Yokoyama, R. et al, Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Domingo-Pardo, C., Morales, A. I., et al. (2019). Strong one-neutron emission from two-neutron unbound states in beta decays of the r-process nuclei Ga-86,Ga-87. Phys. Rev. C, 100(3), 031302–6pp.
Abstract: beta-delayed one-neutron and two-neutron branching ratios (P-1n and P-2n) have been measured in the decay of A = 84 to 87 Ga isotopes at the Radioactive-Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) at the RIKEN Nishina Center using a high-efficiency array of He-3 neutron counters (BRIKEN). Two-neutron emission was observed in the decay of Ga-84,Ga-85,Ga-87 for the first time and the branching ratios were measured to be P-2n = 1.6(2)%, 1.3(2)%, and 10.2(28)(stat)(5)(sys)%, respectively. One-neutron branching ratio of Ga-87 (P-1n = 81(9)(stat)(8)(sys)%) and half-life of 29(4) ms were measured for the first time. The branching ratios of Ga-86 were also measured to be P-1n = 74(2)(stat)(8)(sys)% and 16.2(9)(stat)(6)(sys)% with better precision than a previous study. The observation that P-1n > P-2n for both Ga-86,Ga-87 was unexpected and is interpreted as a signature of dominating one-neutron emission from the two-neutron unbound excited states in Ge-86,Ge-87. In order to interpret the experimental results, shell-model and Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations of delayed particle and gamma-ray emission probabilities were performed. This model framework reproduces the experimental results. The shell model alone predicts P-2n significantly larger than P-1n for the Ga-87 decay, and it is necessary to invoke a statistical description to successfully explain the observation that P-1n > P-2n. Our new results demonstrate the relevance and importance of a statistical description of neutron emission for the prediction of the decay properties of multineutron emitters and that it must be included in the r-process modeling.
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Gomez Dumm, D., Izzo Villafañe, M. F., Noguera, S., Pagura, V. P., & Scoccola, N. N. (2017). Strong magnetic fields in nonlocal chiral quark models. Phys. Rev. D, 96(11), 114012–19pp.
Abstract: We study the behavior of strongly interacting matter under a uniform intense external magnetic field in the context of nonlocal extensions of the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. A detailed description of the formalism is presented, considering the cases of zero and finite temperature. In particular, we analyze the effect of the magnetic field on the chiral restoration and deconfinement transitions, which are found to occur at approximately the same critical temperatures. Our results show that these models offer a natural framework to account for the phenomenon of inverse magnetic catalysis found in lattice QCD calculations.
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Bruschini, R., & Gonzalez, P. (2021). Strong decays of the lowest bottomonium hybrid within an extended Born-Oppenheimer framework. Eur. Phys. J. C, 81(1), 74–9pp.
Abstract: We analyze the decays of the theoretically predicted lowest bottomonium hybrid H(1P) to open bottom two-meson states. We do it by embedding a quark pair creation model into the Born-Oppenheimer framework which allows for a unified, QCD-motivated description of bottomonium hybrids as well as bottomonium. A new 1P1 decay model for H(1P) comes out. The same analysis applied to bottomonium leads naturally to the well-known 3 P0 decay model. We show that H(1P) and the theoretically predicted bottomonium state Upsilon (5S), whose calculated masses are close to each other, have very different widths for such decays. A comparison with data from Upsilon (10860), an experimental resonance whose mass is similar to that of Upsilon (5S) and H(1P), is carried out. Neither a Upsilon (5S) nor a H(1P) assignment can explain the measured decay widths. However, a Upsilon (5S)-H(1P) mixing may give account of them supporting previous analyses of dipion decays of Upsilon (10860) and suggesting a possible experimental evidence of H(1P).
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Fuentes-Martin, J., Reig, M., & Vicente, A. (2019). Strong CP problem with low-energy emergent QCD: The 4321 case. Phys. Rev. D, 100(11), 115028–7pp.
Abstract: We analyze the strong CP problem and the implications for axion physics in the context of U-1 vector leptoquark models, recently put forward as an elegant solution to the hints of lepton flavor universality violation in B-meson decays. It is shown that in minimal gauge models containing the U-1 as a gauge boson, the Peccei-Quinn solution of the strong CP problem requires the introduction of two axions. Characteristic predictions for the associated axions can be deduced from the model parameter space hinted by B-physics, allowing the new axion sector to account for the dark matter of the Universe. We also provide a specific ultraviolet completion of the axion sector that connects the Peccei-Quinn mechanism to the generation of neutrino masses.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Garcia Martin, L. M., Henry, L., Jashal, B. K., Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., et al. (2020). Strong constraints on the b -> s gamma photon polarisation from B-0 -> K(*0)e(+)e(-) decays. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 081–25pp.
Abstract: An angular analysis of the B-0 -> K*(0)e(+)e(-) decay is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb(-1) of pp collisions collected with the LHCb experiment. The analysis is conducted in the very low dielectron mass squared (q(2)) interval between 0.0008 and 0.257 GeV2, where the rate is dominated by the B-0 -> K*(0)gamma transition with a virtual photon. The fraction of longitudinal polarisation of the K*(0) meson, F-L, is measured to be F-L = (4.4 +/- 2.6 +/- 1.4)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The A(T)(Re) observable, which is related to the lepton forward-backward asymmetry, is measured to be A(T)(Re) = -0.06 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.02. The A(T)((2)) and A(T)(Im) transverse asymmetries, which are sensitive to the virtual photon polarisation, are found to be A(T)((2)) = 0.11 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.02 and A(T)(Im) = 0.02 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.01. The results are consistent with Standard Model predictions and provide the world's best constraint on the b -> s gamma photon polarisation.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amos, K. R., Aparisi Pozo, J. A., Bailey, A. J., Cabrera Urban, S., Cantero, J., et al. (2023). Strong Constraints on Jet Quenching in Centrality-Dependent p plus Pb Collisions at 5.02 TeV from ATLAS. Phys. Rev. Lett., 131(7), 072301–21pp.
