We carry out an independent reanalysis of the dark energy spectroscopic instrument (DESI) public dataset, focusing on extensions to the standard cosmological model, $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$. Utilizing the dataset and effective field theory-based pipeline described in Paper 1, we constrain cosmological models with massive neutrinos ($\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}+M_{\nu }$), spatial curvature ($o\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$), dynamical dark energy ($w_0{w}_a\mathrm{CDM}$), and their combinations using the power spectrum and bispectrum of DESI galaxies and quasars. Our work also presents the first measurements of relevant nonminimal cosmological parameters from the combination of cosmic microwave background (CMB) and DESI full-shape (FS) data, which are made possible thanks to carefully chosen priors on EFT parameters. We find that the addition the FS likelihood to DESI’s baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data improves the limits on the spatial curvature by a factor of two over the BAO only results, though the improvements are less significant with the CMB data. The dark energy equation of state figure of merit increases both with and without the supernovae data (SNe), by $\approx 30\%$ and $\approx 20\%$ relative to the $\mathrm{CMB}+\mathrm{BAO}$ and $\mathrm{CMB}+\mathrm{BAO}+\mathrm{SNe}$ results, respectively. Our FS likelihood also yields the strongest CMB-independent constraint on the total neutrino mass $M_{\nu }<0.32\mathrm{eV}$, with the 30% improvement due to the bispectrum. In combination with the CMB, we find a 14% improvement assuming the $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}+M_{\nu }$ model (yielding $M_{\nu }<0.059\mathrm{eV}$), but this increases to 22% when using nonminimal backgrounds: $M_{\nu }<0.097\mathrm{eV}$ in $o\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}+M_{\nu }$ and $M_{\nu }<0.13\mathrm{eV}$ in $w_0{w}_a\mathrm{CDM}+M_{\nu }$. Overall, our work illustrates that robust and substantial gains in constraining power can be obtained by incorporating the FS power spectrum and bispectrum measurements in analyses of nonminimal cosmological models.

We revisit the scenario in which stable particles of a dark sector are produced through the complete evaporation of light primordial black holes (PBHs) formed in the early Universe. We investigate in detail the role of isocurvature perturbations that may arise in this framework. PBHs inherit Poisson fluctuations on unobservable small scales at formation; however, in the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity that couples long- and short-wavelength modes, these fluctuations can source isocurvature perturbations on cosmological scales. Such perturbations are unavoidably transferred to the dark sector particles emitted via Hawking evaporation. We highlight the potential impact of isocurvature constraints on dark sector particles produced through PBH evaporation. Along the way, we reassess the constraints on this scenario arising from the overproduction of dark matter (DM), accounting for both PBH evaporation and gravitational production (freeze-in) during (after) inflation, as well as bounds from warm DM and the overproduction of scalar-induced gravitational waves.

Many early Universe scenarios predict postinflationary tensor perturbations from causality-limited, subhorizon sources. While the microphysical details may differ, as long as these sources are bounded in duration and correlation length, their tensor power spectra exhibit a universal scaling behavior at small wave number: ${\mathcal{P}}_h(k)\propto k^3$, corresponding to white noise on superhorizon scales at the time of production. If these early causal tensor sources (ECTs) exclusively produce gravitational waves before redshift $z\sim {10}^5$, this scaling is realized on all of the scales observed in the CMB, and thus yields a universal multipole distribution for the $B$-mode angular power spectrum. Unlike the scale-invariant distributions of inflationary $B$ modes, ECTs generically predict enhanced power on small scales and suppressed power on large scales, which allows these source classes to be distinguished given measurements over a sufficient range of angular scales. In this paper, we introduce a unified framework for characterizing ECTs and demonstrate how their universal infrared scaling manifests in low-frequency observables, including CMB $B$ modes and stochastic gravitational wave spectral densities. We illustrate this mapping with representative case studies of this universality class involving first-order phase transitions, topological defects, and enhanced scalar perturbations, which source tensor modes at second order in perturbation theory.

