We present a new method to constrain local primordial non-Gaussianity using the large-scale modulation of the local lensing power spectrum. Our work extends our recently proposed $\pi$-field method for primordial non-Gaussianity estimation to spherical coordinates and applies it to galaxy lensing. Our approach is computationally efficient and only requires binned multipole power spectra $C_{\ell }(z_1,z_2)$ on large scales, as well as their covariance. Our method is simpler to implement than a full bispectrum estimator, but still contains the full squeezed-limit information. We validate our model using a suite of N-body simulations and demonstrate its accuracy in recovering the $f_{\mathrm{NL}}$ values. We then perform a Fisher forecast for an Legacy Survey of Space and Time-like weak lensing survey, finding ${\sigma }_{f_{\mathrm{NL}}}\simeq 44$. Our approach readily combines with other $f_{\mathrm{NL}}$-sensitive fields such as kinetic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich velocity reconstruction and clustering-based $\pi$ fields, for a future combined $f_{\mathrm{NL}}$ estimator using various large-scale galaxy and CMB observables.

The parity-odd four-point function provides a unique probe of fundamental symmetries and potential new physics in the large-scale structure of the Universe. We present measurements of the parity-odd four-point function using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR1 luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample and assess its detection significance. Our analysis considers both auto- and cross-correlations, using two complementary approaches to the covariance: (i) the full analytic covariance matrix applied to the uncompressed data vector, and (ii) a compressed data vector combined with a hybrid covariance matrix constructed from simulations and analytic estimates. When using the full analytic covariance matrix without corrections, we observe apparent auto-correlation signals with significance up to $4\sigma$. However, this excess is also consistent with a mismatch between the statistical fluctuations estimated from the simulations and those present in the real data. Our findings therefore suggest that the parity-odd signal in the current DESI DR1 LRG sample is consistent with zero. We note, however, that the low completeness of this sample may have a non-negligible impact on the detection sensitivity. Future data releases with improved completeness will be crucial for further investigation.

It was recently shown that standard sub-GeV dark matter candidates can be effectively probed by large neutrino observatories via annual modulation of the total photomultiplier hit rate. That work focused on the production of light by the excitation of scintillator molecules and considered the JUNO detector, surpassing limits from dedicated dark-matter detectors and reaching theoretical targets. Here, we significantly generalize that work, now also taking into account ionization channels and extending the analysis to other liquid-scintillator detectors, including SNO+, Daya Bay, Borexino, and KamLAND. Last, we present a call to action: with multiple detectors achieving competitive sensitivity, there is an opportunity to validate this new technique across experiments and to refine it using each detector’s strengths.

Lensed gravitational waves acquire amplitude and phase modulations when propagating through the gravitational potential of dark matter halos, producing interference structures in the observed waveform. However, these features are often difficult to identify in detector noise. In this work, we develop a deep learning framework for the automatic classification of lensed gravitational-wave signals under multiband observations. We simulate binary neutron star signals observed by the space-based detector DECIGO and the ground-based Einstein Telescope and construct five classes of data including pure noise, unlensed signals, and three lensed cases generated by the singular isothermal sphere, cored isothermal sphere, and Navarro-Frenk-White dark matter halo models. By comparing single- and joint-detector configurations, we evaluate the classification performance under different observational settings. The results show that multiband observations significantly improve the identification of lensed signals and reduce confusion among different lens models. This approach provides an efficient method for automated recognition of lensed gravitational waves in future multiband gravitational-wave observations.

The rapidly increasing sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors is enabling the detection of a growing number of compact binary mergers. These events are crucial for understanding the population properties of compact binaries. However, many previous studies rely on computationally expensive inference frameworks, limiting their scalability. In this work, we present gwkokab, a jax-based framework that enables modular model building with independent rate for each subpopulation such as binary black hole, binary neutron star, and neutron star black hole binary. It provides accelerated inference using the normalizing flow based sampler called flowmc and is also compatible with numpyro samplers. To validate our framework, we generated two synthetic populations, one comprising spinning eccentric binaries and the other circular binaries using a multisource model. We then recovered their injected parameters at significantly reduced computational cost and demonstrated that eccentricity distribution can be recovered even in spinning eccentric populations. We also reproduced results from two prior studies: one on nonspinning eccentric populations, and another on the binary black hole mass distribution using the fourth Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog. We anticipate that gwkokab will not only reduce computational costs but also enable more detailed multipopulation analyses of mass, spin, eccentricity, and redshift distributions, offering deeper insights into compact binary formation and evolution.

