Abstract: The Fermi Collaboration has recently updated their analysis of gamma rays from the center of the Galaxy. They reconfirm the presence of an unexplained emission feature which is most prominent in the region of 1-10 GeV, known as the Galactic Center GeV excess (GCE). Although the GCE is now fi rmly detected, an interpretation of this emission as a signal of self-annihilating dark matter (DM) particles is not unambiguously possible due to systematic effects in the gamma-ray modeling estimated in the Galactic Plane. In this paper we build a covariance matrix, collecting different systematic uncertainties investigated in the Fermi Collaboration's paper that affect the GCE spectrum. We show that models where part of the GCE is due to annihilating DM is still consistent with the new data. We also re-evaluate the parameter space regions of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) that can contribute dominantly to the GCE via neutralino DM annihilation. All recent constraints from DM direct detection experiments such as PICO, LUX, PandaX and Xenon1T, limits on the annihilation cross section from dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the Large Hadron Collider limits are considered in this analysis. Due to a slight shift in the energy spectrum of the GC excess with respect to the previous Fermi analysis, and the recent limits from direct detection experiments, we find a slightly shifted parameter region of the MSSM, compared to our previous analysis, that is consistent with the GCE. Neutralinos with a mass between 85-220 GeV can describe the excess via annihilation into a pair of W-bosons or top quarks. Remarkably, there are models with low fine-tuning among the regions that we have found. The complete set of solutions will be probed by upcoming direct detection experiments and with dedicated searches in the upcoming data of the Large Hadron Collider.

Abstract: The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.

Abstract: In light of the recent R-K(*) data on neutral current flavor anomalies in B -> K-(*())l(+)l(-) decays, we reexamine their quantitative interpretation in terms of an extended 331 gauge theory framework. We achieve this by adding two extra lepton species with novel 331 charges, while ensuring that the model remains anomaly-free. In contrast to the canonical 331 models, the gauge charges of the first and second lepton families differ from each other, allowing lepton-flavor universality violation. We further expand the model by adding the neutral fermions required to provide an adequate description for small neutrino masses.

Abstract: Recently, an increasing interest in UV/IR mixing phenomena has drawn attention to the range of validity of standard quantum field theory. Here we explore the consequences of such a limited range of validity in the context of radiative models for neutrino mass generation. We adopt an argument first published by Cohen, Kaplan and Nelson that gravity implies both UV and IR cutoffs, apply it to the loop integrals describing radiative corrections, and demonstrate that this effect has significant consequences for the parameter space of radiative neutrino mass models.

Abstract: We define a data exchange format for numerical values of Wilson coefficients of local operators parameterising low-energy effects of physics beyond the Standard Model. The format facilitates interfacing model-specific Wilson coefficient calculators, renormalisation group (RG) runners, and observable calculators. It is designed to be unambiguous (defining a non-redundant set of operators with fixed normalisation in each basis), extensible (allowing the addition of new EFTs or bases by the user), and robust (being based on industry standard file formats with parsers implemented in many programming languages). We have implemented the format for the Standard Model EFT (SMEFT) and for the weak effective theory (WET) below the electroweak scale and have added interfaces to a number of public codes dealing with SMEFT or WET. We also provide command-line utilities and a Python module for convenient manipulation of WCxf files, including translation between different bases and matching from SMEFT to WET. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.