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Double Chooz collaboration(Abrahao, T. et al), & Novella, P. (2018). Novel event classification based on spectral analysis of scintillation waveforms in Double Chooz. J. Instrum., 13, P01031–26pp.
Abstract: Liquid scintillators are a common choice for neutrino physics experiments, but their capabilities to perform background rejection by scintillation pulse shape discrimination is generally limited in large detectors. This paper describes a novel approach for a pulse shape based event classification developed in the context of the Double Chooz reactor antineutrino experiment. Unlike previous implementations, this method uses the Fourier power spectra of the scintillation pulse shapes to obtain event-wise information. A classification variable built from spectral information was able to achieve an unprecedented performance, despite the lack of optimization at the detector design level. Several examples of event classification are provided, ranging from differentiation between the detector volumes and an efficient rejection of instrumental light noise, to some sensitivity to the particle type, such as stopping muons, ortho-positronium formation, alpha particles as well as electrons and positrons. In combination with other techniques the method is expected to allow for a versatile and more efficient background rejection in the future, especially if detector optimization is taken into account at the design level.
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Barenboim, G., Kinney, W. H., & Morse, M. J. P. (2018). Phantom Dirac-Born-Infeld dark energy. Phys. Rev. D, 98(8), 083531–11pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the apparent discrepancy between cosmic microwave background measurements of the Hubble constant and measurements from Type-la supernovae, we construct a model for dark energy with equation of state w = p/rho < -1, violating the null energy condition. Naive canonical models of so-called “phantom” dark energy require a negative scalar kinetic term, resulting in a Hamiltonian unbounded from below and associated vacuum instability. We construct a scalar field model for dark energy with w < -1, which nonetheless has a Hamiltonian bounded from below in the comoving reference frame, i.e., in the rest frame of the fluid. We demonstrate that the solution is a cosmological attractor, and find that early-time cosmological boundary conditions consist of a “frozen” scalar field, which relaxes to the attractor solution once the dark energy component dominates the cosmological energy density. We consider the model in an arbitrary choice of gauge, and find that, unlike the case of comoving gauge, the fluid Hamiltonian is in fact unbounded from below in the reference frame of a highly boosted observer, corresponding to a nonlinear gradient instability. We discuss this in the context of general NEC-violating perfect fluids, for which this instability is a general property.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Cerda Alberich, L., et al. (2018). Search for long-lived, massive particles in events with displaced vertices and mlissing transverse momentum in root S=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. D, 97(5), 052012–29pp.
Abstract: A search for long-lived, massive particles predicted by many theories beyond the Standard Model is presented. The search targets final states with large missing transverse momentum and at least one highmass displaced vertex with five or more tracks, and uses 32.8 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed yield is consistent with the expected background. The results are used to extract 95% C.L. exclusion limits on the production of long-lived gluinos with masses up to 2.37 TeV and lifetimes of O(10(-2)) – O(10) ns in a simplified model inspired by split supersymmetry.
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NEXT Collaboration(Felkai, R. et al), Sorel, M., Lopez-March, N., Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Alvarez, V., Benlloch-Rodriguez, J. M., et al. (2018). Helium-Xenon mixtures to improve the topological signature in high pressure gas xenon TPCs. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 905, 82–90.
Abstract: Within the framework of xenon-based double beta decay experiments, we propose the possibility to improve the background rejection of an electroluminescent Time Projection Chamber (EL TPC) by reducing the diffusion of the drifting electrons while keeping nearly intact the energy resolution of a pure xenon EL TPC. Based on state-of-the-art microscopic simulations, a substantial addition of helium, around 10 or 15 %, may reduce drastically the transverse diffusion down to 2.5 mm/root m from the 10.5 mm/root m of pure xenon. The longitudinal diffusion remains around 4 mm/root m. Light production studies have been performed as well. They show that the relative variation in energy resolution introduced by such a change does not exceed a few percent, which leaves the energy resolution practically unchanged. The technical caveats of using photomultipliers close to an helium atmosphere are also discussed in detail.
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LIGO Sci, V., ANTARES and other Collaborations(Abbott, B.P. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Coleiro, A., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., et al. (2017). Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger. Astrophys. J. Lett., 848(2), L12–59pp.
Abstract: On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of similar to 1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of 40(-8)(+8) Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 M-circle dot. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at similar to 40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over similar to 10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient's position similar to 9 and similar to 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.