We use Legendre polynomials, previously employed in this context by Lee et al., van Haasteren and Levin, and Pitrou and Cusin, to model signals in pulsar timing arrays. These replace the (Fourier mode) basis of trigonometric functions normally used for data analysis. The Legendre basis makes it simpler to incorporate pulsar modeling effects, which remove constant-, linear-, and quadratic-in-time terms from pulsar timing residuals. In the Legendre basis, this zeros the amplitudes of the first three Legendre polynomials. We use this basis to construct an optimal quadratic cross-correlation estimator $\widehat{\mu }$ of the Hellings and Downs correlation and compute its variance ${\sigma }_{\widehat{\mu }}^2$ in the way described by Allen and Romano. Remarkably, if the gravitational-wave background and pulsar noise power spectra are (sums of) power laws in frequency, then in this basis one obtains analytic closed forms for many quantities of interest.

Standard thermal freeze-out scenarios with QCD-scale interaction rates predict a $uuddss$ sexaquark relic abundance many orders of magnitude below the observed dark matter density, representing a key challenge for sexaquark dark matter models. Additionally, if the maximum postinflationary temperature never exceeds the QCD confinement scale, the usual thermal/chemical-equilibrium production of the sexaquark near $T\sim T_{\mathrm{QCD}}\simeq 150–170\mathrm{MeV}$ never occurs. In this work we show that nonthermal mechanisms can naturally overcome this obstacle. Using late-decaying reheatons as a representative case (while noting the broader applicability), we demonstrate that the final abundance is determined by two quantities: the branching fraction into strange-quark-rich matter and the coalescence probability into sexaquarks during the matter-dominated or early radiation-dominated epoch. We provide compact expressions and benchmark calculations for reheating temperatures $T_R\in [10,100]\mathrm{MeV}$ and reheaton masses above the QCD confinement scale. Unlike the predictive but unsuccessful thermal scenario, nonthermal production is sensitive to injection microphysics, coalescence efficiency, and residual entropy dilution. We delineate the viable parameter space, evaluate collider and precision constraints on representative reheaton models, and derive indirect detection bounds on residual antisexaquark populations. Our results establish nonthermal production as a viable pathway to sexaquark dark matter and highlight broader implications for nonequilibrium mechanisms in the early Universe.

We propose a UV-complete extension of the Standard Model in which a gauge-singlet scalar $S$ acquires a vacuum expectation value, generates a Majorana mass for a sterile neutrino $N$, and mixes with the Higgs field. This framework addresses neutrino masses via a seesaw mechanism and, for sufficiently large scalar mixing, can also drive a strong first-order electroweak phase transition, producing gravitational-wave (GW) signals potentially detectable by GW observatories. The Higgs–$S$ mixing also enhances sterile-neutrino pair production at colliders through $s$-channel exchange of the Higgs and $S$. Owing to the small active–sterile mixing angle, $N$ is generically long-lived, yielding characteristic displaced-vertex signatures. The combination of GW observations and displaced-vertex searches at colliders provides complementary cross-checks of the model parameter space.

