Abstract: The neutron time-of-flight facility nTOF at CERN is a spallation source dedicated to measurements of neutroninduced reaction cross-sections of interest in nuclear technologies, astrophysics, and other applications. Since 2014, Experimental ARea 2 (EAR2) is operational and delivers a neutron fluence of similar to 4 center dot 10(7) neutrons per nominal proton pulse, which is similar to 50 times higher than the one of Experimental ARea 1 (EAR1) of similar to 8 center dot 10(5) neutrons per pulse. The high neutron flux at EAR2 results in high counting rates in the detectors that challenged the previously existing capture detection systems. For this reason, a Segmented Total Energy Detector (sTED) has been developed to overcome the limitations in the detector's response, by reducing the active volume per module and by using a photo-multiplier (PMT) optimized for high counting rates. This paper presents the main characteristics of the sTED, including energy and time resolution, response to gamma-rays, and provides as well details of the use of the Pulse Height Weighting Technique (PHWT) with this detector. The sTED has been validated to perform neutron-capture cross-section measurements in EAR2 in the neutron energy range from thermal up to at least 400 keV. The detector has already been successfully used in several measurements at nTOF EAR2.

Abstract: We present a detailed study of the lowest-lying 1/2(-) and 3/2(-) Lambda Q resonances both in the heavy 2 2 quark (bottom and charm) and the strange sectors. We have paid special attention to the interplay between the constituent quark-model and chiral baryon-meson degrees of freedom, which are coupled using a unitarized scheme consistent with leading-order heavy quark symmetries. We show that the Lambda(b)(5912) [J(P) = 1/2(-)], Lambda(b)(5920) [J(P) = 3/2(-)] and the Lambda(c)(2625) [J(P) = 3/2-], and the Lambda(1520) [J(P) = 3/2(-)] admitting larger breaking corrections, are heavyquark spin-flavor siblings. They can be seen as dressed quark-model states with Sigma Q(()*()) pi molecular components of the order of 30%. The J(P)=1(-) Lambda(2595) has, however, a higher molecular 2 probability of at least 50%, and even values greater than 70% can be easily accommodated. This is because it is located almost on top of the threshold of the Sigma(c)pi pair, which largely influences its properties. Although the light degrees of freedom in this resonance would be coupled to spin-parity 1(-) as in the Lambda(b)(5912), Lambda(b)(5920) and Lambda(c)(2625), the Lambda(c)(2595) should not be considered as a heavy-quark spin-flavor partner of the former ones. We also show that the Lambda(1405) chiral two-pole pattern does not have analogs in the 1 – charmed and bottomed sectors, because the 2 N D-(*()) and N (B) over bar (()*()) channels do not play for heavy quarks the decisive role that the N (K) over bar does in the strange sector, and the notable influence of the bare quark-model states for the charm and bottom resonances. Finally, we predict the existence of two Lambda(b)(6070) and two Lambda(c)(2765) heavy-quark spin and flavor sibling odd parity states.

Abstract: The large distances travelled by neutrinos emitted from the Sun and core -collapse supernovae together with the characteristic energy of such neutrinos provide ideal conditions to probe their lifetime, when the decay products evade detection. We investigate the prospects of probing invisible neutrino decay capitalising on the detection of solar and supernova neutrinos as well as the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) in the next -generation neutrino observatories Hyper-Kamiokande, DUNE, JUNO, DARWIN, and RES-NOVA. We find that future solar neutrino data will be sensitive to values of the lifetime -to -mass ratio tau 1 /m 1 and tau 2 /m 2 of O(10 – 1 -10 – 2 ) s/eV. From a core -collapse supernova explosion at 10 kpc, lifetime -to -mass ratios of the three mass eigenstates of O(10 5 ) s/eV could be tested. After 20 years of data taking, the DSNB would extend the sensitivity reach of tau 1 /m 1 to 10 8 s/eV. These results promise an improvement of about 6-15 orders of magnitude on the values of the decay parameters with respect to existing limits.

Abstract: The three-particle K-matrix, K-df,K-3, is a scheme-dependent quantity that parametrizes short-range three-particle interactions in the relativistic-field-theory three-particle finite-volume formalism. In this work, we compute its value for systems of three pions in all isospin channels through next-to-leading order in Chiral Perturbation Theory, generalizing previous work done at maximum isospin. We obtain analytic expressions through quadratic order (or cubic order, in the case of zero isospin) in the expansion about the three-pion threshold.

Abstract: The so-called Golden Mass Relation provides a testable correlation between charged-lepton and down-type quark masses, that arises in certain flavor models that do not rely on Grand Unification. Such models typically involve broken family symmetries. In this work, we demonstrate that realistic fermion mass relations can emerge naturally in modular invariant models, without relying on ad hoc flavon alignments. We provide a model-independent derivation of a class of mass relations that are experimentally testable. These relations are determined by both the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of the specific finite modular group and the expansion coefficients of its modular forms, thus offering potential probes of modular invariant models. As a detailed example, we present a set of viable mass relations based on the Gamma 4 approximately equal to S4 symmetry, which have calculable deviations from the usual Golden Mass Relation.