Search

An angular analysis of the $B_s^0 \rightarrow \phi e^+e^-$ decay is performed using the proton-proton collision dataset collected between 2011 and 2018 by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and $13\,{\rm TeV}$. The analysis is performed in the very low dielectron invariant mass-squared region between $0.0009$ and $0.2615\,{\rm GeV}^2\!/c^4$. The longitudinal polarisation fraction of the $\phi$ meson is measured to be less than $11.5\%$ at $90\%$ confidence level. The $A_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathcal{R}e C\!P}$ observable, which is related to the lepton forward-backward asymmetry, is measured to be $0.116 \pm 0.155 \pm 0.006$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The transverse asymmetries, $A_{\mathrm{T}}^{(2)}$ and $A_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathcal{I}m C\!P}$ , which are sensitive to the virtual photon polarisation, are found to be $-0.045 \pm 0.235 \pm 0.014$ and $0.002 \pm 0.247 \pm 0.016$, respectively. The results are consistent with Standard Model predictions., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lbfence.cern.ch/alcm/public/analysis/full-details/3433/(LHCb public pages)

We have revisited the isospin-breaking corrections relating $\sigma(e^+e^-\to\pi^+\pi^-)$ and $\Gamma(\tau^-\to\pi^-\pi^0\nu_\tau)$. We confirm that the associated uncertainty is under control, so that tau data can also be used to predict accurately the leading hadronic contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment and precision conserved vector current tests can be carried out., Comment: Comments: 6 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. Contribution to the proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics (QNP2024), 8-12 July, 2024. Barcelona, Spain

Fixed target experiments where beam electrons are focused upon a thin target have shown great potential for probing new physics, including the sub-GeV dark matter (DM) paradigm. However, a signal in future experiments such as the light dark matter experiment (LDMX) would require an independent validation to assert its DM origin. To this end, we propose to combine LDMX and next generation DM direct detection (DD) data in a four-step analysis strategy, which we here illustrate with Monte Carlo simulations. In the first step, the hypothetical LDMX signal (i.e. an excess in the final state electron energy and transverse momentum distributions) is $\textit{recorded}$. In the second step, a DM DD experiment operates with increasing exposure to test the DM origin of the LDMX signal. Here, LDMX and DD data are simulated. In the third step, a posterior probability density function (pdf) for the DM model parameters is extracted from the DD data, and used to $\textit{predict}$ the electron recoil energy and transverse momentum distributions at LDMX. In the last step, $\textit{predicted}$ and $\textit{recorded}$ electron recoil energy and transverse momentum distributions are compared in a chi-square test. We present the results of this comparison in terms of a threshold exposure that a DD experiment has to operate with to assert whether $\textit{predicted}$ and $\textit{recorded}$ distributions $\textit{can}$ be statistically dependent. We find that this threshold exposure grows with the DM particle mass, $m_\chi$. It varies from 0.012 kg-year for a DM mass of $m_\chi=4$ MeV to 1 kg-year for $m_\chi=25$ MeV, which is or will soon be within reach.

Top-quark pair production is observed in lead-lead (Pb+Pb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=5.02$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector. The data sample was recorded in 2015 and 2018, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 nb$^{-1}$. Events with exactly one electron and one muon and at least two jets are selected. Top-quark pair production is measured with an observed (expected) significance of 5.0 (4.1) standard deviations. The measured top-quark pair production cross-section is $\sigma_{t\bar{t}} = 3.6\;^{+1.0}_{-0.9}\;\mathrm{(stat.)}\;^{+0.8}_{-0.5}\;\mathrm{(syst.)} ~\mathrm{\mu b}$, with a total relative uncertainty of 31%, and is consistent with theoretical predictions using a range of different nuclear parton distribution functions. The observation of this process consolidates the evidence of the existence of all quark flavors in the pre-equilibrium stage of the quark-gluon plasma at very high energy densities, similar to the conditions present in the early universe., Comment: 31 pages in total, author list starting page 17, 2 figures, 0 tables, submitted to PRL. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2022-10/

This study explores a two-component dark matter model in which one component, heavier dark matter, annihilates into a lighter dark matter. The lighter dark matter is expected to generate detectable signals in detectors due to its enhanced momentum, enabling direct detection even for MeV-scale dark matter. We investigate the effectiveness of directional direct detections, especially the nuclear emulsion detector NEWSdm, in verifying these boosted dark matter particles through nuclear recoil. In particular, we focus on light nuclei, such as protons and carbon, as suitable targets for this detection method due to their high sensitivity to MeV-scale dark matter. By modeling the interactions mediated by a dark photon in a hidden U(1)$_D$ gauge symmetry framework, we calculate the expected dark matter flux and scattering rates for various detector configurations. Our results show that nuclear emulsions have the potential to yield distinct, direction-sensitive dark matter signals from the Galactic center, providing a new way to probe low-mass dark matter parameter spaces that evade conventional detection methods., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables

We present measurements of $B \to K{}^{*}(892)\gamma$ decays using $365\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ of data collected from 2019 to 2022 by the Belle~II experiment at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider. The data sample contains $(387 \pm 6) \times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ events. We measure branching fractions ($\mathcal{B}$) and $C\!P$ asymmetries ($\mathcal{A}_{C\!P}$) for both $B^{0}\to K{}^{*0}\gamma$ and $B^{+}\to K{}^{*+}\gamma$ decays. The difference in $C\!P$ asymmetries ($\Delta \mathcal{A}_{C\!P}$) and the isospin asymmetry ($\Delta_{0+}$) between these neutral and charged channels are also measured. We obtain the following branching fractions and $C\!P$ asymmetries: $\mathcal{B} (B^{0} \to K{}^{*0}\gamma) = (4.14 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.11 ) \times 10^{-5}$, $\mathcal{B} (B^{+} \to K{}^{*+}\gamma) = (4.02 \pm 0.13 \pm 0.13 )\times 10^{-5}$, $\mathcal{A}_{C\!P} (B^{0} \to K{}^{*0}\gamma) = (-3.3 \pm 2.3 \pm 0.4 )\%$, and $\mathcal{A}_{C\!P} (B^{+} \to K{}^{*+}\gamma) = (-0.7 \pm 2.9 \pm 0.6 )\%$. The measured difference in $C\!P$ asymmetries is $\Delta \mathcal{A}_{C\!P} = (+2.6 \pm 3.8 \pm 0.7 )\%$, and the measured isospin asymmetry is $\Delta_{0+} = (+5.0 \pm 2.0 \pm 1.5 )\%$. The first uncertainties listed are statistical and the second are systematic. These results are consistent with world-average values and theory predictions.

