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At least 631 records · Page 35

The Diogene 4 pi detector at Saturne

Diogene, an electronic 4 pi detector, has been built and installed at the Saturne synchrotron in Saclay. The forward angular range (0 degree-6 degrees) is covered by 48 time-of-flight scintillator telescopes that provide charge identification. The trajectories of fragments emitted at larger angles are recorded in a cylindrical 0.4-m3 Pictorial Drift Chamber (PDC) surrounding the target. The PDC is inside a 1-T magnetic field; the axis of the PDC cylinder and the magnetic field are parallel to the beam. Good identification has been obtained for both positive and negative pi mesons and for hydrogen and helium isotopes. Multiplicities in relativistic nucleus-nucleus reactions up to 40 have been detected, limited mainly by the present electronics.

Non-NASA Center↗

A theory of dark pions

We present a complete model of a dark QCD sector with light dark pions, broadly motivated by hidden naturalness arguments. The dark quarks couple to the Standard Model via irrelevant Z- and Higgs-portal operators, which encode the low-energy effects of TeV-scale fermions interacting through Yukawa couplings with the Higgs field. The dark pions, depending on their CP properties, behave as either composite axion-like particles (ALPs) mixing with the Z or scalars mixing with the Higgs. The dark pion lifetimes fall naturally in the most interesting region for present and proposed searches for long-lived particles, at the LHC and beyond. This is demonstrated by studying in detail three benchmark scenarios for the symmetries and structure of the theory. Within a coherent framework, we analyze and compare the GeV-scale signatures of flavor-changing meson decays to dark pions, the weak-scale decays of Z and Higgs bosons to hidden hadrons, and the TeV-scale signals of the ultraviolet theory. New constraints are derived from B decays at CMS and from Z-initiated dark showers at LHCb, focusing on the displaced dimuon signature. We also emphasize the strong potential sensitivity of ATLAS and CMS to dark shower signals with large multiplicities and long lifetimes of the dark pions. As a key part of our phenomenological study, we perform a new data-driven calculation of the decays of a light ALP to exclusive hadronic Standard Model final states. The results are provided in a general form, applicable to any model with arbitrary flavor-diagonal couplings of the ALP to fermions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Amplitude/operator basis in chiral perturbation theory

We establish a systematic construction of the on-shell amplitude/operator basis for Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) in D = 4 spacetime dimensions and with an arbitrary number of flavors N f . For kinematic factors, we employ spinor-helicity variables to construct the soft blocks, which are local amplitudes satisfying the Adler’s zero condition, as well as to take into account the reduction in the kinematic basis due to the Gram determinant, which arises at O(p 10 ) when the number of multiplicity N in an amplitude becomes large: N > D. For flavor factors, we include group-theoretic relations at small N f , N f ≤ N, which decreases the flavor basis. The result is obtained by adapting the Young tensor method of constructing the operator basis for generic effective field theories to the case of non-linearly realized symmetries. Working in the massless quark limit, we present purely mesonic operators for both even- and odd-parity at O(p 6 ) and O(p 8 ) for N = 6 and arbitrary N f , and establish a direct correspondence between the amplitude basis and the operator basis. Furthermore, the redundancy due to the Gram determinant is studied at O(p 10 ) for N = 6, 8 and 10.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the e+e− → $$ {K}_S^0{K}_L^0 $$π0 cross sections from $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 2.000 to 3.080 GeV

Abstract Based one + e − collision data collected at center-of-mass energies from 2.000 to 3.080 GeV by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, a partial wave analysis is performed for the processe + e − →$$ {K}_S^0{K}_L^0 $$ K S 0 K L 0 π 0 . The results allow the Born cross sections of the processe + e − →$$ {K}_S^0{K}_L^0 $$ K S 0 K L 0 π 0 , as well as its subprocessese + e − →K ∗ (892) 0 $$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0 and$$ {K}_2^{\ast } $$ K 2 ∗ (1430) 0 $$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0 to be measured. The Born cross sections fore + e − →$$ {K}_S^0{K}_L^0 $$ K S 0 K L 0 π 0 are consistent with previous measurements by BaBar, but with substantially improved precision. The Born cross section lineshape of the processe + e − K ∗ (892) 0 $$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0 is consistent with a vector meson state around 2.2 GeV with a significance of 3.2σ. A Breit-Wigner fit determines its mass asM Y = (2164.7±9.1±3.1) MeV/c 2 and its width as Γ Y = (32.4±21.0±1.8) MeV.

