The upcoming galactic core-collapse supernova is expected to produce a considerable number of neutrino events within terrestrial detectors. By using Bayesian inference techniques, we address the feasibility of distinguishing among various neutrino flavor conversion scenarios in the supernova environment, using such a neutrino signal. In addition to the conventional Mikheev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein, we explore several more sophisticated flavor conversion scenarios, such as spectral swapping, fast flavor conversions, flavor equipartition caused by nonstandard neutrino interactions, magnetically induced flavor equilibration, and flavor equilibrium resulting from slow flavor conversions. Our analysis demonstrates that with a sufficiently large number of neutrino events during the supernova accretion phase (exceeding several hundreds), there exists a good probability of distinguishing among feasible neutrino flavor conversion scenarios in the supernova environment.

Recent gamma-ray observations have detected photons up to energies of a few PeV. These highly energetic gamma rays are emitted by the most powerful sources in the Galaxy. Propagating over astrophysical distances, gamma rays might interact with background photons producing electron-positron pairs, then deflected by astrophysical magnetic fields. In turn, these charged particles might scatter through inverse Compton galactic radiation fields, triggering electromagnetic cascades. In this scenario, the characterisation of astrophysical environment in which gamma rays travel, specifically background photons and magnetic fields, is crucial. We explore the impact of propagation effects on observables at Earth by simulating galactic sources emitting gamma rays with energies between 100 GeV and 100 PeV. We analyse the imprint of the galactic environment on observed energy spectra and arrival direction maps, revealing gamma-ray absorption features in the former and “deflection” of gamma rays in the latter. Specifically, owing to interstellar radiation field spatial distribution and the galactic magnetic field structure, propagation effects on observables are found to be related to the specific gamma-ray source position and to the prompt emission model. Detailed investigations of the propagation effect on galactic gamma rays will improve the robustness of both current and future gamma-ray detections and indirect dark matter searches.

The lightest neutralino (${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$) is a promising dark matter (DM) candidate in the R-parity conserving minimal supersymmetric standard model. In this work, we focus on dominantly Higgsino-like and wino-like ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$ DM, with small admixtures of gauginos and Higgsinos, respectively. In particular, we explore large one-loop corrections to the ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0{\tilde{\chi }}_1^{0}Z$ vertex, which can significantly affect the estimation of the spin-dependent ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$-nucleon scattering cross section in the regions where such DM candidates are viable. We have used the on-shell renormalization scheme to estimate the relevant counterterm contributions. In the parameter region where ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$ is dominantly Higgsino-like, the radiative corrections (including the contributions from the respective counterterms) are substantial and can enhance the ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0{\tilde{\chi }}_1^{0}Z$ vertex by up to $\sim 120\%$ for the benchmark scenarios we have considered. Further, for an almost pure wino-like ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$, the increment in the ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0{\tilde{\chi }}_1^{0}Z$ vertex is up to 15%. The corresponding cross sections with the proton and the neutron can be changed by up to about 50%. In addition, including the electroweak box diagrams, the cross sections can be significantly enhanced, in particular, for the wino-like ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$.

Axion-photon oscillation effect provides a possible explanation for the presence of very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray signals from distant sources. In this work, we propose a model-dependent method to select possible sources that may give sufficient constraints on the axion parameters. We investigate such effect in the spectra of active galactic nuclei B2 $2234+28\mathrm{A}$ and 3C 454.3 based on data obtained from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) and Major Atmospheric Gamma-Ray Imaging Cherenkov telescope. We utilize the Markov chain Monte Carlo method to fit the axion parameters, yielding a result of $g_{a\gamma }=4.27_{-3.08}^{+1.86}\times {10}^{-11}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ for the axion-photon coupling strength and $m_a=3.08_{-2.16}^{+2.67}\times {10}^{-8}\mathrm{eV}$ for the axion mass. We also perform 95% confidence level constraints to set an upper limit for $g_{a\gamma }$.

