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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Detecting nanometer-scale new forces with coherent neutron scattering

Significant effort has been devoted to searching for new fundamental forces of nature. At short length scales (below approximately 10 nm), the strongest experimental constraints come from neutron scattering from individual nuclei in gases. The leading experiments at longer length scales instead measure forces between macroscopic test masses. We propose a hybrid of these two approaches: scattering neutrons off of a target that has spatial structure at nanoscopic length scales. Such structures will give a coherent enhancement to small-angle scattering, where the new force is most significant. This can considerably improve the sensitivity of neutron scattering experiments for new forces in the 0.1–100 nm range. We discuss the backgrounds due to Standard Model interactions and a variety of potential target structures that could be used, estimating the resulting sensitivities. We show that, using only one day of beam time at a modern neutron scattering facility, our proposal has the potential to detect new forces as much as 2 orders of magnitude beyond current laboratory constraints at the appropriate length scales.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ultraheavy diquark decaying into vectorlike quarks at the LHC

We explore the discovery potential of ultraheavy (7–8.5 TeV) diquark scalars (𝑆 𝑢⁢𝑢 ) produced in the collision of two up quarks at the LHC. Assuming that the diquark scalar decays into two vectorlike quarks of mass around 2 TeV, each of them decaying into a 𝑊 + boson and a 𝑏 quark, we focus on the fully hadronic final state. We present a signal-from-background separation study based on a discriminator built with machine learning techniques. For this six-jet final state and a luminosity of 3000 fb −1 , we estimate that a diquark scalar of mass near 8 TeV may be discovered or ruled out even when its coupling to up quarks is as low as 0.2.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Decaying scalar dark matter in the minimal left-right symmetric model

In the minimal left-right symmetric theory, the dark matter candidate is usually ascribed to the lightest right-handed neutrino. Here we present an alternative decaying dark matter candidate in this model in terms of the lightest neutral scalar from the 𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(2) 𝑅 -triplet field. This setup requires a vast hierarchy between the scalar mass and the left-right symmetry breaking scale, which renders the scalar dark matter sufficiently stable on cosmological time scales. The stability of the dark matter imposes constraints on the right-handed neutrino mass, which has consequences for the neutrino mass generation, as well as for leptogenesis. Although somewhat fine-tuned, it provides a very economical scenario wherein the minimal left-right model can simultaneously explain dark matter, neutrino masses, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe.

baryogenesis↗
DOE OSTI2025

Composite quarks and leptons with embedded QCD

We construct a model of quark and lepton compositeness based on an 𝑆⁢𝑈⁡(15) gauge interaction that confines chiral preons, which are also charged under the weakly coupled 𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(4) PS ×𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(2) 𝐿 ×𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(2) 𝑅 gauge group. The breaking of the latter, down to the Standard Model group, is achieved by scalar 𝑆⁢𝑈⁡(15) bound states at a scale in the 30–100 TeV range. The embedding of the QCD gauge group in 𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(4) PS slows down the running of 𝛼 𝑠 in the UV. We estimate the effects of the strongly coupled 𝑆⁢𝑈⁡(15) dynamics on the running of the 𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(4) PS ×𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(2) 𝐿 ×𝑆⁢𝑈⁢(2) 𝑅 gauge couplings, which likely remain perturbative beyond the compositeness scale of about 10 3 –10 4 TeV, and even above a unification scale. A composite vectorlike lepton doublet acquires a mass in the TeV range probed at future colliders, and an extended Higgs sector arises from six-preon bound states.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mutually elusive: Vectorlike antileptons and leptoquarks

We study the properties of vectorlike fermions that have the same gauge charges as the Standard Model lepton doublets, but opposite lepton number. These antileptons undergo decays mediated by heavier scalar leptoquarks, while the symmetries of this renormalizable model protect the vectorlike fermions and the leptoquarks from standard decays probed so far at colliders. We derive upper limits on the new Yukawa couplings imposed by flavor-changing processes, including 𝐵 → 𝐾⁢$v\bar{v}$ and $𝐵_𝑠$ − $\bar{𝐵}_𝑠$ mixing, and show that they are compatible with prompt antilepton decays at the LHC for wide parameter ranges. If the new particles couple predominantly to second-generation quarks, then their collider probes involve multiple jets and two taus or neutrinos, and are hampered by large backgrounds. If couplings to third-generation quarks are large, then the collider signals involve top quarks, and can be probed more efficiently at the LHC. Even in that case, both the vectorlike fermion doublet and the leptoquarks remain more elusive than in models with standard decays.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Resonant multiscalar production in the generic complex singlet model in the multi-TeV region

We develop benchmarks for resonant discalar production in the generic complex singlet scalar extension of the Standard Model (SM) with no additional symmetries, which contains two new scalars. These benchmarks maximize discalar resonant production modes at future 𝑝⁢𝑝 colliders: 𝑝⁢𝑝 → ℎ 2 → ℎ 1⁡ ℎ 1 , 𝑝⁢𝑝 → ℎ 2 → ℎ 1 ⁡ℎ 3 , and 𝑝⁢𝑝 → ℎ 2 → ℎ 3 ⁡ℎ 3 , where ℎ 1 is the observed SM-like Higgs boson and ℎ 2,3 are new scalars. The decays ℎ 2 → ℎ 1 ⁡ℎ 3 and ℎ 2 → ℎ 3 ⁡ℎ 3 may be the only way to discover ℎ 3 , leading to a discovery of two new scalars at once. Current LHC and projected future collider (HL-LHC, FCC-ee+HL-LHC, IL⁢C⁢500+HL-LHC) constraints on this model are used to produce benchmarks at the HL-LHC for ℎ 2 masses between 250 GeV and 1 TeV and a future 𝑝⁢𝑝 collider (FCC-hh) for ℎ 2 masses between 250 GeV and 12 TeV. We update the current LHC bounds on the singlet-Higgs boson mixing angle for these benchmarks. As the mass of ℎ 2 approaches the multi-TeV region, certain limiting behaviors of the maximum rates are uncovered due to theoretical constraints on the parameters. These limits, which can be derived analytically, are BR⁡(ℎ 2 → ℎ 1⁡ ℎ 1 ) → 0.25, BR⁡(ℎ 2 → ℎ 3 ⁡ℎ 3 ) → 0.5, and BR⁡(ℎ 2 → ℎ 1⁡ ℎ 3 ) → 0. It can also be shown that the maximum rates of 𝑝⁢𝑝 → ℎ 2 → ℎ 1 ⁡ℎ 1 and 𝑝⁢𝑝 → ℎ 2 → ℎ 3⁡ ℎ 3 approach the same value. Hence, all three ℎ 2 → ℎ 𝑖 ⁡ℎ 𝑗 decays are promising discovery modes for ℎ 2 masses at and below 𝒪⁡(1 TeV), while above 𝒪⁡(1 TeV) the decays ℎ 2 → ℎ 1 ⁡ℎ 1 and ℎ 2 → ℎ 3 ⁡ℎ 3 are more encouraging. We choose benchmark masses for ℎ 3 to produce a large range of decay signatures including multi-𝑏, multivector boson, and multi-SM-like Higgs production. As we will show, the behavior of the maximum rates leads to the surprising conclusion that in the multi-TeV region this model may be discovered in the Higgs quartet production mode via ℎ 2 → ℎ 3 ⁡ℎ 3 → 4⁢ℎ 1 decays before Higgs triple production is observed. The maximum di- and four Higgs production rates are similar in the multi-TeV range.

Extensions of Higgs sector↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing New Hadronic Forces with Heavy Exotic Atoms

We explore the potential of precision spectroscopy of heavy exotic atoms where electrons are substituted by negative hadrons to detect new force carriers with hadronic couplings. The selected transitions are unaffected by nuclear contact terms, thus enabling highly accurate calculations using bound-state QED, provided that the nuclear polarization is under control. Alternatively, we demonstrate that the dipole polarizability, a fundamental property of nuclei, can be extracted from the spectroscopy of exotic atoms in a novel way by combining two transitions while maintaining high sensitivity to new physics. Based on existing data, we extracted world-leading bounds on mediator masses ranging from 0.1 to 10 MeV for two benchmark models and show that forthcoming experiments could enhance the sensitivity to new physics by 2 orders of magnitude.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Toward UV models of kinetic mixing and portal matter. V. Indirect probes of the new physics scale