The distribution of angular correlations between prompt charm hadrons and primary charged particles in pp collisions is sensitive to the charm-quark hadronisation process. In this letter, charm-baryon correlations are measured for the first time by studying the azimuthal-angle difference between charged particles and prompt $\Lambda_{\rm c}^+$ baryons produced in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, with the ALICE detector. $\Lambda_{\rm c}^+$ baryons are reconstructed at midrapidity ($|y| < 0.5$) in the transverse-momentum interval $3 < p_{\rm T} < 16$ GeV/$c$, and correlated with charged particles with $p_{\rm T} > 0.3$ GeV/$c$ and pseudorapidity $|\eta| < 0.8$. For $3 < p_{\rm T}^{\Lambda_{\rm c}^+,{\rm D}} < 5$ GeV/$c$, the comparison with published measurements of D-meson and charged-particle correlations in the same collision system hints at a larger number of low-momentum particles associated with $\Lambda_{\rm c}^+$-baryon triggers than with D-meson triggers, both in the collinear and opposite directions with respect to the trigger particle. These differences can be quantified by the comparison of the properties of the near- and away-side correlation peaks, and are not reproduced by predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators, generally underpredicting the associated particle yields at $p_{\rm T}^{\rm assoc} < 1$ GeV/$c$. This tension between $\Lambda_{\rm c}^+$-baryon and D-meson associated peak yields could suggest a modified fragmentation of the charm quark, or a different hadronisation process, when a charm baryon is produced in the final state., Comment: 28 pages, 6 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 22, submitted to PLB, figures at http://alice-publications.web.cern.ch/node/11748

We have attempted to calculate and estimate the diffusion coefficients of D meson through rotating hadron resonance gas, which can be produced in the late stage of peripheral heavy ion collisions. According to the kinetic theory framework of relaxation time approximation and Einstein's diffusion relation, one can express D meson diffusion as a ratio of its conductivity to its susceptibility. Here, we have tuned D meson relaxation time from the knowledge of earlier works on its spatial diffusion estimations, and then we have extended the framework for the finite rotation picture of hadronic matter, where only the effect of Coriolis force is considered. The ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density shows a valley-shaped pattern well-known in the community of heavy-ion physics. Diffusion coefficients of D meson show a similar structure. Our study also revealed the anisotropic nature of diffusion in the presence of rotation with future possibilities of phenomenological signature., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures

A measurement of the $B^{0}$ meson lifetime and related properties using $B^0 \to J/\psi K^{*0}$ decays in data from 13 TeV proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The measured effective lifetime is $$ \tau = 1.5053 \pm 0.0012 ~\mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.0035 ~\mathrm{(syst.)~ps}. $$ The average decay width extracted from the effective lifetime, using parameters from external sources, is $$ \Gamma_d = 0.6639 \pm 0.0005 ~\mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.0016 ~\mathrm{(syst.)}\pm 0.0038 ~\textrm{(ext.)} \textrm{ ps}^{-1}, $$ where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from external sources. The earlier ATLAS measurement of $\Gamma_s$ in the $B^0_s \to J/\psi\phi$ decay was used to derive a value for the ratio of the average decay widths $\Gamma_d$ and $\Gamma_s$ for $B^{0}$ and $B_s^{0}$ mesons respectively, of $$ \frac{\Gamma_d }{\Gamma_s } = 0.9905 \pm 0.0022 ~\textrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.0036 ~\textrm{(syst.)} \pm 0.0057 ~\textrm{(ext.)}. $$ The measured lifetime, average decay width and decay width ratio are in agreement with theoretical predictions and with measurements by other experiments. This measurement provides the most precise result of the effective lifetime of the $B^{0}$ meson to date., Comment: 39 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 3 figures, 2 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/BPHY-2020-09/

We revisit unflavoured leptogenesis in the seesaw model applying recent improvements in the computation of $CP$-conserving and $CP$-violating equilibration rates. These are relevant for the relativistic regime of the sterile Majorana fermions and the dynamics of the Standard Model particles acting as spectator processes. In order to probe the regime of large (${\cal O}(10^2)$) washout parameters, we add $\Delta L = 2$ washout processes, which we derive in the CTP-formalism. We then perform a parameter scan of the final baryon asymmetry and find a constraint $m_{\text{lightest}} \lesssim 0.15 \, \rm eV$ on the absolute neutrino mass scale, which is slightly less stringent than previously reported bounds obtained without the aforementioned improvements. The relaxation of the bounds is mainly due to partially equilibrated spectator fields, which protect part of the asymmetry from washout and lead to larger final asymmetries., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

We report on a calculation of open heavy-flavor production at hadron colliders which extends to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy the classic NLO-accurate formalism developed almost 30 years ago under the acronym FONLL. The approach retains the exact heavy-flavor mass dependence at low transverse momentum, $p_T$, and resums collinear logarithms through next-to-next-to-leading log (NNLL) at high $p_T$. Provided are predictions for $B$-hadrons as well as $B$-decay products like $J/\Psi$ and muons. The main features of the NNLO+NNLL results are reduced scale dependence and moderate NNLO correction, consistent with perturbative convergence in a wide range of kinematic scales from few GeV up to asymptotically large values of $p_T$. The new calculation significantly improves the agreement with data for $B$-hadrons and muons. We uncover an intriguing discrepancy in $J/\Psi$ final states which may point to a lower value of the $B\to J/\Psi$ decay rate., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