Lorentz invariance violation is a feature of several quantum gravity models in which Lorentz symmetry is broken at high energies, leading to potential changes in particle behavior and interactions. In this study, we investigate vacuum Cherenkov radiation, a reaction in which an electron spontaneously emits a photon. This process, forbidden when considering unbroken Lorentz symmetry, is a phenomenological consequence of some quantum gravity models. We derive, for the first time, the spectra for the vacuum Cherenkov reaction, and confirm our results numerically. These results can be used to derive limits on Lorentz invariance violation.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts that gravitational waves (GWs) are tensor-polarized, with two modes of polarization: plus ($h_{+}$) and cross ($h_{\times }$). The unmodeled GW burst analysis pipeline, BayesWave, offers two tensor-polarized signal models: the elliptical polarization model ($E$) and the relaxed polarization model ($R$). Future expansion of the global GW detector network will enable more accurate studies of GW polarizations with GW bursts. Here a multidetector analysis is conducted to compare the performance of $E$ and $R$ in characterizing elliptical and nonelliptical GW polarizations, using nonprecessing and precessing binary black holes (BBHs) respectively as representative synthetic sources. It is found that both models reconstruct the elliptical nonprecessing BBH signals accurately, but $E$ has a higher Bayesian evidence than $R$ as it is has fewer model parameters. The same is true for precessing BBHs that are reconstructed equally well by both models. However, for some events with high precession and especially with three or more detectors, the reconstruction accuracy and evidence of $R$ surpass $E$. The analysis is repeated for BBH events from the third LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run, and the results show that $E$ is preferred over $R$ for existing detections. Although $E$ is generally preferred for its simplicity, it insists on elliptical polarizations, whereas $R$ can measure generic GW polarization content in terms of Stokes parameters. The accuracy of $R$ in recovering polarization content improves as the detector network expands, and the performance is independent of the GW signal morphology.

At frequencies below 1 Hz, fluctuations in atmospheric emission in the Chajnantor region in northern Chile are the primary source of interference for bolometric millimeter-wave observations. This paper focuses on characterizing the statistics of these fluctuations using measurements from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) water vapor radiometer. We show that the total precipitable water vapor (PWV) is not in general an accurate estimator of the level of fluctuations in millimeter-wave atmospheric emission. We also show that the microwave frequency spectrum of atmospheric fluctuations is in good agreement with predictions by the am code for frequency bands above 90 GHz. We introduce a new method for separating atmospheric and systematic fluctuations, allowing us to fit a robust atmospheric flat field, as well as to study in the atmosphere in greater detail than previous works. We present a direct measurement of the temporal outer scale of turbulence of ${\tau }_0\approx 50\mathrm{s}$ corresponding to a spatial scale of $L_0\approx 500\mathrm{m}$. Lastly, we show the variance of fluctuations in ACT’s mm-wave bands correlate with the variance of fluctuations in PWV measured by APEX, even though the observatories are 6 km apart and observe different lines of sight.

We analyze the topological susceptibility and the axion properties in the presence of an external uniform magnetic field, considering a three-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model that includes strong $CP$ violation through a ’t Hooft-like flavor mixing term. Both thermal and finite density effects are studied for magnetic fields up to $1{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$, and the corresponding phase transitions are analyzed. To capture the inverse magnetic catalysis effect at finite temperatures and densities, a magnetic-field-dependent coupling constant is considered. Our analytical and numerical results are compared with those previously obtained from lattice QCD, chiral perturbation theory, and other effective models.

When reduced from 10 to $10-d$ dimensions tree-level string theory exhibits an $O(d,d)$ symmetry. This symmetry, which is closely related to $T$ duality, appears only after certain field redefinitions. We find a simple form for a subset of these redefinitions at order ${\alpha }^{\prime 3}$ and show that they cannot be lifted to ten dimensions. This is inconsistent with “manifestly $T$ duality invariant” approaches such as generalized geometry (in the uncompactified setting). Such formulations therefore seem not to be the correct language to describe string theory.