Kinetic mixing of the dark photon, the gauge boson of a hidden U ( 1 ) D , with the Standard Model (SM) gauge fields to induce an interaction between ordinary matter and dark matter (DM) at 1-loop requires the existence of portal matter (PM) fields having both dark and SM charges. As discussed in earlier work, these same PM fields can also lead to other loop-level mechanisms besides kinetic mixing that can generate significant interactions between SM fermions and the dark photon in a manner analogous to those that can be generated between a Dirac neutrino and a SM photon, i.e., dark moments. In either case, there are reasons to believe, e.g., due to the renormalization group equation running of the U ( 1 ) D gauge coupling, that PM fields may have ∼ TeV -scale masses that lie at or above those directly accessible to the HL-LHC. If they lie above the reach of the HL-LHC, then the only way to possibly explore the physics at this high scale in the short term is via indirect measurements made at lower energies, e.g., at lepton colliders operating in the m Z to 1 TeV range. In particular, processes such as e + e − → γ + DM or e + e − → f ¯ f , where f is a SM fermion, may be most useful in this regard. Here we explore these possibilities within the framework of a simple toy PM model, introduced in earlier work, based on a non-Abelian dark gauge group completion operating at the PM scale. In the kinetic mixing setup, we show these efforts fail due to the inherently tiny cross sections in the face of substantial SM backgrounds. However, in the case of interactions via induced dark moments, since they necessarily take the form of higher dimensional operators whose influence grows with energy, we show that access to PM-scale information may become possible for certain ranges of the toy model parameters for both of these e + e − processes at a 1 TeV collider. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Weakly supervised anomaly detection with event-level variables

We introduce a new topology for weakly supervised anomaly detection searches, diobject plus X. In this topology, one looks for a resonance decaying to two standard model particles produced in association with other anomalous event activity (X). This additional activity is used for classification. We demonstrate how anomaly detection techniques which have been developed for dijet searches focusing on jet substructure anomalies can be applied to event-level anomaly detection in this topology. To robustly capture event-level features of multiparticle kinematics, we employ new physically motivated variables derived from the geometric structure of a collision’s phase space manifold. As a proof of concept, we explore the application of this approach to several benchmark signals in the di-𝜏 and di-𝜇 plus X final states. We demonstrate that our anomaly detection approach can reach discovery-level significances for signals that would be missed in a conventional bump-hunt approach.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Axionlike particles and sterile neutrinos solve the 𝐵 → 𝐾⁢$𝜈⁢\bar{𝜈}$ and 𝐵 → 𝜋⁢𝐾 puzzles

The recent measurement of the branching ratio of 𝐵 + → 𝐾 + +inv (where “inv” denotes invisible states) by the Belle II Collaboration is enhanced relative to the standard model expectation by 2.7⁢𝜎. An older puzzle persists in measurements of the branching ratios and 𝐶⁢𝑃 asymmetries of 𝐵 → 𝜋⁢𝐾 decays. We address these two anomalies in flavor-changing neutral current 𝐵 decays, with a short-lived axionlike particle (ALP) with mass close to that of the 𝜋 0 . In the model with the minimum number of new couplings, the ALP has couplings to the photon, top quark and a heavy sterile neutrino. The ALP contributes to the 𝐵 → 𝜋 0 ⁢𝐾 decays by mixing with the 𝜋 0 . It contributes to 𝐵 + → 𝐾 + + inv by its off-shell coupling to sterile neutrino pairs. The model can explain the excess in the total rate, but not the observed distribution of signal events. We make predictions for all 𝐵 → 𝐾 (*) + inv modes and for the rare kaon decays, 𝐾 + → 𝜋 + + inv and 𝐾 𝐿 → 𝜋 0 + inv. We find an appreciable contribution to the magnetic moment of the muon, and negligible contributions to the magnetic moment of the electron and 𝑏 → 𝑠⁢𝑒 + ⁢𝑒 − .

axion-like particles↗