Abstract: Current cosmological tensions show that it is crucial to test the predictions from the canonical ACDM paradigm at different cosmic times. One very appealing test of structure formation in the Universe is the growth rate of structure in our universe f, usually parametrized via the growth index gamma, with f equivalent to Omega(m)(a)gamma and gamma similar or equal to 0.55 in the standard ACDM case. Recent studies have claimed a suppression of the growth of structure from a variety of cosmological observations, characterized by gamma > 0.55. By employing different self-consistent growth parametrizations schemes, we show here that gamma < 0.55, obtaining instead an enhanced growth of structure today. This preference reaches the 3 sigma significance using cosmic microwave background observations, supernova Ia and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements. The addition of cosmic microwave background lensing data relaxes such a preference to the 2 sigma level, since a larger lensing effect can always be compensated with a smaller structure growth, or, equivalently, with gamma > 0.55. We have also included the lensing amplitude AL as a free parameter in our data analysis, showing that the preference for AL > 1 still remains, except for some particular parametrizations when lensing observations are included. We also do not find any significant preference for an oscillatory dependence of AL, AL + Am sin l. To further reassess the effects of a nonstandard growth, we have computed by means of N-body simulations the dark matter density fields, the dark matter halo mass functions and the halo density profiles for different values of gamma. Future observations from the Square Kilometer Array, reducing by a factor of 3 the current errors on the gamma parameter, further confirm or refute with a strong statistical significance the deviation of the growth index from its standard value.

Abstract: High-electric-charge compact objects (HECOs) appear in several theoretical particle physics models beyond the Standard Model, and are actively searched for in current colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. In such searches, mass bounds of these objects have been placed, using Drell-Yan and photon-fusion processes at tree level so far. However, such mass-bound estimates are not reliable, given that, as a result of the large values of the electric charge of the HECO, perturbative quantum electrodynamics calculations break down. In this work, we perform a Dyson-Schwinger resummation scheme (as opposed to lattice strong-coupling approach), which makes the computation of the pertinent HECO-production cross sections reliable, thus allowing us to extract improved mass bounds for such objects from ATLAS and MoEDAL searches.

Abstract: We analyze the adiabatic regularization scheme to renormalize Proca fields in a four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime. The adiabatic method is well established for scalar and spin-1/2 fields, but is not yet fully understood for spin-1 fields. We give the details of the construction and show that, in the massless limit, the renormalized stress-energy tensor of the Proca field is closely related to that of a minimally coupled scalar field. Our result is in full agreement with other approaches, based on the effective action, which also show a discontinuity in the massless limit. The scalar field can be naturally regarded as a Stueckelberg-type field. We also test the consistency of our results in de Sitter space.

Abstract: The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) plans to use neutrinos produced at the Large Hadron Collider to make a variety of measurements at previously unexplored TeV energies. Its primary goals include precision measurements of the neutrino cross section and using the measured neutrino flux both to uncover information about far-forward hadron production and to search for various beyond standard model scenarios. However, these goals have the potential to conflict: Extracting information about the flux or cross section relies upon an assumption about the other. In this paper, we demonstrate that the FPF can use the low-nu method-a technique for constraining the flux shape by isolating neutrino interactions with low energy transfer to the nucleus-to break this degeneracy. We show that the low-nu method is effective for extracting the nu μflux shape, in a model-independent way. We discuss its application for extracting the nu over bar μflux shape but find that this is significantly more model dependent. Finally, we explore the precision to which the nu μflux shape could be constrained at the FPF for a variety of proposed detector options. We find that the precision would be sufficient to discriminate between various realistic flux models.

Abstract: We investigate the time evolution of spherically symmetric boson stars in Palatini f(R) gravity through numerical relativity computations. Employing a novel approach that establishes a correspondence between modified gravity with scalar matter and general relativity with modified scalar matter, we are able to use the techniques of numerical relativity to simulate these systems. Specifically, we focus on the quadratic theory f(R) = R + xi R2 and compare the obtained solutions with those in general relativity, exploring both positive and negative values of the coupling parameter xi. Our findings reveal that boson stars in Palatini f(R) gravity exhibit both stable and unstable evolutions. The latter give rise to three distinct scenarios: migration toward a stable configuration, complete dispersion, and gravitational collapse leading to the formation of a baby universe structure.