The recent observation of the compact star XTE J1814-338 with a mass of $M={1.2}_{-0.05}^{+0.05}{M}_{\odot }$ and a radius of $R=7_{-0.4}^{+0.4}\mathrm{km}$, together with the HESS J1731-347, which has a mass of $M=0.77_{-0.17}^{+0.20}{M}_{\odot }$ and a radius of $R={10.4}_{-0.78}^{+0.86}\mathrm{km}$, shows they provide evidence for the possible presence of exotic matter in the core of neutron stars and significantly enhance our understanding of the equation of state for the dense nuclear matter. In the present study, we investigate the possible existence of negative charged kaons and neutral antikaons in neutron stars by employing the relativistic mean field model with first order kaonic ($K^{-}$ and $\overline{K^0}$) condensates. To the best of our knowledge, this represents a first alternative attempt aimed to explain the bulk properties of the XTE J1814-338 object and at the same time the HESS J1731-347 object, using a mixture of kaon condensation in dense nuclear matter. In addition, we compare our analysis approach with the recent observation of PSR J0437-4715 and PSR J1231-1411 pulsars, proposing that to simultaneously explain the current variety of astrophysical objects, it is essential to resurrect a scenario of two distinct branches, each corresponding to a different composition of nuclear matter.

Recent findings from DESI BAO combined with Planck CMB data have set an upper limit on the total neutrino mass of $\sum m_{\nu }<0.072\mathrm{eV}$ (95% confidence level), ruling out the inverted hierarchy. Indeed, methods that rely on the background expansion of the Universe tend to suggest negative neutrino masses. In this work, we contribute to the quest for accurately constraining neutrino mass using cosmological probes. By conducting a full-shape analysis on data from BOSS, eBOSS, and synthetic power spectra, we showed that projection effects can significantly influence constraints on neutrino mass, rendering these measurements largely unreliable. Our results highlight the need for better techniques to measure the neutrino mass accurately. Based on the large-scale structure suppression, we identified a critical blind spot in the full-shape analysis. By splitting the galaxy power spectrum into broadband and wiggles, we noticed that information on neutrino mass is primarily extracted from the relative amplitude of the BAO wiggles rather than broadband suppression. This opens the possibility of developing alternative methods based only on the wiggles of the power spectrum that can be more robust than those heavily reliant on background evolution.

Nucleation rate computations are of broad importance in particle physics and cosmology. Perturbative calculations are often used to compute the nucleation rate $\mathrm{\Gamma }$, but these are incomplete. We perform nonperturbative lattice simulations of nucleation in a scalar field theory with a tree-level barrier, computing a final result extrapolated to the thermodynamic and continuum limits. Although the system in question should be well described by a complete one-loop perturbative calculation, we find only qualitative agreement with the full perturbative result, with a 20% discrepancy in $|\log \mathrm{\Gamma }|$. Our result motivates further testing of the current nucleation paradigm.

We study the electroweak phase transition with a three-dimensional standard model effective field theory at the two-loop level under a gauge-invariant approach. We observe that the phase transition parameters obtained with the gauge-invariant approach deviate from that obtained in the Landau gauge at around the percent level. We give the strongly first-order phase transition condition for electroweak baryogenesis and find that the predicted gravitational wave signals would be reduced for the new physics scale $\mathrm{\Lambda }\lesssim 590\mathrm{GeV}$, and the parameter spaces of $\mathrm{\Lambda }\lesssim 570\mathrm{GeV}$ can be probed by the space-based interferometers, such as LISA, TianQin, and Taiji.

In this work, we uncover a collection of noninvertible topological operators linked to the 0-, 2-, 4-, and 6-form symmetries related to the type IIB superstring effective theory. By pinpointing the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$-covariant conserved currents corresponding to these symmetries, we first derive a set of $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$-invariant invertible topological operators that encapsulate the integer Bogomol’nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield charges inherent to the theory. Moving forward, by incorporating fractional charges while maintaining gauge invariance, we introduce the noninvertible topological operators for each generalized symmetry and, in particular, for the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ 0-form symmetry. Identifying them as a novel kind of symmetries reminiscent of fractional quantum-Hall-effect-like noninvertible operators, we study their action on charged objects and their associated topological quantum field theories obtained via half (higher) gauging.

