Abstract: We argue that the appearance of additional light rings in a shadow observation – beyond the infinite sequence of exponentially demagnified self-similar rings foreseen in the Kerr solution – would make a compelling case for the existence of black hole mimickers having multiple critical curves. We support this claim by discussing three different scenarios of spherically symmetric wormhole geometries having two such critical curves, and explicitly work out the optical appearance of one such object when surrounded by an optically and geometrically thin accretion disk.

Abstract: We discuss some general features of the effective range expansion, the content of its parameters with respect to the nature of the pertinent near-threshold states and the necessary modifications in the presence of coupled channels, isospin violations and unstable constituents. As illustrative examples, we analyse the properties of the chi(c1)(3872) and T-cc(+) states supporting the claim that these exotic states have a predominantly molecular nature.

Abstract: The use of extra space-time dimensions provides a promising approach to the flavor problem. The chosen compactification of a 6-dimensional orbifold implies a remnant family symmetry A4. This makes interesting predictions for quark and lepton masses, for neutrino oscillations and neutrinoless double beta decay, providing also a very good global description of all flavor observables. Due to an auxiliary Z4 symmetry, we implement a scotogenic Majorana neutrino mass generation mechanism with a viable WIMP dark matter candidate.

Abstract: A measurement of the energy asymmetry in jet-associated top-quark pair production is presented using 139 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV. The observable measures the different probability of top and antitop quarks to have the higher energy as a function of the jet scattering angle with respect to the beam axis. The energy asymmetry is measured in the semileptonic t (t) over bar decay channel, and the hadronically decaying top quark must have transverse momentum above 350 GeV. The results are corrected for detector effects to particle level in three bins of the scattering angle of the associated jet. The measurement agrees with the SM prediction at next-to-leading-order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics in all three bins. In the bin with the largest expected asymmetry, where the jet is emitted perpendicular to the beam, the energy asymmetry is measured to be -0.043 +/- 0.020, in agreement with the SM prediction of -0.037 +/- 0.003. Interpreting this result in the framework of the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT), it is shown that the energy asymmetry is sensitive to the top-quark chirality in four-quark operators and is therefore a valuable new observable in global SMEFT fits.

Abstract: Two narrow resonant states are observed in the Λ0bK−π+ mass spectrum using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb−1. The minimal quark content of the Λ0bK−π+ system indicates that these are excited Ξ0b baryons. The masses of the Ξb(6327)0 and Ξb(6333)0 states are m(Ξb(6327)0)=6327.28+0.23−0.21±0.12±0.24 MeV and m(Ξb(6333)0)=6332.69+0.17−0.18±0.03±0.22 MeV, respectively, with a mass splitting of Δm=5.41+0.26−0.27±0.12 MeV, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and due to the Λ0b mass measurement. The measured natural widths of these states are consistent with zero, with upper limits of Γ(Ξb(6327)0)<2.20 (2.56) MeV and Γ(Ξb(6333)0)<1.60 (1.92) MeV at a 90% (95%) credibility level. The significance of the two-peak hypothesis is larger than nine (five) Gaussian standard deviations compared to the no-peak (one-peak) hypothesis. The masses, widths and resonant structure of the new states are in good agreement with the expectations for a doublet of 1D Ξ0b resonances.