Cosmic-ray (CR) antinuclei, especially antideuteron $\overline{\mathrm{D}}$ and antihelium-3 nuclei ${}^3\overline{\mathrm{He}}$, are among the most promising messengers for indirect dark matter (DM) searches. This is because secondary production in CR interactions with the interstellar medium is strongly suppressed at kinetic energies $K\simeq (0.1–1)\mathrm{GeV}/n$, typically one to two orders of magnitude below fluxes expected in standard DM scenarios. From the theoretical side, the formation of $\overline{\mathrm{D}}$ and ${}^3\overline{\mathrm{He}}$ is governed by coalescence, whose dynamics cannot yet be reliably derived from first principles. Phenomenological approaches therefore introduce effective coalescence parameters, possibly dependent on collision energy and production environment (hadronic versus electroweak). In this work we show that a common set of physically motivated coalescence models can simultaneously reproduce collider data in two qualitatively different regimes: ALICE measurements of (anti)deuteron production in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=(0.9–13)\mathrm{TeV}$ and the ALEPH $\overline{\mathrm{D}}$ multiplicity in hadronic $Z$ decays at $\sqrt{s}=m_Z$. We test both simple event-by-event prescriptions based on a relative-momentum cutoff, finding a preferred coalescence scale $p_{\mathrm{coal}}\simeq 0.2\mathrm{GeV}$, and quantum-mechanical models in the Wigner formalism. In the latter, a Gaussian bound-state wave function gives a best-fit momentum width, corresponding to $\delta \simeq 1.7\mathrm{fm}$, while a parameter-free implementation using the Argonne $v_{18}$ wave function (constrained by proton-neutron scattering data) agrees with ALICE spectra at the $\sim 25\%$ level. Overall, our results support an approximately universal coalescence description across energies and production environments, strengthening the theoretical basis for interpreting upcoming CR antinuclei searches.

Inelastic dark matter (IDM) models feature an energy threshold for scattering with Standard Model particles, which enables their consistency with the increasingly stringent limits placed by direct detection experiments. In a typical construction, elastic scattering is absent at tree level, and a lighter dark matter state must first upscatter into a heavier state in order to interact with the nuclei in the detector. We model the excitation of IDM in the Earth followed by its downscattering inside a detector, and we show that considering this process markedly enhances the sensitivity of existing detectors. In particular, current limits based on XENON100 and XENON1T data can be extended to significantly larger mass splittings.

Binary neutron-star mergers offer crucial insights into the matter properties of neutron stars. We present the possible imprints in the gravitational wave signal from the nature of phase transition from such events. Our study employs a one-parameter family of equation of states built using a polytropic approach with a control parameter $\mathrm{\Delta }p$ surveying the features of hadron-quark phase transition, from Maxwell construction to the Gibbs construction. It allows us to explore the extent of mixed phases and analyze their direct impact on merger dynamics. Post-merger gravitational wave emissions reveal the expression of specific signatures in the spectrogram and power spectral density, serving as a distinct signature of equations of state with mixed phases. We found additional peaks in power spectral density that are exclusively generated from the post-merger remnant experiencing a phase transition. Additionally, the nature of phase transition leaves specific imprints on the spectrogram, leading to a twofolded signature from gravitational wave analysis. Furthermore, we establish the first correlation between $\mathrm{\Delta }p$ and the threshold mass for prompt collapse. Our analysis shows that $\mathrm{\Delta }p\lesssim 0.04$ is required if GW170817 formed a long-lived remnant or has experienced a delayed collapse into a black hole.

We explore a simple and predictive dark matter scenario involving a complex scalar field, $\varphi$, coupled to the Higgs portal with no additional field content. In the UV, the field possesses a global $U(1)$ symmetry which is broken by mass terms and Higgs portal interactions. In the mass basis, the complex field splits into a pair of real scalars with a small mass splitting (in analogy to pseudo-Dirac fermions), such that the Higgs portal acquires both diagonal and off-diagonal terms with respect to these eigenstates. In the parameter space where the off-diagonal interaction predominates, this scenario is safe from direct detection constraints. Moreover, this model provides a viable explanation for the longstanding Galactic Center $\gamma$-ray excess. Additionally, this model influences the Higgs potential in a way that could facilitate a strong first-order electroweak phase transition in the early Universe, potentially leading to a stochastic gravitational wave background that could fall within the reach of upcoming space-based detectors.

