Abstract: We study the particle creation process in the Schwinger model coupled with an external classical source. One can approach the problem by taking advantage of the fact that the full quantized model is solvable and equivalent to a (massive) gauge field with a non-local effective action. Alternatively, one can also face the problem by following the standard semiclassical route. This means quantizing the massless Dirac field and considering the electromagnetic field as a classical background. We evaluate the energy created by a generic, homogeneous, and time-dependent source. The results match exactly in both approaches. This proves in a very direct and economical way the validity of the semiclassical approach for the (massless) Schwinger model, in agreement with a previous analysis based on the linear response equation. Our discussion suggests that a similar analysis for the massive Schwinger model could be used as a non-trivial laboratory to confront a fully quantized solvable model with its semiclassical approximation, therefore mimicking the long-standing confrontation of quantum gravity with quantum field theory in curved spacetime.

Abstract: The Galactic Center Excess (GCE) in GeV gamma rays has been debated for over a decade, with the possibility that it might be due to dark matter annihilation or undetected point sources such as millisecond pulsars (MSPs). This study investigates how the gamma-ray emission model (-yEM) used in Galactic center analyses affects the interpretation of the GCE's nature. To address this issue, we construct an ultra-fast and powerful inference pipeline based on convolutional Deep Ensemble Networks. We explore the two main competing hypotheses for the GCE using a set of-yEMs with increasing parametric freedom. We calculate the fractional contribution (fsrc) of a dim population of MSPs to the total luminosity of the GCE and analyze its dependence on the complexity of the ryEM. For the simplest ryEM, we obtain fsrc = 0.10 f 0.07, while the most complex model yields fsrc = 0.79 f 0.24. In conclusion, we find that the statement about the nature of the GCE (dark matter or not) strongly depends on the assumed ryEM. The quoted results for fsrc do not account for the additional uncertainty arising from the fact that the observed gamma-ray sky is out-of-distribution concerning the investigated ryEM iterations. We quantify the reality gap between our ryEMs using deep-learning-based One-Class Deep Support Vector Data Description networks, revealing that all employed ryEMs have gaps to reality. Our study casts doubt on the validity of previous conclusions regarding the GCE and dark matter, and underscores the urgent need to account for the reality gap and consider previously overlooked “out of domain” uncertainties in future interpretations.

Abstract: In this work we investigate the possibility of the formation of states from the dynamics involved in the D* D* D* system by considering that two D*'s generate a JP = 1+ bound state, with isospin 0, which has been predicted in an earlier theoretical work. We solve the Faddeev equations for this system within the fixed center approximation and find the existence of J(P) = 0(-), 1(-) and 2(-) states with charm 3, isospin 1/2, masses similar to 6000 MeV, which are manifestly exotic hadrons, i.e., with a multiquark inner structure.

Abstract: This article reports the first observation of the Moon and the Sun shadows in the sky distribution of cosmicray induced muons measured by the KM3NeT/ORCA detector. The analysed data-taking period spans from February 2020 to November 2021, when the detector had 6 Detection Units deployed at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, each composed of 18 Digital Optical Modules. The shadows induced by theMoon and the Sun were detected at their nominal position with a statistical significance of 4.2 sigma and 6.2 sigma, and an angular resolution of sigma(res) = 0.49 degrees and sigma(res) = 0.66 degrees, respectively, consistent with the prediction of 0.53 degrees from simulations. This early result confirms the effectiveness of the detector calibration, in time, position and orientation and the accuracy of the event direction reconstruction. This also demonstrates the performance and the competitiveness of the detector in terms of pointing accuracy and angular resolution.

Abstract: Searches for the rare hadronic decays B-0 -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar and B-s(0) -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar are performed using proton-proton collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb-1. Significances of 9.3 sigma and 4.0 sigma, including statistical and systematic uncertainties, are obtained for the B-0 -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar and B-s(0) -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar signals, respectively. The branching fractions are measured relative to the topologically similar normalization decays B-0 -> J/psi(-> p (p) over bar )K*(0)(-> K+ pi(-) ) and B-s(0) -> J/psi(-> p (p) over bar )X phi(-> K+ K- ). The branching fractions are measured to be B(B-0 -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar) = (2.2 +/- 0.4 +/- 0.1 +/- 0.1) x 10(-8) and B(B-s(0) -> p (p) over barp (p) over bar) = (2.3 +/- 1.0 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.1) x 10(-8). In these measurements, the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third one is due to the external branching fraction of the normalization channel.