It is a common lore that in thermal leptogenesis within the type-I seesaw framework and a hierarchical spectrum of heavy right-handed neutrinos (RHNs), the $CP$-violating, out-of-equilibrium decay of the lightest RHN ($N_1$) is the only relevant source of the final $B-L$ asymmetry, since any asymmetry produced by the heavier RHNs is expected to be erased by subsequent $N_1$-mediated washout processes. In this work, we revisit this assumption by solving the density-matrix equations, including decay, inverse decay, and relevant scattering processes, and by fully accounting for flavor-projection effects induced by the Yukawa coupling structure. We show that the asymmetries generated by the heavier RHNs ($N_2$ and $N_3$) generally possess components that are misaligned in flavor space with respect to $N_1$, resulting in a partially protected contribution that survives the $N_1$ washout. Unlike the conventional picture of $N_2$-dominated leptogenesis, this memory effect arises even when $N_1$ remains dynamically relevant and cannot be captured within the classical Boltzmann framework. Furthermore, imposing consistency with low-energy neutrino mass and mixing data, we find that at most one RHN can lie in the weak washout regime, which naturally divides the parameter space into four distinct dynamical regimes. We systematically quantify the memory effect in each regime and demonstrate that it can significantly modify the final $B-L$ asymmetry. We find that including projection effects can indeed extend the viable parameter space into the sensitivity range of neutrinoless double beta decay experiments.

In this paper we include kinematic power corrections up to twist-four to the deeply virtual Compton scattering dispersion relation. We demonstrate that, both for (pseudo)scalar and spin-$1/2$ targets, the formal expression of the $n$-subtracted leading-twist dispersion relations is preserved. However, the expression of the subtracted constants is modified by the kinematic powers. Importantly, the minimal-subtracted dispersion relation for the helicity-conserving amplitude, previously thought to depend only on the Polyakov-Weiss $D$-term, now also depends on the double distributions $F$ and $K$. These results are consistent with the ones obtained previously in the literature. Such a mixing may be critical for the Jefferson Lab kinematic range, as it is not suppressed for typical values of $t$ and $Q^2$ in the valence region. We therefore expect a strong impact on the attempts to extract pressure forces from deeply virtual Compton scattering data.

In this paper, we analyze and interpret the kinematic power corrections to deeply virtual Compton scattering dispersion relation. We show that the kinematic corrections at twist-four can be connected to other form factors of the energy-momentum tensor beyond the pressure distribution involved at leading power, namely the ones related to momentum and total angular momentum distributions. In the nucleon case, these corrections are not negligible at presently accessible virtualities. The deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) subtraction constant becomes an experimental constraint on momentum distributions, pressure forces distributions, and total angular momentum distributions. Finally, we use continuum and lattice-QCD results to predict the expected size of the DVCS subtraction constant, and conclude that momentum distributions are responsible of roughly one-third of the experimental signal at $Q^2=2{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$.

Using $(2.712\pm 0.014)\times {10}^9\psi (3686)$ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we report an evidence of ${\mathrm{\Xi }}^0$ transverse polarization with a significance of $4.4\sigma$, a precise measurement of the branching fraction and the ratios between the $S$-wave and $D$-wave contributions of $\psi (3686)\to {\mathrm{\Xi }}^0{\overline{\mathrm{\Xi }}}^0$. The weak decay parameters (${\varphi }_{{\mathrm{\Xi }}^0/{\overline{\mathrm{\Xi }}}^0}$, ${\alpha }_{{\mathrm{\Xi }}^0/{\overline{\mathrm{\Xi }}}^0}$) and the angular distribution (${\alpha }_{\psi }$) are also measured with higher precision compared to the previous measurements. Furthermore, two the $CP$ observables are also determined to be $A_{CP}^{{\mathrm{\Xi }}^0}=-0.014\pm 0.030\pm 0.010$ and $\mathrm{\Delta }{\varphi }_{CP}^{{\mathrm{\Xi }}^0}=0.000\pm 0.028\pm 0.003\mathrm{rad}$, which are still consistent with $CP$ conservation at $1\sigma$ level under the current statistics.

We investigate static and dynamical spherically symmetric black hole solutions within the gravity from entropy (GfE) framework. We derive and solve the modified vacuum field equations for a static, spherically symmetric spacetime, revealing that the classical Schwarzschild geometry receives perturbative corrections scaling as $r^{-4}$. We establish that the GfE framework is consistent with current strong-field astrophysical observations. Higher-order geometric stresses inherent to the GfE vacuum drive a consistent mass-evolution profile. In the limit of large black hole mass, the theory predicts a constant background evaporation rate $-\beta /24$, suggesting an inherent “entropic leakage” of the vacuum. At intermediate scales, the framework replicates the standard Hawking radiation mass-loss law as $\dot{M}\propto M^{-2}$ through a purely classical response of the modified background.

We extend a recently developed big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) code, prymordial, to constrain a broad class of grand unified theories to which BBN is sensitive, since these lead to varying fundamental couplings. A previously developed self-consistent perturbative analysis of the effects of these variations has been implemented in prymordial, leading to robust constraints of the value of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, at the BBN epoch using current observations of helium-4 and deuterium abundances. We explored two different viable scenarios, relying on alternative assumptions on the gravitational sector: the variation of the gravitational coupling can be implemented by varying either particle masses, or Newton’s gravitational constant. For the variation of masses, we obtained at 68% confidence level a constraint on the relative variation of $\alpha$, between the BBN epoch and the present-day laboratory value, of $\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha /\alpha =2\pm 51\mathrm{ppm}$ (parts per million), while for the variation of Newton’s constant the analogous constraint is $\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha /\alpha =2\pm 22\mathrm{ppm}$. We also show that, given these constraints, these models do not provide a solution to the cosmological lithium problem.

The hadron-quark crossover equation of state (EOS) of neutron star (NS) matter is investigated by combining relativistic mean-field hadronic models with the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model for quark matter. The vector and diquark coupling constants of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model are constrained using perturbative QCD (pQCD) calculations at high density through a scale-averaging likelihood approach, together with constraints from NS observations and the causality condition on the speed of sound. It is found that the diquark coupling is tightly constrained to $H\simeq 1.5G_s$, while the vector coupling is restricted to $G_v\lesssim 1.1G_s$ by the combined pQCD and astrophysical constraints. Crossover EOSs are constructed based on three hadronic relativistic mean-field parameter sets, and their thermodynamic properties, sound speed behavior, and trace anomaly are analyzed. The resulting EOSs are applied to calculate NS global and dynamical properties, including mass-radius relations, tidal deformabilities, and fundamental radial oscillation frequencies. Compared with pure hadronic EOSs, the hadron-quark crossover is shown to significantly enhance the maximum NS mass, particularly for softer hadronic EOSs, while remaining consistent with observational bounds. It is further shown that the fundamental radial oscillation frequencies predicted by different EOSs exhibit pronounced differences, especially for intermediate-mass NSs, indicating that radial modes may provide a sensitive probe of the internal composition of NSs. These results indicate that quantitative NS observables may provide potential signatures of quark matter in NS interiors.

Determining the spatial distribution of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) is fundamental to understand how these particles propagate in interstellar space and to infer their source spectra. The most sensitive method of studying this problem is observing the gamma-ray and neutrino diffuse fluxes produced in the inelastic interactions of CR protons and nuclei with interstellar gas that encode the energy and spatial distributions of the interacting particles. Most theoretical models assume that the spatial and energy dependencies of the spectra of CR protons and nuclei are factorized, so that the CR energy spectra have the same shape at all points of the Milky Way. However, on the base of the Fermi-LAT observations, some authors have tentatively inferred that particles in the inner regions of the Milky Way have significantly harder spectra. Recently the ground-based telescopes Tibet-$\mathrm{AS}\gamma$, LHAASO, and HAWC have extended the measurements of the diffuse gamma-ray flux to much higher energies, and the IceCube neutrino telescope has obtained evidence for a $\nu$ flux from the Galactic disk. These new measurements allow for new tests of the factorization hypothesis, and disfavor models in which the spectral shape of CR protons and nuclei is harder in the inner part of the Galaxy. In fact, the LHAASO data above 30 TeV are in better agreement with the opposite hypothesis, that cosmic rays is the inner Galaxy have softer spectra than those in the outer Galaxy. This result, that has currently only modest significance due to large statistical and systematic uncertainties, could be explained by assuming that the CR confinement volume increases with energy. An alternative explanation is that a significant fraction of cosmic rays in the multi-PeV energy range is of extragalactic origin.