This work explores the neutrino phenomenology of the scoto-seesaw model under nonholomorphic $A_4$ modular flavor symmetry providing a nonsupersymmetry framework for realization of the modular symmetry. To prevent mixing between the beyond-standard-model fields associated with the tree- and loop-level neutrino mass contributions, we assign even and odd modular weights to these sectors, respectively. The physical allowed ranges of oscillation parameters are used to identify the viable region of modulus parameter $\tau$ in its fundamental domain. With the complex modulus $\tau$ serving as the unique source of $CP$ violation (all other parameters are real), the framework realizes successful low-scale leptogenesis through $CP$-violating decays of the lightest righthanded neutrino into Standark model leptons and the Higgs boson. The requisite $CP$ asymmetry arises from one-loop diagrams involving dark-sector states, obviating the need for degenerate mass spectra and thereby circumventing the usual resonant leptogenesis mechanism. The observation of a long-lived charged particle (${\eta }^{\pm }$) in collider experiments would offer compelling evidence for the inert scalar sector of the model and provide a crucial experimental hint as to the dark-sector-assisted generation of neutrino masses and leptogenesis.

The minimal scotogenic model where small neutrino masses arise via radiative seesaw, is known to provide a unified framework for neutrino mass and origin of matter via leptogenesis. However if the inflation reheat temperature of the universe is below the sphaleron decoupling temperature, then leptogenesis fails and one way to understand the origin of matter would be to add an effective interaction involving the right-handed neutrino (RHN) $N$ of the form $\frac{1}{{\mathrm{\Lambda }}^2}N{u}_R{d}_R{d}_R$. This model can lead to observable neutron-antineutron ($n-\overline{n}$) oscillation if $N$ is a Majorana fermion. We show that if RHNs are produced nonthermally, we can get a cosmological upper limit on the transition time ${\tau }_{n-\overline{n}}$, which is within the reach of the planned European spallation source high-intensity baryon extraction and measurement/neutron-antineutron experiment. Proton stability is guaranteed by the $Z_2$ invariance, which prevents the appearance of the Dirac mass term for the neutrino.

We propose measuring the jet electric charge of jet regions, defined within the framework of global event shapes, as a probe of quark flavor dynamics within the nucleon and the hadronization process. In particular, we consider a measurement of the jet region charge while simultaneously keeping track of the energy flow throughout the event, as characterized by the global event shape. As a concrete example, we focus on the measurement of the 1-Jettiness jet charge ($\mathcal{Q}$), the jet charge of the jet region ($J$) defined within the framework of the 1-Jettiness global event shape (${\tau }_1$) for the deep inelastic scattering (DIS) process, $e^{-}+p\to e^{-}+J+X$, with unpolarized or longitudinally polarized protons. The 1-Jettiness distribution, binned according to jet charge, allows for enhanced quark flavor separation of the initial-state unpolarized or polarized PDFs. On the other hand, the jet charge distribution binned by 1-Jettiness can serve as a probe of quark flavor dynamics in the final-state hadronization process. We derive a factorization theorem for simultaneous measurements of ${\tau }_1$ and $\mathcal{Q}$ in the resummation region, ${\tau }_1\ll P_{J_T}$, where $P_{J_T}$ denotes the transverse momentum of the jet region. The correlation between the jet region charge and the charge of the struck quark is expected to be the strongest in the resummation region. The factorization theorem contains a new universal charged jet function, generalizing the standard jet function to include a jet charge measurement. Therefore these universal functions can be extracted from a global analysis of N-jettiness and thrust at $e_{\overline{b^{+}{e}^{-}}}$ colliders. We provide simulation studies to demonstrate the sensitivity of the 1-Jettiness jet charge observable to quark flavor dynamics in nucleon structure and explore the possibility of probing the final-state hadronization process. This observable is well-suited for applications with existing HERA data and the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).