The ATLAS collaboration at the LHC has published inclusive cross-section measurements for the single-top and $t\bar{t}$ production modes at center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s} = 5.02, 8.16$, $13, 13.6$ TeV. Single-top measurements are conducted in the $t$-channel and $tW$ channel. In addition to the nominal cross-section measurements, various measurements of other interesting observables such as $|f_{\text{LV}}V_{\text{tb}}|$, $R_\text{t}$, $R_{t\bar{t}/Z}$, and $R_{\text{pA}}$ are also reported. These results are compared to their corresponding SM predictions, calculated at (N)NLO in QCD. All results are in good agreement with SM predictions., Comment: Talk at the 17th International Workshop on Top Quark Physics (Top2024), 22-27 September 2024

We present complete results for the hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment $a_\mu$ in the short- and intermediate-distance window regions, which account for roughly 10% and 35% of the total HVP contribution to $a_\mu$, respectively. In particular, we perform lattice-QCD calculations for the isospin-symmetric connected and disconnected contributions, as well as corrections due to strong isospin-breaking. For the short-distance window observables, we investigate the so-called log-enhancement effects as well as the significant oscillations associated with staggered quarks in this region. For the dominant, isospin-symmetric light-quark connected contribution, we obtain $a^{ll,\,{\mathrm{SD}}}_{\mu}(\mathrm{conn.}) = 48.116(16)(94)[96] \times 10^{-10}$ and $a^{ll,\,{\mathrm{W}}}_{\mu}(\mathrm{conn.}) = 207.06(17)(63)[66] \times 10^{-10}$. We use Bayesian model averaging combined with a global bootstrap to fully estimate the covariance matrix between the individual contributions. Our determinations of the complete window contributions are $a^{{\mathrm{SD}}}_{\mu} = 69.01(2)(21)[21] \times 10^{-10}$ and $a^{{\mathrm{W}}}_{\mu} = 236.57(20)(94)[96] \times 10^{-10}$. This work is part of our ongoing effort to compute all contributions to HVP with an overall uncertainty at the few permille level.

We study neutrino, muon, and gamma-ray fluxes in extraterrestrial environments in our Solar System via semi-analytical estimates and Monte Carlo simulations. In sites with negligible atmosphere, we find a strong reduction in the cosmic-ray-induced neutrino and muon fluxes relative to their intensities on Earth. Neutrinos with energies between 50 MeV and 100 TeV show particularly strong suppression, by as much as 10$^3$, even at shallow depths. The solar neutrino suppression increases as the square of the site's distance from the Sun. Natural radiation due to nuclear decay is also expected to be lower in many of these locations and may be reduced to effectively negligible levels in the liquid water environments. The sites satisfying these characteristics represent an opportunity for greatly extending the physics reach of underground searches in fundamental physics, such as searches for WIMP Dark Matter, neutrinoless double-beta decay, the diffuse supernova neutrinos, and neutrinos from nearby supernova. As a potential near-term target, we propose a measurement of muon and gamma-ray fluxes in an accessible underground lunar site such as the Mare Tranquillitatis Pit to perform a first measurement of the prompt component in cosmic-ray-induced particle production, and to constrain lunar evolution models., Comment: 1 near-term proposal, 21 pages, and 6 figures

The gain-voltage dependence for SiPMs from Ref.1 is reanalyzed and a non-linearity at the sub-percent level is observed. Simulations show that the non-linearity can be explained by the increase of the depletion depth of the avalanche region with over-voltage. A consequence of the non-linearity is that the voltage at which the discharge stops is systematically underestimated if a linear extrapolation is used., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 appendix

Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K) is a next-generation long baseline neutrino experiment. One of its primary physics goals is to measure neutrino oscillation parameters precisely, including the Dirac CP violating phase. As conventional $\nu_{\mu}$ beam generates from the J-PARC neutrino baseline contains only 1.5$\%$ of $\nu_{e}$ interaction of total, it is challenging to measure $\nu_{e}/\bar{\nu}_{e}$ scattering cross-section on nuclei. To reduce these systematic uncertainties, IWCD will be built to study neutrino interaction rates with higher precision. Simulated data comprise $\nu_{e}CC0\pi$ as the main signal with NC$\pi^{0}$ and $\nu_{\mu}CC$ are major background events. To reduce the backgrounds initially, a log-likelihood-based reconstruction algorithm to select candidate events was used. However, this method sometimes struggles to distinguish $\pi^{0}$ events properly from electron-like events. Thus, a Machine Learning-based framework has been developed and implemented to enhance the purity and efficiency of $\nu_{e}$ events., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

The momentum-differential invariant cross sections of ${\pi^{0}}$ and $\eta$ mesons are reported for pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at midrapidity ($|y|<0.8$). The measurement is performed in a broad transverse-momentum range of $0.2

The $p_{\rm T}$-differential cross section of $\omega$ meson production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) was measured with the ALICE detector at the LHC, covering an unprecedented transverse-momentum range of $1.6 < p_{\rm T} <50$ GeV/$c$. The meson is reconstructed via the $\omega\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ decay channel. The results are compared with various theoretical calculations: PYTHIA8.2 with the Monash 2013 tune overestimates the data by up to 50%, whereas good agreement is observed with Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) calculations incorporating $\omega$ fragmentation using a broken SU(3) model. The $\omega/\pi^0$ ratio is presented and compared with theoretical calculations and the available measurements at lower collision energies. The presented data triples the $p_{\rm T}$ ranges of previously available measurements. A constant ratio of $C^{\omega/\pi^0}=0.578\pm0.006~\text{(stat.)}\pm 0.013~\text{(syst.)}$ is found above a transverse momentum of 4 GeV/$c$, which is in agreement with previous findings at lower collision energies within the systematic and statistical uncertainties., Comment: 26 pages, 5 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 20, submitted to JHEP, figures at http://alice-publications.web.cern.ch/node/11737

Energy correlators are a type of observables that measure how energy is distributed across multiple detectors as a function of the angles between pairs of detectors. In this paper, we study the three-point energy correlator (EEEC) at lepton colliders in the three-particle near-to-plane (coplanar) limit. The leading-power contribution in this limit is governed by the three-jet (trijet) configuration. We introduce a new approach by projecting the EEEC onto the volume of the parallelepiped formed by the unit vectors aligned with three detected final-state particles. Analogous to the back-to-back limit of the two-point energy correlator probing the dijet configuration, the small-volume limit of the EEEC probes the trijet configuration. We derive a transverse momentum dependent (TMD) based factorization theorem that captures the soft and collinear logarithms in the coplanar limit, which enables us to achieve the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithm (N$^3$LL) resummation. To our knowledge, this is the first N$^3$LL result for a trijet event shape. Additionally, we demonstrate that a similar factorization theorem can be applied to the fully differential EEEC in the three-particle coplanar limit, which provides a clean environment for studying different coplanar trijet shapes., Comment: 31 pages+appendix, 15 figures

We study potential contribution of the heavy right-handed neutrino exchange in the process $e^{+}e^{-} \rightarrow W^{+}W^{-}$. This process is sensitive to heavy neutrinos with masses larger than $\sqrt{s}$. The Monte Carlo simulation of the studied process is performed assuming the Seesaw type-I model, where heavy right-handed neutrinos (heavy neutral leptons, HNL) are introduced in the leptonic sector. Within the Standard Model (SM), the process has a large cross section described by diagrams with $s$-channel $Z / \gamma$ exchange and $t$-channel active neutrino exchange. Respectively, the $t$-channel right-handed neutrino exchange amplitude will interfere with these SM amplitudes. However, the angular distributions of the $W$ boson production and decay are different for the right-handed neutrino and SM amplitudes. That can be used to evaluate potential HNL contribution using the extended likelihood method. The simulation of the $e^{+}e^{-} \rightarrow W^{+}W^{-}$ process is performed at the 1 TeV center-of-mass energy and polarisation $P_{e^+e^-}$ of (20 %, -80 %), which is a standard option for the future linear $e^+e^-$ collider ILC. Both $W$ bosons are reconstructed from two hadronic jets. Simulation of the SM background processes is also done. The beam-induced backgrounds and the initial state radiation (ISR) effects are taken into account. The majority of background processes are effectively suppressed by the cuts on the invariant masses of two and four jets. Finally, we obtain upper limits on the mixing parameter $|V_{eN}|^2$ as a function of $M(N)$., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

The study of $\bar{B} \to D^* \tau {\bar{\nu}}_\tau$ angular distribution can be used to get information about new physics, which has been motivated by the presence of various $B$ anomalies. However, the inability to measure precisely the three-momentum of tau hinders this process, as the tau decay contains one or more undetected neutrinos. In this work, we present a measurable angular distribution of $\bar{B} \to D^* \tau {\bar{\nu}}_\tau$ by considering the additional decay $\tau \to \ell \nu_\tau \bar{\nu}_\ell$, where $\ell \in \{ e , \mu \}$. The full process used is $\bar{B} \to D^* (\to D \pi) \tau (\to \ell \nu_\tau \bar{\nu}_\ell) \bar{\nu}_\tau$, where only the $\ell$ and $D^*$ are reconstructed, and a fit to the experimental angular distribution of this process can be used to extract information on new physics parameters. To demonstrate, we generate simulated data for this process and perform a sensitivity study to obtain the expected statistical errors on new physics parameters from experiments in the near future. We obtained a sensitivity of the order of 5% for the right-handed current and around 6% for the tensor current. In addition, we use the recent lattice QCD data on $B \to D^*$ form factors and obtain correlations between form factors and new physics parameters., Comment: 40 pages, 8 figures

The electromagnetic characteristics of singly-heavy baryons at low energies are responsive to their internal composition, structural configuration, and the associated chiral dynamics of light diquarks. To gain further insight, experimentalists are attempting to measure the magnetic and electric dipole moments of charm baryons at the LHC. In view of these developments, we conducted an extensive analysis of the magnetic dipole moments of both $\rm{J^P}=\frac{1}{2}^+$ and $\rm{J^P}=\frac{3}{2}^+$ singly-heavy baryons by means of the QCD light-cone sum rules. Our findings have been compared with other phenomenological estimations that could prove a valuable supplementary resource for interpreting the singly-heavy baryon sector. To shed light on the internal structure of these baryons we study the contributions of the individual quark sectors to the magnetic dipole moments. It was observed that the magnetic dipole moments of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ sextet singly-heavy baryons are governed by the light quarks. Conversely, the role of the heavy quark is significantly enhanced for the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ anti-triplet and spin-$\frac{3}{2}$ sextet singly-heavy baryons. The contribution of light and heavy quarks is observed to have an inverse relationship. The signs of the magnetic dipole moments demonstrate the interaction of the spin degrees of freedom of the quarks. The opposing signs of the light and heavy-quark magnetic dipole moments imply that the spins of these quarks are anti-aligned with respect to each other in the baryon. As a byproduct, the electric quadrupole and magnetic octupole moments of spin-$\frac{3}{2}$ singly-heavy baryons are also calculated. We ascertained the existence of non-zero values for the electric quadrupole and magnetic octupole moments of these baryons, indicative of a non-spherical charge distribution., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, 9 Tables

A novel approach is proposed to reveal a secret birth of enhanced circumstellar material (CSM) surrounding a collapsing massive star using neutrinos as a unique probe. In this scheme, non-thermal TeV-scale neutrinos produced in ejecta-CSM interactions are tied with thermal MeV neutrinos emitted from a pre-explosion burning process, based on a scenario that CSM had been formed via the pre-supernova activity. Taking a representative model of the pre-supernova neutrinos, spectrum and light curve of the corresponding high-energy CSM neutrinos are calculated at multiple mass-loss efficiencies considered as a systematic uncertainty. In addition, as a part of method demonstration, the detected event rates along time at JUNO and IceCube, as representative detectors, are estimated for the pre-supernova and CSM neutrinos, respectively, and are compared with the expected background rate at each detector. The presented method is found to be reasonably applicable for the range up to 1 kpc and even farther with future experimental efforts. Potentialities of other neutrino detectors, such as SK-Gd, Hyper-Kamiokande and KM3NeT, are also discussed. This is a pioneering work of performing astrophysics with neutrinos from diverse energy regimes, initiating multi energy neutrino astronomy in the forthcoming era where next-generation large-scale neutrino telescopes are operating., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, submitted to ApJL