Physics↗

Phenomenology of electroweak portal dark showers: high energy direct probes and low energy complementarity

We investigate the phenomenology of a dark QCD sector interacting with the Standard Model (SM) via the electroweak (EW) portals. The portal interactions allow SM bosons, such as Z and h, or additional bosons that mix with them, to decay into dark quarks, producing dark showers. The light dark mesons are expected to be long-lived particles (LLPs), as their decays back to the SM states through the EW-portal interactions typically have macroscopic decay lengths. We focus on dark shower events initiated by various bosons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The most prominent signal is the displaced decay of GeV-scale dark pions as LLPs. Current limits on dark shower signals at LHC detectors are recast from public data to provide simplified limits insensitive to UV physics details. Future limits in the high-luminosity phase and proposed auxiliary detectors are also projected. Additionally, we study the flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) B decays into dark pions, obtaining both current and projected constraints at the LHC and other facilities. These constraints can be combined for specific models, which are illustrated in two EW-portal benchmarks: one with the heavy doublet fermion mediation and another with the Z′ mediator including a mass mixing. The collider reach shows significant potential to probe the parameter space unconstrained by EW precision tests, highlighting the necessity of dedicated LLP search strategies and facilities.

Dark Matter at Colliders↗

Studies of J/ψ production at forward rapidity in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

The inclusive J/ψ production in Pb–Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV, measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC, is reported. The J/ψ meson is reconstructed via the dimuon decay channel at forward rapidity (2.5 < y < 4) down to zero transverse momentum. The suppression of the J/ψ yield in Pb–Pb collisions with respect to binary-scaled pp collisions is quantified by the nuclear modification factor (R AA ). The R AA at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV is presented and compared with previous measurements at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$= 2.76 TeV as a function of the centrality of the collision, and of the J/ψ transverse momentum and rapidity. The inclusive J/ψ R AA shows a suppression increasing toward higher transverse momentum, with a steeper dependence for central collisions. The modification of the J/ψ average transverse momentum and average squared transverse momentum is also studied. Comparisons with the results of models based on a transport equation and on statistical hadronization are carried out.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Local SU(2) × U(1) quark flavor symmetry in the RS bulk

We propose a model of quark flavor based on an additional SU(2) × U(1) local symmetry in a warped extra dimensional bulk. In contrast to other works, we break the additional gauge symmetry in the bulk via two complex scalars which acquire bulk vevs, rather than relying on brane-localized symmetry breaking. A gauge-covariant Kaluza-Klein decomposition of a theory with a bulk spontaneously broken gauge symmetry is performed, and exact expressions for the bulk profiles of all physical particles in such systems are given. The SM quark masses and mixings are then recreated using gauge-covariant bulk quark mass terms and Yukawa-like couplings to the new bulk scalars. A numerical sampling of points in the model parameter space that recreate the quark masses and mixings is performed at a KK scale of M KK = 5 TeV. We then compute the ΔF = 2 4-quark operators arising from our new flavor gauge bosons and scalars, and those arising from Kaluza-Klein modes of SM gauge bosons. By decoupling one of our bulk scalar fields to all quark fields except the right-handed up-like sector, we find that it is possible to greatly suppress tree-level contributions to the highly constrained Kaon mixing parameters. Instead, the dominant constraints on the model emerge from neutral Bd and D meson mixing. These constraints are explored with our numerical sampling of the model parameter space, and the specific contribution of the new flavor gauge bosons and scalars is discussed. We find that for a significant range of realistic flavor gauge couplings, the new gauge bosons compete with the normally dominant gluon flavor-changing currents, but flavor-changing operators emerging from the bulk scalar fields are highly suppressed. Finally, we briefly comment on flavor constraints that are independent of the flavor gauge sector arising from the Z$\overline{b}$ L b L coupling and rare top decays.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the CKM angle γ in B ± → DK ± and B ± → Dπ ± decays with D → $ {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 $h + h -