The inclusive photoproduction of heavy mesons in ultraperipheral $pPb$ and $PbPb$ collisions at the LHC energies is investigated considering the color-dipole $S$-matrix formalism and assuming distinct models for the unintegrated gluon distribution, based on different assumptions for the description of the QCD dynamics. In particular, predictions for the $B^0$-meson photoproduction are presented here for the first time. The study of the $D^0$-meson photoproduction is revisited by estimating the impact of the treatment of the heavy charm fragmentation on the predictions and extended for $pPb$ collisions. Moreover, the contribution associated with the $b\to D^0$ transition is estimated. Our results indicate that a future experimental analysis of the heavy meson photoproduction will provide important constraints on the description of the hadronic structure at high energies.

The Electron-Ion Collider in China (EicC) provides an excellent opportunity to explore the internal structure of pions and kaons via the Sullivan process in deep-inelastic scattering. In this study, we present detailed projections for the pion and kaon structure functions $F_2^{\pi }$ and $F_2^K$, respectively, at the EicC, with a focus on both statistical and systematic uncertainties. Leveraging EicC’s high luminosity and broad kinematic coverage, the accessible kinematic region is extended beyond previous measurements. The projected statistical uncertainties for $F_2^{\pi }$ and $F_2^K$ are below 5% and 8%, respectively, across most kinematic bins. Systematic uncertainties arising from detector effects have been carefully evaluated. These results significantly enhance the precision of meson structure function measurements and provide important constraints on theoretical models of meson parton distributions. Moreover, this study bridges the gap between fixed-target and collider-era measurements, highlighting the pivotal role of EicC in advancing our understanding of hadronic structure.

We present the measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon inelastic cross sections using the ProtoDUNE single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber in the incident ${\pi }^{+}$ kinetic energy range of 500–800 MeV in multiple exclusive channels (absorption, charge exchange, and the remaining inelastic interactions). The results of this analysis are important inputs to simulations of liquid argon neutrino experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and the Short Baseline Neutrino program at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. They will be employed to improve the modeling of final state interactions within neutrino event generators used by these experiments, as well as the modeling of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon secondary interactions within the liquid argon. This is the first measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon absorption at this kinetic energy range as well as the first ever measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon charge exchange.

We study minimal versions of Higgs inflation in the presence of a massless QCD axion. While the inflationary energy scale of the metric variant is too high to accommodate isocurvature bounds, it was argued that Palatini Higgs inflation could evade these constraints. We show, however, that an energy-dependent decay constant enhances isocurvature perturbations, implying that axions can at most constitute a tiny fraction $<{10}^{-5}$ of dark matter. This conclusion can be avoided in Einstein-Cartan gravity by an additional coupling of the axion to torsion, albeit for a very specific choice of parameters. Analogous constraints as well as the possibility to alleviate them are relevant for all inflationary models with a nonminimal coupling to gravity, including Starobinsky inflation and certain classes of attractor models.

We propose HoloNet, a neural-network framework that unifies lattice QCD (LQCD) thermodynamics and holographic Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton (EMD) theory within a data-to-holography pipeline. Instead of assuming specific functional forms, HoloNet learns the metric profile $A(z)$ and the gauge-dilaton coupling $f(z)$ directly from $2+1$-flavor LQCD data at $\mu =0$. These learned functions are embedded into the EMD equations, enabling the model to reproduce the lattice equation of state and baryon number fluctuations with high fidelity. Once trained, HoloNet provides a fully data-driven holographic description of QCD that extends naturally to finite density, allowing us to map the phase diagram and estimate the location of the critical end point. The reconstructed potential $V(\varphi )$ and coupling $f(\varphi )$ agree quantitatively with those obtained from holographic renormalization, demonstrating that HoloNet can consistently bridge different holographic models.

We study excited solutions in a Skyrme-Chern-Simons theory in $2+1$ dimensions. In particular, we emphasize the necessity of using a Lagrange multiplier method to obtain excited solutions, due to the appearance of a discontinuity when using a constraint compliant parametrization. These solutions are characterized by an integer number $p$, excited solutions corresponding to $p\ne 0$. The dependence of the global charges on the parameters is analyzed, showing nonstandard behaviors. We also find that the presence of the Skyrme-Chern-Simons term does not alter significantly the pattern of energy levels, so $p=0$ solutions (fundamental solutions) have always the minimal energy.