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ANTARES, I. C., Pierre Auger, LIGO Sci and VIRGO Collaborations(Albert, A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Coleiro, A., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., et al. (2017). Search for High-energy Neutrinos from Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817 with ANTARES, IceCube, and the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astrophys. J. Lett., 850(2), L35–18pp.
Abstract: The Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observatories recently discovered gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral. A short gamma-ray burst (GRB) that followed the merger of this binary was also recorded by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM), and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), indicating particle acceleration by the source. The precise location of the event was determined by optical detections of emission following the merger. We searched for high-energy neutrinos from the merger in the GeV-EeV energy range using the ANTARES, IceCube, and Pierre Auger Observatories. No neutrinos directionally coincident with the source were detected within +/- 500 s around the merger time. Additionally, no MeV neutrino burst signal was detected coincident with the merger. We further carried out an extended search in the direction of the source for high-energy neutrinos within the 14 day period following the merger, but found no evidence of emission. We used these results to probe dissipation mechanisms in relativistic outflows driven by the binary neutron star merger. The non-detection is consistent with model predictions of short GRBs observed at a large off-axis angle.
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Alcaide, J., Chala, M., & Santamaria, A. (2018). LHC signals of radiatively-induced neutrino masses and implications for the Zee-Babu model. Phys. Lett. B, 779, 107–116.
Abstract: Contrary to the see-saw models, extended Higgs sectors leading to radiatively-induced neutrino masses do require the extra particles to be at the TeV scale. However, these new states have often exotic decays, to which experimental LHC searches performed so far, focused on scalars decaying into pairs of same-sign leptons, are not sensitive. In this paper we show that their experimental signatures can start to be tested with current LHC data if dedicated multi-region analyses correlating different observables are used. We also provide high-accuracy estimations of the complicated Standard Model backgrounds involved. For the case of the Zee-Babu model, we show that regions not yet constrained by neutrino data and low-energy experiments can be already probed, while most of the parameter space could be excluded at the 95% C.L. in a high-luminosity phase of the LHC.
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Anamiati, G., Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2018). Quasi-Dirac neutrino oscillations. Phys. Rev. D, 97(9), 095008–16pp.
Abstract: Dirac neutrino masses require two distinct neutral Weyl spinors per generation, with a special arrangement of masses and interactions with charged leptons. Once this arrangement is perturbed, lepton number is no longer conserved and neutrinos become Majorana particles. If these lepton number violating perturbations are small compared to the Dirac mass terms, neutrinos are quasi-Dirac particles. Alternatively, this scenario can be characterized by the existence of pairs of neutrinos with almost degenerate masses, and a lepton mixing matrix which has 12 angles and 12 phases. In this work we discuss the phenomenology of quasi-Dirac neutrino oscillations and derive limits on the relevant parameter space from various experiments. In one parameter perturbations of the Dirac limit, very stringent bounds can be derived on the mass splittings between the almost degenerate pairs of neutrinos. However, we also demonstrate that with suitable changes to the lepton mixing matrix, limits on such mass splittings are much weaker, or even completely absent. Finally, we consider the possibility that the mass splittings are too small to be measured and discuss bounds on the new, nonstandard lepton mixing angles from current experiments for this case.
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Buchalla, G., Cata, O., Celis, A., Knecht, M., & Krause, C. (2018). Complete one-loop renormalization of the Higgs-electroweak chiral Lagrangian. Nucl. Phys. B, 928, 93–106.
Abstract: Employing background-field method and super-heat-kernel expansion, we compute the complete oneloop renormalization of the electroweak chiral Lagrangian with a light Higgs boson. Earlier results from purely scalar fluctuations are confirmed as a special case. We also recover the one-loop renormalization of the conventional Standard Model in the appropriate limit.
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Bonilla, C., Lamprea, J. M., Peinado, E., & Valle, J. W. F. (2018). Flavour-symmetric type-II Dirac neutrino seesaw mechanism. Phys. Lett. B, 779, 257–261.
Abstract: We propose a Standard Model extension with underlying A(4) flavour symmetry where small Dirac neutrino masses arise from a Type-II seesaw mechanism. The model predicts the “golden” flavour-dependent bottom-tau mass relation, requires an inverted neutrino mass ordering and non-maximal atmospheric mixing angle. Using the latest neutrino oscillation global fit[ 1] we derive restrictions on the oscillation parameters, such as a correlation between delta(CP) and m(nu lightest).
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