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At least 91 records · Page 5

Dark matter searches for monoenergetic neutrinos arising from stopped meson decay in the Sun

Dark matter can be gravitationally captured by the Sun after scattering off solar nuclei. Annihilations of the dark matter trapped and accumulated in the centre of the Sun could result in one of the most detectable and recognizable signals for dark matter. Searches for high-energy neutrinos produced in the decay of annihilation products have yielded extremely competitive constraints on the spin-dependent scattering cross sections of dark matter with nuclei. Recently, the low energy neutrino signal arising from dark-matter annihilation to quarks which then hadronize and shower has been suggested as a competitive and complementary search strategy. These high-multiplicity hadronic showers give rise to a large amount of pions which will come to rest in the Sun and decay, leading to a unique sub-GeV neutrino signal. We here improve on previous works by considering the monoenergetic neutrino signal arising from both pion and kaon decay. We consider searches at liquid scintillation, liquid argon, and water Cherenkov detectors and find very competitive sensitivities for few-GeV dark matter masses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Searches for correlation between UHECR events and high-energy gamma-ray Fermi-LAT data

The astrophysical sources responsible for ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continue to be one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. Here, we present a comprehensive search for correlations between high-energy (≳ 1 GeV) gamma-ray events from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and UHECRs (≳ 60 EeV) detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We perform two separate searches. First, we conduct a standard cross-correlation analysis between the arrival directions of 148 UHECRs and 360 gamma-ray sources in the Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL). Second, we search for a possible correlation between UHECR directions and unresolved Fermi-LAT gamma-ray emission. For the latter, we use three different methods: a stacking technique with both a model-dependent and model-independent background estimate, and a cross-correlation function analysis. We also test for statistically significant excesses in gamma rays from signal regions centered on Cen A and the Telescope Array hotspot. There was no significant correlation is found in any of the analyses performed, except a weak (≲ 2σ) hint of signal with the correlation function method on scales ~ 1°. Upper limits on the flux of possible power-law gamma-ray sources of UHECRs are derived.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W ± boson with 7.5 fb⁻¹ integrated luminosity at CDF

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W ± boson. This search uses data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.5 fb⁻¹ collected by the CDF detector at the Tevatron. We select WH→lνbb¯ candidate events with two jets, large missing transverse energy, and exactly one charged lepton. We further require that at least one jet be identified to originate from a bottom quark. Discrimination between the signal and the large background is achieved through the use of a Bayesian artificial neural network. The number of tagged events and their distributions are consistent with the standard model expectations. We observe no evidence for a Higgs boson signal and set 95% C.L. upper limits on the WH production cross section times the branching ratio to decay to bb¯ pairs, σ(pp¯→W ± H)×B(H→bb¯), relative to the rate predicted by the standard model. For the Higgs boson mass range of 100 to 150 GeV/c² we set observed (expected) upper limits from 1.34 (1.83) to 38.8 (23.4). For 115 GeV/c² the upper limit is 3.64 (2.78). The combination of the present search with an independent analysis that selects events with three jets yields more stringent limits ranging from 1.12 (1.79) to 34.4 (21.6) in the same mass range. For 115 and 125 GeV/c² the upper limits are 2.65 (2.60) and 4.36 (3.69), respectively.

Aaltonen, T.↗

Results From the First Use of Low Radioactivity Argon in a Dark Matter Search

Liquid argon is a bright scintillator with potent particle identification properties, making it an attractive target for direct-detection dark matter searches. The DarkSide-50 dark matter search here reports the first WIMP search results obtained using a target of low-radioactivity argon. DarkSide-50 is a dark matter detector, using a two-phase liquid argon time projection chamber, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The underground argon is shown to contain Ar39 at a level reduced by a factor (1.4±0.2)×103 relative to atmospheric argon. We report a background-free null result from (2616±43) kg d of data, accumulated over 70.9 live days. When combined with our previous search using an atmospheric argon, the 90% C.L. upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section, based on zero events found in the WIMP search regions, is 2.0×10-44 cm2 (8.6×10-44 cm2, 8.0×10-43 cm2) for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c2 (1 TeV/c2, 10 TeV/c2).

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Combination of Searches for Higgs Boson Pair Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at s =13 TeV

This Letter describes a search for Higgs boson pair production using the combined results from four final states: bbγγ, bbττ, bbbb, and bbVV, where V represents a W or Z boson. The search is performed using data collected in 2016 by the CMS experiment from LHC proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb-1. Limits are set on the Higgs boson pair production cross section. A 95% confidence level observed (expected) upper limit on the nonresonant production cross section is set at 22.2 (12.8) times the standard model value. A search for narrow resonances decaying to Higgs boson pairs is also performed in the mass range 250-3000 GeV. No evidence for a signal is observed, and upper limits are set on the resonance production cross section. © 2019 CERN.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

SIX NEW MILLISECOND PULSARS FROM ARECIBO SEARCHES OF FERMI GAMMA-RAY SOURCES

We have discovered six radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in a search with the Arecibo telescope of 34 unidentified gamma-ray sources from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) four year point source catalog. Among the 34 sources, we also detected two MSPs previously discovered elsewhere. Each source was observed at a center frequency of 327 MHz, typically at three epochs with individual integration times of 15 minutes. The new MSP spin periods range from 1.99 to 4.66 ms. Five of the six pulsars are in interacting compact binaries (period ≤ 8.1 hr), while the sixth is a more typical neutron star-white dwarf binary with an 83 day orbital period. This is a higher proportion of interacting binaries than for equivalent Fermi-LAT searches elsewhere. The reason is that Arecibo's large gain afforded us the opportunity to limit integration times to 15 minutes, which significantly increased our sensitivity to these highly accelerated systems. Seventeen of the remaining 26 gamma-ray sources are still categorized as strong MSP candidates, and will be re-searched.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

SEARCHING FOR PLANET NINE WITH COADDED WISE AND NEOWISE-REACTIVATION IMAGES

A distant, as yet unseen ninth planet has been invoked to explain various observations of the outer solar system. While such a “Planet Nine,” if it exists, is most likely to be discovered via reflected light in the optical, it may emit much more strongly at 3−5 μm than simple blackbody predictions would suggest, depending on its atmospheric properties. As a result, Planet Nine may be detectable at 3.4 μm with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, but single exposures are too shallow except at relatively small distances (d{sub 9}≲430 au). We develop a method to search for Planet Nine far beyond the W1 single-exposure sensitivity, to distances as large as 800 au, using inertial coadds of W1 exposures binned into ∼1 day intervals. We apply our methodology to a ∼2000 square degree testbed sky region which overlaps a southern segment of Planet Nine’s anticipated orbital path. We do not detect a plausible Planet Nine candidate, but are able to derive a detailed completeness curve, ruling out its presence within the parameter space searched at W1 < 16.66 (90% completeness). Our method uses all publicly available W1 imaging, spanning 2010 January to 2015 December, and will become more sensitive with future NEOWISE-Reactivation releases of additional W1 exposures. We anticipate that our method will be applicable to the entire high Galactic latitude sky, and we will extend our search to that full footprint in the near future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: A 3.95–8.00 GHz Search for Radio Technosignatures in the Restricted Earth Transit Zone

We report on a search for artificial narrowband signals of 20 stars within the restricted Earth Transit Zone (rETZ) as a part of the ten-year Breakthrough Listen (BL) search for extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). The rETZ is the region of the sky from which an observer would see Earth transit the Sun with an impact parameter of less than 0.5. This region of the sky is geometrically unique, providing a potential way for an ETI to discover the solar system. The targets were nearby (7–143 pc) and the search covered an electromagnetic frequency range of 3.95–8.00 GHz. We used the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to perform these observations with the standard BL data recorder. We searched these data for artificial narrowband (∼Hz) signals with Doppler drift rates of ±20 Hz s{sup −1}. We find no evidence for radio technosignatures from ETI in our observations. The observing campaign would have allowed for detections of emissions that were 10{sup −3} to 0.88 times as powerful as the signaling capability of the Arecibo radar transmitter. We conclude that at least 0.6% of the systems in the rETZ within 150 pc do not possess the type of transmitters searched in this survey. To our knowledge, this is the first targeted search for ETI of the rETZ. All data used in this paper are publicly available via the BL Public Data Archive (http://seti.berkeley.edu/bldr2).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: Searching for Technosignatures in Observations of TESS Targets of Interest

Exoplanetary systems are prime targets for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). With the recent uptick in the identification of candidate and confirmed exoplanets through the work of missions like the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we are beginning to understand that Earth-like planets are common. In this work, we extend the Breakthrough Listen (BL) search for extraterrestrial intelligence to include targeted searches of stars identified by TESS as potential exoplanet hosts. We report on 113 30 minute cadence observations collected for 28 targets selected from the TESS Input Catalog from among those identified as containing signatures of transiting planets. The targets were searched for narrowband signals from 1 to 11 GHz using the turboSETI pipeline architecture modified for compatibility with the Google Cloud environment. Data were searched for drift rates of ±4 Hz s{sup −1} above a minimum signal-to-noise threshold of 10, following the parameters of previous searches conducted by Price et al. and Enriquez et al. The observations presented in this work establish some of the deepest limits to date over such a wide band (1–11 GHz) for life beyond Earth. We determine that fewer than 12.72% of the observed targets possess transmitters operating at these frequencies with an equivalent isotropic radiated power greater than our derived threshold of 4.9×10{sup 14} W.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Search for Astrophysical Sources of Neutrinos Using Cascade Events in IceCube

The IceCube neutrino observatory has established the existence of a flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, which is inconsistent with the expectation from atmospheric backgrounds at a significance greater than 5 σ . This flux has been observed in analyses of both track events from muon neutrino interactions and cascade events from interactions of all neutrino flavors. Searches for astrophysical neutrino sources have focused on track events due to the significantly better angular resolution of track reconstructions. To date, no such sources have been confirmed. Here we present the first search for astrophysical neutrino sources using cascades interacting in IceCube with deposited energies as small as 1 TeV. No significant clustering was observed in a selection of 263 cascades collected from 2010 May to 2012 May. We show that compared to the classic approach using tracks, this statistically independent search offers improved sensitivity to sources in the southern sky, especially if the emission is spatially extended or follows a soft energy spectrum. This enhancement is due to the low background from atmospheric neutrinos forming cascade events and the additional veto of atmospheric neutrinos at declinations ≲−30°.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A DARK ENERGY CAMERA SEARCH FOR MISSING SUPERGIANTS IN THE LMC AFTER THE ADVANCED LIGO GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE EVENT GW150914

The collapse of a stellar core is expected to produce gravitational waves (GWs), neutrinos, and in most cases a luminous supernova. Sometimes, however, the optical event could be significantly less luminous than a supernova and a direct collapse to a black hole, where the star just disappears, is possible. The GW event GW150914 was detected by the LIGO Virgo Collaboration via a burst analysis that gave localization contours enclosing the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Shortly thereafter, we used DECam to observe 102 deg{sup 2} of the localization area, including 38 deg{sup 2} on the LMC for a missing supergiant search. We construct a complete catalog of LMC luminous red supergiants, the best candidates to undergo invisible core collapse, and collected catalogs of other candidates: less luminous red supergiants, yellow supergiants, blue supergiants, luminous blue variable stars, and Wolf–Rayet stars. Of the objects in the imaging region, all are recovered in the images. The timescale for stellar disappearance is set by the free-fall time, which is a function of the stellar radius. Our observations at 4 and 13 days after the event result in a search sensitive to objects of up to about 200 solar radii. We conclude that it is unlikely that GW150914 was caused by the core collapse of a relatively compact supergiant in the LMC, consistent with the LIGO Collaboration analyses of the gravitational waveform as best interpreted as a high mass binary black hole merger. We discuss how to generalize this search for future very nearby core-collapse candidates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory

Simultaneous measurements of air showers with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for EeV photon point sources. Several Galactic and extragalactic candidate objects are grouped in classes to reduce the statistical penalty of many trials from that of a blind search and are analyzed for a significant excess above the background expectation. The presented search does not find any evidence for photon emission at candidate sources, and combined p -values for every class are reported. Particle and energy flux upper limits are given for selected candidate sources. These limits significantly constrain predictions of EeV proton emission models from non-transient Galactic and nearby extragalactic sources, as illustrated for the particular case of the Galactic center region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Search for top-quark decays t → Hq with 36 fb ₋1 of pp collision data at $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark into an up-type quark ( q = u, c ) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, t → Hq , is introduced. The search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb ₋1 . Two complementary analyses are performed to search for top-quark pair events in which one top quark decays into Wb and the other top quark decays into Hq, and target the H→$b\bar{b}$ and H → τ + τ ₋ decay modes, respectively. The high multiplicity of b-quark jets, or the presence of hadronically decaying τ-leptons, is exploited in the two analyses respectively. Multivariate techniques are used to separate the signal from the background, which is dominated by top-quark pair production. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and 95% CL upper limits on the t → Hq branching ratios are derived. The combination of these searches with ATLAS searches in diphoton and multilepton final states yields observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t → Hc and t → Hu branching ratios of 1.1 × 10 ₋3 (8.3 × 10 ₋4 ) and 1.2 × 10 ₋3 (8.3 × 10 ₋4 ), respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the |λ tcH | and |λ tuH | couplings are 0.064 (0.055) and 0.066 (0.055), respectively.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for vector-boson resonances decaying to a top quark and bottom quark in the lepton plus jets final state in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data were collected in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of . This analysis searches for W' bosons in the W' → t$\bar{b}$ ecay channel in final states with an electron or muon plus jets. The search covers resonance masses between 0.5 and 5.0 TeV and considers right-handed W' bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model (SM) expectation is observed and upper limits are set on the W' → t$\bar{b}$ cross section times branching ratio and the W' boson effective couplings as a function of the W' boson mass. For right-handed W' bosons with coupling to the SM particles equal to the SM weak coupling constant, masses below 3.15 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This search is also combined with a previously published ATLAS result for W' → t$\bar{b}$ in the fully hadronic final state. Using the combined searches, right-handed bosons with masses below 3.25 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in root $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV $pp$ collisions with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS experiment has performed extensive searches for the electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and staus. This article summarizes and extends the search for electroweak supersymmetry with new analyses targeting scenarios not covered by previously published searches. New searches use vector-boson fusion production, initial-state radiation jets, and low-momentum lepton final states, as well as multivariate analysis techniques to improve the sensitivity to scenarios with small mass splittings and low-production cross sections. Results are based on 20 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess beyond Standard Model expectations is observed. The new and existing searches are combined and interpreted in terms of 95% confidence-level exclusion limits in simplified models, where a single production process and decay mode is assumed, as well as within phenomenological supersymmetric models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Observation of X(3872)→J/ψγ and Search for X(3872)→ψ'γ in B Decays

We report a study of B (J/ψγ)K and B (ψ'γ)K decay modes using 772 × 106 BB events collected at the (4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric e⁺e⁻ collider. We observe X(3872) J/ψγ and report the first evidence for χc2 → J/ψγ in B→(X cc ₋γ)K decays, while in a search for X(3872)→ψ'γ no significant signal is found. We measure the branching fractions, B(B± X(3872)K±)B(X(3872) J/ψγ) = (1.78+0.48-0.44±0.12)×10⁻⁶, B(B± ! χc2K±)= (1.11+0.36 -0.34 ± 0.09) × 10⁻⁵, B(B± X (3872)K±)B(X(3872) ψ'γ) < 3.45 × 10⁻⁶ (upper limit at 90% C.L.) and also provide upper limits for other searches.

Observation of X(3872) J/ and search for X(3872) ′↗

STEPS: A Grid Search Methodology for Optimized Peptide Identification Filtering of MS/MS Database Search Results

For bottom-up proteomics there are a wide variety of database searching algorithms in use for matching peptide sequences to tandem MS spectra. Likewise, there are numerous strategies being employed to produce a confident list of peptide identifications from the different search algorithm outputs. Here we introduce a grid search approach for determining optimal database filtering criteria in shotgun proteomics data analyses that is easily adaptable to any search. Systematic Trial and Error Parameter Selection - referred to as STEPS - utilizes user-defined parameter ranges to test a wide array of parameter combinations to arrive at an optimal "parameter set" for data filtering, thus maximizing confident identifications. The benefits of this approach in terms of numbers of true positive identifications are demonstrated using datasets derived from immunoaffinity-depleted blood serum and a bacterial cell lysate, two common proteomics sample types.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Search for new phenomena in events with a photon and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $$ \sqrt{s}=13 $$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in events with an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The data were collected in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb -1 . The observed data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. Exclusion limits are presented in models of new phenomena including pair production of dark matter candidates or large extra spatial dimensions. In a simplified model of dark matter and an axial-vector mediator, the search excludes mediator masses below 710 GeV for dark matter candidate masses below 150 GeV. In an effective theory of dark matter production, values of the suppression scale M * up to 570 GeV are excluded and the effect of truncation for various coupling values is reported. Finally, for the ADD large extra spatial dimension model the search places more stringent limits than earlier searches in the same event topology, excluding M D up to about 2.3 (2.8) TeV for two (six) additional spatial dimensions; the limits are reduced by 20-40% depending on the number of additional spatial dimensions when applying a truncation procedure.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