From recent groundbreaking experiments, it is now known that the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata mixing differs significantly from the tribimaximal model in which ${\theta }_{13}=0$ and ${\theta }_{23}=\pi /4$. Flavor symmetry can require that the departures from these two equations are linearly related. $T^{\prime }$ and $A_4$, which successfully accommodated the pre-T2K Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata matrix, predict that $38.07°\le {\theta }_{23}\le 39.52°$ at 95% C.L. The best fit values, combining the model predictions with T2K, MINOS, Double Chooz, Daya Bay, and RENO data, are ${\theta }_{23}=38.7°$ and ${\theta }_{13}=8.9°$.

Using the QCD sum rule approach we study the $Y(4260)$ state assuming that it can be described by a mixed charmonium-tetraquark current with $J^{\mathrm{PC}}=1^{--}$ quantum numbers. For the mixing angle around $\theta \approx (53.0\pm 0.5)°$, we obtain a value for the mass which is in good agreement with the experimental mass of the $Y(4260)$. For the decay width into the channel $Y\to J/\psi \pi \pi$ we find the value ${\Gamma }_{Y\to J/\psi \pi \pi }\approx (4.1\pm 0.6)\mathrm{MeV}$, which is much smaller than the total experimental width $\Gamma \approx (95\pm 14)\mathrm{MeV}$. However, considering the experimental upper limits for the decay of the $Y(4260)$ into open charm, we conclude that we cannot rule out the possibility of describing this state as a mixed charmonium-tetraquark state.

We study the dispersion relations of mesons and baryons built from Brillouin quarks on one $N_f=2$ gauge ensemble provided by QCDSF. For quark masses up to the physical strange quark mass, there is hardly any improvement over the Wilson discretization, if either action is link-smeared and tree-level clover improved. For quark masses in the range of the physical charm quark mass, the Brillouin action still shows a perfect relativistic behavior, while the Wilson action induces severe cutoff effects. As an application we determine the masses of the ${\Omega }_c^0$, ${\Omega }_{cc}^{+}$ and ${\Omega }_{ccc}^{++}$ baryons on that ensemble.

The interplay between the finite volume and finite lattice spacing is investigated using lattice QCD simulations to compute the Landau gauge gluon propagator. Comparing several ensembles with different lattice spacings and physical volumes, we conclude that the dominant effects, in the infrared region, are associated with the use of a finite lattice spacing. The simulations show that decreasing the lattice spacing, while keeping the same physical volume, leads to an enhancement of the infrared gluon propagator. In this sense, the data from $\beta =5.7$ simulations, which use $a\approx 0.18\mathrm{fm}$, provide a lower bound for the infinite volume propagator.

We investigate how far a new physics scenario affecting primarily the third-generation fermions can ameliorate the tension between $B$ decay observables and Standard Model expectations. Adopting a model-independent approach, we find that among the three observables that show signs of such a tension, viz., the branching fractions for $B^{+}\to \tau \nu$, $B_d\to D(D^{*})\tau \nu$, and the like-sign dimuon anomaly in neutral $B$ decays, the first two can be explained adequately, while there is only a marginal improvement for the third. As a spin-off, it is shown that one can also accommodate a change in the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to a $\tau$ lepton pair from the Standard Model expectation, if such a change is established in future data.

Thermal finite energy QCD sum rules for the vector current correlator are used to study quark-gluon deconfinement. Assuming $\rho$-meson saturation of the correlator in the hadronic sector, and the operator product expansion in QCD, we obtain the temperature behavior of the resonance parameters (coupling, mass, and width) and of the leading vacuum condensates, as well as the perturbative QCD threshold in the complex squared energy plane. The results are consistent with quark-gluon deconfinement at a critical temperature $T_c\simeq 197\mathrm{MeV}$. The temperature dependence of the $\rho$-meson width is of importance for current experiments on dimuon production in nuclear collisions.