A measurement of CP -violating observables is performed using the decays B ± → DK ± and B ± → Dπ ± , where the D meson is reconstructed in one of the self-conjugate three-body final states \( {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 \) π + π - and \( {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 \) K + K - (commonly denoted \( {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 \) h + h - ). The decays are analysed in bins of the D -decay phase space, leading to a measurement that is independent of the modelling of the D -decay amplitude. The observables are inter- preted in terms of the CKM angle γ . Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb - 1 collected in proton-proton collisions at centre-of mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV with the LHCb experiment, γ is measured to be \( \left({68.7}_{-5.1}^{+5.2}\right){}^{\circ} \) . The hadronic parameters \( {r}_B^{D K},{r}_B^{D\pi},{\delta}_B^{D K},\kern0.5em \mathrm{and}\kern0.5em {\delta}_B^{D\pi} \) , which are the ratios and strong-phase differences of the suppressed and favoured B ± decays, are also reported.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Search for π 0 decays to invisible particles

The NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS reports a study of a sample of 4 × 10 9 tagged π0 mesons from K + → π + π 0 (γ), searching for the decay of the π 0 to invisible particles. No signal is observed in excess of the expected background fluctuations. An upper limit of 4.4 × 10 –9 is set on the branching ratio at 90% confidence level, improving on previous results by a factor of 60. This result can also be interpreted as a model- independent upper limit on the branching ratio for the decay K + → π + X, where X is a particle escaping detection with mass in the range 0.110–0.155 GeV/c 2 and rest lifetime greater than 100 ps. Model-dependent upper limits are obtained assuming X to be an axion-like particle with dominant fermion couplings or a dark scalar mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Combined analysis of Belle and Belle II data to determine the CKM angle φ 3 using B + → D($ {K}_S^0 $h + h – )h + decays

We present a measurement of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity triangle angle φ 3 (also known as γ) using a model-independent Dalitz plot analysis of B + → D($ {K}_S^0 $h + h – )h + , where D is either a D o or D o ¯ meson and h is either a π or K. This is the first measurement that simultaneously uses Belle and Belle II data, combining samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 711 fb –1 and 128 fb –1 , respectively. All data were accumulated from energy-asymmetric e + e – collisions at a centre-of-mass energy corresponding to the mass of the Υ(4S) resonance. We measure φ 3 = (78.4 ± 11.4 ± 0.5 ± 1.0)°, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is from the uncertainties on external measurements of the D-decay strong-phase parameters.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Producing and detecting long-lived particles at different experiments at the $\mathrn{LHC}$

We propose a new strategy to look for long-lived particles (LLP) at the LHC. The LLPs are produced at one experiment, but its decay products are detected by a detector at another experiment. We use a confining Hidden Valley scenario as a benchmark. Through showering and hadronization, the multiplicity of hidden mesons can be large, and their decay products, dimuon as chosen in this study, are typically too soft to pass triggers in traditional LHC searches. We find the best acceptance is achieved if we produce LLPs at collision points at the LHCb and ALICE experiments, and use the muon chamber of ATLAS for detection. This new search is cost-efficient since it does not require a new detector to be built. Meanwhile, it can provide coverage of interesting parameter space, which is complementary to other proposed LLP searches.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Searches for heavy QCD axions via dimuon final states

Heavy QCD axions are well-motivated extensions of the QCD axion that address the quality problem while still solving the strong CP problem. Owing to the gluon coupling, critical for solving the strong CP problem, these axions can be produced in significant numbers in beam dump and collider environments for axion decay constants as large as PeV, relevant for addressing the axion quality problem. In addition, if these axions have leptonic couplings, they can give rise to long-lived decay into lepton pairs, in particular, dominantly into muons above the dimuon threshold and below the GeV scale in a broad class of axion models. Considering existing constraints, primarily from rare meson decays, we demonstrate that current and future neutrino facilities and long-lived particle searches have the potential to probe significant parts of the heavy QCD axion parameter space via dimuon final states.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Flavor-changing light bosons with accidental longevity

We consider a model with a complex scalar field that couples to (e, μ) or (μ, τ) within the “longevity” window: [|m l 1 – m l 2 |, m l 1 + m l 2 ] in which l 1 and l 2 are the two different charged leptons. Within such a mass window, even a relatively large coupling (e.g. of the size commensurate with the current accuracy/discrepancy in the muon g – 2 experiment) leads to long lifetimes and macroscopic propagation distance between production and decay points. We propose to exploit several existing neutrino experiments and one future experiment to probe the parameter space of this model. For the μ – e sector, we exploit the muonium decay branching ratio and the production and decay sequence at the LSND experiment, excluding the parametric region suggested by g μ – 2 anomaly. For the τ – μ sector, we analyze three main production mechanisms of scalars at beam dump experiments: the Drell-Yan process, the heavy meson decay, and the muon scattering. We explore the constraints from the past CHARM and NuTeV experiments, and evaluate sensitivity for the proposed beam dump experiment, SHiP. The latter can thoroughly probe the parameter space relevant for the g μ – 2 anomaly.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Searching for millicharged particles with 1 kg of Skipper-CCDs using the NuMI beam at Fermilab

