Search for quantum black hole production in lepton+ jet final states using proton-proton collisions at s= 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The vector-boson production cross-section for the Higgs boson decay in the channel is measured as a function of kinematic observables sensitive to the Higgs boson production and decay properties as well as integrated in a fiducial phase space. The analysis is performed using the proton--proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector in Run 2 of the LHC at center-of-mass energy, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb. The opposite lepton flavor final state is studied by selecting an electron and a muon originating from a pair of bosons and compatible with the Higgs boson decay. The data are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution, and the measurements are compared with different state-of-the-art theoretical predictions. The differential cross-sections are used to constrain anomalous interactions described by dimension-six operators in an Effective Field Theory.

Measurements of inclusive, differential cross-sections for the production of events with missing transverse momentum in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at ~TeV are presented. The measurements are made with the ATLAS detector using an integrated luminosity of 140~fb and include measurements of dijet distributions in a region in which vector-boson fusion processes are enhanced. They are unfolded to correct for detector resolution and efficiency within the fiducial acceptance, and are designed to allow robust comparisons with a wide range of theoretical predictions. A measurement of differential cross sections for the process is made. The measurements are generally well-described by Standard Model predictions except for the dijet invariant mass distribution. Auxiliary measurements of the hadronic system recoiling against isolated leptons, and photons, are also made in the same phase space. Ratios between the measured distributions are then derived, to take advantage of cancellations in modelling effects and some of the major systematic uncertainties. These measurements are sensitive to new phenomena, and provide a mechanism to easily set constraints on phenomenological models. To illustrate the robustness of the approach, these ratios are compared with two common Dark Matter models, where the constraints derived from the measurement are comparable to those set by dedicated detector-level searches.

The European Physical Journal C

The inclusive Higgs boson production cross-section is measured in the di-photon and the decay channels using 31.4 and 29.0 fb of pp collision data respectively, collected with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of  . To reduce the model dependence, the measurement in each channel is restricted to a particle-level phase space that closely matches the channel’s detector-level kinematic selection, and it is corrected for detector effects. These measured fiducial cross-sections are   fb, and   fb, in agreement with the corresponding Standard Model predictions of  fb and  fb. Assuming Standard Model acceptances and branching fractions for the two channels, the fiducial measurements are extrapolated to the full phase space yielding total cross-sections of  pb and  pb at 13.6  from the di-photon and  …

Minor Planet Bulletin

We report the discovery and confirmation of a previously unknown satellite of the main-belt asteroid 5457 Queen's (1980 TW5) via GPS-time-stamped video recordings of two stellar occultations. The first occultation on 2023 September 4.93059 resulted in three positive chords from the Czech Republic and Switzerland for the main body, allowing an elliptical fit of 24.6±0.9 km× 16.2±0.7 km, and in a 2.0±0.2 km chord of the presumed satellite. 15.07 days later, on September 20.00597, the satellite was confirmed by an observer in Greece, who determined a chord of 17.5±0.5 km for the main body and a chord of 2.8±0.5 km for the satellite. Using both satellite chords as diameters of spherical bodies, we derived the following satellite distances from the main body: 2023 September 4.93059: separation 11.4±0.7 mas, pa 52.2±3.0; 2023 September 20.00597: separation 20.4±0.5 mas, pa 248.8±3.0. Further observations …

A search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in final states with high jet multiplicity is presented. The search uses of proton--proton collision data at collected by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The results are interpreted in the context of R-parity-violating supersymmetry models that feature prompt gluino-pair production decaying directly to three jets each or decaying to two jets and a neutralino which subsequently decays promptly to three jets. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are extracted. Gluinos with masses up to 1800 GeV are excluded when decaying directly to three jets. In the cascade scenario, gluinos with masses up to 2340 GeV are excluded for a neutralino with mass up to 1250 GeV

Measurements of inclusive and normalized differential cross sections of the associated production of top quark-antiquark and bottom quark-antiquark pairs, ttbb, are presented. The results are based on data from proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb− 1. The cross sections are measured in the lepton+ jets decay channel of the top quark pair, using events containing exactly one isolated electron or muon and at least five jets. Measurements are made in four fiducial phase space regions, targeting different aspects of the ttbb process. Distributions are unfolded to the particle level through maximum likelihood fits, and compared with predictions from several event generators. The inclusive cross section measurements of this process in the fiducial phase space regions are the most precise to date. In most cases, the measured inclusive cross sections exceed the predictions with the chosen generator settings. The only exception is when using a particular choice of dynamic renormalization scale, µR= 12 ni= t, t, b, b m1/4

arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.05383

Daya Bay presents the first measurement of cosmogenic He isotope production in liquid scintillator, using an innovative method for identifying cascade decays of He and its child isotope, Li. We also measure the production yield of Li isotopes using well-established methodology. The results, in units of 10gcm, are 0.3070.042, 0.3410.040, and 0.5460.076 for He, and 6.730.73, 6.750.70, and 13.740.82 for Li at average muon energies of 63.9~GeV, 64.7~GeV, and 143.0~GeV, respectively. The measured production rate of He isotopes is more than an order of magnitude lower than any other measurement of cosmogenic isotope production. It replaces the results of previous attempts to determine the ratio of He to Li production that yielded a wide range of limits from 0 to 30\%. The results provide future liquid-scintillator-based experiments with improved ability to predict cosmogenic backgrounds.

Measurements of inclusive and normalized differential cross sections of the associated production of top quark-antiquark and bottom quark-antiquark pairs, ttbb, are presented. The results are based on data from proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb− 1. The cross sections are measured in the lepton+ jets decay channel of the top quark pair, using events containing exactly one isolated electron or muon and at least five jets. Measurements are made in four fiducial phase space regions, targeting different aspects of the ttbb process. Distributions are unfolded to the particle level through maximum likelihood fits, and compared with predictions from several event generators. The inclusive cross section measurements of this process in the fiducial phase space regions are the most precise to date. In most cases, the measured inclusive cross sections exceed the predictions with the chosen generator settings. The only exception is when using a particular choice of dynamic renormalization scale, µR= 12 ni= t, t, b, b m1/4

arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.18731

Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs boson into and of the boson into and can probe flavour-violating Higgs and boson couplings to light quarks. Searches for these decays are performed with a collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of fb collected at TeV between 2016-2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In the and channels, the observed (expected) 95 confidence-level upper limits on the respective branching fractions are , , while the corresponding results in the channel are .

Journal of High Energy Physics

Differential cross-sections are measured for the production of four charged leptons in association with two jets. These measurements are sensitive to final states in which the jets are produced via the strong interaction as well as to the purely-electroweak vector boson scattering process. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by ATLAS at= 13 TeV and with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb− 1. The data are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution and are compared to state-of-the-art Monte Carlo event generator predictions. The differential cross-sections are used to search for anomalous weak-boson self-interactions that are induced by dimension-six and dimension-eight operators in Standard Model effective field theory.

Chinese physics C

The identification of jets originating from quarks and gluons, often referred to as quark/gluon tagging, plays an important role in various analyses performed at the Large Hadron Collider, as Standard Model measurements and searches for new particles decaying to quarks often rely on suppressing a large gluon-induced background. This paper describes the measurement of the efficiencies of quark/gluon taggers developed within the ATLAS Collaboration, using TeV proton–proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb collected by the ATLAS experiment. Two taggers with high performances in rejecting jets from gluon over jets from quarks are studied: one tagger is based on requirements on the number of inner-detector tracks associated with the jet, and the other combines several jet substructure observables using a boosted decision tree. A method is established to determine the quark/gluon fraction in data, by using quark/gluon-enriched subsamples defined by the jet pseudorapidity. Differences in tagging efficiency between data and simulation are provided for jets with transverse momentum between 500 GeV and 2 TeV and for multiple tagger working points.

Journal of High Energy Physics

A search for nonresonant Higgs boson pair production in the final state is performed using 140 fb− 1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. This analysis supersedes and expands upon the previous nonresonant ATLAS results in this final state based on the same data sample. The analysis strategy is optimised to probe anomalous values not only of the Higgs (H) boson self-coupling modifier κ λ but also of the quartic HHVV (V= W, Z) coupling modifier κ 2V. No significant excess above the expected background from Standard Model processes is observed. An observed upper limit μ HH< 4.0 is set at 95% confidence level on the Higgs boson pair production cross-section normalised to its Standard Model prediction. The 95% confidence intervals for the coupling modifiers are− 1.4< κ λ< 6.9 and− 0.5< κ 2V< 2.7, assuming …

Measurements of inclusive and normalized differential cross sections of the associated production of top quark-antiquark and bottom quark-antiquark pairs, ttbb, are presented. The results are based on data from proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb− 1. The cross sections are measured in the lepton+ jets decay channel of the top quark pair, using events containing exactly one isolated electron or muon and at least five jets. Measurements are made in four fiducial phase space regions, targeting different aspects of the ttbb process. Distributions are unfolded to the particle level through maximum likelihood fits, and compared with predictions from several event generators. The inclusive cross section measurements of this process in the fiducial phase space regions are the most precise to date. In most cases, the measured inclusive cross sections exceed the predictions with the chosen generator settings. The only exception is when using a particular choice of dynamic renormalization scale, µR= 12 ni= t, t, b, b m1/4

Computing and Software for Big Science

The need for large-scale production of highly accurate simulated event samples for the extensive physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider motivates the development of new simulation techniques. Building on the recent success of deep learning algorithms, variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are investigated for modelling the response of the central region of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to photons of various energies. The properties of synthesised showers are compared with showers from a full detector simulation using geant4. Both variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are capable of quickly simulating electromagnetic showers with correct total energies and stochasticity, though the modelling of some shower shape distributions requires more refinement. This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of using such algorithms for ATLAS fast calorimeter simulation in the future and shows a possible way to complement current simulation techniques.

The European Physical Journal C

A search for the production of single-top-quarks in association with missing energy is performed in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of with the ATLAS experiment at the large hadron collider using data collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of  fb. In this search, the boson from the top quark is required to decay into an electron or a muon and a neutrino. No deviation from the standard model prediction is observed, and upper limits are set on the production cross-section for resonant and non-resonant production of an invisible exotic state in association with a right-handed top quark. In the case of resonant production, for a spin- resonance with a mass of  GeV, an effective coupling strength above is excluded at 95 confidence level for the top quark and an invisible spin- state with mass between and  GeV. In the case of non-resonant production, an effective …

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into different pairings of , , or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb of proton-proton collisions at = 13 TeV collected during 2015-2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (, , , and ) or third-generation leptons ( and ) are included in this kind of combination for the first time. A simplified model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confidence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion.

A summary of precision measurements sensitive to electroweak, QCD and quark-flavour effects performed by the ATLAS Collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. The measurements are predominantly performed on proton-proton () collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV taken from 2015 to 2018, with an integrated luminosity of up to 140 fb, with some results based on and Pb+Pb data recorded at lower nucleon centre-of-mass energies. The results cover a wide range of topics, from strong production of particles at low energies and the spectroscopy of hadrons to perturbative QCD with hadronic jets and electroweak and strong production of single and multiple vector bosons. They provide precise measurements of fundamental constants and stringent tests of the Standard Model with unprecedented precision and in energy ranges never explored before. They are also used to explore the proton structure and to perform model-independent searches for new physics.

A search for charged-lepton-flavour violating () interactions is presented, considering both top-quark production and decay. The data analysed correspond to 140 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis targets events containing two muons with the same electric charge, a hadronically decaying -lepton and at least one jet, with exactly one -tagged jet, produced by a interaction. Agreement with the Standard Model expectation within is observed, and limits are set at the 95% CL on the charged-lepton-flavour violation branching ratio of . An Effective Field Theory interpretation is performed yielding 95% CL limits on Wilson coefficients, dependent on the flavour of the associated light quark and the Lorentz structure of the coupling. These range from for to for . An additional interpretation is performed for scalar leptoquark production inducing charged lepton flavour violation, with fixed inter-generational couplings. Upper limits on leptoquark coupling strengths are set at the 95% CL, ranging from 1.3 to 3.7 for leptoquark masses between 0.5 and 2.0 TeV.

Computing and Software for Big Science

The need for large-scale production of highly accurate simulated event samples for the extensive physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider motivates the development of new simulation techniques. Building on the recent success of deep learning algorithms, variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are investigated for modelling the response of the central region of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to photons of various energies. The properties of synthesised showers are compared with showers from a full detector simulation using geant4. Both variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are capable of quickly simulating electromagnetic showers with correct total energies and stochasticity, though the modelling of some shower shape distributions requires more refinement. This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of using such algorithms for ATLAS fast calorimeter simulation in the future and shows a possible way to complement current simulation techniques.

This paper reports a summary of searches for a fermionic dark matter candidate in the context of theoretical models characterised by a mediator particle exchange in the -channel. The data sample considered consists of collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider during its Run 2 at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to up to 140 . The interpretations of the results are based on simplified models where the new mediator particles can be spin-0, with scalar or pseudo-scalar couplings to fermions, or spin-1, with vector or axial-vector couplings to fermions. Exclusion limits are obtained from various searches characterised by final states with resonant production of Standard Model particles, or production of Standard Model particles in association with large missing transverse momentum.

Physical Review D

The precision with which hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) is obtained determines how accurately important observables, such as the muon anomalous magnetic moment a μ or the low-energy running of the electromagnetic coupling α, are predicted. The two most precise approaches for determining HVP are dispersive relations combined with e+ e−→ hadrons cross section data and lattice QCD. However, the results obtained in these two approaches display significant tensions, whose origins are not understood. Here we present a framework that sheds light on this issue and—if the two approaches can be reconciled—allows them to be combined. Via this framework, we test the hypothesis that the tensions can be explained by modifying the R-ratio in different intervals of center-of-mass energy s. As ingredients, we consider observables that have been precisely determined in both approaches. These are the …

Physical Review D

A search for quantum black holes in electron+ jet and muon+ jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb− 1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at s= 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton+ jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lower mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.

Physical Review D

A search for quantum black holes in electron+ jet and muon+ jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb− 1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at s= 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton+ jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lower mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.

Physical Review D

In this work we analyze the motion of charged particles in the background of the Kiselev geometry, which is considered here as an exact solution in the context of power-Maxwell electrodynamics. As it is well known, one can use either an electric ansatz or a magnetic one for the nonlinear electromagnetic field. We study the motion of an electrically charged particle for an electrically charged black hole and also for a magnetically charged black hole. In the second case the motion is restricted to Poincaré cones of various angles, as expected.

Physical Review D

Ultracold atomic gases can undergo phase transitions that mimic relativistic vacuum decay, allowing us to empirically test early Universe physics in tabletop experiments. We investigate the physics of these analog systems, going beyond previous analyses of the classical equations of motion to study quantum fluctuations in the cold-atom false vacuum. We show that the fluctuation spectrum of this vacuum state agrees with the usual relativistic result in the regime where the classical analogy holds, providing further evidence for the suitability of these systems for studying vacuum decay. Using a suite of semiclassical lattice simulations, we simulate bubble nucleation from this analog vacuum state in a 1D homonuclear potassium-41 mixture, finding qualitative agreement with instanton predictions. We identify realistic parameters for this system that will allow us to study vacuum decay with current experimental …

Physical Review D

The evolution of linear initial conditions present in the early Universe into extended halos of dark matter at late times can be computed using cosmological simulations. However, a theoretical understanding of this complex process remains elusive; in particular, the role of anisotropic information in the initial conditions in establishing the final mass of dark matter halos remains a long-standing puzzle. Here, we build a deep learning framework to investigate this question. We train a three-dimensional convolutional neural network to predict the mass of dark matter halos from the initial conditions, and quantify in full generality the amounts of information in the isotropic and anisotropic aspects of the initial density field about final halo masses. We find that anisotropies add a small, albeit statistically significant amount of information over that contained within spherical averages of the density field about final halo mass …

Physical Review D

We investigate the hypothetical X17 boson on neutron stars and quark stars (QSs) using various hadronic equation of states (EoSs) with phenomenological or microscopic origin. Our aim is to set realistic constraints on its coupling constant and the mass scaling, with respect to causality and various possible upper mass limits and the dimensionless tidal deformability Λ 1.4. In particular, we pay special attention to two main phenomenological parameters of the X17, one is related to the coupling constant g that it has with hadrons or quarks and the other with the in-medium effects through regulator C. Both are very crucial concerning the contribution on the total energy density and pressure. In the case of considering the X17 as a carrier of nuclear force in relativistic mean field theory, an admixture into the vector boson segment was constrained by 20% and 30%. In our investigation, we came to the general conclusion …

Physical Review D

The recent analysis on the central compact object in the HESS J1731-347 remnant suggests interestingly small values for its mass and radius. Such an observation favors soft nuclear models that may be challenged by the observation of massive compact stars. In contrast, the recent PREX-II experiment, concerning the neutron skin thickness of Pb 208, points toward stiff equations of state that favor larger compact star radii. In the present study, we aim to explore the compatibility between stiff hadronic equations of state (favored by PREX-II) and the HESS J1731-347 remnant in the context of hybrid stars. For the construction of hybrid equations of state we use three widely employed Skyrme models combined with the well-known vector MIT bag model. Furthermore we consider two different scenarios concerning the energy density of the bag. In the first case, that of a constant bag parameter, we find that the resulting …

Physical Review D

The second Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, GWTC-2, reported on 39 compact binary coalescences observed by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors between 1 April 2019 15∶ 00 UTC and 1 October 2019 15∶ 00 UTC. Here, we present GWTC-2.1, which reports on a deeper list of candidate events observed over the same period. We analyze the final version of the strain data over this period with improved calibration and better subtraction of excess noise, which has been publicly released. We employ three matched-filter search pipelines for candidate identification, and estimate the probability of astrophysical origin for each candidate event. While GWTC-2 used a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per year, we include in GWTC-2.1, 1201 candidates that pass a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per day. We calculate the source properties of a subset of 44 high-significance candidates that have a …

Physical Review D

We study the compact binary dynamics in the post-Newtonian approach implemented to the Einstein-Hilbert action adding the cosmological constant Λ at first post-Newtonian (1PN) order. We consider very small values of Λ finding that it plays the role of a PN factor to derive the Lagrangian of a compact two-body system at the center of mass frame at 1PN. Furthermore, the phase function ϕ (t) is obtained from the balance equation, and the two polarizations h+ and h× are also calculated. We observe changes due to Λ only at very low frequencies, and we notice that it plays the role of “stretch” the spacetime such that both amplitudes become smaller. However, given its nearly negligible value, Λ has no relevance at higher frequencies whatsoever.

Physical Review D

The nuclear reaction network within the interior of the Sun is an efficient MeV physics factory and can produce long-lived particles generic to dark sector models. In this work we consider the sensitivity of satellite instruments, primarily the RHESSI spectrometer, that observe the quiet Sun in the MeV regime where backgrounds are low. We find that quiet Sun observations offer a powerful and complementary probe in regions of parameter space, where the long-lived particle decay length is longer than the radius of the Sun and shorter than the distance between the Sun and Earth. We comment on connections to recent model-building work on heavy neutral leptons coupled to neutrinos and high-quality axions from mirror symmetries.

Physical Review D

Within the framework of relative and absolute quantum field theories (QFTs), we present a general formalism for understanding polarizations of the intermediate defect group and constructing noninvertible duality defects in theories in 2 k spacetime dimensions with self-dual gauge fields. We introduce the polarization pair, which fully specifies absolute QFTs as far as their (k− 1)-form defect groups are concerned, including their (k− 1)-form symmetries, global structures (including discrete θ-angle), and local counterterms. Using the associated symmetry topological field theory (TFT), we show that the polarization pair is capable of succinctly describing topological manipulations, eg, gauging (k− 1)-form global symmetries and stacking counterterms, of absolute QFTs. Furthermore, automorphisms of the (k− 1)-form charge lattice naturally act on polarization pairs via their action on the defect group; they can be viewed as …

Physical Review D

Recent measurements of charm-baryon production in hadronic collisions have questioned the universality of charm-quark fragmentation across different collision systems. In this work the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is probed, by presenting the first measurement of the longitudinal jet momentum fraction carried by Λ c+ baryons, z∥ ch, in hadronic collisions. The results are obtained in proton-proton (p p) collisions at s= 13 TeV at the LHC, with Λ c+ baryons and charged (track-based) jets reconstructed in the transverse momentum intervals of 3≤ p T Λ c+< 15 GeV/c and 7≤ p T jet ch< 15 GeV/c, respectively. The z∥ ch distribution is compared to a measurement of D 0-tagged charged jets in p p collisions as well as to pythia 8 simulations. The data hints that the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is softer with respect to charm mesons, in the measured kinematic interval, as …

Physical Review D

The second Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, GWTC-2, reported on 39 compact binary coalescences observed by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors between 1 April 2019 15∶ 00 UTC and 1 October 2019 15∶ 00 UTC. Here, we present GWTC-2.1, which reports on a deeper list of candidate events observed over the same period. We analyze the final version of the strain data over this period with improved calibration and better subtraction of excess noise, which has been publicly released. We employ three matched-filter search pipelines for candidate identification, and estimate the probability of astrophysical origin for each candidate event. While GWTC-2 used a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per year, we include in GWTC-2.1, 1201 candidates that pass a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per day. We calculate the source properties of a subset of 44 high-significance candidates that have a …

Physical Review D

The second Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, GWTC-2, reported on 39 compact binary coalescences observed by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors between 1 April 2019 15∶ 00 UTC and 1 October 2019 15∶ 00 UTC. Here, we present GWTC-2.1, which reports on a deeper list of candidate events observed over the same period. We analyze the final version of the strain data over this period with improved calibration and better subtraction of excess noise, which has been publicly released. We employ three matched-filter search pipelines for candidate identification, and estimate the probability of astrophysical origin for each candidate event. While GWTC-2 used a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per year, we include in GWTC-2.1, 1201 candidates that pass a false alarm rate threshold of 2 per day. We calculate the source properties of a subset of 44 high-significance candidates that have a …

Physical Review D

A search for quantum black holes in electron+ jet and muon+ jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb− 1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at s= 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton+ jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lower mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.

Physical Review D

Recent measurements of charm-baryon production in hadronic collisions have questioned the universality of charm-quark fragmentation across different collision systems. In this work the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is probed, by presenting the first measurement of the longitudinal jet momentum fraction carried by Λ c+ baryons, z∥ ch, in hadronic collisions. The results are obtained in proton-proton (p p) collisions at s= 13 TeV at the LHC, with Λ c+ baryons and charged (track-based) jets reconstructed in the transverse momentum intervals of 3≤ p T Λ c+< 15 GeV/c and 7≤ p T jet ch< 15 GeV/c, respectively. The z∥ ch distribution is compared to a measurement of D 0-tagged charged jets in p p collisions as well as to pythia 8 simulations. The data hints that the fragmentation of charm quarks into charm baryons is softer with respect to charm mesons, in the measured kinematic interval, as …

Physical Review D

A search for quantum black holes in electron+ jet and muon+ jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb− 1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at s= 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton+ jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lower mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.

Physical Review D

We use data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) DR4 to search for the presence of neutrino self-interaction in the cosmic microwave background. Consistent with prior works, the posterior distributions we find are bimodal, with one mode consistent with Λ CDM and one where neutrinos strongly self-interact. By combining ACT data with large-scale information from WMAP, we find that a delayed onset of neutrino free streaming caused by significantly strong neutrino self-interaction is compatible with these data at the 2− 3 σ level. As seen in the past, the preference shifts to Λ CDM with the inclusion of Planck data. We determine that the preference for strong neutrino self-interaction is largely driven by angular scales corresponding to 700≲ ℓ≲ 1000 in the ACT E-mode polarization data. This region is expected to be key to discriminate between neutrino self-interacting modes and will soon be probed with …

Physical Review D

We determine the fine-tuning of the Yukawa couplings of supersymmetric QCD, discretized on a lattice. We use perturbation theory at one-loop level. The modified minimal subtraction scheme (MS) is employed; by its definition, this scheme requires perturbative calculations, in the continuum and/or on the lattice. On the lattice, we utilize the Wilson formulation for gluon, quark, and gluino fields; for squark fields we use naive discretization. The sheer difficulties of this study lie in the fact that different components of squark fields mix among themselves at the quantum level and the action’s symmetries, such as parity and charge conjugation, allow an additional Yukawa coupling. Consequently, for an appropriate fine-tuning of the Yukawa terms, these mixings must be taken into account in the renormalization conditions. All Green’s functions and renormalization factors are analytic expressions depending on the number of …