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At least 523 records · Page 29

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in Z -tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =13$ TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a Z boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 < p T < 100 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 < η <4. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb –1 . Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Light new physics in B → K ( * ) ν ν ¯ ?

The study of the rare decays B → K ( * ) ν ν ¯ offers a window into the dynamics operating at the electroweak scale, allowing studies of the Standard Model and searches for heavy new physics. However, the analysis of these decays is also potentially sensitive to the on shell production of new light bosons X through the process B → K ( * ) X . In particular, Belle II has recently measured B + → K + ν ν ¯ , finding a 2.8 σ excess under the assumption of heavy new physics. Since this excess is rather localized in the kaon energy, a fit that includes the decay mode B + → K + X to the kinematic distributions prefers m X ≈ 2 GeV with branching fraction Br [ B → K X ] = ( 8.8 ± 2.5 ) × 10 − 6 and a significance of ≈ 3.6 σ . However, no excess was found in the measurements of B → K ( * ) ν ν ¯ , and a global analysis of the Belle II and data leads to Br [ B → K X ] = ( 5.1 ± 2.1 ) × 10 − 6 with a reduced significance of ≈ 2.4 σ . We then study various simplified dark-flavored models and present a possible UV completion based on a gauged B 3 − L 3 symmetry, highlighting the discovery potential of dedicated searches for B → K ( * ) X at Belle II. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Testing meson portal dark sector solutions to the MiniBooNE anomaly at the Coherent CAPTAIN Mills experiment

A solution to the MiniBooNE excess invoking rare three-body decays of the charged pions and kaons to new states in the MeV mass scale was recently proposed as a dark-sector explanation. This class of solution illuminates the fact that, while the charged pions were focused in the target-mode run, their decay products were isotropically suppressed in the beam-dump-mode run in which no excess was observed. This suggests a new physics solution correlated to the mesonic sector. We investigate an extended set of phenomenological models that can explain the MiniBooNE excess as a dark sector solution, utilizing long-lived particles that might be produced in the three-body decays of the charged mesons and the two-body anomalous decays of the neutral mesons. Over a broad set of interactions with the long-lived particles, we show that these scenarios can be compatible with constraints from LSND, KARMEN, and MicroBooNE, and evaluate the sensitivity of the ongoing and future data taken by the Coherent CAPTAIN Mills experiment to a potential discovery in this parameter space. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for e + e − → K + K − ψ ( 3770 ) at center-of-mass energies from 4.84 to 4.95 GeV

Using e + e − collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 892 pb − 1 collected at center-of-mass energies from 4.84 to 4.95 GeV with the BESIII detector, we search for the process e + e − → K + K − ψ ( 3770 ) by reconstructing two charged kaons and one D meson from ψ ( 3770 ) . No significant signal of e + e − → K + K − ψ ( 3770 ) is found and the upper limits of the Born cross sections are reported at 90% confidence level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

B → K ν ν ¯ , MiniBooNE and muon g − 2 anomalies from a dark sector

Belle II has reported the first evidence for B + → K + ν ν ¯ with a branching ratio 2.7 σ higher than the standard model expectation. We explain this and the MiniBooNE and muon anomalous magnetic moment anomalies in a model with a dark scalar that couples to a slightly heavier sterile Dirac neutrino and that communicates with the visible sector via a Higgs portal. We make predictions for rare kaon and other B meson decays. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Could SBND-PRISM probe lepton flavor violation?

We investigate the possibility of using the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) at Fermilab to constrain lepton flavor violating decays of pions and kaons. We study how to leverage SBND-PRISM, the use of the neutrino beam angular spread to mitigate systematic uncertainties, to enhance this analysis. We show that SBND-PRISM can put stringent limits on the flavor violating branching ratios BR ( π + → μ + ν e ) = 8.9 × 10 − 4 , BR ( K + → μ + ν e ) = 3.2 × 10 − 3 , improving previous constraints by factors 9 and 1.25, respectively. We also estimate the SBND-PRISM sensitivity to lepton number violating decays, BR ( π + → μ + ν ¯ e ) = 2.1 × 10 − 3 and BR ( K + → μ + ν ¯ e ) = 7.4 × 10 − 3 , though not reaching previous Big European Bubble Chamber limits. Last, we identify several ways how the SBND collaboration could improve this analysis. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

New μ forces from ν μ sources

Accelerator-based experiments reliant on charged pion and kaon decays to produce muon-neutrino beams also deliver an associated powerful flux of muons. Therefore, these experiments can additionally be sensitive to light new particles that preferentially couple to muons and decay to visible final states on macroscopic length scales. Such particles are produced through rare 3-body meson decays in the decay pipe or via muon scattering in the beam dump, and decay in a downstream detector. To demonstrate the potential of this search strategy, we recast existing MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE studies of neutral pion production in neutrino-induced neutral-current scattering ( ν μ N → ν μ N π 0 , π 0 → γ γ ) to place limits on light ( < 2 m μ ) muon-philic scalar particles that decay to diphotons through loops of virtual muons. While much of this parameter space has already been excluded by E137, we also project that SBND can be sensitive to unexplored parameter space for these models, and provide a road map for future neutrino experiments to perform dedicated searches for muon-philic forces. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Bringing the Peccei-Quinn mechanism down to Earth

It is conventionally assumed that the physics underlying the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism for addressing the strong C P problem is at very high energies, orders of magnitude above the weak scale. However, this may not be the case in general and the associated PQ boson ϕ , besides the signature state, i.e., the ultralight axion a , may emerge well below the weak scale. We consider this possibility and examine some of the conditions for its viability. The example model proposed here may also provide the requisite Standard Model Higgs mass parameter, without invoking new scalars above the giga-electron-volt (GeV) scale. The corresponding parameter space can maintain against quantum corrections. This scenario, depending on the choice of parameters, can potentially be constrained by flavor data. We point out that the current mild excess in B + → K + ν ν ¯ , reported by the Belle II experiment, could in principle be explained in this setup as B + → K + ϕ and B + → K + a , with both ϕ and a escaping the detector as missing energy. For a sufficiently heavy PQ boson, in the GeV regime (as the preferred explanation of the Belle II excess), one can separate these two contributions, due to the difference in K + momenta. In this case, the axion may also affect lighter meson, e.g., kaon, decays while ϕ would not be a kinematically allowed final state. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Timelike meson form factors beyond the elastic region from lattice QCD

We present a calculation of the vector-isovector timelike form factors of the pion and the kaon using lattice quantum chromodynamics. We calculate two-point correlation functions with m π ∼ 280 MeV , extracting both the finite-volume spectrum and matrix elements for these states created from the vacuum by a vector current. After determining the coupled-channel π π , K K ¯ scattering amplitudes, we perform the necessary correction for the significant finite-volume effects present in the current matrix elements, leading to the timelike form factors. We find these to be dominated by the presence of the ρ resonance, and we extract its decay constant by an analytic continuation of the amplitudes to the resonance pole. In addition, the spacelike pion form factor is determined on the same lattice configurations, and a dispersive parametrization is used to simultaneously describe the spacelike and elastic timelike regions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Mass reconstruction of heavy neutral leptons from stopped mesons

Heavy neutral leptons (HNLs), depending on their mass and mixing, can be efficiently produced in meson decays from the target or absorber in short- to medium-baseline accelerator neutrino experiments, leaving detectable signals through their decays inside the neutrino detectors. We show that the currently running ICARUS experiment at Fermilab can reconstruct the HNL mass and explore new HNL parameter space in the mass range of 70–190 MeV. The mass reconstruction is enabled by two ingredients: (i) simple two-body kinematics of HNL production from stopped kaon decays at the NuMI absorber, followed by HNL decay into a charged-lepton pair and neutrino at the detector, and (ii) high resolution of Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detectors in reconstructing final state particles. Our mass reconstruction method is robust under realistic energy resolution and angular smearing of the charged leptons, and is applicable to any LArTPC detector. We also discuss the synergy between ICARUS and future facilities like DUNE near detector and PIP-II beam dump in probing the HNL parameter space. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Flavor constraints in a generational three-Higgs-doublet model

We propose a three-Higgs-doublet model (3HDM) that goes beyond natural flavor conservation and in which each of the three Higgs doublets couples mainly to a single generation of fermions via nonstandard Yukawa structures. A hierarchy in the vacuum expectation values of the three Higgs doublets can partially address the Standard Model flavor puzzle. In light of the experimentally observed 125 GeV Higgs boson, we primarily work within a 3HDM alignment limit such that a Standard Model-like Higgs is recovered. In order to reproduce the observed Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa mixing among quarks, the neutral Higgs bosons of the theory necessarily mediate flavor changing neutral currents at the tree level. We consider constraints from neutral kaon, B meson, and D meson mixing as well as from the rare leptonic decays B s / B 0 / K L → μ + μ − / e + e − . We identify regions of parameter space in which the new physics Higgs bosons can be as light as a TeV or even lighter. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Altmannshofer, Wolfgang (ORCID:0000000316212561)↗

New Physics and the Proton Radius Problem

Background: The recent disagreement between the proton charge radius extracted from Lamb shift measurements of muonic and electronic hydrogen invites speculation that new physics may be to blame. Several proposals have been made for new particles that account for both the Lamb shift and the muon anomalous moment discrepancies. Purpose: We explore the possibility that new particles&#x27; couplings to the muon can be fine-tuned to account for all experimental constraints. Method: We consider two fine-tuned models, the first involving new particles with scalar and pseudoscalar couplings, and the second involving new particles with vector and axial couplings. The couplings are constrained by the Lamb shift and muon magnetic moments measurements while mass constraints are obtained by kaon decay rate data. Results: For the scalar-pseudoscalar model, masses between 100 to 200 MeV are not allowed. For the vector model, masses below about 200 MeV are not allowed. The strength of the couplings for both models approach that of electrodynamics for particle masses of about 2 GeV. Conclusions: New physics with fine tuned couplings may be entertained as a possible explanation for the Lamb shift discrepancy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Comprehensive amplitude analysis of γ γ → π + π - , π 0 π 0 and K ¯ K below 1.5 GeV

In this paper we perform an amplitude analysis of essentially all published pion and kaon pair production data from two photon collisions below 1.5 GeV. This includes all the high statistics results from Belle, as well as older data from Mark II at SLAC, CELLO at DESY, Crystal Ball at SLAC. The purpose of this analysis is to provide as close to a model-independent determination of the γγ to meson pair amplitudes as possible. Having data with limited angular coverage, typically |cosθ| < 0.6-0.8, and no polarization information for reactions in which spin is an essential complication, the determination of the underlying amplitudes might appear an intractable problem. However, imposing the basic constraints required by analyticity, unitarity, and crossing-symmetry makes up for the experimentally missing information. Above 1.5 GeV multi-meson production channels become important and we have too little information to resolve the amplitudes. Nevertheless, below 1.5 GeV the two photon production of hadron pairs serves as a paradigm for the application of S-matrix techniques. Final state interactions among the meson pairs is critical to this analysis. To fix these, we include the latest ππ → ππ, K⁻K scattering amplitudes given by dispersive analyses, supplemented in the K⁻K threshold region by the recent precision Dalitz plot analysis from BaBar. With these hadronic amplitudes built into unitarity, we can constrain the overall description of γγ → ππ and K⁻K datasets, both integrated and differential cross-sections, including the high statistics charged and neutral pion data from Belle. A region of solutions is found for the γγ → ππ partial waves with both isospin 0 and 2. Since this analysis invokes coupled hadronic channels, even the relatively poor integrated cross-section data on γγ → K⁻K narrows the patch of solutions to essentially a single form. For this we present the complete partial wave amplitudes, show how well they fit all the available data, and give the two photon couplings of scalar and tensor resonances that appear.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Interplay of threshold resummation and hadron mass corrections in deep inelastic processes

We discuss hadron mass corrections and threshold resummation for deep-inelastic scattering lN-->l'X and semi-inclusive annihilation e + e - → hX processes, and provide a prescription how to consistently combine these two corrections respecting all kinematic thresholds. We find an interesting interplay between threshold resummation and target mass corrections for deep-inelastic scattering at large values of Bjorken x B . In semi-inclusive annihilation, on the contrary, the two considered corrections are relevant in different kinematic regions and do not affect each other. A detailed analysis is nonetheless of interest in the light of recent high precision data from BaBar and Belle on pion and kaon production, with which we compare our calculations. For both deep inelastic scattering and single inclusive annihilation, the size of the combined corrections compared to the precision of world data is shown to be large. Therefore, we conclude that these theoretical corrections are relevant for global QCD fits in order to extract precise parton distributions at large Bjorken x B , and fragmentation functions over the whole kinematic range.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for heavy neutrinos in K + → μ + ν H decays

Here, evidence of a heavy neutrino, ν H , in the K + →μ + ν H decays was sought using the E949 experimental data with an exposure of 1.70 × 10 12 stopped kaons. With the major background from the radiative K + →μ + ν μ γ decay understood and suppressed, upper limits (90% C.L.) on the neutrino mixing matrix element between the muon and heavy neutrinos, |U μH | 2 , were set at the level of 10 –7 to 10 –9 for the heavy neutrino mass region 175 to 300 MeV/c 2 .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Finite-volume matrix elements in multiboson states

We derive the relations necessary for the extraction of matrix elements of multihadron systems from finite-volume lattice QCD calculations. Here, we focus on systems of n≥2 weakly interacting identical particles without spin. These results will be useful in extracting physical quantities from lattice QCD measurements of such matrix elements in many-pion and many-kaon systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Effects of finite volume on the K L – K S mass difference

Phenomena that involve two or more on-shell particles are particularly sensitive to the effects of finite volume and require special treatment when computed using lattice QCD. In this paper we generalize the results of Lüscher and Lellouch and Lüscher, which determine the leading-order effects of finite volume on the two-particle spectrum and two-particle decay amplitudes to determine the finite-volume effects in the second-order mixing of the K⁰ and K⁰⁻ states. We extend the methods of Kim, Sachrajda, and Sharpe to provide a direct, uniform treatment of these three, related, finite-volume corrections. In particular, the leading, finite-volume corrections to the K L – K S mass difference ΔM K and the CP-violating parameter εK are determined, including the potentially large effects which can arise from the near degeneracy of the kaon mass and the energy of a finite-volume, two-pion state.

Christ, N. H.↗

Predictions for Sivers single spin asymmetries in one- and two-hadron electroproduction at CLAS12 and EIC

The study of the Sivers effect, describing correlations between the transverse polarization of the nucleon and its constituent (unpolarized) parton's transverse momentum, has been the topic of a great deal of experimental, phenomenological and theoretical effort in recent years. Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering measurements of the corresponding single spin asymmetries (SSA) at the upcoming CLAS12 experiment at JLab and the proposed Electron-Ion Collider will help to pinpoint the flavor structure and the momentum dependence of the Sivers parton distribution function describing this effect. Here we describe a modified version of the $\tt{PYTHIA}$ Monte Carlo event generator that includes the Sivers effect. Then we use it to estimate the size of these SSAs, in the kinematics of these experiments, for both one and two hadron final states of pions and kaons. For this purpose we utilize the existing Sivers parton distribution function (PDF) parametrization extracted from HERMES and COMPASS experiments. Furthermore, we also show that the the leading order approximation commonly used in such extractions provides significantly underestimated values of Sivers PDFs, as the omitted parton showers and non-DIS processes play an important role in these SSAs at lower light-cone momentum fraction, for example in the COMPASS kinematics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