Oscura is a planned light-dark matter search experiment using Skipper-CCDs with a total active mass of 10 kg. As part of the detector development, the collaboration plans to build the Oscura Integration Test (OIT), an engineering test with 10% of the total mass. Here we discuss the early science opportunities with the OIT to search for millicharged particles (mCPs) using the NuMI beam at Fermilab. mCPs would be produced at low energies through photon-mediated processes from decays of scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector mesons, or direct Drell-Yan productions. Estimates show that the OIT would be a world-leading probe for mCPs in the ~MeV mass range.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Charged lepton flavor violation at the EIC

We present a comprehensive analysis of the potential sensitivity of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) to charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) in the channel ep → τX, within the model-independent framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). We compute the relevant cross sections to leading order in QCD and electroweak corrections and perform simulations of signal and SM background events in various τ decay channels, suggesting simple cuts to enhance the associated estimated efficiencies. To assess the discovery potential of the EIC in τ-e transitions, we study the sensitivity of other probes of this physics across a broad range of energy scales, from pp → eτX at the Large Hadron Collider to decays of B mesons and τ leptons, such as τ → eγ, τ → eℓ+ℓ–, and crucially the hadronic modes τ → eY with Yϵ {π, K, ππ, Kπ, …}. We find that electroweak dipole and four-fermion semi-leptonic operators involving light quarks are already strongly constrained by τ decays, while operators involving the c and b quarks present more promising discovery potential for the EIC. An analysis of three models of leptoquarks confirms the expectations based on the SMEFT results. We also identify future directions needed to maximize the reach of the EIC in CLFV searches: these include an optimization of the τ tagger in hadronic channels, an exploration of background suppression through tagging b and c jets in the final state, and a global fit by turning on all SMEFT couplings, which will likely reveal new discovery windows for the EIC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Heavy neutral leptons at the Electron-Ion Collider

The future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, along with its primary capacity to elucidate the nuclear structure, will offer new opportunities to probe physics beyond the Standard Model coupled to the electroweak sector. Among the best motivated examples of such new physics are new heavy neutral leptons (HNLs), which are likely to play a key role in neutrino mass generation and lepton number violation. We study the capability of the EIC to search for HNLs, which can be produced in electron- proton collisions through charged current interactions as a consequence of their mixing with light neutrinos. We find that, with the EIC design energy and integrated luminosity, one is able to probe HNLs in the mass range of 1 – 100 GeV with mixing angles down to the order of 10 -4 - 10 -3 through the prompt decay signatures, and in the mass range of 1 10 GeV with |U e | 2 ~ 10 -6 - 10 -4 via the displaced decay signatures. We also consider the invisible mode where an HNL is undetected or decaying to dark sector particles. One could potentially probe heavy HNLs for mixing angles in the window 10 -3 - 10 -2 , provided SM background systematics can be brought under control. These searches are complementary to other probes of HNLs, such as neutrino-less double-β decay, meson decay, fixed-target, and high-energy collider experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Probing an MeV-scale scalar boson in association with a TeV-Scale top-quark partner at the LHC

Searches for new low-mass matter and mediator particles have actively been pursued at fixed target experiments and at e + e - colliders. It is challenging at the CERN LHC, but they have been searched for in Higgs boson decays and in B meson decays by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations, as well as in a low transverse momentum phenomena from forward scattering processes (e.g., FASER). We propose a search for a new scalar particle in association with a heavy vector-like quark. We consider the scenario in which the top quark (t) couples to a light scalar φ' and a heavy vector-like top quark T. We examine single and pair production of T in pp collisions, resulting in a final state with a top quark that decays purely hadronically, a T which decays semileptonically (T → W + b → ℓ ν b), and a φ' that is very boosted and decays to a pair of collimated photons which can be identified as a merged photon system. The proposed search is expected to achieve a discovery reach with signal significance greater than 5σ (3σ) for m(T) as large as 1.8 (2) TeV and m(φ') as small as 1 MeV, assuming an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb -1 . This search can expand the reach of T, and demonstrates that the LHC can probe low-mass, MeV-scale particles.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