SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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We model clusters of axions with spherically symmetric momentum but arbitrary spatial distributions and study the directional profile of photos produced in their evolution through spontaneous and stimulated decay of axions via the process a→γ+γ. Several specific examples are presented.
IceCube has observed a flux of cosmic neutrinos, with a “bump” in the energy range 10 ≲ E/TeV≲100 that creates a 3σ tension with γ-ray data from the Fermi satellite. This has been interpreted as evidence for a population of hidden cosmic-ray accelerators. Here, we propose an alternative explanation of this conundrum on the basis of cold dark matter which decays into sterile neutrinos after oscillations produce the bump in the cosmic neutrino spectrum.
We searched for proton decay via p → μ + K 0 in 0.37 Mton · years of data collected between 1996 and 2018 from the Super-Kamiokande water Cherenkov experiment. The selection criteria were defined separately for K$^0_S$ and K$^0_L$ channels. No significant event excess has been observed. As a result of this analysis, which extends the previous search by an additional 0.2 Mton · years of exposure and uses an improved event reconstruction, we set a lower limit of 3.6 × 10 33 years on the proton lifetime.
We measure the branching fraction for the Cabibbo-suppressed decay D 0 → K $^{0}_{S}$ K $^{0}_{S}$ π + π - and search for CP violation via a measurement of the CP asymmetry A CP as well as the T-odd triple-product asymmetry a$^{T}_{CP}$. We use 922 fb -1 of data recorded by the Belle experiment, which ran at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e - collider. The branching fraction is measured relative to the Cabibbo-favored normalization channel D 0 → K $^{0}_{S}$ π + π - ; the result is $\mathscr{B}$( D 0 → K $^{0}_{S}$ K $^{0}_{S}$ π + π - )=[4.79±0.08(stat)±0.10(syst)±0.31(norm)]×10 -4 , where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is from uncertainty in the normalization channel. We also measure A CP =[-2.51±1.44(stat)$^{+0.11}_{-0.10}$(syst)]%, and a$^{T}_{CP}$=[-1.95±1.42(stat)$^{+0.14}_{-0.12}$(syst)]%. These results show no evidence of CP violation.
Higgs boson production via gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion in proton-proton collisions is measured in the $H$ → $WW*$ → $evμv$ decay channel. The Large Hadron Collider delivered proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018, which were recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 . The total cross sections for Higgs boson production by gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion times the $H$ $\rightarrow$ $WW$* branching ratio are measured to be 12.0 ± 1.4 and ${0.75}_{- 0.16}^{+ 0.19}$ pb, respectively, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions of 10.4 ± 0.6 and 0.81 ± 0.02 pb. Higgs boson production is further characterized through measurements of Simplified Template Cross Sections in a total of 11 kinematic fiducial regions.
A search for the lepton-flavor violating decay of the Higgs boson and potential additional Higgs bosons with a mass in the range 110-160 GeV to an e$^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$ pair is presented. The search is performed with a proton-proton collision data set at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. No excess is observed for the Higgs boson. The observed (expected) upper limit on the e$^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$ branching fraction for it is determined to be 4.4 (4.7) $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ at 95% confidence level, the most stringent limit set thus far from direct searches. The largest excess of events over the expected background in the full mass range of the search is observed at an e$^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$ invariant mass of approximately 146 GeV with a local (global) significance of 3.8 (2.8) standard deviations.