A novel concept to enhance the photo-detection efficiency (PDE) of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) has been applied and remarkable positive results can be reported. This concept uses arrays of microlenses to cover every second SiPM pixel in a checkerboard arrangement and aims to deflect the light from the dead region of the pixelised structure towards the active region in the center of the pixel. The PDE is improved up to 24%, external cross-talk is reduced by 40% compared to a flat epoxy layer, and single photon time resolution is improved. This detector development is conducted in the context of the next generation LHCb scintillating fibre tracker located in a high radiation environment with a total of 700'000 detector channels. The simulation and measurement results are in good agreement and will be discussed in this work., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures

This paper describes an algorithm for reconstructing and identifying a highly collimated hadronically decaying $\tau$-lepton pair with low transverse momentum. When two $\tau$-leptons are highly collimated, their visible decay products might overlap, degrading the reconstruction performance for each of the $\tau$-leptons. This requires a dedicated treatment that attempts to tag it as a single object. The reconstruction algorithm is based on a large radius jet and its associated two leading subjets, and the identification uses a boosted decision tree to discriminate between signatures from $\tau^+\tau^-$ systems and those arising from QCD jets. The efficiency of the identification algorithm is measured in $Z\gamma$ events using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 $\mbox{fb}^{-1}$. The resulting data-to-simulation scale factors are close to unity with uncertainties ranging from 26% to 37%., Comment: 49 pages in total, author list starting page 32, 10 figures, 5 tables, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. C. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/TAUP-2020-03/

DarkSHINE is a newly proposed fixed-target experiment initiative to search for the invisible decay of Dark Photon via missing energy/momentum signatures, based on the high repetition rate electron beam to be deployed/delivered by the Shanghai High repetition rate XFEL and Extreme light facility (SHINE). This report elaborates the baseline design of DarkSHINE experiment by introducing the physics goals, experimental setups, details of each sub-detector system technical designs, signal and backgground modelings, expected search sensitivities and future prospects, which mark an important step towards the further prototyping and technical demonstrations.

The first measurement of $\phi(1020)$ meson production in fixed-target $p$Ne collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=68.5$ GeV is presented. The $\phi(1020)$ mesons are reconstructed in their $K^{+}K^{-}$ decay in a data sample consisting of proton collisions on neon nuclei at rest, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $21.7 \pm 1.4$ nb$^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb detector at CERN. The $\phi(1020)$ production cross-section in the centre-of-mass rapidity range of $-1.8

Event-by-event fluctuations of the event-wise mean transverse momentum, $\langle p_{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$, of charged particles produced in proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV, Xe-Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.44 TeV, and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV are studied using the ALICE detector based on the integral correlator $\langle\langle \Delta p_{\rm T}\Delta p_{\rm T}\rangle\rangle $. The correlator strength is found to decrease monotonically with increasing produced charged-particle multiplicity measured at midrapidity in all three systems. In Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions, the multiplicity dependence of the correlator deviates significantly from a simple power-law scaling as well as from the predictions of the HIJING and AMPT models. The observed deviation from power-law scaling is expected from transverse radial flow in semicentral to central Xe-Xe and Pb-Pb collisions. In pp collisions, the correlation strength is also studied by classifying the events based on the transverse spherocity, $S_0$, of the particle production at midrapidity, used as a proxy for the presence of a pronounced back-to-back jet topology. Low-spherocity (jetty) events feature a larger correlation strength than those with high spherocity (isotropic). The strength and multiplicity dependence of jetty and isotropic events are well reproduced by calculations with the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC models., Comment: 28 pages, 8 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 22, submitted to EPJC, figures at http://alice-publications.web.cern.ch/node/11736

Quantum Chromodynamics predicts a phase transition from ordinary hadronic matter to the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at high temperatures and energy densities, where quarks and gluons (partons) are not confined within hadrons. The QGP is generated in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Anisotropic flow coefficients, quantifying the anisotropic azimuthal expansion of the produced matter, provide a unique tool to unravel QGP properties. Flow measurements in high-energy heavy-ion collisions show a distinctive grouping of anisotropic flow for baryons and mesons at intermediate transverse momentum, a feature associated with flow being imparted at the quark level, confirming the existence of the QGP. The observation of QGP-like features in relativistic proton-proton and proton-ion collisions has sparked debate about possible QGP formation in smaller collision systems, which remains unresolved. In this article, we demonstrate for the first time the distinctive grouping of anisotropic flow for baryons and mesons in high-multiplicity proton-lead and proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These results are described by a model that includes hydrodynamic flow followed by hadron formation via quark coalescence, replicating features observed in heavy-ion collisions. This observation is consistent with the formation of a partonic flowing system in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions at the LHC., Comment: 22 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 16, figures at http://alice-publications.web.cern.ch/node/11735

Anomaly detection is a vital technique for exploring signatures of new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The vast number of collisions generated by the LHC demands sophisticated deep learning techniques. Similarity learning, a self-supervised machine learning, detects anomalous signals by estimating their similarity to background events. In this paper, we explore the potential of quantum computers for anomaly detection through similarity learning, leveraging the power of quantum computing to enhance the known similarity learning method. In the realm of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, we employ a hybrid classical-quantum network to search for heavy scalar resonances in the di-Higgs production channel. In the absence of quantum noise, the hybrid network demonstrates improvement over the known similarity learning method. Moreover, we employ a clustering algorithm to reduce measurement noise from limited shot counts, resulting in $9\%$ improvement in the hybrid network performance. Our analysis highlights the applicability of quantum algorithms for LHC data analysis, where improvements are anticipated with the advent of fault-tolerant quantum computers., Comment: 15 pages with 6 fugures

Sequential or chained models are increasingly prevalent in machine learning for scientific applications, due to their flexibility and ease of development. Chained models are particularly useful when a task is separable into distinct steps with a hierarchy of meaningful intermediate representations. In reliability-critical tasks, it is important to quantify the confidence of model inferences. However, chained models pose an additional challenge for uncertainty quantification, especially when input uncertainties need to be propagated. In such cases, a fully uncertainty-aware chain of models is required, where each step accepts a probability distribution over the input space, and produces a probability distribution over the output space. In this work, we present a case study for adapting a single model within an existing chain, designed for reconstruction within neutrino-Argon interactions, developed for neutrino oscillation experiments such as MicroBooNE, ICARUS, and the future DUNE experiment. We test the performance of an input uncertainty-enabled model against an uncertainty-blinded model using a method for generating synthetic noise. By comparing these two, we assess the increase in inference quality achieved by exposing models to upstream uncertainty estimates.

