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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

An effective cosmological collider

Effective field theories (EFTs) of heavy particles coupled to the inflaton are rife with operator redundancies, frequently obscured by sensitivity to both boundary terms and field redefinitions. We initiate a systematic study of these redundancies by establishing a minimal operator basis for an archetypal example, the abelian gauge-Higgs-inflaton EFT. Working up to dimension 9, we show that certain low-dimensional operators are entirely redundant and identify new non-redundant operators with potentially interesting cosmological collider signals. Our methods generalize straightforwardly to other EFTs of heavy particles coupled to the inflaton.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The cosmology of ultralight scalar dark matter coupled to right-handed neutrinos

We consider ultralight scalar dark matter that couples to right-handed neutrinos. Due to the high density of neutrinos in the early universe, the background neutrino density dominates the dynamics of the scalar field, and qualitatively alters the field’s cosmological evolution. This effect has not been included in previous literature, and changes the interpretation of cosmological data and its interplay with laboratory experiments. To illustrate these points a simplified model of a 1 + 1 setup with a single scalar field is analyzed.

Cosmology of Theories BSM↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dark kinetic heating of exoplanets and brown dwarfs

Dark kinetic heating of neutron stars has been previously studied as a promising dark matter detection avenue. Kinetic heating occurs when dark matter is sped up to relativistic speeds in the gravitational well of high-escape velocity objects, and deposits kinetic energy after becoming captured by the object, thereby increasing its temperature. We show that dark kinetic heating can be significant even in objects with low-escape velocities, such as exoplanets and brown dwarfs, increasing the discovery potential of such searches. This can occur if there is a long-range dark force, creating a “dark escape velocity”, leading to heating rates substantially larger than those expected from neutron stars. We consequently set constraints on dark sector parameters using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and JWST data on Super-Jupiter WISE 0855-0714, and map out future sensitivity to the dark matter scattering cross section below 10 −40 cm 2 . We compare dark kinetic heating rates of other lower escape velocity objects such as the Earth, Sun, and white dwarfs, finding complementary kinetic heating signals are possible depending on particle physics parameters.

Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cosmic millicharge background and reheating probes

We demonstrate that the searches for dark sector particles can provide probes of reheating scenarios, focusing on the cosmic millicharge background produced in the early universe. We discuss two types of millicharge particles (mCPs): either with, or without, an accompanying dark photon. These two types of mCPs have distinct theoretical motivations and cosmological signatures. We discuss constraints from the overproduction and mCP-baryon interactions of the mCP without an accompanying dark photon, with different reheating temperatures. We also consider the ∆n eff constraints on the mCPs from kinetic mixing, varying the reheating temperature. The regions of interest in which the accelerator and other experiments can probe the reheating scenarios are identified in this paper for both scenarios. These probes can potentially allow us to set an upper bound on the reheating temperature down to ~ 10 MeV, much lower than the previously considered upper bound from inflationary cosmology at around ~ 10 16 GeV. In addition, we derive a new “distinguishability condition”, in which the two mCP scenarios may be differentiated by combining cosmological and theoretical considerations. Finally, we discuss the implications of dedicated mCP searches, future CMB-S4 observations, and the target for experiments when considering the minimally allowed reheating temperature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Correlated signals of first-order phase transitions and primordial black hole evaporation

Fermi balls produced in a cosmological first-order phase transition may collapse to primordial black holes (PBHs) if the fermion dark matter particles that comprise them interact via a sufficiently strong Yukawa force. We show that phase transitions described by a quartic thermal effective potential with vacuum energy, 0.1 ≲ B 1/4 /MeV ≲ 10 3 , generate PBHs of mass, 10 –20 ≲ M PBH /M ⊙ ≲ 10 –16 , and gravitational waves from the phase transition (at THEIA/μAres) can be correlated with an isotropic extragalactic X-ray/γ-ray background from PBH evaporation (at AMEGO-X/e-ASTROGAM).

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Generating non-topological solitons via thermal corrections: Higgs balls

Scalar fields which carry charge can generally form non-topological solitons (Q-balls), if the energy in the extended configuration is less than the energy of an equivalent number of free quanta. For global Q-balls, such solitons exist whenever the potential grows slower than quadratically. We show that even in the absence of attractive interactions, finite temperature corrections can generate Q-ball solutions, as the coefficient of cubic corrections is generally negative. As an illustration of this, we consider the possibility of constructing Q-balls using the Higgs field. We first show that the finite temperature corrections would enable the existence of Higgs balls if the Standard Model symmetry was ungauged. We then consider gauged Q-balls, following [1], and demonstrate that Higgs self-interactions mediated by the Standard Model gauge bosons are sufficient to prevent the existence of these states in the actual Standard Model. However, these states can exist in a variety of extensions, as we show explicitly through an example.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improved cosmological constraints on the neutrino mass and lifetime

We present cosmological constraints on the sum of neutrino masses as a function of the neutrino lifetime, in a framework in which neutrinos decay into dark radiation after becoming non-relativistic. We find that in this regime the cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) and (uncalibrated) luminosity distance to supernovae from the Pantheon catalog constrain the sum of neutrino masses Σm$_{ν}$ to obey Σm$_{ν}$< 0.42 eV at (95% C.L.). While the bound has improved significantly as compared to the limits on the same scenario from Planck 2015, it still represents a significant relaxation of the constraints as compared to the stable neutrino case. We show that most of the improvement can be traced to the more precise measurements of low-ℓ polarization data in Planck 2018, which leads to tighter constraints on τ$_{reio}$ (and thereby on A$_{s}$), breaking the degeneracy arising from the effect of (large) neutrino masses on the amplitude of the CMB power spectrum.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electroweak $\mathrm{ALP}$ searches at a muon collider

A high-energy muon collider with center-of-mass energy around and above 10 TeV is also a vector boson fusion (VBF) machine, due to the significant virtual electroweak (EW) gauge boson content of high-energy muon beams. This feature, together with the clean environment, makes it an ideal collider to search for TeV-scale axion-like particles (ALP) coupling to Standard Model EW gauge bosons, which current and other future colliders have limited sensitivities to. We present detailed analyses of heavy ALP searches in both the VBF and associated production channels at a muon collider with different running benchmarks. We also show projected constraints on the ALP couplings in the effective field theory, including an operator with its coefficient not determined by the mixed Peccei-Quinn anomaly. We demonstrate that a muon collider could probe new ALP parameter space and push the sensitivities of the couplings between the ALP and EW gauge bosons by one order of magnitude compared to HL-LHC. The projected limits and search strategies for ALPs could also be applied to other types of resonances coupling to EW gauge bosons.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Sensitivity to dark sector scales from gravitational wave signatures

We consider gravitational sound wave signals produced by a first-order phase transition in a theory with a generic renormalizable thermal effective potential of power law form. We find the frequency and amplitude of the gravitational wave signal can be related in a straightforward manner to the parameters of the thermal effective potential. This leads to a general conclusion; if the mass of the dark Higgs is less than 1% of the dark Higgs vacuum expectation value, then the gravitational wave signal will be unobservable at all upcoming and planned gravitational wave observatories. Although the understanding of gravitational wave production at cosmological phase transitions is still evolving, we expect this result to be robust.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Light Scalars at FASER

FASER, the ForwArd Search ExpeRiment, is a currently operating experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that can detect light long-lived particles produced in the forward region of the LHC interacting point. In this paper, we study the prospect of detecting light CP-even and CP-odd scalars at FASER and FASER 2. Considering a model-independent framework describing the most general interactions between a CP-even or CP-odd scalar and SM particles using the notation of coupling modifiers in the effective Lagrangian, we develop the general formalism for the scalar production and decay. We then analyze the FASER and FASER 2 reaches of light scalars in the large tan β region of the Type-I two Higgs double model as a case study, in which light scalars with relatively long lifetime could be accommodated. In the two benchmark scenarios we considered, the light (pseudo)scalar decay length varies in (10 –8 , 10 5 ) meters. Both FASER and FASER 2 can probe a large part of the parameter space in the large tan β region up to 10 7 , extending beyond the constraints of the other existing experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scalar Co-SIMP dark matter: models and sensitivities

In this work, we present UV completions of the recently proposed number-changing Co-SIMP freeze-out mechanism. In contrast to the standard cannibalistic-type dark matter picture that occurs entirely in the dark sector, the 3 → 2 process setting the relic abundance in this case requires one Standard Model particle in the initial and final states. This prevents the dark sector from overheating and leads to rich experimental signatures. We generate the Co-SIMP interaction with a dark sector consisting of two scalars, with the mediator coupling to either nucleons or electrons. In either case, the dark matter candidate is naturally light : nucleophilic interactions favor the sub-GeV mass range and leptophilic interactions favor the sub-MeV mass range. Viable thermal models in these lighter mass regimes are particularly intriguing to study at this time, as new developments in low-threshold detector technologies will begin probing this region of parameter space. While particles in the sub-MeV regime can potentially impact light element formation and CMB decoupling, we show that a late-time phase transition opens up large fractions of parameter space. These thermal light dark matter models can instead be tested with dedicated experiments. We discuss the viable parameter space in each scenario in light of the current sensitivity of various experimental probes and projected future reach.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Keeping it simple: simplified frameworks for long-lived particles at neutrino facilities

