High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)

Abstract: We investigate the cosmological collider (CC) signal arising from the tree-level exchange of a scalar spectator particle with a non-Bunch Davies (BD) initial state. We decompose the inflaton correlators into seed integrals, which we compute analytically by solving the bootstrap equations. We show that the non-BD initial state eliminates the Hubble scale Boltzmann suppression $e^{-\pi m /H}$ that usually affects the CC signal. Consequently, in this scenario, the CC can probe an energy scale much higher than the inflationary Hubble scale $H$.

Abstract: In this study, we calculate the shear viscosity for rotating fermions with spin-half under conditions of high temperature and density. We employ the Kubo formalism, rooted in finite-temperature quantum field theory, to compute the field correlation functions essential for this evaluation. The one-loop diagram pertinent to shear viscosity is analyzed within the context of curved space, utilizing tetrad formalism as an effective approach in cylindrical coordinates. Our findings focus on extremely high angular velocities, ranging from 0.1 to 1 GeV, which align with experimental expectations. Furthermore, we explore the interrelationship between the chemical potential and angular velocity within the scope of this study.

Abstract: In this talk, I summarize the results obtained recently in Ref.\,\cite{SNe} using the PDG 22 compilation of the $e^+e^-\to$ Hadrons $\oplus$ the recent CMD3 data for the pion form factor. Using the gluon condensate $\langle \alpha_s G^2\rangle=(6.49\pm 0.35)\times 10^{-2}$ GeV$^4$ from heavy quark sum rules, the extracted QCD four-quark and dimension eight condensate condensates values are: $\rho\alpha_s\langle\bar\psi\psi\rangle^2= (5.98\pm 0.64)\times 10^{-4}$ GeV$^6$ and $d_8= (4.3\pm 3.0)\times 10^{-2}$ GeV$^8$ from the ratio ${\cal R}_{10}$ of Laplace sum rules to order $\alpha_s^4$. Inversely using these estimated values of the condensates, we obtain from ${\cal R}_{10}$: $\langle \alpha_s G^2\rangle=(6.12\pm 0.61)\times 10^{-2}$ GeV$^4$ which leads to the average $(6.40\pm 0.30)\times 10^{-2}$ GeV$^4$. %from light and heavy quark systems. Using the lowest $\tau$-like decay moment, the mean result of Fixed Order (FO) and Contour Improved (CI) PT series within the standard OPE is : $\alpha_s(M_\tau)=0.3385(50)(136)_{syst}$ [resp. $0.3262(37)(78)_{syst}$] to order $\alpha_s^4$ [resp. $\alpha_s^5$] leading to $\alpha_s(M_Z)$=0.1207(17)(3) [resp. 0.1193(11)(3)], while the sum of the non-perturbative contribution at $M_\tau$ is\,: $\delta^V_{NP}(M_\tau)=(2.3\pm 0.2)\times 10^{-2}$. Using the same data, one also obtains the LO hadronic vacuum polarization to the muon and $\tau$ anomalous magnetic moments: $a_\mu\vert^{hvp}_{l.o}= (7036.5\pm 38.9)\times10^{-11}, \, a_\tau\vert^{hvp}_{l.o}= (3494.8\pm 24.7)\times10^{-9} $ which leads to : $\Delta a_\mu\equiv a_\mu^{exp}-a_\mu^{th} = (142\pm 42_{th}\pm 41_{exp})\times 10^{-11}$ and reduces the tension between the SM prediction and experiment. One also finds: $\alpha^{(5)}(M_Z)\vert_{had}=(2766.3\pm 4.5)\times 10^{-5}$.