We introduce SymbolFit, a framework that automates parametric modeling by using symbolic regression to perform a machine-search for functions that fit the data, while simultaneously providing uncertainty estimates in a single run. Traditionally, constructing a parametric model to accurately describe binned data has been a manual and iterative process, requiring an adequate functional form to be determined before the fit can be performed. The main challenge arises when the appropriate functional forms cannot be derived from first principles, especially when there is no underlying true closed-form function for the distribution. In this work, we address this problem by utilizing symbolic regression, a machine learning technique that explores a vast space of candidate functions without needing a predefined functional form, treating the functional form itself as a trainable parameter. Our approach is demonstrated in data analysis applications in high-energy physics experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency using five real proton-proton collision datasets from new physics searches at the LHC, namely the background modeling in resonance searches for high-mass dijet, trijet, paired-dijet, diphoton, and dimuon events. We also validate the framework using several toy datasets with one and more variables., Comment: 53 pages, 35 figures. Under review

Excited meson states can often lie hidden within mass spectra beneath more dominant resonances, making it difficult to extract their physical properties. We can unveil these states through amplitude analysis, which disentangles the overlapping states via fits to their unique production and decay angular distributions. Understanding the light-meson spectrum is essential for confirming Lattice QCD predictions, especially in regards to the search for possible hybrid mesons. The Gluonic Excitation (GlueX) experiment at Jefferson Lab aids this search by studying the production of excited light mesons in $\gamma p$ interactions in the 8.2 - 8.8 GeV photon-beam energy range. We show in these proceedings preliminary results of an amplitude analysis of a large $\omega\pi^0$ dataset, concentrating on measuring the interference between the $b_1(1235)$ and an excited $J^{PC}=1^{--}$ vector resonance., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics (QNP 2024)

We present results from the characterization of a vertically stacked amorphous selenium (aSe)-based photodetector for use in cryogenic environments. aSe has been identified as an ideal photoconductor that can efficiently convert vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light to charges even at cryogenic temperatures. We have designed and fabricated an aSe device in vertical geometry with top and bottom metal electrodes that produces an electric field perpendicular to the substrate. The top-metal contact has an open design that results in a large fraction of the aSe thin film surface to be active for photodetection. Our experiments show that the vertically stacked aSe device detects light from a Xenon flash lamp in a vacuum environment and can produce measurable signals at \(\sim \)130K. We also demonstrate a significant enhancement in the amplitude of the photoinduced signal by growing graphene on the top-metal contact and the aSe thin film. Our results provide the first demonstration of a vertical aSe based VUV photodetector that utilizes the wide-band optical transparency of graphene top-electrode. Our results could open the doorway to a potentially game-changing solution of an integrated charge and light sensor that can be employed in future large-scale time projection chambers with pixelated anode planes.

Within the context of the ALICE ITS3 collaboration, a set of MAPS small-scale test structures were developed using the 65 nm TPSCo CMOS imaging process with the upgrade of the ALICE inner tracking system as its primary focus. One such sensor, the Circuit Exploratoire 65 nm (CE-65), and its evolution the CE-65v2, were developed to explore charge collection properties for varying configurations including collection layer process (standard, blanket, modified with gap), pixel pitch (15, 18, \SI{22.5}{\micro\meter}), and pixel geometry (square vs hexagonal/staggered). In this work the characterisation of the CE-65v2 chip, based on $^{55}$Fe lab measurements and test beams at CERN SPS, is presented. Matrix gain uniformity up to the $\mathcal{O}$(5\%) level was demonstrated for all considered chip configurations. The CE-65v2 chip achieves a spatial resolution of under \SI{2}{\micro\meter} during beam tests. Process modifications allowing for faster charge collection and less charge sharing result in decreased spatial resolution, but a considerably wider range of operation, with both the \SI{15}{\micro\meter} and \SI{22.5}{\micro\meter} chips achieving over 99\% efficiency up to a $\sim$180 e$^{-}$ seed threshold. The results serve to validate the 65 nm TPSCo CMOS process, as well as to motivate design choices in future particle detection experiments., Comment: 7 pages, 12 figures; Proceedings for iWoRiD 2024 (Lisbon)

The search for the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) critical end point (CEP) is a central focus in heavy-ion physics, as it provides insights into the phase structure of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions. Finite-size scaling (FSS) analysis is applied to explore the critical behavior of cumulant ratios \( C_2/C_1 \), \( C_3/C_2 \), \( C_4/C_2 \), \( C_3/C_1 \), and \( C_4/C_1 \), measured in Au+Au collisions across the Beam Energy Scan (BES) range of 7.7 to 200 GeV. The scaling functions for these ratios reveal non-monotonic patterns near the CEP, where critical fluctuations appear in distinct scaling behavior. A consistent scaling pattern emerges at \(\sqrt{s}_{\text{CEP}} = 31.0 \, \text{GeV}\), corresponding to \( \mu_{B,\text{CEP}} \approx 134.3 \, \text{MeV} \) and \( T_{\text{CEP}} \approx 155 \, \text{MeV}\), derived from the freeze-out curve. The FSS analysis shows upward divergence of \( C_2/C_1 \) and \( C_4/C_1 \), and downward divergence of \( C_3/C_2 \) and \( C_4/C_2 \), consistent with theoretical expectations for critical dynamics. These findings validate the robustness of these cumulant ratios as probes for the CEP, offering structured evidence for critical behavior in QCD matter., Comment: 5 pages 3 Figs. Submitted for publication

Using 7.93 ${\rm fb^{-1}}$ of $e^+e^-$ collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 ${\rm GeV}$ with the BESIII detector, we present an analysis of the decay $D^{0} \to \eta \pi^- e^+ \nu_{e}$. The branching fraction of the decay $D^{0} \to a_{0}(980)^{-} e^+ \nu_{e}$ with $a_{0}(980)^{-} \to \eta \pi^{-}$ is measured to be $(0.86\pm0.17_{\text{stat}}\pm0.05_{\text{syst}})\times 10^{-4}$. The decay dynamics of this process is studied with a single-pole parameterization of the hadronic form factor and the Flatt\'e formula describing the $a_0(980)$ line shape in the differential decay rate. The product of the form factor $f^{ a_0}_{+}(0)$ and the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{cd}|$ is determined for the first time with the result $f^{ a_0}_+(0)|V_{cd}|=0.126\pm0.013_{\rm stat}\pm0.003_{\rm syst}$.

The ATLAS Muon Drift Tube (MDT) ReadOut Drivers (MROD), 204 VME modules that are an essential part of the readout chain of the 1,150 MDT chambers, have been in operation for more than 15 years and are expected to remain in operation until about 2026. In the event of extensive failures the number of spare MROD modules may be insufficient. However, deployment of an adapted version of the Front-End LInk eXchange (FELIX) system, a new component of the ATLAS data acquisition (DAQ) infrastructure, may overcome potential MROD failures. This paper describes the design, functionality and performance of this adapted version, referred to as FELIX-MROD, and the test results of its integration into the ATLAS DAQ system., Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures

We revisit the isospin-breaking corrections relating the $e^+e^-$ hadronic cross-section and the tau decay spectral function, focusing on the di-pion channel, that gives the dominant contribution to the hadronic vacuum polarization piece of the muon $g-2$. We test different types of electromagnetic and weak form factors and show that both, the Gounaris-Sakurai and a dispersive-based approach, describe accurately $\tau$ lepton and $e^+e^-$ data (less when KLOE measurements are included in the fits) and comply reasonably well with analyticity constraints. From these results we obtain the isospin-breaking contribution to the conserved vector current (CVC) prediction of the ${\rm BR}(\tau \to \pi\pi\nu_{\tau})$ and to the $2\pi$ hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) contribution to the muon $g-2$, in agreement with previous determinations and with similar precision. Our results abound in the convenience of using tau data-based results in the updated data-driven prediction of the muon $g-2$ in the Standard Model., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 13 tables

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are extensively employed as photosensors in neutrino and dark matter detection. The precise charge and timing information extracted from the PMT waveform plays a crucial role in energy and vertex reconstruction. In this study, we investigate the deconvolution algorithm utilized for PMT waveform reconstruction, while enhancing the timing separation ability for pile-up hits by redesigning filters based on the time-frequency uncertainty principle. This filter design sacrifices signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to achieve narrower pulse widths. Furthermore, we optimize the selection of signal pulses in the case of low SNR based on Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT). Monte Carlo data confirms that our optimization yields enhanced reconstruction performance: improving timing separation ability for pile-up hits from $\sim$10 ns to $3\sim5$ ns, while controlling residual nonlinearity of charge reconstruction within 1\%.

We revisit the notion of nuclear parton-to-pion fragmentation functions at next-to-leading order accuracy as an effective description of hadroproduction in nuclear environments such as in semi-inclusive lepton-nucleus deep-inelastic scattering and in single inclusive proton-nucleus collisions. We assess their viability in the face of very precise data collected for the latter at the CERN-LHC over the past decade as well as recent measurements of the former carried out by the CLAS experiment at JLab., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures

This analysis focuses on probing the lepton portal dark matter using Monte Carlo simulated samples from electron-positron collisions at the International Linear Collider (ILC) of 500 GeV center of mass energy with an integrated luminosity of 1000 fb$^{-1}$. The study examines a benchmark scenario where the dark matter is a scalar particle produced as a daughter particle of the vector-like lepton. The signal topology consists of missing transverse energy and dilepton. If no new physics is discovered,the study sets 95\% confidence level exclusion limits on the mass of vector-like leptons.

Next to the $\pi^0$ pole, $\eta$ and $\eta'$ intermediate states give rise to the leading singularities of the hadronic light-by-light tensor, resulting in sizable contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_\mu$. The strength of the poles is determined by the respective transition form factors (TFFs) to two (virtual) photons. We present a calculation of these TFFs that implements a number of low- and high-energy constraints, including the $\eta^{(\prime)}\to\gamma\gamma$ decay widths, $\eta^{(\prime)}\to\pi^+\pi^-\gamma$ spectra, chiral symmetry for the $\eta^{(\prime)}\to2(\pi^+\pi^-)$ amplitudes, vector-meson couplings, and asymptotic limits. Crucially, we investigate the role of the leading left-hand singularity generated by the exchange of the $a_2$ tensor meson, yielding, for the first time, an estimate of the associated factorization-breaking corrections. Our final results, $a_\mu^{\eta\text{-pole}}=14.7(9)\times 10^{-11}$ and $a_\mu^{\eta'\text{-pole}}=13.5(7)\times 10^{-11}$, conclude a dedicated effort to evaluate the pseudoscalar-pole contributions to hadronic light-by-light scattering using dispersion relations, amounting to a combined $a_\mu^{\text{PS-poles}}=91.2^{+2.9}_{-2.4}\times 10^{-11}$., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

We calculate the renormalization group equation (RGE) of the lepton-number-violating Weinberg operator with the particle content of the Standard Model (SM), thus completing the set of two-loop RGEs of the SM effective field theory up to dimension 5. We identify new diagrams that could increase the rank of the Wilson coefficient of the Weinberg operator, and we calculate the complete two-loop RGE for the neutrino mass eigenvalues and leptonic mixing matrix. We also briefly discuss some phenomenological implications of the RGEs., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

The observation of a resonance structure in the opening angle of the electron-positron pairs in the $^{7}$Li(p,\ee) $^{8}$Be reaction was claimed and interpreted as the production and subsequent decay of a hypothetical particle (X17). Similar excesses, consistent with this particle, were later observed in processes involving $^{4}$He and $^{12}$C nuclei with the same experimental technique. The MEG II apparatus at PSI, designed to search for the $\mu^+ \rightarrow \mathrm{e}^+ \gamma$ decay, can be exploited to investigate the existence of this particle and study its nature. Protons from a Cockroft-Walton accelerator, with an energy up to 1.1 MeV, were delivered on a dedicated Li-based target. The $\gamma$ and the e$^{+}$e$^{-}$ pair emerging from the $^8\mathrm{Be}^*$ transitions were studied with calorimeters and a spectrometer, featuring a broader angular acceptance than previous experiments. We present in this paper the analysis of a four-week data-taking in 2023 with a beam energy of 1080 keV, resulting in the excitation of two different resonances with Q-value \SI{17.6}{\mega\electronvolt} and \SI{18.1}{\mega\electronvolt}. No significant signal was found, and limits at \SI{90}{\percent} C.L. on the branching ratios (relative to the $\gamma$ emission) of the two resonances to X17 were set, $R_{17.6} < 1.8 \times 10^{-6} $ and $R_{18.1} < 1.2 \times 10^{-5} $., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to EPJC