The relation between four-dimensional $SO(4)$ pure Yang-Mills theory and gravity is discussed. The functional integral for Yang-Mills theory is rewritten in terms of the gravity metric and Riemann tensors. This relation is shown to also provide a simple way to derive the linear potential resulting from the average Wilson loop in pure Yang-Mills theory.

We put forward a physical model of a uniformly accelerated Unruh-DeWitt battery and use quantum work extraction as a probe to witness the thermal nature of the Unruh effect in a high dimensional Minkowski spacetime. By means of the open quantum system approach, we investigate the maximal amount of quantum work extraction with respect to the acceleration-induced Unruh temperature, spacetime dimensionality, and field mass. It has been found that the steady amount of quantum work extraction in the asymptotic condition is just determined by the Unruh temperature in arbitrary dimensional spacetimes. The asymptotic behavior can demonstrate the global feature of Unruh thermality dependent on the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition. From a local viewpoint of the Unruh effect, we study the different ways for the dynamics of quantum work extraction when the battery gradually arrives at the same steady state. In the massless scalar field, the evolution with a small acceleration takes on a unique monotonicity in $D=3$ dimensional spacetime and changes to a decaying oscillation for other higher dimensions. The increase in spacetime dimensionality can increase the energy storage capacity of the moving battery. If the mass of the scalar field is considered, the related quantum work extraction is so robust against the Unruh decoherence that the high values can keep for a very long time. The persistence of quantum work extraction is strengthened in higher dimensional spacetime.

We present universal relations between entanglement entropy, which quantifies the quantum correlation between subsystems, and the cross section, which is the primary observable for high-energy particle scattering, by employing a careful formulation of wave packets for the incoming particles. For 2-to-2 elastic scattering with no initial entanglement and subdividing the system along particle labels, we show that both the Rényi and Tsallis entropies in the final states are directly proportional to the elastic cross section in units of the transverse size for the initial wave packets, which is then interpreted as the elastic scattering probability. The relations do not depend on the underlying dynamics of the quantum field theory and are valid to all orders in coupling strengths. Furthermore, computing quantum correlations between momentum and nonkinematic data leads to entanglement entropies expressed as various semi-inclusive elastic cross sections. Our result gives rise to a novel “area law” for entanglement entropy in a two-body system.

Here, we discuss an influence of an external weak gravitational field on the gravitational self-decoherence effect with help of the stochastic extension of regularized Shrödinger-Newton equation in a curved background. We derive the master equation and demonstrate that it leads to the experimentally verifiable conclusions about applicability of the classical description of the weak gravitation field. Namely, a presence of oscillating terms in the otherwise purely exponential decay of the coherence would indicate classicality of gravity for the case.

Extended objects (defects) in quantum field theory exhibit rich, nontrivial dynamics describing a variety of physical phenomena. These systems often involve strong coupling at long distances, where the bulk and defects interact, making analytical studies challenging. By carefully analyzing the behavior of bulk symmetries in the presence of defects, we uncover robust topological constraints on defect RG flows. Specifically, we introduce the notions of defect anomalies and symmetry-reflecting defects, both of which are RG-invariant. Several known notions, such as higher-form symmetries, fractionalization, and projective lines, are revealed to be manifestations of defect anomalies, which also encompass novel phenomena and forbid trivial defect dynamics in the infrared. Meanwhile, symmetry-reflecting defects are shown to remain coupled at low energies, imposing powerful dynamical constraints. We verify our findings through concrete examples: exactly solvable defect RG flows in $(1+1)\mathrm{d}$ conformal field theories with symmetry-reflecting lines and a surface defect in $(2+1)\mathrm{d}$ scalar QED.