We have analyzed 121.4 fb − 1 of data collected at the ϒ ( 5 S ) resonance by the Belle experiment using the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e − collider to search for the decay B s 0 → J / ψ π 0 . We observe no signal and report an upper limit on the branching fraction B ( B s 0 → J / ψ π 0 ) of 1.21 × 10 − 5 at 90% confidence level. This result is the most stringent, improving the previous bound by 2 orders of magnitude. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We discuss the self-consistency imposed by the analyticity of regular parts of form factors, appearing in the z expansion for semileptonic B -meson decays, when fitted in different kinematic regions. Relying on the uniqueness of functions defined by analytic continuation, we propose four metrics which measure the departure from the ideal analytic self-consistency. We illustrate the process using Belle data for B → D ℓ ν ℓ with the two kinematic regions chosen as the five low- z and the five high- z bins. For this specific example, the metrics provide consistent indications that some choices (order of truncation, Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed or Bourrely-Caprini-Lellouch) made in the form of the z expansion can be optimized. However, other choices ( z origin, location of isolated poles and threshold constraints) appear to have very little effect on these metrics. On the other hand, changing the kinetic regions affects the results and should also be considered in the optimization process. We briefly discuss the implication for optimization of the z expansion for nucleon form factors relevant for neutrino oscillation experiments. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We investigate the ability of μ → e facilities, Mu2e and COMET, to probe, or discover, new physics with their detector validation datasets. The validation of the detector response may be performed using a dedicated run with μ + , collecting data below the Michel edge, E e ≲ 52 MeV ; an alternative strategy using π + → e + ν e may also be considered. We focus primarily on a search for a monoenergetic e + produced via two-body decays μ + → e + X or π + → e + X , with X a light new physics particle. Mu2e can potentially explore new parameter space beyond present astrophysical and laboratory constraints for a set of well motivated models including axionlike particles with flavor violating couplings ( μ + → e + a ), massive Z ′ bosons ( μ + → Z ′ e + ), and heavy neutral leptons ( π + → e + N ). The projected sensitivities presented herein can be achieved in a matter of days. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Using a data sample of 4.481 × 10 8 ψ ( 3686 ) events collected with the BESIII detector, we report the first observation of the four-lepton-decays J / ψ → e + e − e + e − and J / ψ → e + e − μ + μ − utilizing the process ψ ( 3686 ) → π + π − J / ψ . The branching fractions are determined to be [ 5.48 ± 0.31 ( stat ) ± 0.45 ( syst ) ] × 10 − 5 and [ 3.53 ± 0.22 ( stat ) ± 0.13 ( syst ) ] × 10 − 5 , respectively. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions. No significant signal is observed for J / ψ → μ + μ − μ + μ − , and an upper limit on the branching fraction is set at 1.6 × 10 − 6 at the 90% confidence level. A C P asymmetry observable is constructed for the first two channels, which is measured to be ( − 0.012 ± 0.054 ± 0.010 ) and ( 0.062 ± 0.059 ± 0.006 ) , respectively. No evidence for C P violation is observed in this process. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We report measurements of radon progeny in liquid argon within the MicroBooNE time projection chamber (LArTPC). The presence of specific radon daughters in MicroBooNE’s 85 metric tons of active liquid argon bulk is probed with newly developed charge-based low-energy reconstruction tools and analysis techniques to detect correlated Bi 214 − Po 214 radioactive decays. Special datasets taken during periods of active radon doping enable new demonstrations of the calorimetric capabilities of single-phase neutrino LArTPCs for β and α particles with electron-equivalent energies ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 MeV. By applying Bi 214 − Po 214 detection algorithms to data recorded over a 46-day period, no statistically significant presence of radioactive Bi 214 is detected, and a limit on the activity is placed at < 0.35 mBq / kg at the 95% confidence level. This bulk Bi 214 radiopurity limit—the first ever reported for a liquid argon detector incorporating liquid-phase purification—is then further discussed in relation to the targeted upper limit of 1 mBq / kg on bulk Rn 222 activity for the DUNE neutrino detector. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
An amplitude analysis of the B 0 → K * 0 μ + μ − decay is presented. The analysis is based on data collected by the LHCb experiment from proton-proton collisions at s = 7 , 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb − 1 . For the first time, Wilson coefficients and nonlocal hadronic contributions are accessed directly from the unbinned data, where the latter are parametrized as a function of q 2 with a polynomial expansion. Wilson coefficients and nonlocal hadronic parameters are determined under two alternative hypotheses: the first relies on experimental information alone, while the second one includes information from theoretical predictions for the nonlocal contributions. Both models obtain similar results for the parameters of interest. The overall level of compatibility with the Standard Model is evaluated to be between 1.8 and 1.9 standard deviations when looking at the C 9 Wilson coefficient alone, and between 1.3 and 1.4 standard deviations when considering the full set of C 9 , C 10 , C 9 ′ and C 10 ′ Wilson coefficients. The ranges reflect the theoretical assumptions made in the analysis. © 2024 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration 2024 CERN
We examine the implications of the weak gravity conjecture for the mechanisms for discharging cosmological constant via membrane nucleations. Once screening fluxes and membranes which source them enter, and weak gravity bounds are enforced, a generic de Sitter space must be unstable. We show that when all the flux terms which screen and discharge the cosmological constant are dominated by quadratic and higher order terms, the bounds from weak gravity conjecture and naturalness lead toward anthropic outcomes. In contrast, when the flux sectors are dominated by linear flux terms, anthropics may be avoided, and the cosmological constant may naturally decay toward smallest possible values. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
A light scalar X 0 or vector X 1 particles have been introduced as a possible explanation for the ( g − 2 ) μ anomaly and dark matter phenomena. Using ( 8.998 ± 0.039 ) × 10 9 J / ψ events collected by the BESIII detector, we search for a light muon philic scalar X 0 or vector X 1 in the processes J / ψ → μ + μ − X 0 , 1 with X 0 , 1 invisible decays. No obvious signal is found, and the upper limits on the coupling g 0 , 1 ′ between the muon and the X 0 , 1 particles are set to be between 1.1 × 10 − 3 and 1.0 × 10 − 2 for the X 0 , 1 mass in the range of 1 < M ( X 0 , 1 ) < 1000 MeV / c 2 at 90% credibility level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.9 fb − 1 collected at center-of-mass energies from 4.16 to 4.34 GeV with the BESIII detector, we search for the decay χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − χ c 1 in the radiative production e + e − → γ χ c 1 ( 3872 ) . No significant signal is observed, and the ratio for the branching fraction of χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − χ c 1 to χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − J / ψ is measured as R ≡ B [ χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − χ c 1 ] B [ χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − J / ψ ] < 0.18 at 90% confidence level. An upper limit on the product of the cross section σ [ e + e − → γ χ c 1 ( 3872 ) ] and the branching fraction B [ χ c 1 ( 3872 ) → π + π − χ c 1 ] at each center-of-mass energy is also given. These measurements favor the nonconventional charmonium nature of the χ c 1 ( 3872 ) state. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We present the first search for the leptonic decays D * + → e + ν e and D * + → μ + ν μ by analyzing a data sample of electron-positron collisions recorded with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 4.178 and 4.226 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6.32 fb − 1 . No significant signal is observed. The upper limits on the branching fractions for D * + → e + ν e and D * + → μ + ν μ are set to be 1.1 × 10 − 5 and 4.3 × 10 − 6 at 90% confidence level, respectively. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
A search is performed for localized excesses in the low-mass dijet invariant mass distribution, targeting a hypothetical new particle decaying into two jets and produced in association with either a high transverse momentum photon or a jet. The search uses the full Run 2 data sample from LHC proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV during 2015–2018. Two variants of the search are presented for each type of initial-state radiation: one that makes no jet flavor requirements and one that requires both of the jets to have been identified as containing b-hadrons. No excess is observed relative to the Standard Model prediction, and the data are used to set upper limits on the production cross section for a benchmark Z' model and, separately, for generic, beyond the Standard Model scenarios which might produce a Gaussian-shaped contribution to dijet invariant mass distributions. The results extend the current constraints on dijet resonances to the mass range between 200 and 650 GeV.
To continue from our previous work, we derive the full Standard Model prediction of the most general free neutron differential decay rate with all massive particles (neutron, proton, and electron) polarized, including the $\mathcal{O}$(1/$\mathcal{m}$ N ) recoil corrections and $\mathcal{O}$(α/π) radiative corrections. For the latter we adopt the newly developed pseudoneutrino formalism which is compatible to realistic experimental setups, in which neutrinos and photons are not detected. We also provide readily executable Mathematica notebooks to evaluate these corrections.