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This paper introduces a nonconforming virtual element method for general second-order elliptic problems with variable coefficients on domains with curved boundaries and curved internal interfaces. We prove arbitrary order optimal convergence in the energy and $L^2$ norms, confirmed by numerical experiments on a set of polygonal meshes. The accuracy of the numerical approximation provided by the method is shown to be comparable with the theoretical analysis.

This Letter proposes a new signature for confining dark sectors at the LHC. Under the assumption of a QCD-like hidden sector, hadronic jets containing stable dark bound states originating from hidden strong dynamics, known as semi-visible jets, could manifest in proton-proton collisions. In the proposed simplified model, a heavy $Z'$ mediator coupling to SM quarks allows the resonant production of dark quarks, subsequently hadronizing in stable and unstable dark bound states. The unstable dark bound states can then decay back to SM quarks via the same $Z'$ portal or photons via a lighter pseudo-scalar portal (such as an axion-like particle). This mechanism creates a new signature where semi-visible jets are enriched in non-isolated photons. We show that these exotic jets evade the phase space probed by current LHC searches exploiting jets or photons due to the expected high jet neutral electromagnetic fraction and photons candidates non-isolation, respectively. In the proposed analysis strategy to tackle such signature, we exploit jets as final state objects to represent the underlying QCD-like hidden sector. We show that, by removing any selection on the neutral electromagnetic fraction from the jet identification criteria, higher signal efficiency can be reached. To enhance the signal-to-background discrimination, we train a deep neural network as a jet tagger that exploits differences in the substructure of signal and background jets. We estimate that with the available triggers for Run 2 and this new strategy, a high mass search can claim a $5 \sigma$ discovery (exclusion) of the $Z'$ boson with a mass up to 5 TeV (5 TeV) with the full Run 2 data of the LHC when the fraction of unstable dark hadrons decaying to photons pairs is around 30 %, and with a coupling of the $Z'$ to SM quarks of 0.25., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, to be submitted as a Letter to EPJC. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2212.11523

We study the properties of vectorlike fermions that have the same gauge charges as the Standard Model lepton doublets, but opposite lepton number. These antileptons undergo decays mediated by heavier scalar leptoquarks, while the symmetries of this renormalizable model protect the vectorlike fermions and the leptoquarks from standard decays probed so far at colliders. If the new particles couple predominantly to second-generation quarks, then their collider probes involve multiple jets and two taus or neutrinos, and are hampered by large backgrounds. If couplings to third-generation quarks are large, then the collider signals involve top quarks, and can be probed more efficiently at the LHC. Even in that case, both the vectorlike fermion doublet and the leptoquarks remain more elusive than in models with standard decays., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. B -> K nu nubar constraint included in Figure 4, three new footnotes added, other minor revisions. Version accepted by PRD

The CYGNO experiment aims at the development of a large gaseous TPC with GEM-based amplification and an optical readout by means of PMTs and scientific CMOS cameras for 3D tracking down to O(keV) energies, for the directional detection of rare events such as low mass Dark Matter and solar neutrino interactions. The largest prototype built so far towards the realisation of the CYGNO experiment demonstrator is the 50 L active volume LIME, with 4 PMTs and a single sCMOS imaging a 33$\times$33 cm\textsuperscript{2} area for 50 cm drift, that has been installed in underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in February 2022. We will illustrate LIME performances as evaluated overground in Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati by means of radioactive X-ray sources, and in particular the detector stability, energy response and energy resolution. We will discuss the MC simulation developed to reproduce the detector response and show the comparison with actual data. We will furthermore examine the background simulation worked out for LIME underground data taking and illustrate the foreseen expected measurement and results in terms of natural and materials intrinsic radioactivity characterisation and measurement of the LNGS underground natural neutron flux. The results that will be obtained by underground LIME installation will be paramount in the optimisation of the CYGNO demonstrator, since this is foreseen to be composed by multiple modules with the same LIME dimensions and characteristics.

Instance-level object re-identification is a fundamental computer vision task, with applications from image retrieval to intelligent monitoring and fraud detection. In this work, we propose the novel task of damaged object re-identification, which aims at distinguishing changes in visual appearance due to deformations or missing parts from subtle intra-class variations. To explore this task, we leverage the power of computer-generated imagery to create, in a semi-automatic fashion, high-quality synthetic images of the same bike before and after a damage occurs. The resulting dataset, Bent & Broken Bicycles (BBBicycles), contains 39,200 images and 2,800 unique bike instances spanning 20 different bike models. As a baseline for this task, we propose TransReI3D, a multi-task, transformer-based deep network unifying damage detection (framed as a multi-label classification task) with object re-identification. The BBBicycles dataset is available at https://huggingface.co/datasets/GrainsPolito/BBBicycles

The choice of stabilization term is a critical component of the virtual element method (VEM). However, the theory of VEM provides only asymptotic guidance for selecting the stabilization term, which ensures convergence as the mesh size approaches zero, but does not provide a unique prescription for its exact form. Thus, the selection of a suitable stabilization term is often guided by numerical experimentation and analysis of the resulting solution, including factors such as stability, accuracy, and efficiency. In this paper, we establish a new link between VEM and generalized barycentric coordinates, in particular isoparametric finite elements as a specific case. This connection enables the interpretation of the stability as the energy of a particular function in the discrete space, commonly known as the `hourglass mode.' Through this approach, this study sheds light on how the virtual element solution depends on the stabilization term, providing insights into the behavior of the method in more general scenarios., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures

We introduce a nonconforming virtual element method for the Poisson equation on domains with curved boundary and internal interfaces. We prove arbitrary order optimal convergence in the energy and $L^2$ norms, and validate the theoretical results with numerical experiments. Compared to existing nodal virtual elements on curved domains, the proposed scheme has the advantage that it can be designed in any dimension., Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures