Abstract: We report measurements of the lifetimes of the Lambda(+)(c), Xi(+)(c) and Xi(0)(c) charm baryons using proton- proton collision data at center- of- mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1), collected by the LHCb experiment. The charm baryons are reconstructed through the decays Lambda(+)(c) -> pK(-)pi(+),. Xi(+)(c) -> pK(-) pi(+) and Xi(0)(c) -> pK(-) K- pi(+), and originate from semimuonic decays of beauty baryons. The lifetimes are measured relative to that of the D+ meson, and are determined to be tau Lambda(+)(c) = 203.5 +/- 1.0 +/- 1.3 +/- 1.4 fs; tau Xi(+)(c) = 456.8 +/- 3.5 +/- 2.9 +/- 3.1 fs; tau Xi(0)(c) = 154.5 +/- 1.7 +/- 1.6 +/- 1.0 fs; where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the uncertainty in the D+ lifetime. The measurements are approximately 3- 4 times more precise than the current world average values. The. +c and Xi(+)(c) lifetimes are in agreement with previous measurements; however, the Xi(0)(c) baryon lifetime is approximately 3.3 standard deviations larger than the world average value.

Abstract: The beta-intensity distributions of the decays of Nb-100gs,Nb-100m and Nb-102gs,Nb-102m have been determined using the total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy technique. The JYFLTRAP double Penning trap system was employed in a campaign of challenging measurements performed with the decay total absorption gamma-ray spectrometer at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility in Jyvaskyla. Different strategies were applied to disentangle the isomeric states involved, lying very close in energy. The low-spin component of each niobium case was populated through the decay of the zirconium parent, which was treated as a contaminant. We have applied a method to extract this contamination, and additionally we have obtained beta-intensity distributions for these zirconium decays. The beta-strength distributions evaluated with these results were compared with calculations in a quasiparticle random-phase approximation, suggesting a prolate configuration for the ground states of Zr-100,Zr-102. The footprint of the Pandemonium effect was found when comparing our results for the analyses of the niobium isotopes with previous decay data. The beta-intensities of the decay of Nb-102m, for which there were no previous data, were obtained. A careful evaluation of the uncertainties was carried out, and the consistency of our results was validated taking advantage of the segmentation of our spectrometer. The final results were used as input in reactor summation calculations. A large impact on antineutrino spectrum calculations was already reported, and here we detail the significant impact on decay heat calculations.

Abstract: General relativity yields an analytical prediction of a minimum required mass of roughly similar to 0.08-0.09 M-circle dot for a star to stably burn sufficient hydrogen to fully compensate photospheric losses and, therefore, to belong to the main sequence. Those objects below this threshold ( brown dwarfs) eventually cool down without any chance to stabilize their internal temperature. In this work we consider quadratic Palatini f(R) gravity and show that the corresponding Newtonian hydrostatic equilibrium equation contains a new term whose effect is to introduce a weakening/strengthening of the gravitational interaction inside astrophysical bodies. This fact modifies the general relativity prediction for this minimum main sequence mass. Through a crude analytical modeling we use this result in order to constraint a combination of the quadratic f(R) gravity parameter and the central density according to astrophysical observations.

Abstract: The discoveries of a number of binary black hole mergers by LIGO and VIRGO have reinvigorated the interest that primordial black holes (PBHs) of tens of solar masses could contribute non-negligibly to the dark matter energy density. Should even a small population of PBHs with masses greater than or similar to O(M-circle dot) exist, they could profoundly impact the properties of the intergalactic medium and provide insight into novel processes at work in the early Universe. We demonstrate here that observations of the 21-cm transition in neutral hydrogen during the epochs of reionization and cosmic dawn will likely provide one of the most stringent tests of solar mass PBHs. In the context of 21-cm cosmology, PBHs give rise to three distinct observable effects: (i) the modification to the primordial power spectrum (and thus also the halo mass function) induced by Poisson noise, (ii) a uniform heating and ionization of the intergalactic medium via x-rays produced during accretion, and (iii) a local modification to the temperature and density of the ambient medium surrounding isolated PBHs. Using a four-parameter astrophysical model, we show that experiments like SKA and HERA could potentially improve upon existing constraints derived using observations of the cosmic microwave background by more than 1 order of magnitude.

Abstract: The production fractions of (B) over bar (0)(s) and Lambda(0)(b) hadrons, normalized to the sum of B- and (B) over bar (0) fractions, arc measured in 13 TeV pp collisions using data collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.67 fb(-1). These ratios, averaged over the b hadron transverse momenta from 4 to 25 GeV and pseudorapidity from 2 to 5, are 0.122 +/- 0.006 for (B) over bar (0)(s) and 0.259 +/- 0.018 for Lambda(0)(b) where the uncertainties arise from both statistical and systematic sources. The Lambda(0)(b) ratio depends strongly on transverse momentum, while the (B) over bar (0)(s) ratio shows a mild dependence. Neither ratio shows variations with pseudorapidity. The measurements are made using semileptonic decays to minimize theoretical uncertainties. In addition, the ratio of D+ to D-0 mesons produced in the sum of (B) over bar (0) and B- semileptonic decays is determined as 0.359 +/- 0.006 +/- 0.009, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic.