We consider a model of boosted dark matter (DM), where a fraction of DM is upscattered to relativistic energies by cosmic ray electrons. Such interactions responsible for boosting the DM also attenuate its flux at the Earth. Considering a simple model of constant interaction cross section, we make analytical estimates of the variation of the attenuation ceiling with the DM mass and confirm it numerically. We then extend our analysis to a $Z^{\prime }$-mediated leptophilic DM model. We show that the attenuation ceiling remains nearly model independent for DM and mediator particles heavier than the electron, challenging some previous discussions on this topic. Using the XENONnT direct detection experiment, we illustrate how constraints based on energy-dependent scattering can significantly differ from those based on an assumed constant cross section. This highlights the importance of reevaluating these constraints in the context of specific models.

The $\mathrm{SNO}+$ detector operated initially as a water Cherenkov detector. The implementation of a sealed cover gas system midway through water data taking resulted in a significant reduction in the activity of ${}^{222}\mathrm{Rn}$ daughters in the detector and allowed the lowest background to the solar electron scattering signal above 5 MeV achieved to date. This paper reports an updated $\mathrm{SNO}+$ water phase ${}^8\mathrm{B}$ solar neutrino analysis with a total livetime of 282.4 days and an analysis threshold of 3.5 MeV. The ${}^8\mathrm{B}$ solar neutrino flux is found to be $(2.32_{-0.17}^{+0.18}{(\mathrm{stat})}_{-0.05}^{+0.07}(\mathrm{syst}))\times {10}^6{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ assuming no neutrino oscillations, or $(5.36_{-0.39}^{+0.41}{(\mathrm{stat})}_{-0.16}^{+0.17}(\mathrm{syst}))\times {10}^6{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ assuming standard neutrino oscillation parameters, in good agreement with both previous measurements and standard solar model calculations. The electron recoil spectrum is presented above 3.5 MeV.

In the minimal Scotogenic model with fermionic dark matter, the neutrino Yukawa matrix is fine-tuned to satisfy current bounds on $\mu \to e\gamma$ while producing dark matter through thermal freeze-out. One way to avoid this bound is to open a new annihilation channel for dark matter (DM) with a scalar field that breaks the lepton number spontaneously. This introduces a physical Goldstone boson $a$, which can constitute a light relic and opens up the lepton flavor violating channel $\mu \to ea$. In this work, we introduce a model that contains the new annihilation channel for fermionic dark matter but avoids the introduction of the Goldstone boson by using a discrete ${\mathbb{Z}}_4$ instead of a continuous symmetry. In this way, cosmological constraints on the light relic and experimental limits on lepton flavor violating decays to the Goldstone boson are avoided. We analyze the experimental viability of the model, identifying the region of parameter space where lepton flavor violating constraints are not saturated, DM has the correct relic density, and DM direct detection experiments are sensitive to the DM candidate.

We propose a novel mechanism for canceling the leading order contribution to the potential in composite Higgs scenarios. The mechanism relies on the splitting of a pseudoreal representation of the global symmetry into a complex representation and its conjugate of the unbroken group. We identify two cosets one of which includes a custodial symmetry. A numerical analysis is performed in a phenomenological three-site model and the resulting fine-tuning is analyzed. The canceling of the leading order potential results in a drastic reduction of the fine-tuning. For a symmetry breaking scale of the strong sector as high as $f=1600\mathrm{GeV}$, fine-tuning can be as good as 10% or even better. We discuss a possible interpretation in the 5D holographic dual. Unique signatures of the model include quarks with baryon number $B=2/3$ with highly distinctive decays which can be looked for at the LHC.

We find a dark gauge symmetry $U(1{)}_D$ that transforms nontrivially only for three right-handed neutrinos, ${\nu }_{1,2,3R}$. The anomaly cancellation demands that they have a dark charge $D=0,-1,+1$ assigned to ${\nu }_{1,2,3R}$, respectively. The dark charge is broken by two units down to a dark parity, i.e., $U(1{)}_D\to P_D=(-1{)}^D$, which stabilizes a dark matter candidate. Interestingly, the model manifestly supplies neutrino masses via joint seesaw and scotogenic mechanisms, called scotoseesaw.

We propose a direct axion dark matter (DM) search using superconducting transmon quantum bits (qubits) as quantum sensors. With an external magnetic field applied, axion DM generates an oscillating electric field, which causes the excitation of the qubit. Such an excitation can be regarded as a signal of the axion DM. We provide a theoretical consideration of the excitation process of the qubits, taking into account the effects of the shielding cavity surrounding the qubits, and estimate the signal rate for the axion DM detection. We also discuss the enhancement of the DM signal by using cavity resonance and entangled quantum sensors realized by a quantum circuit. Combining these two effects, we can reach the parameter region suggested by QCD axion models.

We present an exploratory work on integrating lattice-QCD results with experimental data for elastic scattering. Within the framework of generalized parton distributions, this approach allows for the extraction of detailed information about nucleon tomography and the total angular momentum carried by valence quarks. To accomplish this reliably, we introduce a new quantity, the “double ratio,” which significantly reduces the systematic uncertainties inherent in lattice QCD computations. Moreover, we introduce a “shadow” term in the extraction procedure, which is sensitive only to lattice-QCD results. This term allows us to investigate the model dependence of the extraction, providing a more flexible description of the nucleon that goes beyond the previously considered bell-shaped distribution.

Based on an extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model that treats baryons as clusters of quarks, we investigate the properties and microscopic structures of mixed phases for various types of first-order phase transitions in a unified manner, where the model parameters are fixed by reproducing nuclear matter properties and the binding energies of finite nuclei. In particular, based on the Thomas-Fermi approximation, we investigate the mixed phases that arise from the liquid-gas phase transition of nuclear matter, chiral phase transition, and deconfinement phase transition in dense stellar matter adopting spherical and cylindrical approximations for the Wigner-Seitz cells. It is found that the geometrical structures do not emerge for the chiral phase transition, while the droplet, rod, slab, tube, and bubble phases emerge sequentially as density increases for the liquid-gas and deconfinement phase transitions. Additional attractive interactions between strange quark matter and hyperons are observed as the deconfinement phase transition is entangled with the chiral phase transition of $s$ quarks. The results obtained here should be useful to understand the properties and structures of dense stellar matter throughout compact stars and, in particular, the matter state in the core regions. Meanwhile, more extensive investigations in a three-dimensional geometry with large box sizes are necessary for our future study.

The construction of general amplitudes satisfying symmetries and $S$-matrix constraints has been the primary tool in studying the spectrum of hadrons for over half a century. In this work, we present a new parametrization, which can fulfill many expectations of $S$-matrix and Regge theory and connects the essential physics of hadron scattering in the resonance region and in asymptotic limits. In this construction, dynamical information is entirely contained in Regge trajectories that generalize resonance poles in the complex energy plane to moving poles in the angular momentum plane. We highlight the salient features of the model, compare with existing literature on dispersive and dual amplitudes, and benchmark the formalism with an initial numerical application to the $\rho$ and $\sigma /f_0(500)$ mesons in $\pi \pi$ scattering.

Using $(27.12\pm 0.14)\times {10}^8$ $\psi (3686)$ events collected with the BESIII detector, the decay ${\chi }_{c0}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta$ is observed for the first time with a signal significance of $7.0\sigma$, and evidence for ${\chi }_{c1}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta$ and ${\chi }_{c2}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta$ is found with signal significances of $4.3\sigma$ and $4.6\sigma$, respectively. The branching fractions are determined to be $\mathcal{B}({\chi }_{c0}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta )=(1.26\pm 0.20\pm 0.13)\times {10}^{-4}$, $\mathcal{B}({\chi }_{c1}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta )=(5.10\pm 1.21\pm 0.67)\times {10}^{-5}$, and $\mathcal{B}({\chi }_{c2}\to {\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}{\overline{\mathrm{\Sigma }}}^{-}\eta )=(5.46\pm 1.18\pm 0.50)\times {10}^{-5}$, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second ones are systematic.

We derive the perturbative expansion of a particular integrated correlator of two superconformal primary operators in the stress tensor multiplet of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory in the presence of a half-BPS ’t Hooft-line defect. The calculation is based on a recently derived expression for this physical observable in terms of a two-dimensional lattice sum with manifest automorphic properties under the electromagnetic duality group. When the gauge group is $SU(2)$, this analysis matches with the presented supersymmetric localization approach while for higher-rank gauge groups, where no alternative formulation is available, the methods introduced prove to be crucial in obtaining the perturbative expansion of integrated correlators for ’t Hooft-line defects.

Magnetic fields of a large intensity can be generated in peripheral high-energy heavy-ion collisions. Although their intensity drops fast and, moreover, it is not clear whether these fields last long enough to induce a magnetization during the quark-gluon plasma phase, most of the models and simulations predict a significant intensity that lasts up to proper times of order 1 fm after the beginning of the reaction, which is a typical time for the hydrodynamical phase to start. This interval of time is referred to as the pre-equilibrium stage. The evolution of the reaction during pre-equilibrium is thus likely to be influenced by these fields. In this work we adopt a strong field approximation to study the effects of the magnetic field-induced anisotropy on the gluon pressure. We include this anisotropy within the description obtained by means of effective kinetic theory and explore the consequences to reach isotropization at proper times of order 1 fm. We show that when including the magnetic field effects, isotropization is achieved faster.

We consider the renormalization of a massive vector field interacting with a charged scalar field in curved spacetime. Starting with the theory minimally coupled to external gravity and using the formulations with and without Stückelberg fields, we show that the longitudinal mode of the vector field is completely decoupled and the remaining theory of the transverse vector field is renormalizable by power counting. The formal arguments based on the covariance and power counting indicate that multiplicative renormalizability of the interacting theory may require introducing two nonminimal terms linear in the Ricci tensor in the vector sector. Nevertheless, a more detailed analysis shows that these nonminimal terms violate the decoupling of the longitudinal mode and are prohibited. As a verification of general arguments, we derive the one-loop divergences in the minimal massive scalar QED, using the Stückelberg procedure and the heat-kernel technique. The theory without nonminimal terms proves one-loop renormalizable and admits the renormalization group equations for all the running parameters in the scalar and vector sectors. One-loop beta functions do not depend on the gauge fixing and can be used to derive the effective potential.

In ${}^3\mathrm{He}\text{−}\mathrm{B}$, two atoms pair in an orbital angular momentum 1 spin triplet state above the phase transition temperature with $SO(3)\times SO(3)$ symmetry. Below the transition temperature, this symmetry is spontaneously broken to the diagonal $SO(3)$ due to spin-orbit coupling. Considerations based on effective potentials and solitons show that $SO(3)$’s get enhanced to $SU(3)$’s and the symmetry breaking is that of $G=SU(3)\times SU(3)\times U(1)$ to $H=SU(3)$. The theory of the resultant Goldstone modes can be naturally formulated as a gauge theory of $H$. Its Gauss law is treated here and shown to lead to surface states in a container with a dynamics governed by large gauge transformations. Observable consequences are pointed out. The transference of the analysis to the chiral model of QCD is pointed out where $SU(3)$ are the left and right chiral groups, $U(1)$ is the axial $U(1)$, the surviving symmetry is flavor $SU(3)$, and the Goldstone modes are the pions.

Symmetric teleparallel gravity (STG) is a gravity theory which uses the nonmetricity tensor to describe gravity effects. In the STG framework, we study the conformal equivalent scalar-tensor theory of the $f(Q)$ model and calculate the cosmological linear perturbations of the conformal transformed action. We confirm the result already present in references that $f(Q)$ gravity shows different degrees of freedom on different backgrounds at a linear perturbation level. We also explain that this situation often means the linear perturbation theory breaks down, and the model may suffer from strong coupling problem.

We report on the successful numerical evolution of the compactified hyperboloidal initial value problem in general relativity using generalized harmonic gauge. We work in spherical symmetry, using a massless scalar field to drive dynamics. Our treatment is based on the dual-foliation approach, proceeding either by using a height function or by solving the eikonal equation to map between frames. Both are tested here with a naive implementation and with hyperboloidal layers. We present a broad suite of numerical evolutions, including pure gauge perturbations, constraint violating, and satisfying data with and without scalar field matter. We present calculations of spacetimes with a regular center. For black hole spacetimes, we use excision to remove part of the black hole interior. We demonstrate both pointwise and norm convergence at the expected rate of our discretization. We present evolutions in which the scalar field collapses to form a black hole. Evolving nonlinear scalar field perturbations of the Schwarzschild spacetime, we recover the expected quasinormal frequencies and tail decay rates from linear theory.

We present a complete, theory-independent classification of $D$-dimensional Kundt spacetimes of Weyl and traceless-Ricci type N. We show that these geometries consist of three invariantly defined subfamilies, namely (generalized) Kundt, pp-, and Siklos waves, for each of which we obtain a convenient canonical form. As a byproduct, this also demonstrates that such metrics coincide with the class of nonexpanding (A)dS-Kerr-Schild spacetimes. The role of these spacetimes in Einstein’s gravity (including minimally coupled $p$-forms and nonlinear electrodynamics) as nonexpanding gravitational waves in an (anti)-de Sitter background is discussed. Furthermore, applications to extended theories such as Gauss-Bonnet, Lovelock, quadratic, and $f(R)$ gravity are also briefly illustrated, as well as the overlap of the obtained metrics with universal and almost-universal spacetimes. In the appendixes we additionally settle the issue of the redundancy of certain field equations for all Kundt spacetimes in a theory-independent way and present various alternative coordinates for the spacetimes studied in the paper.

The Hamiltonian formulation with action-angle variables is very useful when considering the motion of particles undergoing a self-force reaction due to gravitational wave emission. Using the proper time as a parameter along the trajectory is considered to be appropriate when developing formal arguments, but these arguments can easily be extended to arguments with other time variables. The aim of this paper is to clarify the relations between the schemes with various parametrizations of the orbit.