Abstract: Correlations of same-sign charged pions are analysed using proton-lead collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.06 nb(-1). Bose-Einstein correlations are observed in the form of an enhancement of pair production for same-sign charged pions with a small four-momentum difference. The dependence of the correlation radius and the intercept parameter on the reconstructed charged-particle multiplicity is investigated. The measured correlation radii scale linearly with the cube root of the reconstructed charged-particle multiplicity, being compatible with predictions of hydrodynamic models on the collision system evolution.

Abstract: A search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson in final states with two hadronically decaying tau-leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model is found. The results are interpreted in terms of a 2HDM+a model featuring two scalar Higgs doublets and a pseudoscalar singlet field. Exclusion limits on the parameters of the model in selected benchmark scenarios are derived at 95% confidence level. Model-independent limits are also set on the visible cross-section for processes beyond the Standard Model producing missing transverse momentum in association with a Higgs boson decaying into tau-leptons.

Abstract: This work presents new three-dimensional traversable wormhole solutions sourced by the Casimir density and pressures related to the quantum vacuum fluctuations in Yang-Mills (Y-M) theory. We begin by analyzing the noninteracting Y-M Casimir wormholes, initially considering an arbitrary state parameter omega and determine a simple constant wormhole shape function. Next, we introduce a new methodology for deforming the state parameter to find well-behaved redshift functions. The wormhole can be interpreted as a legitimate Casimir wormhole with an expected average state parameter of omega = 2. Then, we investigate the wormhole curvature properties, energy conditions, and stability. Furthermore, we discover a novel family of traversable wormhole solutions sourced by the quantum vacuum fluctuations of interacting Yang-Mills fields with a more complex shape function. Deforming the effective state parameter similarly, we obtain well-behaved redshift functions and traversable wormhole solutions. Finally, we examine the energy conditions and stability of solutions in the interacting scenario and compare to the noninteracting case.

Abstract: We explore three different alternatives for obtaining intrinsic and extrinsic parameters in conventional diagnostic X-ray frameworks: the direct linear transform (DLT), the Zhang method, and the Tsai approach. We analyze and describe the computational, operational, and mathematical background differences for these algorithms when they are applied to ordinary radiograph acquisition. For our study, we developed an initial 3D calibration frame with tin cross-shaped fiducials at specific locations. The three studied methods enable the derivation of projection matrices from 3D to 2D point correlations. We propose a set of metrics to compare the efficiency of each technique. One of these metrics consists of the calculation of the detector pixel density, which can be also included as part of the quality control sequence in general X-ray settings. The results show a clear superiority of the DLT approach, both in accuracy and operational suitability. We paid special attention to the Zhang calibration method. Although this technique has been extensively implemented in the field of computer vision, it has rarely been tested in depth in common radiograph production scenarios. Zhang's approach can operate on much simpler and more affordable 2D calibration frames, which were also tested in our research. We experimentally confirm that even three or four plane-image correspondences achieve accurate focal lengths.

Abstract: Production of prompt D-0 mesons is studied in proton-lead and lead-proton collisions recorded at the LHCb detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.58 +/- 0.02 nb(-1) recorded at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of root(NN)-N-s = 5 TeV. Measurements of the differential cross-section, the forward-backward production ratio and the nuclear modification factor are reported using D-0 candidates with transverse momenta less than 10 GeV/c and rapidities in the ranges 1.5 < y* < 4.0 and -5.0 < y* < -2.5 in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system.