High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)

Abstract: We study the effects of off-shellness in the generalized parton distributions of the pion. On general grounds, these distributions exhibit a richer structure than in the on-shell case due to absence of the crossing symmetry. In particular, their moments involve additional terms odd in the skewness parameter, associated with new form factors. We bring up relations between the off-shell charge and gravitational form factors, as well as the pion form factor, and discuss their derivations based on the Ward-Takahashi identities. We illustrate the features at the (leading-$N_c$) one-quark-loop level with the help of the spectral quark model of the pion, constructed to embed the vector meson dominance. Simple analytic expressions for the form factors and the distributions follow. Thus obtained off-shell generalized parton distributions are evolved from the quark model scale to higher scales with the LO DGLAP equations. We evaluate the corresponding Compton amplitudes which enter the cross-section for the electroproduction of the pion off the proton (the Sullivan process). It is found in our model that the effects of off-shellness in the generalized parton distribution are substantial, however, they can be largely canceled by the corresponding off-shell corrections to the pion propagator. In particular, this is the case of the Compton form factors entering the deeply virtual Compton scattering amplitude. As a result, we expect small off-shellness effects in electroproduction reactions, such as the Sullivan process.

Abstract: Dedicated to the memory of our colleague, Harald Fritzsch, who, together with Murray Gell-Mann, introduced the color quantum number as the exact symmetry responsible for the strong interaction, thus establishing quantum chromodynamics (QCD) as a fundamental non-Abelian gauge theory. A basic understanding of hadron properties, however, such as confinement and the emergence of a mass scale, from first principles QCD has remained elusive: Hadronic characteristics are not explicit properties of the QCD Lagrangian and perturbative QCD, so successful in the large transverse momentum domain, is not applicable at large distances. In this article, we shall examine how this daunting obstacle is overcome in holographic QCD with the introduction of a superconformal symmetry in anti de Sitter (AdS) space which is responsible for confinement and the introduction of a mass scale within the superconformal group. When mapped to light-front coordinates in physical spacetime, this approach incorporates supersymmetric relations between the Regge trajectories of meson, baryon and tetraquark states which can be visualized in terms of specific $SU(3)_C$ color representations of quarks. We will also briefly discuss here the implications of holographic models for QCD color transparency in view of the present experimental interest. Invited contribution to the book dedicated to the memory of Harald Fritzsch.

Abstract: An estimate of the proton number cumulants in the hadronic matter is presented considering a van der Waals-type interaction between the constituent particles. We argue that the attractive and repulsive parameters in the VDW hadron resonance gas (VDWHRG) model change as functions of baryochemical potential ($\mu_{B}$) and temperature ($T$). This, in turn, affects the estimation of thermodynamic properties and, consequently, the conserved charge fluctuations. We employ a simple parametrization to bring in the center-of-mass energy ($\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$) dependence on temperature and baryochemical potential and then estimate the proton number cumulants with the modified approach. The modified van der Waals hadron resonance gas model (MVDWHRG) explains the existing experimental data very well.

Abstract: We revisit the low-energy $K^+N$ elastic scatterings in the context of the in-medium quark condensate with strange quarks. The chiral ward identity connects the in-medium quark condensate to the soft limit value of the pseudoscalar correlation function evaluated in nuclear matter. The in-medium correlation function of the psuedoscalar fields with strangeness describes in-medium kaon propagation and is obtained by kaon-nucleon scattering amplitudes in the low density approximation. We construct the kaon-nucleon scattering amplitudes in chiral perturbation theory up to the next-to-leading order and add some terms of the next-to-next-to-leading order with the strange quark mass to improve expansion of the strange quark sector. We also consider the effect of a possible broad resonance state around $P_\mathrm{lab} = 600$ MeV/c for $I=0$ reported in the previous study. The low energy constants are determined by existent $K^+N$ scattering data. We obtain good reproduction of the $K^+p$ scattering amplitude by chiral perturbation theory, while the description of the $KN$ amplitude with $I=0$ is not so satisfactory due to the lack of low energy data. Performing analytic continuation of the scattering amplitudes obtained by chiral perturbation theory to the soft limit, we estimate the in-medium strange quark condensate.

Abstract: Both deeply-virtual and photoproduction of mesons offer promising access to generalized parton distributions and complementary description of different kinematical regions. The higher-order contributions offer stabilizing effect with respect to the dependence on renormalization scales, while higher-twist effects have been identified as especially important in the case of the production of pseudo-scalar mesons. This was confirmed by recent evaluation of the complete twist-3 contribution to $\pi$ and $\eta$/$\eta'$ photoproduction and its confrontation with experimental data.

Abstract: The increasing accuracy of current and planned experiments to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon requires more precision and reliability of its theoretical calculation. For this purpose, we calculate the differential cross section for the process of annihilation of an electron-positron pair into two photons, one of which is virtual, accompanied by the emission of soft photons, taking into account radiative corrections of the order $\alpha^2$. The results obtained can be used to improve the accuracy of calculating the contribution of the hadron vacuum polarization to the muon anomalous moment. It is shown that all logarithmically amplified two-loop corrections can be easily found using modern theorems of soft and collinear factorizations and available one-loop results.

Abstract: The most recent determinations of $V_{ud}$ from superallowed beta decays lead to a discrepancy when compared to the value implied by mesonic CKM measurements combined with CKM unitarity. On top of this, improved precision in lattice QCD calculations have revealed another discrepancy between the $V_{us}$ determinations from kaon and pion semi-leptonic decays. The combination of these can be referred to as the Cabibbo angle anomaly, which we find has a significance of around $3\,\sigma$. After summarising the current state of these issues, I will talk about new physics models that modify semi-leptonic decays as potential explanations, and why vector-like quarks in particular appear the most promising candidates. I will then discuss the results of a global fit to various vector-like quark models, and how other constraints are important in determining the most likely explanation. Finally I will touch on future experiments that could shed further light on the situation.

Abstract: We show that, in a $U(1)_{R-L}$-symmetric supersymmetric model, the pseudo-Dirac bino and wino can give rise to three light neutrino masses through effective operators, generated at the messenger scale between a SUSY breaking hidden sector and the visible sector. The neutrino-bino/wino mixing follows a hybrid type I+III inverse seesaw pattern. The light neutrino masses are governed by the ratio of the $U(1)_{R-L}$-breaking gravitino mass, $m_{3/2}$, and the messenger scale $\Lambda_M$. The charged component of the $SU(2)_L$-triplet, here the lightest charginos, mix with the charged leptons and generate flavor-changing neutral currents at tree level. We find that resulting lepton flavor violating observables yield a lower bound on the messenger scale, $\Lambda_M \gtrsim (500-1000)~{\rm TeV}$ for a simplified hybrid mixing scenario. We identify interesting mixing structures for certain $U(1)_{R-L}$-breaking singlino/tripletino Majorana masses. For example, in some parameter regimes, bino or wino has no mixing with the electron neutrino. We also describe the rich collider phenomenology expected in this neutrino-mass generation mechanism.

Abstract: The neutrinoless double beta decay experimental effort continues to make tremendous progress with hopes of covering the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy in coming years and pushing from the quasi-degenerate hierarchy into the normal hierarchy. As neutrino oscillation data is starting to suggest that the mass ordering may be normal, we may well be faced with staring down the funnel of death: a region of parameter space in the normal ordering where for a particular cancellation among the absolute neutrino mass scale, the Majorana phases, and the oscillation parameters, the neutrinoless double beta decay rate may be vanishingly small. To answer the question if this region of parameter space is theoretically preferred, we survey five broad categories of flavor models which make various different predictions for parameters relevant for neutrinoless double beta decay to determine how likely it is that the rate may be in this funnel region. We find that a non-negligible fraction of flavor models are at least partially in the funnel region. Our results can guide model builders and experimentalists alike in focusing their efforts on theoretically motivated regions of parameter space.

Abstract: We use QCD kinetic theory to compute photon production in the chemically equilibrating Quark-Gluon Plasma created in the early stages of high-energy heavy-ion collisions. We do a detailed comparison of pre-equilibrium photon rates to the thermal photon production. We show that the photon spectrum radiated from a hydrodynamic attractor evolution satisfies a simple scaling form in terms of the specific shear viscosity $\eta/s$ and entropy density $dS/d\zeta \sim {\scriptstyle \left(T\tau^{1/3}\right)^{3/2}}_\infty$. We confirm the analytical predictions with numerical kinetic theory simulations. We use the extracted scaling function to compute the pre-equilibrium photon contribution in $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76\,\text{TeV}$ 0-20\% PbPb collisions. We demonstrate that our matching procedure allows for a smooth switching from pre-equilibrium kinetic to thermal hydrodynamic photon production. Finally, our publicly available implementation can be straightforwardly added to existing heavy ion models.

Abstract: We examine the production of an invisible state $X$ together with a photon $e^+e^- \to \gamma +X$ at electron positron colliders and present measurement strategies that can detect the spin of the invisible state as well as the underlying production mechanism, based on the angular distribution of the final state photon, the cross sections for polarized initial states and the photon polarization. Our measurement strategy can be used to identify whether the invisible state is a hidden photon or an axion. The results are compared with a detailed analysis of the Standard Model background and we calculate the sensitivity reach for searches for axions and hidden photons at Belle II.

Abstract: Recently, a new non-thermal mechanism for dark matter production has been proposed which results in its exponential growth with the expansion of the universe. This mechanism works provided a small but non-zero initial dark matter ($\chi$) number density exists in the early universe which scatters of the bath particles ($\phi$) to generate more dark matter particles ($\chi \phi \to \chi \chi$). The process ends when the scattering rate becomes Boltzmann suppressed. The analysis, in literature, is performed on the simplifying assumption of the dark matter phase space tracing the equilibrium distribution of either standard model or a hidden sector bath. Owing to the non-thermal nature of the production mechanism, this assumption may not hold. In this paper, we compute the distribution function of dark matter by solving the Boltzmann-equation at the operator level analytically and/or numerically. We find that the obtained distribution exhibits different behavior from the equilibrium pattern and is sensitive to the mechanism populating the initial density of dark matter. We further show that the exponential growth results only in the scenarios where dark matter phase space follows an equilibrium distribution or in the case where only high momentum modes in the dark matter phase space distribution are populated. In general, the growth of dark matter can be parameterised as an exponential factor i.e. $\exp{[A(x)]}$ where $A(x)$ is sensitive to the details of the model.