In this work, we compute the graviton mediated scattering amplitude of a massive spin-2 Fierz-Pauli field with various other massive spin fields, and in the nonrelativistic limit, find out the corresponding two-body gravitational potentials. The massive spin-2 field does not represent gravity here. The theory of gravity is taken to be the usual massless general relativity, and the massive spin-2 field is taken as a test quantum field coupled to gravity via the standard minimal prescription. We first compute the tree level 2-2 scattering of a massive spin-2 field with massive scalar, spin-1, and spin-$1/2$ fields with one graviton exchange. Leading Newton potential, as well as the subleading spin or polarization dependent terms at $\mathcal{O}(G)$ have been computed. We also consider the next to the leading order [$\mathcal{O}(G^2)$] scattering of the massive spin-2 field with a massive scalar, and demonstrate the spin independent, spherically symmetric leading part of the two body gravitational potential. The present paper can be considered as an attempt to compute the gravitational potential in the context of a higher spin field theory.

We formulate a renormalizable complex extension of the bumblebee theory in which the bumblebee field is promoted to a complex one and coupled to an Abelian gauge sector. Besides the minimal gauge covariant interaction, the model includes a longitudinal kinetic term controlled by a dimensionless parameter $g_l$ and a nonminimal magnetic-type coupling $g_m$ between the complex bumblebee and the photon. Using dimensional regularization and minimal subtraction, we determine the one-loop UV divergences of the two-, three-, and four-point functions relevant to the renormalization of the gauge, longitudinal, and quartic sectors. We obtain the corresponding counterterms and derive the one-loop renormalization-group functions for $e$, $g_l$, $g_m$, and the bumblebee self-couplings $\lambda$ and $\tilde{\lambda }$. Motivated by the known gauge- and field-reparametrization subtleties of the conventional Coleman-Weinberg analysis, we formulate an RG-covariant leading-logarithmic improvement scheme for the Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective potential in normal field coordinates, in which the RG operator is governed solely by the beta functions. We apply this framework to a real constant bumblebee background and obtain the leading-logarithmic one-loop effective potential, discussing the conditions under which a nontrivial vacuum is generated by dimensional transmutation and thereby provides a dynamical realization of Lorentz symmetry breaking in this class of models.

Similarly to the well-known particle-antiparticle pair production process in strong electromagnetic fields (the Schwinger effect), the matter field vacuum state can be excited by time-dependent, curved spacetime geometries. We study this process using a spacetime resolved numerical approach in the interaction picture by extending computational quantum field theory (CQFT), well-adapted to simulate the time evolution of quantum fields, to spin-$1/2$ fermions in curved spacetime. Within this framework, we investigate vacuum excitation of a Dirac field induced by a spacetime-curvature quench. In particular, we evolve the fermionic Minkowski vacuum in a $1+1$-dimensional idealized curved spacetime characterized by a localized Gaussian deformation of flat spacetime. Particle production is quantified by fermion-antifermion pair numbers defined with respect to the Minkowski basis of asymptotically flat spacetime. We analyze how the excitation depends on the strength and spatial extent of the curvature deformation and discuss the numerical implementation of CQFT in curved backgrounds. While the postquench geometry is static and no electromagnetic field is included, this work establishes a foundation for studying particle creation in genuinely time-dependent curved spacetimes and electromagnetic backgrounds.

Quantum field theory exhibits rich spatial correlation structures even in the vacuum, where entanglement entropy between regions scales with the area of their shared boundary. While this vacuum structure has been extensively studied, far less is understood about how localized wave packets influence correlations between field values in different spatial regions. In this work, we use the Schrödinger representation to study the Rényi mutual information between complementary spatial regions for a localized wave packet of a free massless scalar field in ($d+1$) dimensions. We find that the mutual information in this excited state includes both a vacuum term and an excitation-induced contribution. To obtain quantitative results, we specialize to $1+1$ dimensions and evaluate the Rényi-2 mutual information between the negative and positive halves of the real line. We find that the excitation generates finite, positive correlations that are maximized when the wave packet sits at the boundary and decreases with its distance from it, at a rate determined by the wave packet’s width. Our findings constitute a contribution toward a more comprehensive understanding of quantum correlations in multiparticle states with nontrivial spatial localization, analyzed within a quantum field-theoretical framework.