Abstract: Jet quenching is the process of color-charged partons losing energy via interactions with quark-gluon plasma droplets created in heavy-ion collisions. The collective expansion of such droplets is well described by viscous hydrodynamics. Similar evidence of collectivity is consistently observed in smaller collision systems, including pp and p+ Pb collisions. In contrast, while jet quenching is observed in Pb + Pb collisions, no evidence has been found in these small systems to date, raising fundamental questions about the nature of the system created in these collisions. The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has measured the yield of charged hadrons correlated with reconstructed jets in 0.36 nb-1 of p+ Pb and 3.6 pb-1 of pp collisions at 5.02 TeV. The yields of charged hadrons with p(T)(ch) > 0.5 GeV near and opposite in azimuth to jets with p(t)(je) T > 30 or 60 GeV, and the ratios of these yields between p+ Pb and pp collisions, IpPb, are reported. The collision centrality of p+ Pb events is categorized by the energy deposited by forward neutrons from the struck nucleus. The IpPb values are consistent with unity within a few percent for hadrons with p(T )(ch)> 4 GeV at all centralities. These data provide new, strong constraints that preclude almost any parton energy loss in central p+ Pb collisions.
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Figueroa, D. G., Lizarraga, J., Urio, A., & Urrestilla, J. (2023). Strong Backreaction Regime in Axion Inflation. Phys. Rev. Lett., 131(15), 151003–7pp.
Abstract: We study the nonlinear dynamics of axion inflation, capturing for the first time the inhomogeneity and full dynamical range during strong backreaction, till the end of inflation. Accounting for inhomogeneous effects leads to a number of new relevant results, compared to spatially homogeneous studies: (i) the number of extra efoldings beyond slow-roll inflation increases very rapidly with the coupling, (ii) oscillations of the inflaton velocity are attenuated, (iii) the tachyonic gauge field helicity spectrum is smoothed out (i.e., the spectral oscillatory features disappear), broadened, and shifted to smaller scales, and (iv) the nontachyonic helicity is excited, reducing the chiral asymmetry, now scale dependent. Our results are expected to impact strongly on the phenomenology and observability of axion inflation, including gravitational wave generation and primordial black hole production.
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Helling, C. et al, Bernabeu, J., Lacasta, C., & Solaz, C. (2020). Strip sensor performance in prototype modules built for ATLAS ITk. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 978, 164402–6pp.
Abstract: ATLAS experiment is preparing an upgrade of its detector for High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) operation. The upgrade involves installation of the new all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk). In the context of the ITk preparations, more than 80 strip modules were built with prototype barrel sensors. They were tested with electrical readout on a per-channel basis. In general, an excellent performance was observed, consistent with previous ASIC-level and sensor-level tests. However, the lessons learned included two phenomena important for the future phases of the project. First was the need to store and test the modules in a dry environment due to humidity sensitivity of the sensors. The second was an observation of high noise regions for 2 modules. The high noise regions were tested further in several ways, including monitoring the performance as a function of time and bias voltage. Additionally, direct sensor-level tests were performed on the affected channels. The inter-strip resistance and bias resistance tests showed low values, indicating a temporary loss of the inter-strip isolation. A subsequent recovery of the noise performance was observed. We present the test details, an analysis of how the inter-strip isolation affects the module noise, and the relationship with sensor-level quality control tests.
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Sanchis-Lozano, M. A. (2022). Stringy Signals from Large-Angle Correlations in the Cosmic Microwave Background? Universe, 8(8), 396–13pp.
Abstract: We interpret the lack of large-angle temperature correlations and the even-odd parity imbalance observed in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by COBE, WMAP and Planck satellite missions as a possible stringy signal ultimately stemming from a composite inflaton field (e.g., a fermionic condensate). Based on causality arguments and a Fourier analysis of the angular two-point correlation function, two infrared cutoffs k(min)(even,odd) (satisfying k(min)(even) similar or equal to 2k(min)(odd)) are introduced to the CMB power spectrum associated, respectively, with periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions of the fermionic constituents (echoing the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond model in superstring theory), without resorting to any particular model.
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Richard, J. M., Valcarce, A., & Vijande, J. (2017). String dynamics and metastability of all-heavy tetraquarks. Phys. Rev. D, 95(5), 054019–7pp.
Abstract: Multiquark states have been advocated to explain recent experimental data in the heavy-light sector, and there are already speculations about multiquarks containing only heavy quarks and antiquarks. With a rigorous treatment of the four-body problem in current quark models, full-charm (cc (c) over bar(c) over bar) and full-beauty(bb (b) over bar(b) over bar) tetraquarks are found to be unbound. Thus their stability should rely on more subtle effects that are not included in the simple picture of constituent quarks. The case of (bc (b) over bar(c) over bar) might be more favorable if the naive color-additive model of confinement is replaced by a string-inspired interaction.
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