Abstract: The damped oscillating structures (OS) were recently revealed in the proton "effective" form factor (FF) data. For the time being they can be neither confirmed nor disproved by investigations of timelike data on the individual proton electric and proton magnetic FFs because their precision and reliability (especially of the proton electric FF data) has not achieved required level for this aim. On the other hand, conjectures that the OS are direct manifestations of the quark-gluon structure of the proton indicate that they must not be specific only for the proton and neutron, but that they should be present also for other hadrons. This opens a plausibility to find damped oscillatory structures also from the EM FFs data of such hadrons, for which adequate EM FFs data exist, by using the same procedure as for the proton. Consequently in this paper damped oscillatory structures are investigated in the EM FFs data of the charged and neutral $K$-mesons to be extracted from the corresponding production cross sections, $\sigma^{bare}_{tot}(e^+e^-\to K^+ K^-)$ measured from the threshold up to 64 GeV$^2$ and $\sigma^{bare}_{tot}(e^+e^-\to K_s K_L)$ measured from the threshold up to 9.5 GeV$^2$ of the total c.m. energy squared. The following results have been obtained. If the charged and neutral K-meson EM FFs timelike data are described by the three parametric formula by means of which OS have been revealed from the "effective" proton FF data then OS appear. If physically well founded Unitary and Analytic model of the K-meson EM structure is used for a description of the charged K-meson EM FFs data, no OS are visible. However, in the case of the neutral K-meson EM FF data one cannot make a definite decision. The overall results indicate that OS obtained from the "effective" proton FF data are likely an artefact of the three parametric formula which does not describe these data well.

Abstract: We study the impact of machine-learning algorithms on LHC searches for leptoquarks in final states with hadronically decaying tau leptons, multiple $b$-jets, and large missing transverse momentum. Pair production of scalar leptoquarks with decays only into third-generation leptons and quarks is assumed. Thanks to the use of supervised learning tools with unbinned methods to handle the high-dimensional final states, we consider simple selection cuts which would possibly translate into an improvement in the exclusion limits at the 95$\%$ confidence level for leptoquark masses with different values of their branching fraction into charged leptons. In particular, for intermediate branching fractions, we expect that the exclusion limits for leptoquark masses extend to $\sim$1.3 TeV. As a novelty in the implemented unbinned analysis, we include a simplified estimation of some systematic uncertainties with the aim of studying their possible impact on the stability of the results. Finally, we also present the projected sensitivity within this framework at 14 TeV for 300 and 3000 fb$^{-1}$ that extends the upper limits to $\sim$1.6 and $\sim$1.8 TeV, respectively.

Abstract: Present and next generation of long-baseline accelerator experiments are bringing the measurement of neutrino oscillations into the precision era with ever-increasing statistics. One of the most challenging aspects of achieving such measurements is developing relevant systematic uncertainties in the modeling of nuclear effects in neutrino-nucleus interactions. To address this problem, state-of-the-art detectors are being developed to extract detailed information about all particles produced in neutrino interactions. To fully profit from these experimental advancements, it is essential to have reliable models of propagation of the outgoing hadrons through nuclear matter able to predict how the energy is distributed between all the final-state observed particles. In this article, we investigate the role of nuclear de-excitation in neutrino-nucleus scattering using two Monte Carlo cascade models: NuWro and INCL coupled with the de-excitation code ABLA. The ablation model ABLA is used here for the first time to model de-excitation in neutrino interactions. As input to ABLA, we develop a consistent simulation of nuclear excitation energy tuned to electron-scattering data. The paper includes the characterization of the leading proton kinematics and of the nuclear cluster production during cascade and de-excitation. The observability of nuclear clusters as vertex activity and their role in a precise neutrino energy reconstruction is quantified.

Abstract: The aim of this text to present the covariant confined quark model (CCQM) and review its applications to the decays of $B$ mesons. We do so in the context of existing experimental measurements and theoretical results of other authors, which we review also. The physics principles are in detail exposed for the CCQM, the other results (theoretical and experimental) are surveyed in an enumerative way with comments. We proceed by considering successively three categories of decay processes: leptonic, semileptonic and non-leptonic.

Abstract: We develop an improved method to explore the $\Xi_c- \Xi_c'$ mixing which arises from the flavor SU(3) and heavy quark symmetry breaking. In this method, the flavor eigenstates under the SU(3) symmetry are at first constructed and the corresponding masses can be nonperturbatively determined. Matrix elements of the mass operators which break the flavor SU(3) symmetry sandwiched by the flavor eigenstates are then calculated. Diagonalizing the corresponding matrix of Hamiltonian gives the mass eigenstates of the full Hamiltonian and determines the mixing. Following the previous lattice QCD calculation of $\Xi_c$ and $\Xi_c'$, and estimating an off-diagonal matrix element, we extract the mixing angle between the $\Xi_c$ and $\Xi_c'$. Preliminary numerical results for the mixing angle confirm the previous observation that such mixing is incapable to explain the large SU(3) symmetry breaking in semileptonic decays of charmed baryons.