We propose applications of radioactive ion beam facilities to investigate physics beyond the Standard Model. In particular, we focus upon the search for sterile neutrinos and the possible measurement of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering, by means of a low-energy beta beam with a Lorentz boost factor $\gamma \approx 1$. In both cases, we consider ${}^8\mathrm{Li}$ and ${}^8\mathrm{B}$ ions as neutrino sources. In the considered setup, the collected radioactive ions are sent inside a $4\pi$ detector. For the first application, we provide the number of events associated with neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering, when the detector is filled with a noble liquid. For the sterile search, we consider that the spherical detector is filled with a liquid scintillator, and that the neutrino detection channel is inverse beta decay. We provide the exclusion curves for the sterile neutrino mixing parameters, based upon the $3+1$ formalism, depending upon the achievable ion intensity. Our results are obtained both from total rates, and by including spectral information with binning in energy and in distance. The proposed experiment represents a possible alternative to clarify the current anomalies observed in neutrino experiments.

The Julia-Toulouse approach for condensation of charges and defects is used to show that the bosonized Schwinger model can be obtained through a condensation of electric charges in $1+1$ dimensions. The massive model is derived by taking into account the presence of vortices over the electric condensate, while the massless model is obtained when these vortices are absent. This construction is then straightforwardly generalized for arbitrary $d+1$ spacetime dimensions. The $d=3$ case corresponds to the large $N$ chiral dynamics of $SU(N)$ QCD in the limit $N\to \infty$.

For the $CPT$-even case of the minimal Standard Model extension, the spin-projector method is adopted to account for the breaking (tensor) $K_{\mu \nu \kappa \lambda }$ term. We adopt a particular decomposition of this term in four vectors, and carry out a detailed analysis of causality and unitarity. From this study, we are able to impose conditions on the decomposition of the $K_{\mu \nu \kappa \lambda }$ and vortex formation is also investigated in different situations.

We set forth a new type of phase transition that might take place in gravitational theories whenever higher-curvature corrections are considered. It can be regarded as a sophisticated version of the Hawking-Page transition, mediated by the nucleation of a bubble in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. The bubble hosts a black hole in its interior, and separates two spacetime regions with different effective cosmological constants. We compute the free energy of this configuration and compare it with that of thermal AdS. The result suggests that a phase transition actually occurs above a certain critical temperature, ultimately changing the value of the cosmological constant. We discuss the consistency of the thermodynamic picture and its possible relevance in the context of AdS/CFT.

In this work we have constructed axially symmetric vacuum solutions of the gravitational field equations in a Randall-Sundrum brane. A non-null effective cosmological constant is considered, and asymptotically de Sitter and anti–de Sitter spacetimes are obtained. The solutions describe rotating black holes in a four-dimensional brane. Optical features of the solutions are treated, emphasizing the rotation of the polarization vector along null congruences.

Observations across many families of unconventional materials motivate the search for robust mechanisms producing linear in temperature dc resistivity. Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless quantum phase transitions are commonplace in holographic descriptions of finite density matter, separating critical and ordered phases. We show that at a holographic Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless critical point, if the unstable operator is coupled to the current via irrelevant operators, then a linear contribution to the resistivity is universally obtained. We also obtain broad power law tails in the optical conductivity that shift spectral weight from the Drude peak as well as interband energy scales. We give a partial realization of this scenario using an Einstein-Maxwell-pseudoscalar bulk theory. The instability is a vectorial mode at nonzero wave vector, which is communicated to the homogeneous current via irrelevant coupling to an ionic lattice.

The stealth scalar field is a nontrivial configuration without any backreaction to geometry, which is characteristic for nonminimally coupled scalar fields. Studying the creation probability of the de Sitter universe with a stealth scalar field by Hartle and Hawking’s semiclassical method, we show that the effect of the stealth field can be significant. For the class of scalar fields we consider, creation with a stealth field is possible for a discrete value of the coupling constant, and its creation probability is always less than that with a trivial scalar field. However, those creation rates can be almost the same depending on the parameters of the theory.

We study the perturbation of the effective Hamiltonian constraint with holonomy correction from Euclidean loop quantum gravity. The Poisson bracket between the corrected Hamiltonian constraint and the diffeomorphism constraint is derived for vector modes. Some specific form of the holonomy correction function $f_{cd}^i$ is found, which satisfies that the constraint algebra is anomaly free. This result confirms the possibility of nontrivial holonomy corrections from full theory while preserving anomaly-free constraint algebra in the perturbation framework. It also gives valuable hints on the possible form of holonomy corrections in the effective loop quantum gravity.

