Paleodetectors are a proposed experimental technique for direct detection of dark matter (DM) via the readout of DM-induced nuclear recoil tracks in natural minerals. The large detector mass required for the sensitivity of conventional direct detection experiments to rare events is replaced by the exposure of paleodetectors to DM-induced nuclear recoils over geological timescales. In this paper, we generalize the previous theoretical predictions that focused on canonical spin-independent coherent and spin-dependent scattering (proportional to $A^2$ and the spin of the nucleus, respectively). We estimate the sensitivity of paleodetectors to interactions between weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) DM and nuclei within the framework of a nonrelativistic effective field theory (NREFT), considering isoscalar couplings to nucleons for both elastic and inelastic scattering. Taking into account cosmogenic, astrophysical, and radiogenic backgrounds, we project the 90% confidence-level upper limits on the isoscalar NREFT coupling constants for both scattering types. We consider representative readout scenarios and examine a wide variety of target minerals. The projected sensitivities of paleodetectors are compared with the 90% confidence-level limits from the XENON100, LUX-ZEPLIN, and PandaX–II experiments, as well as with the 95% Bayesian credible region of the two-dimensional marginalized posterior distribution from SuperCDMS. For DM masses from $1\mathrm{GeV}/c^2-10\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$, we find that paleodetectors are projected to have sensitivity superior to that of conventional experiments for WIMP-nucleus interactions mediated by all NREFT operators, largely independent of readout scenario or target mineral. For heavier DM masses in the range $10\mathrm{GeV}/c^2-5\mathrm{TeV}/c^2$, we find that the sensitivity of paleodetectors is projected to be comparable to or better than that of conventional experiments for WIMP–nucleus interactions mediated by several NREFT operators, depending on the readout scenario and target mineral.

We explore the interpretation that the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux is dominated by a single standard candle-like source class. Since recent observations favor a broken power law with a spectral break around 30 TeV, we postulate that the $p\gamma$ channel is the dominant neutrino production process creating a peak at these energies. We use a sophia-based photo-pion interaction model with a thermal target including high-energy processes, such as multipion production, which turns out to be relevant for the interpretation. We demonstrate that target photon temperatures of about 80 to 300 eV are preferred in a multiparameter fit, whereas the maximal neutrino energies can be limited by ($a$) soft injection spectra, ($b$) a maximal proton energy in the PeV range, or ($c$) magnetic field effects on the secondary muons, pions, and kaons with $B$ in the few–10 kG range. We predict that future measurements, such as readings of the neutrino flavor composition or neutrino-antineutrino ratio (Glashow resonance), can discriminate between scenarios. We also point out that the parameters obtained in our generic approach, such as in the strong magnetic field values, might be indicative for an active galactic nucleus core origin as a driver of the diffuse flux.

This paper presents an enhanced methodology for searching long transient gravitational w aves associated with a newborn magnetar, with particular focus on the regime in which the early spin down is dominated by gravitational-wave emission. The analysis is performed using a strongly improved version of the generalized Frequency Hough Transform algorithm, called GFH-v2. We describe the main developments introduced relative to the original implementation and outline the optimized parameter-space selection used in the search. We then compute the theoretical sensitivity of the method and compare it with an empirical sensitivity estimate obtained by injecting simulated signals into LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA O4a data. The updated framework achieves improved sensitivity and computational performance. These results provide a robust basis for future directed searches for long-transient gravitational-wave signals from core-collapse supernovae and other transient events in current and upcoming observing runs.

Nuclear weak-interaction rates are known to exert a prominent effect in the late stages of stellar collapse. Despite their importance, most studies to date on core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) have focused primarily on the effects of electron captures, neglecting $\beta$ decay contributions. In this work, we present the first CCSNe simulation incorporating global $\beta$ decay rates from a microscopic theory. These are enabled by a large-scale evaluation of both electron capture and $\beta$ decay rates, obtained self-consistently utilizing the relativistic energy density functional theory and finite-temperature quasiparticle random-phase approximation. Including $\beta$ decay leads to a dramatic enhancement of the pre-bounce antineutrino signal as the antineutrino emissivity increases by more than two orders of magnitude and the luminosity by a factor of 50 relative to thermal emission alone, while the average antineutrino energy increases by over 1 MeV. It is expected that these new rates could help us constrain the model uncertainties related to weak-interaction processes, improving the prediction of antineutrino signal during the final stages of stellar death.

The High-Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) telescope has recently detected the total electron-plus-positron ($e^{+}{e}^{-}$) flux up to 40 TeV, finding it to be a featureless and steeply falling power law above 1 TeV. This result is in stark tension with standard one-zone models of pulsar $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ injection and diffusion, which predict a hard-spectrum signal above $\sim 10\mathrm{TeV}$. We model the local pulsar population, and find 21 sources that would each individually overproduce the H.E.S.S. $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ flux in a one-zone diffusion model. We conclude that every energetic pulsar younger than $\sim 500\mathrm{kyr}$ must be surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion (e.g., a supernova remnant, pulsar wind nebula, or TeV halo) that prevents the transport of these $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ to Earth. Because the high-electron density in these regions produces bright synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission, we conclude that all nearby pulsars are detectable as (potentially unassociated) radio, x-ray or $\gamma$-ray sources.

High-energy neutrino observation from the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 offers new insights into the nonthermal processes of active galactic nuclei. Simultaneous $\gamma$ rays emitted by such sources can possibly oscillate into axionlike particles (ALPs) when propagating through astrophysical magnetic fields, potentially modifying the observed spectrum. To probe for ALP-induced signals, a robust understanding of the emission processes at the source is necessary. In this work, we perform a dedicated multimessenger analysis by modeling a jet in the innermost vicinity of the central supermassive black hole of NGC 1068. We model in particular the neutrino and $\gamma$-ray emission originating in lepto-hadronic collisions between jet accelerated particles and background particles from the corona, reproducing both the Fermi-LAT and IceCube data. These source models serve as a baseline for ALP searches, and we derive limits on the ALP-photon coupling by marginalizing over motivated ranges of astrophysical parameters. We find $g_{a\gamma }\lesssim 7\times {10}^{-11}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ for $m_a\lesssim {10}^{-9}\mathrm{eV}$. These limits may be weaker than existing constraints, but they demonstrate the potential of multimessenger observations to probe new physics. We conclude by discussing how additional upcoming multimessenger sources and improved observational precision can enhance ALP sensitivity.

Recently, the GeV–sub-PeV spectrum of supernova remnant (SNR) Cassiopeia A (Cas A), one of the youngest and most well-studied SNRs in our Galaxy, has been updated by observations from Fermi-LAT and LHAASO. We revisit Cas A with our previous shell-plus-jet asymmetric model and investigate its particle acceleration ability. The broadband fitting results suggest that the double-peaked gamma-ray spectrum can be well attributed to proton-proton (PP) collisions and inverse Compton scattering within the SNR shell, while the synchrotron emission from a jet component with velocity of $\sim 0.1c$ can account for the hard x-ray emission up to 220 keV. Furthermore, the PP collisions in the jet can produce a sub-PeV emission, but constrained by the LHAASO-KM2A limit to a flux below $\sim 1\times {10}^{-14}\mathrm{erg}/({\mathrm{cm}}^2\mathrm{s})$ at 100 TeV. The energy of accelerated protons in the jet of Cas A could be up to $5\times {10}^{47}\mathrm{erg}$, which, assuming that the PeV cosmic ray distribution is clumpy in the Galaxy with the clump size comparable to the thickness of the Galactic plane, derives a proton flux consistent with the observed one at 1 PeV, implying that the Cas A-like SNRs can still be PeVatrons in the Galaxy. It is encouraging for LHAASO and future telescopes to detect or constrain the Cas A spectrum above 100 TeV more precisely.

Complicated hardenings and softenings of the spectra of cosmic ray protons and helium have been revealed by the newest measurements, which indicate the existence of multiple source populations of Galactic cosmic rays. We study the physical implications of these results in this work. A phenomenological fit shows that three components can properly give the measured structures of the proton and helium spectra. The data are then accounted for in a physically motivated, spatially dependent propagation model. It has been shown that one background source population plus two local sources or two background source populations plus one local source can well reproduce the measurements. The spectral structures of individual species of cosmic rays are thus natural imprints of different source components of cosmic rays. Combined with ultrahigh-energy $\gamma$-ray observations of various types of sources, the mystery about the origin of Galactic cosmic rays may be uncovered in the future.

Gravitational lensing in the wave-optics regime imprints characteristic frequency-dependent amplitude and phase modulations on gravitational-wave (GW) signals, yet to be detected by ground-based interferometers. Similar modulations may also arise from orbital eccentricity, raising the possibility of degeneracies that could lead to false microlensing claims. We investigate the extent to which eccentric binary black hole signals can mimic microlensing signatures produced by an isolated point-mass lens. With a simulated population of eccentric signals using numerical relativity simulations and the TEOBResumS-Dalí waveform model, we perform a Bayesian model-comparison study, supported by a complementary mismatch analysis. We find a strong degeneracy for high eccentricities, low total masses, and high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs): under these conditions, a quasicircular microlensed model can be strongly favored over a quasicircular unlensed model, even when the true signal is unlensed. For moderate SNRs ($\sim 30$), binaries with $M_{\mathrm{tot}}\lesssim 100M_{\odot }$ and eccentricity $e\gtrsim 0.4$ are particularly susceptible to misclassifications. In such cases, inferred microlens parameters exhibit well-constrained posteriors despite being unphysical. Crucially, the degeneracy is completely removed when the recovery uses waveform models that incorporate eccentricity, which overwhelmingly favors the eccentric hypothesis over microlensing. Our results demonstrate that any event exhibiting strong Bayesian evidence for microlensing should also be analyzed with eccentric waveform models and vice-versa to avoid false positives and biased astrophysical inference. This work contributes to developing robust strategies for interpreting signals in the era of precision GW astronomy.

Recent measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), especially when combined with cosmic microwave background (CMB) and supernova data, favor a late-time dark energy equation of state that crosses $w=-1$, which has been argued to point toward nonminimal conformal coupling in Horndeski gravity. We test this interpretation by performing a nonparametric exploration of the minimally coupled, luminal Horndeski subclass known as kinetic gravity braiding (KGB). Using mochi_class and its manifestly stable effective field theory (EFT) basis implementation, we efficiently scan a broad class of models in which the EFT functions are allowed to vary freely in time, while enforcing the absence of ghost and gradient instabilities from the outset. We identify a set of KGB models that realize phantom crossing and remain broadly consistent with current probes of the background and linear large-scale structure, including CMB temperature and lensing power spectra, redshift-space distortions, cosmic shear, and the cross-correlation between galaxies and the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. Our results demonstrate that viable phantom-crossing solutions exist without conformal coupling, motivating future full Bayesian analyses of this model class with nonparametric EFT priors.

We study the three-body systems $DNN$ and $D^{*}NN$ within a hadronic molecular framework by combining a realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction with a $D^{(*)}N$ potential constrained by heavy-quark symmetry. The three-body Schrödinger equation is solved with the Gaussian expansion method, and the analytic structure of the spectrum is investigated using the complex scaling method. We find that the $DNN$ system supports a robust and compact bound state in the $I(J^P)=\frac{1}{2}(1^{-})$ channel over a broad range of cutoff values, even when the corresponding $DN$ subsystem is weakly bound or unbound. For $D^{*}NN$, the spin-1 nature of the heavy meson and the associated spin-dependent forces generate a clear spin hierarchy: deeply bound states appear in both $0^{-}$ and $2^{-}$ channels, while the $1^{-}$ channel exhibits a characteristic two-branch pattern with a strongly bound compact branch and a more weakly bound, spatially extended branch. The root-mean-square radii indicate pronounced spatial compression compared with the deuteron scale, highlighting the cooperative roles of realistic $NN$ correlations, the $D^{(*)}N$ interactions, and heavy-quark symmetry in forming compact heavy-flavor few-body bound states. No three-body resonances under complex scaling are found in the explored parameter space. Our results provide quantitative benchmarks for future experimental searches for such charmed-meson-nuclear bound states.

We derive the covariant generalization of the Frank-Tamm formula describing the Cherenkov radiation by a charged particle moving uniformly with a speed faster than the local speed of light within a homogeneous dielectric medium. We use our result to derive the covariant Cherenkov radiation reaction force and obtain a 4-force explicitly orthogonal to particle 4-velocity consistent with a relativistic friction force. We present the photon emission spectrum that is dependent primarily on the dielectric properties of the medium. We hint at a possible use of this work to interpret an excess of soft photons seen in relativistic hadron collisions.

We investigate how the curvature of the freeze-out hypersurface polarizes massive vector bosons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Starting from the Proca Lagrangian and using the Wigner function formalism, we perform a systematic gradient expansion to obtain a covariant spin-polarization tensor expressed in terms of hydrodynamic fields and the curvature tensor of the freeze-out hypersurface. Analytic results for Bjorken and Gubser flows show that curvature anisotropy generates a nonzero tensor polarization. For $\varphi$ meson, we estimate the curvature contribution to its spin alignment as $\delta {\mathrm{\Theta }}_{yy}\sim -{10}^{-4}$ to $-{10}^{-3}$. We also find that the curvature contribution grows as the system size decreases. A rough estimate for central O-O collisions gives a spin alignment of order $-{10}^{-2}$, suggesting that spin-alignment measurements in such small systems may provide a clean probe of this geometric effect.

We use total energy-momentum conservation and the Bianchi identity (magnetic-flux conservation) to construct second-order relativistic magnetohydrodynamics in Zubarev’s nonequilibrium statistical operator (NESO) framework. We obtain the evolution equations for all dissipative tensors by focusing on a relativistic charge-neutral-magnetized plasma that preserves parity and is symmetric under charge conjugation. We also provide Kubo formulas for all transport coefficients that arise at second order. Moreover, we extend the NESO formalism to systematically take into account the nonlocal contributions.

The modeling of coupled-channel effects has become increasingly important due to the availability of highly precise data for a large variety of hadronic (re)scattering processes. The $K$-matrix is a powerful, yet comparatively simple, method to describe scattering amplitudes, including coupled-channel effects, with the aim of interpreting experimental data. Throughout the literature, a range of dispersive and nondispersive $K$-matrix methods are employed. Here, we compare the dispersive and nondispersive formulations in the context of the N/D method. It is shown that the methods are equivalent in the physical region under $K$-matrix reparametrization. Differences away from the physical region are examined. Applications to synthetic data are used to illustrate the effects of model choices concerning form factors and the application of dispersion relations, with the goal of clarifying best practices. We find no clear preference with regard to dispersive modeling. In contrast, we find that interpretational ambiguity of the bare model parameters—and even of the form of the bare model—is endemic, and recommend a thorough sampling of data and model spaces to assess conclusion robustness.

Vortex states of photons, electrons, and other particles are wave packets that carry intrinsic orbital angular momentum and exhibit other features unavailable for plane waves. Collisions of high-energy vortex states can become a promising tool for nuclear and particle physics, once experimental challenges are overcome. An extensive amount of literature exists on scattering processes involving vortex states; however, most works rely on assumptions that will be challenging to achieve in experiment. In this work, we initiate a systematic reanalysis of vortex-state scattering processes using paraxial Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) wave packets colliding at a nonzero impact parameter $b$. Since the total final transverse momentum ${\mathbf{P}}_{\perp }$ is no longer fixed, we focus on how the differential cross section depends on ${\mathbf{P}}_{\perp }$. We emphasize that nontrivial ${\mathbf{P}}_{\perp }$-dependent features can originate either from the shape of the LG wave packets or from the dynamics of the scattering process under interest. Here, we focus on the former source and explore in detail these universal kinematic features, while the study of process-specific modifications, along with the novel insights they may bring, is delegated to a future work. Interestingly, the nonzero impact parameter $b$ plays a key role in many ${\mathbf{P}}_{\perp }$-dependent effects, making it a useful probe of vortex states, not a nuisance factor as often assumed.

In this paper, we give a detailed account of the algorithm outlined in [I. Bree et al. ($ϵ$ Collaboration), companion Letter, Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 241602 (2026).] for Feynman integral reduction and $ϵ$-factorized differential equations. The algorithm consists of two steps. In the first step, we use a new geometric order relation in the integration-by-parts reduction to obtain a basis of master integrals, whose differential equations on the maximal cut are of a Laurent polynomial form in the regularization parameter $ϵ$ and compatible with a filtration. This step works entirely with rational functions. In a second step, we provide a method to $ϵ$-factorize the aforementioned Laurent differential equations. The second step may introduce algebraic and transcendental functions. We illustrate the versatility of the algorithm by applying it to different examples with a wide range of complexity.

Standard-Model (SM) hadronic parton showers initiated by secondary cosmic-ray production or dark matter (DM) annihilations robustly predict very low antinuclei yields and a strong additional suppression for heavier antinuclei. We show that an important exception can arise if DM annihilates into a confining dark sector that produces soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs). The hallmark of SUEPs is the emission of very large multiplicities of soft dark mesons (${\pi }_D$), which can overcome the usual phase-space suppression of antinuclei formation in parton showers, provided that the dark mesons decay promptly into SM quarks, i.e., within a SM hadronization length. We study several benchmark realizations and find that for DM masses $m_{\mathrm{DM}}\sim \mathcal{O}(10\mathrm{TeV})$, dark meson masses $m_{{\pi }_D}\sim 400\mathrm{GeV}$, ${\pi }_D$ dominantly decaying to $t\overline{t}$, and a SUEP temperature $T_{\mathrm{SUEP}}\simeq 0.1m_{\pi D}$, DM annihilation into SUEPs can yield tens of antideuterons and a few antihelium-3 events at $\mathsf{AMS-02}$ at kinetic energies of $\mathcal{O}(\mathrm{GeV}/\mathrm{n})$ and a few antideuterons and antihelium-3 events in $\mathsf{GAPS}$ at energies below $0.5\mathrm{GeV}/\mathrm{n}$. A future confirmation of an antinuclei signal by the $\mathsf{AMS-02}$ or $\mathsf{GAPS}$ experiments could provide hints for hidden confining dynamics and would significantly constrain the relevant SUEP parameters.

We propose a radiatively induced lepton mass model introducing a $Z_2$ gauging $Z_5$ fusion rule. In our framework, the charged-lepton mass matrix is generated at one-loop level via dynamical breaking of the fusion rule. On the other hand, the neutrino mass matrix is induced at the one-loop level without breaking the fusion rule. As a direct consequence of the loop induced charged lepton masses, we can also consider lepton flavor violations, electron and muon $g-2$, and charged-lepton electric dipole moments that come into our valid phenomenological discussion. Then, we perform numerical analysis and show some interesting tendency on the Dirac $CP$ phase, two Majorana phases, charged-lepton electric dipole moments and the neutrinoless double beta decay, all of which depends on their arguments where we fix the absolute values of our free parameters in order to satisfy experimental data of the lepton masses and mixing angles.

This paper presents the first dedicated study of the boosted $HH\to b\overline{b}\gamma \gamma$ topology as a key probe of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) in the high-energy double-Higgs boson regime. The analysis presented in this paper focuses on two classes of new-physics scenarios: nonresonant deviations of the quartic gauge-Higgs interaction, parametrized by the coupling modifier ${\kappa }_{2V}$, and resonant enhancement arising from the decay of a heavy scalar state, modeled within a two-Higgs-doublet framework. We demonstrate that the boosted reconstruction category enhances sensitivity to beyond SM effects that populate the high-$m_{HH}$ tail, yielding improved constraints on ${\kappa }_{2V}$ and extending the discovery reach for heavy resonances.