. The proposed experiment has the added benefit of being sensitive to gravity at micron distances. A strategy to suppress the competing Casimir-Polder interaction, depending on the electronic structure of the material source, as well as a way to compensate the gravitational interaction in the two arms of the interferometer is discussed.

Abstract: MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of stable or pseudostable highly ionizing particles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions. Here we update our previous search for magnetic monopoles in Run 2 using the full trapping detector with almost four times more material and almost twice more integrated luminosity. For the first time at the LHC, the data were interpreted in terms of photon-fusion monopole direct production in addition to the Drell-Yan-like mechanism. The MoEDAL trapping detector, consisting of 794 kg of aluminum samples installed in the forward and lateral regions, was exposed to 4.0 fb(-1) of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point and analyzed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to or above the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples. Monopole spins 0, 1/2, and 1 are considered and both velocity-independent and-dependent couplings are assumed. This search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

Abstract: Objective. Background events are one of the most relevant contributions to image degradation in Compton camera imaging for hadron therapy treatment monitoring. A study of the background and its contribution to image degradation is important to define future strategies to reduce the background in the system. Approach. In this simulation study, the percentage of different kinds of events and their contribution to the reconstructed image in a two-layer Compton camera have been evaluated. To this end, GATE v8.2 simulations of a proton beam impinging on a PMMA phantom have been carried out, for different proton beam energies and at different beam intensities. Main results. For a simulated Compton camera made of Lanthanum (III) Bromide monolithic crystals, coincidences caused by neutrons arriving from the phantom are the most common type of background produced by secondary radiations in the Compton camera, causing between 13% and 33% of the detected coincidences, depending on the beam energy. Results also show that random coincidences are a significant cause of image degradation at high beam intensities, and their influence in the reconstructed images is studied for values of the time coincidence windows from 500 ps to 100 ns. Significance. Results indicate the timing capabilities required to retrieve the fall-off position with good precision. Still, the noise observed in the image when no randoms are considered make us consider further background rejection methods.