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At least 397 records · Page 22

High frequency gravitational wave sensing with superconducting microwave cavities

A promising way to probe physics beyond the Standard Model is to search for gravitational wave (GW) signals at high frequencies where known astrophysical sources can not obscure the signal. Similar to the search for dark matter, microwave cavity resonators can be used to detect faint effects from GWs. We will report on the progress of our project to operate such a detector and highlight improvements we are planning in the future. This includes quantum enhancement techniques like vacuum squeezing which will allow future detectors to operate beyond the standard quantum limit.

Marconato, Giovanni [Hamburg U.]↗

Aspects of gravitational portals and freeze-in during reheating

We conduct a systematic investigation of freeze-in during reheating while taking care to include both direct and indirect production of dark matter (DM) via gravitational portals and inflaton decay. Direct production of DM can occur via gravitational scattering of the inflaton, while indirect production occurs through scattering in the Standard Model radiation bath. We consider two main contributions to the radiation bath during reheating. The first, which may dominate at the onset of the reheating process, is produced via gravitational scattering of the inflaton. The second (and more standard contribution) comes from inflaton decay. We consider a broad class of DM production rates parametrized as R χ ∝ T n + 6 / Λ n + 2 , and inflaton potentials with a power-law form V ( ϕ ) ∝ ϕ k about the minimum. We find the relic density produced by freeze-in for each contribution to the Standard Model bath for arbitrary k and n , and compare these with the DM density produced gravitationally by inflaton scattering. We find that freeze-in production from the gravitationally produced radiation bath can exceed that of the conventional decay bath and account for the observed relic density provided that m χ > T RH , with additional k - and n -dependent constraints. For each freeze-in interaction considered, we also find m χ - and T RH -dependent limits on the beyond the Standard Model scale, Λ , for which gravitational production will exceed ordinary freeze-in production. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Henrich, Stephen E. (ORCID:0000000323669519)↗

Non-standard interactions in radiative neutrino mass models

Models of radiative Majorana neutrino masses require new scalars and/or fermions to induce lepton-number-violating interactions. We show that these new particles also generate observable neutrino non-standard interactions (NSI) with matter. We classify radiative models as type-I or II, with type-I models containing at least one Standard Model (SM) particle inside the loop diagram generating neutrino mass, and type-II models having no SM particle inside the loop. While type-II radiative models do not generate NSI at tree-level, popular models which fall under the type-I category are shown, somewhat surprisingly, to generate observable NSI at tree-level, while being consistent with direct and indirect constraints from colliders, electroweak precision data and charged-lepton flavor violation (cLFV). We survey such models where neutrino masses arise at one, two and three loops. In the prototypical Zee model which generates neutrino masses via one-loop diagrams involving charged scalars, we find that diagonal NSI can be as large as (8%, 3.8%, 9.3%) for (ε$_{ee}$, ε$_{μμ}$, ε$_{ττ}$), while off-diagonal NSI can be at most (10$^{–3}$%, 0.56%, 0.34%) for (ε$_{eμ}$, ε$_{eτ}$, ε$_{μτ}$). In one-loop neutrino mass models using leptoquarks (LQs), (ε$_{μμ}$, ε$_{ττ}$) can be as large as (21.6%, 51.7%), while ε$_{ee}$ and (ε$_{eμ}$, ε$_{eτ}$, ε$_{μτ}$) can at most be 0.6%. Other two- and three-loop LQ models are found to give NSI of similar strength. The most stringent constraints on the diagonal NSI are found to come from neutrino oscillation and scattering experiments, while the off-diagonal NSI are mostly constrained by low-energy processes, such as atomic parity violation and cLFV. We also comment on the future sensitivity of these radiative models in long-baseline neutrino experiments, such as DUNE. While our analysis is focused on radiative neutrino mass models, it essentially covers all NSI possibilities with heavy mediators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Essay: A Path for the Construction of a Muon Collider

Muons are elementary particles and provide cleaner collision events that can explore higher energies compared to composite particles like protons. Muons are also far heavier than their electron cousins, meaning that they emit less synchrotron radiation that effectively limits the energies of circular electron-positron colliders. These characteristics open up the possibility for a muon collider to surpass the direct energy reach of the Large Hadron Collider while achieving unprecedented precision measurements of standard model processes. In this Essay, after briefly summarizing the progress achieved so far, I identify important missing research and development steps and envision a compelling plan to bring a muon collider to reality in the next two decades. A muon collider could allow for the exploration of physics that is not available with current technologies. For example, it may provide a way to study the Higgs boson directly or probe new particles, including those related to dark matter or other phenomena beyond the standard model. . Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics.

The standard model of cosmology has provided a good phenomenological description of a wide range of observations both at astrophysical and cosmological scales for several decades. This concordance model is constructed by a universal cosmological constant and supported by a matter sector described by the standard model of particle physics and a cold dark matter contribution, as well as very early-time inflationary physics, and underpinned by gravitation through general relativity. There have always been open questions about the soundness of the foundations of the standard model. However, recent years have shown that there may also be questions from the observational sector with the emergence of differences between certain cosmological probes. In this White Paper, we identify the key objectives that need to be addressed over the coming decade together with the core science projects that aim to meet these challenges. These discordances primarily rest on the divergence in the measurement of core cosmological parameters with varying levels of statistical confidence. These possible statistical tensions may be partially accounted for by systematics in various measurements or cosmological probes but there is also a growing indication of potential new physics beyond the standard model. After reviewing the principal probes used in the measurement of cosmological parameters, as well as potential systematics, we discuss the most promising array of potential new physics that may be observable in upcoming surveys. We also discuss the growing set of novel data analysis approaches that go beyond traditional methods to test physical models. These new methods will become increasingly important in the coming years as the volume of survey data continues to increase, and as the degeneracy between predictions of different physical models grows. There are several perspectives on the divergences between the values of cosmological parameters, such as the model-independent probes in the late Universe and model-dependent measurements in the early Universe, which we cover at length. The White Paper closes with a number of recommendations for the community to focus on for the upcoming decade of observational cosmology, statistical data analysis, and fundamental physics developments.

Dienes, Keith [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (Unite↗

Evaluating the Effects of Detector Modeling Uncertainties on Sterile Neutrino Oscillation Analysis with the ICARUS Detector

he ICARUS T600 LArTPC detector was refurbished after an initial run at the underground LNGS labs and is currently taking data within its experimental hall at Fermilab after full commissioning. Regular data taking began in May 2021 with neutrinos from the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) and the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) off-axis beam. As the far detector of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program, the ICARUS detector's capability in searching for both muon neutrino disappearance and electron neutrino appearance will allow for unprecedented sensitivity to light sterile neutrinos with eV-scale mass. The ultimate sensitivity of the detector to sterile neutrino oscillations depends on the understanding of the detector response and the uncertainties remaining after calibrating the detector model. This poster will review how detector-model-related uncertainties are quantified, evaluated and their impact on expected sterile neutrino oscillation sensitivities using the existing ICARUS data. The work pursued here is broadly applicable to other ICARUS analysis pathways such as neutrino-argon cross-sections and Beyond the Standard Model physics searches. It will finally discuss improvement pathways to reduce the systematic uncertainties to the level needed for the joint sterile neutrino oscillation analysis with the Short Baseline Near Detector (SBND) within the SBN Program.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

First Measurement of Differential Charged Current Quasielastic-like $\nu_\mu$–Argon Scattering Cross Sections In Kinematic Imbalance Variables With The MicroBooNE Detector

We report the first measurement of flux-integrated multi-differential cross sections for charged-current events with muon neutrinos scattering on argon with solely a muon and a single proton in the final state as a function of kinematic imbalance variables. The measurement was carried out using the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory within the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detector with an exposure of 6.79 × 10 20 protons on target. Events were selected to enhance the contribution of charged-current mesonless interactions with one proton detected in the final state. The data discussed here are reported in terms of multidifferential cross sections in kinematic imbalance variables, which are generally sensitive to nuclear effects. The double-differential results in these variables can provide an excellent handle to disentagle specific nuclear aspects not easily isolated via single differential cross sections. Our results pave a path towards identifying regions of the phase-space where future interaction modeling development and Monte Carlo neutrino generator tuning efforts should concentrate. EVENT SELECTION Neutrino oscillation measurements aim to extract neutrino mixing angles, mass differences, the value of the chargeparity violating phase in the lepton sector, and to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model [1, 2]. For that to be achieved, an unprecedented understanding of neutrino-argon interactions is of utmost importance since a growing number of neutrino oscillation experiments employ Liquid Argon Time Projector Chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detectors [3–6]. The accuracy to which these experiments can extract neutrino oscillation parameters requires a good understanding of the neutrino energy. Experimentally, this energy is deduced from the measured kinetic energies of particles that are emitted following the neutrino interaction in the detector. The kinematic properties of such finalstate particles reflect complex dynamics due to nuclear and initial-state effects of the interaction [7]. However, certain categories of nuclear effects can be isolated by variables built specifically to characterize the degeneracy between such effects [8–10]. This note reports cross sections in kinematic variables sensitive to nuclear effects using events with one detected muon with momentum 0.1 < pµ < 1.2 GeV/c, and exactly one proton with 0.3 < pp < 1 GeV/c. This signal definition includes events with any number of protons below 300 MeV/c, neutrons at any momenta, and charged pions with momentum lower than 70 MeV/c. This choice is guided by the fact that their experimental signature of correlated muon-proton pairs is fairly straightforward to reconstruct [11–22]. Such events primarily originate from chargedcurrent (CC) neutrino-nucleon quasielastic (QE) scattering interactions where the neutrino removes a single intact nucleon from the nucleus without producing any additional particles. This definition can also include contributions from interactions that lead to the production of additional particles that are absent from the final state due to nuclear effects, such as pion absorption, or have momenta that are below the experimental detection threshold.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Physics model enhancements in MARLEY version 2

Large next-generation neutrino detectors, such as those designed for accelerator-based oscillation experiments, are expected to have impressive sensitivity to MeV astrophysical neutrinos generated by the Sun and by supernovae. There are also numerous related prospects to search for MeV-scale phenomena beyond the Standard Model. In contrast to detectors constructed with water and hydrocarbon targets, which will be primarily sensitive to electron antineutrinos via inverse beta decay, the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will provide unparalleled capabilities to measure low-energy electron neutrinos from cosmic sources. Interpreting such future measurements in DUNE will require a high-quality simulation of MeV interaction physics in the argon nucleus. The MARLEY (Model of Argon Reaction Low Energy Yields) neutrino event generator has been designed with the goal of delivering the needed simulation capabilities for DUNE and other argon-based neutrino detectors. In this poster, I will present recent improvements to MARLEY's suite of interaction models, which will be released for general use by the neutrino community in version 2 of the software.

Gardiner, Steven James [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000028↗

Physics model enhancements in MARLEY version 2

Large next-generation neutrino detectors, such as those designed for accelerator-based oscillation experiments, are expected to have impressive sensitivity to MeV astrophysical neutrinos generated by the Sun and by supernovae. There are also numerous related prospects to search for MeV-scale phenomena beyond the Standard Model. In contrast to detectors constructed with water and hydrocarbon targets, which will be primarily sensitive to electron antineutrinos via inverse beta decay, the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will provide unparalleled capabilities to measure low-energy electron neutrinos from cosmic sources. Interpreting such future measurements in DUNE will require a high-quality simulation of MeV interaction physics in the argon nucleus. The MARLEY (Model of Argon Reaction Low Energy Yields) neutrino event generator has been designed with the goal of delivering the needed simulation capabilities for DUNE and other argon-based neutrino detectors. In this talk, I will present recent improvements to MARLEY's physics models, which will be released for general use by the neutrino community in version 2 of the software.

Gardiner, Steven James [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000028↗

Search for CPT and Lorentz invariance violation in the muon $g -2$ experiment at Fermilab

The Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab (E989) aims to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, $a_{\mu}= (g-2)/2$, to a groundbreaking precision of $140$ ppb, obtaining a near four-fold increase in precision over the previous experiment, E821, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The value of $a_{\mu}$ from BNL currently differs from the Standard Model prediction by $\sim 3.7$ standard deviations, suggesting the potential for new physics and therefore, motivating a new experiment.Because the theory predicts this number with high precision, testing the g-factor through experiment provides a stringent test of the SM and can suggest physics beyond the Standard Model. The goal of the Fermilab Muon $g-2$ experiment is to increase the statistical precision by more than a factor of 20 and reduce systematic errors by a factor of 3. By measuring muon precession rate ($\omega_a$) in an external magnetic field, the anomalous magnetic moment will be calculated. This is an incredibly challenging experiment with a unique opportunity to provide new insight into nature. \\ The $g-2$ data also provides a great opportunity for setting the most stringent limits on some of the Standard Model Extension CPT Lorentz violating (LV) parameters in the muon sector. One of the CPT and Lorentz violating signatures that we can look for using $g-2$ data is a sidereal variation of $\omega_a(t)$. Extensive simulation studies confirm that the sensitivity regarding the sidereal varation roughly scales with $\omega_a$ uncertainty. Hence, the $g-2$ experiment at FNAL should be able to reach limits of $\sim 5\times10^{-25}$ GeV. Because the CPT and LV analyses are essentially studies of variations in $\omega_a$ as a function of time and charge, performing an $\omega_a$ analysis sets the stage for the CPT and LV measurement. This dissertation focuses on the methodology of a fully functioning framework and analyzing the Fermilab Muon $g - 2$ Run 2 data containing $\sim 11$ billion events above an energy threshold of $1.7$~GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Publishing statistical models: Getting the most out of particle physics experiments

The statistical models used to derive the results of experimental analyses are of incredible scientific value and are essential information for analysis preservation and reuse. In this paper, we make the scientific case for systematically publishing the full statistical models and discuss the technical developments that make this practical. By means of a variety of physics cases - including parton distribution functions, Higgs boson measurements, effective field theory interpretations, direct searches for new physics, heavy flavor physics, direct dark matter detection, world averages, and beyond the Standard Model global fits - we illustrate how detailed information on the statistical modelling can enhance the short- and long-term impact of experimental results.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

New Theories for Neutrino Masses and Dark Matter

The main goal of the project is to investigate new theories for neutrino masses and dark matter, and understand their testability in different experiments. The PI proposed several mechanisms for neutrino masses in the context of B-L theories, left-right symmetric theories, supersymmetric theories and grand unified theories. The PI would like to investigate new ways to understand the origin of neutrino masses where the seesaw scale is in the multi-TeV region. One can have a multi-TeV seesaw scale in scenarios where the same symmetry relevant for neutrino masses defines the dark matter relic density, or in the minimal supersymmetric theory based on local B-L. In these theories one can have new ways to understand the testability of the origin of neutrino masses at colliders and low energy experiments. In these theories one predicts the possibility to observe lepton number violating signatures at the LHC, one can predict large contributions to lepton number violating processes such as mu to e conversion, neutrinoless double beta decay experiments and others. The nature of the dark matter in the Universe is one of the most important problems in cosmology. Two of the most popular candidates are the Axions and the Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The PI would like to investigate the implications of a new electroweak theta term similar to the QCD vacuum angle but in the SU(2) gauge sector of the SM which is physical if the baryon and lepton numbers are broken symmetries. We will investigate the implications of having a new electroweak theta term dark matter portal, the implications for baryogenesis and understand the constraints coming from different experiments such as the searches for electric dipole moments and axion experiments. The implications of having the electroweak theta term in theories with different sources of baryon and lepton number violation will be investigated. WIMPs are perhaps the most appealing candidates for many reasons. The PI would like to investigate the properties of WIMPs in different gauge theories, study the implications of the cosmological bounds on the WIMPs relic density for the symmetry breaking scale in models for new physics. The PI would like to investigate in great detail the predictions for gamma lines, neutrino lines and other striking signatures which can be present in these theories. These studies can have a profound impact in the testability of different theories for physics beyond the Standard Model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Searches for decays of new particles in the DUNE Multi-Purpose near Detector

One proposed component of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) near detector complex is a multi-purpose, magnetized, gaseous argon time projection chamber: the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD). We explore the new-physics potential of the MPD, focusing on scenarios in which the MPD is significantly more sensitive to new physics than a liquid argon detector, specifically searches for semi-long-lived particles that are produced in/near the beam target and decay in the MPD. The specific physics possibilities studied are searches for dark vector bosons mixing kinetically with the Standard Model hypercharge group, leptophilic vector bosons, dark scalars mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson, and heavy neutral leptons that mix with the Standard Model neutrinos. We demonstrate that the MPD can extend existing bounds in most of these scenarios. We illustrate how the ability of the MPD to measure the momentum and charge of the final state particles leads to these bounds.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Probing energetic light dark matter with multi-particle tracks signatures at DUNE

The search for relativistic scattering signals of cosmogenic light dark matter at terrestrial detectors has received increasing attention as an alternative approach to probe dark-sector physics. Large-volume neutrino experiments are well motivated for searches of dark matter that interacts very weakly with Standard Model particles and/or that exhibits a small incoming flux. We perform a dedicated signal sensitivity study for a detector similar to the one proposed by the DUNE Collaboration for cosmogenic dark-matter signals resulting from a non-minimal multi-particle dark-sector scenario. The liquid argon time projection chamber technology adopted for the DUNE detectors is particularly suited for searching for complicated signatures owing to good measurement resolution and particle identification, as well as dE/dx measurements to recognize merged tracks. Taking inelastic boosted dark matter as our benchmark scenario that allows for multiple visible particles in the final state, we demonstrate that the DUNE far detectors have a great potential for probing scattering signals induced by relativistic light dark matter. Detector effects and backgrounds have been estimated and taken into account. Model-dependent and model-independent expected sensitivity limits for a DUNE-like detector are presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Halo formation from Yukawa forces in the very early Universe

If long-range attractive forces exist and are stronger than gravity then cosmic halo formation can begin in the radiation-dominated era. We study a simple realization of this effect in a system where dark matter fermions have Yukawa interactions mediated by scalar particles, analogous to the Higgs boson in the standard model. We develop a self-consistent description of the system including exact background dynamics of the scalar field, and precise modeling of the fermion density fluctuations. For the latter, we provide accurate approximations for the linear growth as well as quantitative modeling of the nonlinear evolution using N-body simulations. We find that halo formation occurs exponentially fast and on scales substantially larger than simple estimates predict. Here, the final fate of these halos remains uncertain, but could be annihilation, dark stars, primordial black holes, or even the existence of galaxy-sized halos at matter-radiation equality. More generally, our results demonstrate the importance of mapping scalar-mediated interactions onto structure formation outcomes and constraints for beyond the standard model theories.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Three exceptions to the Grossman-Nir bound

A bstract We show that the Grossman-Nir (GN) bound, Br( K L → $$ {\pi}^0\nu \overline{\nu} $$ π 0 ν ν ¯ ) ≤ 4 . 3 Br( K + → $$ {\pi}^{+}\nu \overline{\nu} $$ π + ν ν ¯ ), can be violated in the presence of light new physics with flavor violating couplings. We construct three sample models in which the GN bound can be violated by orders of magnitude, while satisfying all other experimental bounds. In the three models the enhanced branching ratio Br( K L → π 0 + inv) is due to K L → π 0 Φ 1, K L → π 0 Φ 1 Φ 1 , K L → $$ {\pi}^0{\psi}_1{\overline{\psi}}_1 $$ π 0 ψ 1 ψ ¯ 1 transitions, respectively, where Φ 1 ( ψ 1 ) is a light scalar (fermion) that escapes the detector. In the three models Br( K + → π + + inv) remains very close to the SM value, while Br( K L → π 0 + inv) can saturate the present KOTO bound. Besides invisible particles in the final state (which may account for dark matter) the models require additional light mediators around the GeV-scale.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Light and Dark in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber Neutrino Detectors

Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detectors have emerged as a detector technology poised to perform measurements of neutrino interactions with unprecedented precision and as a result answer some of the largest open questions in neutrino physics in the coming decade. This thesis describes methods developed to tackle the computational challenges faced as LArTPC detectors increase in scale and complexity moving towards the multi-kiloton DUNE detectors. These include a new, approximated, model that enables rapid simulation of scintillation light in very large scale detectors, as well as the first demonstration of running the LArSoft software framework on a high performance computer. The high precision of LArTPC detectors designed for next-generation neutrino measurements enables them to also search for Beyond the Standard Model physics produced in high-energy proton--fixed-target collisions in neutrino beams. This thesis presents searches for two dark-sector models performed with the ArgoNeuT experiment: Heavy Neutral Leptons and Heavy QCD Axions. Between them, these models can provide solutions for various unresolved puzzles including neutrino mass generation, the baryon asymmetry of the universe, dark matter and the strong CP problem. In both cases, the dark-sector particles could be produced in the NuMI neutrino beam and can then decay to a pair of oppositely charged muons observable in ArgoNeuT and the downstream MINOS near detector. Both measurements required the development of novel experimental selection techniques and enabled new constraints to be set on the existence of these particles in previously unexplored parameter-space. These searches are both the first of their kind in LArTPC neutrino detectors and pave the way for searches at future neutrino facilities.Date of Award31 Dec 2022Original languageEnglishAwarding InstitutionThe University of ManchesterSupervisorStefan Soldner-Rembold (Supervisor) & Justin Evans (Supervisor)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A composite Higgs with a heavy composite axion

We consider the strong dynamics associated with a composite Higgs model that simultaneously produces dynamical axions and solves the strong CP problem. The strong dynamics arises from a new Sp or SU(4) hypercolor gauge group containing QCD colored hyperfermions that confines at a high scale. The hypercolor global symmetry is weakly gauged by the Standard Model electroweak gauge group and an enlarged color group, SU(N + 3) × SU(N)'. When hyperfermion condensates form, they not only lead to an SU(5)/SO(5) composite Higgs model but also spontaneously break the enlarged color group to SU(3) c × SU(N) D . At lower energies, the SU(N) D group confines, producing two dynamical axions that eliminates all CP violation. Furthermore, small instantons from the SU(N)' group can enhance the axion mass, giving rise to TeV scale axion masses that can be detected at collider experiments. Our model provides a way to unify the composite Higgs with dynamical axions, without introducing new elementary scalar fields, while also extending the range of axion masses that addresses the strong CP problem.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