Modern-day accelerator neutrino facilities are excellent venues for searches for new-physics particles. Many distinct new-physics models predict overlapping signatures and phenomenology in these experiments. In this work, we advocate for the adoption of simplified frameworks when studying these types of new-physics signatures, which are characterized by a small number of primary variables, including particle masses, lifetimes, and production and decay modes/rates that most directly control signal event rates and kinematics. In particular, taking the example of long-lived particles that decay inside a neutrino detector as a test case, we study formulate and study simplified frameworks in the context of light scalars/fermions produced in kaon decays which then decay into final states containing an electron-positron pair. We show that using these simplified frameworks can allow for individual experimental analyses to be applicable to a wide variety of specific model scenarios. As a side benefit, we demonstrate that using this approach can allow for the T2K collaboration, by reinterpreting its search for Heavy Neutral Leptons, to be capable of setting world-leading limits on the Higgs-Portal Scalar model. Furthermore, we argue the simplified framework interpretation can serve as a bridge to model identification in the hopeful detection of a new-physics signal. As an illustration, we perform a first determination of the likelihood that, in the presence of a new-physics signal in a detector like the DUNE ND-GAr, multiple different new-physics hypotheses (such as the Higgs-Portal Scalar and Heavy Neutral Lepton ones) can be disentangled. We demonstrate that this model discrimination is favorable for some portions of detectable new-physics parameter space but for others, it is more challenging.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A guide to diagnosing colored resonances at hadron colliders

We present a comprehensive study on how to distinguish the properties of heavy dijet resonances at hadron colliders. A variety of spins, chiral couplings, charges, and QCD color representations are considered. Distinguishing the different color representations is particularly difficult at hadron colliders. To determine the QCD color structure, we consider a third jet radiated in a resonant dijet event. We show that the relative rates of three-jet versus two-jet processes are sensitive to the color representation of the resonance. We also show analytically that the antennae radiation pattern of soft radiation depends on the color structure of dijet events and develops an observable that is sensitive to the antennae patterns. Finally, we exploit a Convolutional Neural Network with Machine Learning techniques to differentiate the radiation patterns from different colored resonances and find encouraging results to discriminate them. We demonstrate our results numerically at a 14 TeV LHC, and the methodology presented here should be applicable to other future hadron colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

What can solve the strong CP problem?

Three possible strategies have been advocated to solve the strong CP problem. The first is the axion, a dynamical mechanism that relaxes any initial value of the CP violating angle $\overline{θ}$ to zero. The second is the imposition of new symmetries that are believed to set $\overline{θ}$ to zero in the UV. The third is the acceptance of the fine tuning of parameters. We argue that the latter two solutions do not solve the strong CP problem. The θ term of QCD is not a parameter — it does not exist in the Hamiltonian. Rather, it is a property of the quantum state that our universe finds itself in, arising from the fact that there are CP violating states of a CP preserving Hamiltonian. It is not eliminated by imposing parity as a symmetry since the underlying theory is already parity symmetric and that does not preclude the existence of CP violating states. Moreover, since the value of θ realized in our universe is a consequence of measurement, it is inherently random and cannot be fine tuned by choice of parameters. Rather any fine tuning would require a tuning between parameters in the theory and the random outcome of measurement. Our results considerably strengthen the case for the existence of the axion and axion dark matter. The confusion around θ arises from the fact that unlike classical mechanics, the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian are not equivalent in quantum mechanics. The Hamiltonian defines the differential time evolution, whereas the Lagrangian is a solution to this evolution. Consequently, initial conditions could in principle appear in the Lagrangian but not in the Hamiltonian. This results in aspects of the initial condition such as θ misleadingly appearing in the Lagrangian as parameters. We comment on the similarity between the θ vacua and the violations of the constraint equations of classical gauge theories in quantum mechanics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Acoustic misalignment mechanism for axion dark matter

A rotation in the field space of a complex scalar field corresponds to a Bose-Einstein condensation of U(1) charges. We point out that fluctuations in this rotating condensate exhibit sound-wave modes, which can be excited by cosmic perturbations and identified with axion fluctuations once the U(1) charge condensate has been sufficiently diluted by cosmic expansion. We consider the possibility that these axion fluctuations constitute dark matter and develop a formalism to compute its abundance. We carefully account for the growth of fluctuations during the epoch where the complex scalar field rotates on the body of the potential and possible nonlinear evolution when the fluctuations become non-relativistic. We find that the resultant dark matter abundance can exceed the conventional and kinetic misalignment contributions if the radial direction of the complex scalar field is sufficiently heavy. The axion dark matter may also be warm enough to leave imprints on structure formation. We discuss the implications of this novel dark matter production mechanism — acoustic misalignment mechanism — for the axion rotation cosmology, including kination domination and baryogenesis from axion rotation, as well as for axion searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Linking the singularities of cosmological correlators

Much of the structure of cosmological correlators is controlled by their singularities, which in turn are fixed in terms of flat-space scattering amplitudes. An important challenge is to interpolate between the singular limits to determine the full correlators at arbitrary kinematics. This is particularly relevant because the singularities of correlators are not directly observable, but can only be accessed by analytic continuation. In this paper, we study rational correlators — including those of gauge fields, gravitons, and the inflaton — whose only singularities at tree level are poles and whose behavior away from these poles is strongly constrained by unitarity and locality. We describe how unitarity translates into a set of cutting rules that consistent correlators must satisfy, and explain how this can be used to bootstrap correlators given information about their singularities. We also derive recursion relations that allow the iterative construction of more complicated correlators from simpler building blocks. In flat space, all energy singularities are simple poles, so that the combination of unitarity constraints and recursion relations provides an efficient way to bootstrap the full correlators. In many cases, these flat-space correlators can then be transformed into their more complex de Sitter counterparts. As an example of this procedure, we derive the correlator associated to graviton Compton scattering in de Sitter space, though the methods are much more widely applicable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

$\mathrm{FIMP}$ dark matter in heterotic $\mathrm{M}$-theory

Within the context of N = 1 supersymmetric heterotic M-theory, we present a “freeze-in” mechanism for producing dark matter via a “moduli portal” between the observable and hidden sectors. It is assumed that the observable sector consists of the MSSM or some physically acceptable extension of it, while the hidden sector is chosen to satisfy all physical and mathematical constraints. Dark matter production processes are examined for two fundamental types of hidden sectors; those whose gauge bundle structure group contains an anomalous U(1) and those whose structure group is non-Abelian and anomaly free. The couplings of the dilaton and the “universal” modulus to all fields of the observable and hidden sectors are presented and analyzed. These interactions are then combined to produce a moduli portal from a thermal bath of observable sector particles to the hidden sector. These processes are then analyzed for both anomalous and non-anomalous cases. It is shown that only the uncharged hidden sector matter scalars can play the role of dark matter and that these are predominantly produced during the “reheating” epoch on the observable sector. Within the context of both an anomalous and non-anomalous hidden sector, we calculated the dark matter “relic density”. We show that in both cases, for a wide choice of moduli vacua, one can correctly predict the observed relic density. For the anomalous U(1) case, we choose a specific physically acceptable vacuum within the context of the B - L MSSM and show that one precisely obtains the measured dark matter relic abundance.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Distinctive signals of frustrated dark matter

We study a renormalizable model of Dirac fermion dark matter (DM) that communicates with the Standard Model (SM) through a pair of mediators — one scalar, one fermion — in the representation (6, 1, $\frac{4}{3}$) of the SM gauge group SU(3) c x SU(2) L x U(1) Y . While such assignments preclude direct coupling of the dark matter to the Standard Model at tree level, we examine the many effective operators generated at one-loop order when the mediators are heavy, and find that they are often phenomenologically relevant. We reinterpret dijet and pair-produced resonance and jets + E$^{miss}_{T}$ searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in order to constrain the mediator sector, and we examine an array of DM constraints ranging from the observed relic density Ω χ h$^{2}_{Planck}$ to indirect and direct searches for dark matter. Tree-level annihilation, available for DM masses starting at the TeV scale, is required in order to produce Ω χ h$^{2}_{Planck}$ through freeze-out, but loops — led by the dimension-five DM magnetic dipole moment — are nonetheless able to produce signals large enough to be constrained, particularly by the XENON1T experiment. In some benchmarks, we find a fair amount of parameter space left open by experiment and compatible with freeze-out. In other scenarios, however, the open space is quite small, suggesting a need for further model-building and/or non-standard cosmologies.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