The $\theta$ vacua of a gauge theory admit an equivalent formulation as vacua of a massless Chern-Simons three-form, which originate from the topological susceptibility of the vacuum. This formulation provides a framework in which the physical manifestations of the $\theta$ angle, which are quantum in origin, can be captured at the level of effective classical equations of motion. Within this framework, we derive the Witten effect, demonstrating that in the background of a massless three-form, the magnetic monopole indeed acquires an electric charge proportional to $\theta$. This result, in particular, provides evidence that instantons, even when constrained by the Higgs effect, maintain a nonzero topological susceptibility of the vacuum. In addition to the Witten effect, we numerically demonstrate that a magnetic monopole exhibits polarizability when placed in a constant background electric field.

Wilson loops are essential objects in QCD and have been pivotal in scale setting and demonstrating confinement. Various generalizations are crucial for computations needed in effective field theories. In lattice gauge theory, Wilson loop calculations face challenges, including excited-state contamination at short times and the signal-to-noise ratio issue at longer times. To address these problems, we develop a new method by using neural networks to parametrize interpolators for the static quark-antiquark pair. We construct gauge-equivariant layers for the network and train it to find the ground state of the system. The trained network itself is then treated as our new observable for the inference. Our results demonstrate a significant improvement in the signal compared to traditional Wilson loops, performing as well as Coulomb-gauge Wilson-line correlators while maintaining gauge invariance. Additionally, we present an example where the optimized ground state is used to measure the static force directly, as well as another example combining this method with the multilevel algorithm. Finally, we extend the formalism to find excited-state interpolators for static quark-antiquark systems. To our knowledge, this work is the first study of neural networks with a physically motivated loss function for Wilson loops.

Light meson spectra are studied in a Dyson-Schwinger/Bethe-Salpeter approach to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). By varying the interaction strength of three sets of models for the quark-antiquark interaction, the transition from the chiral symmetric to the chirally broken regime in the vacuum is studied. The simplest type of these models leads to degenerate meson spectra for a large domain of the strength parameter. The more sophisticated and thus more realistic models show significantly smaller parameter domains for which degenerate meson spectra are obtained. The underlying mechanism for obtaining and then lifting degeneracies is traced back to the location of the quark propagators’ poles, in particular, whether they are beyond or within the domain of integration in the Bethe-Salpeter equation. In view of this mechanism the potential relation of the obtained degeneracies to the dynamical emergence of symmetries is discussed, adding thereby another point of view on the conjectured chiral spin symmetry of QCD in the temperature domain right above the crossover.

We numerically investigate the matrix model of two-color one-flavor adjoint QCD (matrix-${\mathrm{QCD}}_{2,1}^{\mathrm{adj}}$) in the weak coupling regime (small $g$) and in the chiral limit. The Yang-Mills potential has two distinct gauge invariant minima: one at $A_i=0$ and the other at $A_i=\frac{{\sigma }_i}{2g}$. We show that when the chiral chemical potential $c\le \frac{3}{2}$ there is a quantum phase transition (QPT) at $g_0^{*}\simeq 0.143$: for $g<g_0^{*}$, the ground-state wave function is localized near $A_i=0$, while for $g>g_0^{*}$, the ground state is delocalized over the gauge configuration space. The transition between these two phases is singular, with the ground state at $g_0^{*}$ being distinctly different from that of $g_0^{*}\pm |\epsilon |$. At $g_0^{*}$, we show that the square of the chromoelectric field vanishes, strongly suggesting that the system is in a “dual superconductor” phase. Numerical evidence shows that the localization-delocalization phenomenon holds for the first and second excited states as well, leading us to conjecture that there are an infinite number of isolated singular points $g_0^{*}>g_1^{*}>g_2^{*}>\cdots$ accumulating to $g=0$. For $c=1$, the model formally possesses $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry. We show that in the localized phase (i.e., for $g<g_0^{*}$) the supermultiplet structure is disrupted and supersymmetry is spontaneously broken.