Abstract: Gravitational wave (GW) predictions of cosmological phase transitions are almost invariably evaluated at either the nucleation or percolation temperature. We investigate the effect of the transition temperature choice on GW predictions, for phase transitions with weak, intermediate and strong supercooling. We find that the peak amplitude of the GW signal varies by a factor of a few for weakly supercooled phase transitions, and by an order of magnitude for strongly supercooled phase transitions. The variation in amplitude for even weakly supercooled phase transitions can be several orders of magnitude if one uses the mean bubble separation, while the variation is milder if one uses the mean bubble radius instead. We also investigate the impact of various approximations used in GW predictions. Many of these approximations introduce at least a 10% error in the GW signal, with others introducing an error of over an order of magnitude.

Abstract: We study the interaction of several types of static straight cosmic strings, including local strings, global strings, and bosonic superconducting strings with and without magnetic currents. First, we evaluate the interaction energy of two widely separated cosmic strings using the point source formalism and show that the most dominant contribution to the interaction energy comes from the excitation of the lightest mediator particles in a underlying theory. The interaction energy at arbitrary separation distances is then analyzed numerically by the gradient flow method. It turns out that an additional scalar field introduced in the bosonic superconducting string becomes an additional source of attraction. For such a bosonic superconducting string, we find that a string with two winding numbers is energetically favorable compared to two strings with a single winding number in a certain parameter region. Our analysis reveals that a phase structure of bosonic superconducting strings is richer than that of local and global strings and that the formation of bound states at intersections of bosonic superconducting strings is favored.

Abstract: Oscillating and dissipative energy exchange between the electromagnetic and axion fields is investigated in an effective electro-magneto dynamical (EEMD) model theory, implying the coexistence of axions with hypothetic magnetic charges. An exact formula is presented for the energy transfer between the electromagnetic and axionic sectors. In a first example we compute analytically the homogeneously oscillating electric and magnetic field configurations generated by the combined action of a constant static magnetic field and a periodically oscillating axion condensate. In the second example the electromagnetic radiative energy loss of a gravitationally bound axion configuration is computed in the EEMD model. As a result an asymptotic $\sim t^{1/5}$ temporal increase of the clump size is found also in EEMD.

Abstract: We calculate the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to $B\rightarrow S$ (scalar mesons) form factors from QCD light-cone sum rules with $B$ meson light-cone distribution amplitude. We demonstrate that the $B$ meson-to-vacuum correlation function can be factorized into the convolution of short-distance coefficients and light-cone distribution amplitude at the one-loop level and find that only $\phi_B^+(\omega)$ contributes to the form factors. We then employ the z-parameterization combined with constraints from strong coupling constants to reconstruct the $q^2$ dependence of the form factors in the whole kinematic allowed regions. Due to the large cancelations between the hard functions and the jet functions, the next-to-leading order results show a modest increase of approximately 5\% compared to the leading order results. Based on the results of form factors, we predict the branching ratios of semi-leptonic $B\rightarrow Sl\bar{\nu}$ and $B\rightarrow S\nu\bar{\nu}$ processes, as well as several angular observables, such as forward-backward asymmetries, "flat terms" and lepton polarization asymmetries. We compare these results with calculations from other methods. Experimental verification of these results is required in future experiments.

Abstract: Non-invertible global symmetry often predicts degeneracy in axion potentials and carries important information about the global form of the gauge group. When these symmetries are spontaneously broken they can lead to the formation of stable axion domain wall networks which support topological degrees of freedom on their worldvolume. Such non-invertible symmetries can be broken by embedding into appropriate larger UV gauge groups where small instanton contributions lift the vacuum degeneracy, and provide a possible solution to the domain wall problem. We explain these ideas in simple illustrative examples and then apply them to the Standard Model, whose gauge algebra and matter content are consistent with several possible global structures. Each possible global structure leads to different selection rules on the axion couplings, and various UV completions of the Standard Model lead to more specific relations. As a proof of principle, we also present an example of a UV embedding of the Standard Model which can solve the axion domain wall problem. The formation and annihilation of the long-lived axion domain walls can lead to observables, such as gravitational wave signals. Observing such signals, in combination with the axion coupling measurements, can provide valuable insight into the global structure of the Standard Model, as well as its UV completion.