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Alicki, R., Barenboim, G., & Jenkins, A. (2023). Quantum thermodynamics of de Sitter space. Phys. Rev. D, 108(12), 123530–13pp.
Abstract: We consider the local physics of an open quantum system embedded in an expanding three-dimensional space x, evolving in cosmological time t, weakly coupled to a massless quantum field. We derive the corresponding Markovian master equation for the system's nonunitary evolution and show that, for a de Sitter space with Hubble parameter h 1/4 const, the background fields act as a physical heat bath with temperature TdS 1/4 h/2z. The energy density of this bath obeys the Stefan-Boltzmann law pdS proportional to h4. We comment on how these results clarify the thermodynamics of de Sitter space and support previous arguments for its instability in the infrared. The cosmological implications are considered in an accompanying Letter.
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Nacher, E., Briz, J. A., Nerio, A. N., Perea, A., Tavora, V. G., Tengblad, O., et al. (2024). Characterization of a novel proton-CT scanner based on Silicon and LaBr3(Ce) detectors. Eur. Phys. J. Plus, 139(5), 404–9pp.
Abstract: Treatment planning systems at proton-therapy centres entirely use X-ray computed tomography (CT) as primary imaging technique to infer the proton treatment doses to tumour and healthy tissues. However, proton stopping powers in the body, as derived from X-ray images, suffer from important proton-range uncertainties. In order to reduce this uncertainty in range, one could use proton-CT images instead. The main goal of this work is to test the capabilities of a newly-developed proton-CT scanner, based on the use of a set of tracking detectors and a high energy resolution scintillator for the residual energy of the protons. Different custom-made phantoms were positioned at the field of view of the scanner and were irradiated with protons at the CCB proton-therapy center in Krakow. We measured with the phantoms at different angles and produced sinograms that were used to obtain reconstructed images by Filtered Back-Projection. The obtained images were used to determine the capabilities of our scanner in terms of spatial resolution and proton Relative Stopping Power (RSP) mapping and validate its use as proton-CT scanner. The results show that the scanner can produce medium-high quality images, with spatial resolution better than 2 mm in radiography, below 3 mm in tomography and resolving power in the RSP comparable to other state-of-the-art pCT scanners.
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Servant, G., & Simakachorn, P. (2023). Constraining postinflationary axions with pulsar timing arrays. Phys. Rev. D, 108(12), 123516–16pp.
Abstract: Models that produce axionlike particles (ALPs) after cosmological inflation due to spontaneous U(1) symmetry breaking also produce cosmic-string networks. Those axionic strings lose energy through gravitational-wave emission during the whole cosmological history, generating a stochastic background of gravitational waves that spans many decades in frequency. We can therefore constrain the axion decay constant and axion mass from limits on the gravitational-wave spectrum and compatibility with dark matter abundance as well as dark radiation. We derive such limits from analyzing the most recent NANOGrav data from pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). The limits are similar to the Neff bounds on dark radiation for ALP masses ma less than or similar to 10-22 eV. On the other hand, for heavy ALPs with ma greater than or similar to 0.1 GeV and NDW not equal 1, new regions of parameter space can be probed by PTA data due to the dominant domain-wall contribution to the gravitational-wave background.
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Dai, L. R., & Oset, E. (2024). Dynamical generation of the scalar f0(500), f0(980), and K0*(700) resonances in the Ds+ → K+ π+ π- reaction. Phys. Rev. D, 109(5), 054008–9pp.
Abstract: We develop a model aimed at understanding the three mass distributions of pairs of mesons in the Cabibbo-suppressed D-s(+) – K+pi(+)pi(-) decay recently measured with high statistics by the BESIII collaboration. The largest contributions to the process come from the D-s(+) -> K+ rho(0) and D-s(+) -> K*(0)pi(+) decay modes, but the D-s(+) -> K-0*(1430)pi(+) and D-s(+) -> K+ f(0) (1370) modes also play a moderate role and all of them are introduced empirically. Instead, the contribution of the f(0)(500), f(0)(980) , and K-0*(700) resonances is introduced dynamically by looking at the decay modes at the quark level, hadronizing q (q) over bar over bar pairs to give two mesons, and allowing these mesons to interact, for which we follow the chiral unitary approach, to finally produce the K+ pi(+) pi(-) final state. While the general features of the mass distributions are fairly obtained, we pay special attention to the specific effects created by the light scalar resonances, which are visible in the low mass region of the pi(+) pi(-) (f(0)(500) and K+ pi(-) K+pi-(K-0*(700)) mass distributions and a narrow peak for pi(+) pi(-) distribution corresponding to f(0)(980) excitation. The contribution of these three resonances is generated by only one parameter. We see the agreement found in these regions as further support for the nature of the light scalar states as dynamically generated from the interaction of pseudoscalar mesons.
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NA64 Collaboration(Andreev, Y. M. et al), Molina Bueno, L., & Tuzi, M. (2023). Search for Light Dark Matter with NA64 at CERN. Phys. Rev. Lett., 131(16), 161801–7pp.
Abstract: Thermal dark matter models with particle chi masses below the electroweak scale can provide an explanation for the observed relic dark matter density. This would imply the existence of a new feeble interaction between the dark and ordinary matter. We report on a new search for the sub-GeV chi production through the interaction mediated by a new vector boson, called the dark photon A ' , in collisions of 100 GeV electrons with the active target of the NA64 experiment at the CERN SPS. With 9.37 x 10(11) electrons on target collected during 2016-2022 runs NA64 probes for the first time the well-motivated region of parameter space of benchmark thermal scalar and fermionic dark matter models. No evidence for dark matter production has been found. This allows us to set the most sensitive limits on the A ' couplings to photons for masses m(A ') less than or similar to 0.35 GeV, and to exclude scalar and Majorana dark matter with the chi – A ' coupling alpha(D) <= 0.1 for masses 0.001 less than or similar to m(chi) less than or similar to 0.1 GeV and 3m(chi) <= m(A ').
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