Properties of the Higgs boson ($H$) at current and future particle colliders are crucial to explore new physics beyond the standard model. In particular, experimental and theoretical outlooks at future colliders drive interest in Higgs to gauge boson couplings. Single Higgs production via vector-boson fusion allows probing Higgs couplings with massive vector bosons ($V = W, Z$). We consider electron-proton (eP) collider to study these couplings due to the low background. In a recent study, we considered the most general anomalous Higgs-vector boson ($HVV$) couplings and explored the potential of eP collider in constraining the parameters of $HVV$ couplings. Our results were based on leading order predictions in perturbation theory. We include further Next to Leading Order (NLO) corrections of Quantum Chromodynamic (QCD) in Standard Model signal to make precise predictions. In this talk, I will present the effect of NLO QCD corrections on the standard model and anomalous $HVV$ couplings., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of ICHEP 2024

We study the phenomenological implications of interference between tree-level contributions to three-body final states in $2\to 3$ scattering. We propose a new CP-violating observable in this scattering which probes the different virtualities of intermediate resonances, in the presence of Standard Model~(SM) and new physics contributions to these processes. Analytically, we demonstrate the efficacy of this observable in probing interference between SM charged-current decays and effective left-handed vector interactions, and in a toy model featuring a scalar leptoquark, $S_1 \sim (3, 1, -1/3)$. Numerically, we apply this formalism to studying the decay $pp\to b \tau\nu$ over the full kinematic region of final-state phase space. In contrast to existing probes of new physics at colliders, this study demonstrates a use for an intermediate region of energies, where new physics is not light enough to produced on shell, but not heavy enough to be integrated out and treated with effective-theory formalism. Furthermore, we perform a proof-of-principle analysis to demonstrate how this new search can be complementary to the traditional high-transverse momentum searches. In light of the large amount of data to be collected at the high-luminosity LHC, this study paves the way to further spectroscopic studies to probe CP-violation in $2\to 3$ processes at the LHC and at future colliders., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures

The Higgs boson decay into bottom quarks is the dominant decay channel contributing to its total decay width, which can be used to measure the bottom quark Yukawa coupling and mass. This decay width has been computed up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^4)$ for the process induced by the bottom quark Yukawa coupling, assuming massless final states, and the corresponding corrections beyond $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^2)$ are found to be less than $0.2\%$. We present an analytical result for the decay into massive bottom quarks at $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^3)$ that includes the contribution from the top quark Yukawa coupling induced process. We have made use of the optical theorem, canonical differential equations and the regular basis in the calculation and expressed the result in terms of multiple polylogarithms and elliptic functions. We propose a systematic and unified procedure to derive the $\epsilon$-factorized differential equation for the three-loop kite integral family, which includes the three-loop banana integrals as a sub-sector. We find that the $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^3)$ corrections increase the decay width, relative to the result up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^2)$, by $1\%$ due to the large logarithms $\log^i (m_H^2/m_b^2)$ with $ 1\le i \le 4 $ in the small bottom quark mass limit. The coefficient of the double logarithms is proportional to $C_A-C_F$, which is the typical color structure in the resummation of soft quark contributions at subleading power., Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures

The $tW\bar{b}$ production contributes to the real corrections to the $tW$ cross section. It would interfere with the top quark pair production, causing difficulties in a clear definition of the $tW{\bar b}$ events. The subtraction of the $t\bar{t}$ contributions has been performed in the diagram removal or diagram subtraction schemes for the tree-level processes. However, these schemes rely on the ability to identify the double resonant diagrams and thus can not be extended to loop diagrams. We propose a new scheme to subtract the $t\bar{t}$ contributions by power expansion of the squared amplitude in the resonant region. In order to cancel the infra-red divergences of the loop amplitudes, a widely used method is to introduce the dipole counter-terms, an ingredient in calculations of the full next-to-leading order QCD corrections. In our scheme, these counter-terms are also power-expanded. As a proof of principle, we calculate the one-loop correction to the $d\bar{d}\to \bar{b}Wt$ process, and present the invariant mass distribution of the $W\bar{b}$ system., Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures

We analyse relevant signals expected at the LHC for a squark of the first two families as the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The discussion is established in the framework of the $\mu\nu$SSM, where the presence of $R$-parity violating couplings involving right-handed neutrinos solves simultaneously the $\mu$-problem and the accommodation of neutrino masses and mixing angles. The squarks are pair produced and decay dominantly to a neutrino and a quark. They also have two sub-dominant three body decays to quark, Higgs and neutrino/charged lepton. The decays can be prompt or displaced, depending on the regions of the parameter space of the model. We focus the analyses on right up-down-type squarks and left up-type squarks, since left down-type squarks cannot be the LSP because of D-term contributions. We compare the predictions of these scenarios with ATLAS and CMS searches for prompt and long-lived particles. To analyse the parameter space we sample the $\mu\nu$SSM for a squark LSP, paying special attention to reproduce the current experimental data on neutrino and Higgs physics, as well as flavour observables. Because of the contribution of squark-squark final states to the production cross section, the results depend on the squark family. In particular, for a right strange squark LSP, the lower limit on the mass is $1646$ GeV, corresponding to an upper limit on the decay length of $54.7$ mm, and for a right (left) scharm LSP, the limits are $1625$ ($1357$) GeV and $13.4$ ($1.9$) mm. However, the first family of squarks as LSP turns out to be excluded, unless the gluino is heavier than $7$ TeV, which produces a limit on the squark mass of $1800$ GeV., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, 1 Appendix. Analysis of the stop, sbottom and gluino LSP at the LHC carried out in arXiv:2111.13212, arXiv:2309.06456 and arXiv:2410.05421 respectively