If cosmic magnetic fields are indeed produced during inflation, they are likely to be correlated with the scalar metric perturbations that are responsible for the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and large scale structure. Within an archetypical model of inflationary magnetogenesis, we show that there exists a new simple consistency relation for the non-Gaussian cross correlation function of the scalar metric perturbation with two powers of the magnetic field in the squeezed limit where the momentum of the metric perturbation vanishes. We emphasize that such a consistency relation turns out to be extremely useful to test some recent calculations in the literature. Apart from primordial non-Gaussianity induced by the curvature perturbations, such a cross correlation might provide a new observational probe of inflation and can in principle reveal the primordial nature of cosmic magnetic fields.

In this paper we assess the present status of dark matter direct searches by means of Bayesian statistics. We consider three particle physics models for spin-independent dark matter interaction with nuclei: elastic, inelastic and isospin violating scattering. We briefly present the state of the art for the three models, marginalizing over experimental systematics and astrophysical uncertainties. Whatever the scenario is, XENON100 appears to challenge the detection region of DAMA, CoGeNT and CRESST. The first aim of this study is to rigorously quantify the significance of the inconsistency between XENON100 data and the combined set of detection (DAMA, CoGeNT and CRESST together), performing two statistical tests based on the Bayesian evidence. We show that XENON100 and the combined set are inconsistent at least at the $2\sigma$ level in all scenarios but inelastic scattering, for which the disagreement drops to the $1\sigma$ level. Second we consider only the combined set and hunt the best particle physics model that accounts for the events, using Bayesian model comparison. The outcome between elastic and isospin violating scattering is inconclusive, with the odds $2:1$, while inelastic scattering is disfavored with the odds of $1:32$ because of CoGeNT data. Our results are robust under reasonable prior assumptions. We conclude that the simple elastic scattering remains the best model to explain the detection regions, since the data do not support extra free parameters. The outcome of consistency tests implies that either a better understanding of astrophysical and experimental uncertainties is needed or the strength of belief in certain data sets should be revised or the dark matter theoretical model is at odds with the data.

We consider the nonminimal coupling between matter and the geometry in the $f(R)$ theory. In the new theory which we established, a new scalar $\psi$ has been defined and we give it a certain stability condition. We intend to take a closer look at the dark energy oscillating behavior in the de Sitter universe and the matter era, from which we derive the oscillating frequency and the oscillating condition. More importantly, we present the condition of coupling form that the singularity can be solved. We discuss several specific coupling forms and find that logarithmic coupling with an oscillating period $\Delta T\sim \Delta z$ in the matter era $z>4$ can improve singularity in the early universe. The result of numerical calculation verifies our theoretic calculation about the oscillating frequency. Considering two toy models, we find the cosmic evolution in the coupling model is nearly the same as that in the normal $f(R)$ theory when $\ln a>4$. We also discuss the local tests of the nonminimal coupling $f(R)$ model and show the constraint on the coupling form.

This hardware-based experimental simulation of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna implements a real-time electronic duplication of the time-changing inter-spacecraft laser phase delays while measuring heterodyned laser fields with $\mu \mathrm{cycle}$ phasemeters. The beat note measurements are used to verify the capabilities of theorized post-processing time-delay interferometry combinations in the proper time-scaled and time-shifted linear combinations. The experiments meet the $18\mathrm{pm}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ sensitivity goal of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna after demonstrating the cancellation of $100\mathrm{Hz}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ laser phase noise by time-delay interferometry-ranging the time-varying arm length to an accuracy better than 2.0 m using a frequency-modulated ranging tone.

We discuss the impact of recent progress in semileptonic $D$ decays on light flavor spectroscopy and estimate mixing parameters in the $\eta -{\eta }^{\prime }$ system.

The charged lepton masses may be parametrized in a $Z_3$-symmetric language appropriate to the discussions of Koide’s formula. The phase parameter ${\delta }_L$ appearing in this parametrization is experimentally indistinguishable from $2/9$. We analyze Koide’s parametrization for the up ($U$) and down ($D$) quarks and argue that the data are suggestive of the low-energy values ${\delta }_U={\delta }_L/3=2/27$ and ${\delta }_D=2{\delta }_L/3=4/27$.