In this work, we derive and calibrate the redshift distribution of the MagLim++ lens galaxy sample used in the Dark Energy Survey Year 6 (DES Y6) $3\times 2\mathrm{pt}$ cosmology analysis. The $3\times 2\mathrm{pt}$ analysis combines galaxy clustering from the lens galaxy sample and weak gravitational lensing. The redshift distributions are inferred using the SOMPZ method—a self-organizing map framework that combines deep-field multiband photometry, wide-field data, and a synthetic source injection (balrog) catalog. Key improvements over the DES Year 3 (Y3) calibration include a noise-weighted SOM metric, an expanded balrog catalog, and an improved scheme for propagating systematic uncertainties, which allows us to generate $\mathrm{O}({10}^8)$ redshift realizations that collectively span the dominant sources of uncertainty. These realizations are then combined with independent clustering-redshift measurements via importance sampling. The resulting calibration achieves typical uncertainties on the mean redshift of 1%–2%, corresponding to a 20%–30% average reduction relative to DES Y3. We compress the $n(z)$ uncertainties into a small number of orthogonal modes for use in cosmological inference. Marginalizing over these modes leads to only a minor degradation in cosmological constraints. This analysis establishes the MagLim++ sample as a robust lens sample for precision cosmology with DES Y6 and provides a scalable framework for future surveys.

We revisit the local distance ladder measurement of the Hubble constant in models where gravity is modified by a fifth force, an additional long-range interaction. In many such theories the force is screened—suppressed in dense environments but potentially active in galaxies used for distance calibration. We model this environmental dependence using three quantities that characterize each galaxy’s large-scale gravitational environment: the external gravitational potential $\mathrm{\Phi }$, acceleration $a$, and curvature $K$. Our baseline analysis recalibrates the SH0ES-team’s Cepheid-supernova distance ladder, incorporating the fifth force via its impact on the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. Across models, a fifth force is strongly constrained, with posteriors concentrated around a null result. The inferred Hubble constant is $H_0=73.1\pm 1.0\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$, retaining the Hubble tension at $>5\sigma$. As an additional test, we incorporate four independent Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) distance datasets into a joint Cepheid-TRGB-supernova calibration. These combined analyses further constrain the magnitude of fifth-force effects. Taken together, our results show that, across the class of screened fifth-force models we analyze, the calibration of the local distance ladder remains essentially unchanged, leaving the Hubble tension intact.

We present a sound horizon independent measurement of the Hubble parameter using a multiprobe large-scale structure analysis in the $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ model. Removing the dependency on the sound horizon with a rescaling procedure at the matter power spectrum level, we analyze the BOSS full-shape power spectrum and bispectrum (for the first time) using the effective field theory of large-scale structure up to one loop. We combine this analysis with the auto- and cross-angular power spectra from the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey DR9, the $3\times 2\mathrm{pt}$ analysis from DES Y3 within EFTofLSS framework, and the cosmic microwave background gravitational lensing power spectrum from Planck PR3. Our baseline analysis, which does not rely on supernovae data, yields $h=0.702_{-0.024}^{+0.022}$, ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_m=0.310\pm 0.013$, and ${\sigma }_8=0.799\pm 0.020$, corresponding to 3%–4% precision measurements. When adding supernovae data from Pantheon+, we obtain a 2.6% measurement of $h$, with $h=0.686\pm 0.018$. We further note that our EFTBOSS analysis indicates a slight deviation of the BAO scale parameter ${\alpha }_{r_s}$ (at $1.8\sigma$) from its $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ value, caused by the small scales of the bispectrum. We finally use the sound horizon-free EFTBOSS analysis as a diagnosis for the presence of new physics, finding that our results are consistent with the recent hints of evolving dark energy.

We investigate primordial non-Gaussianity in the inflation without an inflaton framework, where scalar perturbations are generated at second order by primordial gravitational waves in Einstein gravity on an exact de Sitter background. Since scalar modes are produced nonlinearly from tensor modes, non-Gaussianity is an intrinsic prediction of the mechanism. We compute the corresponding scalar bispectrum, derive the relevant contribution to the three-point function of the scalar potential, and evaluate its shape numerically. Similar to the scalar power spectrum, we find that the bispectrum depends on the number of observed e-folds $N_{\mathrm{obs}}$ through the ultraviolet cutoff. We show that the bispectrum shape is enhanced toward squeezed configurations, but its amplitude becomes strongly suppressed once the scalar power spectrum is normalized to the observed value. The resulting non-Gaussianity at cosmic microwave background scales is therefore negligibly small, well below present observational sensitivity.

We formulate the late-transition interacting thawer (LTIT) as a late-activating, variable-coupling realization of coupled quintessence in which a canonical scalar field couples conformally only to cold dark matter (CDM). The construction is a nonuniversal dark-sector interaction: baryons and radiation remain minimally coupled, while CDM follows a conformally related metric. This structure ties three observational sectors to one microscopic mechanism—the prerecombination calibration scale, the low-redshift expansion history, and the coupled growth response. We derive the exact background equations, the exact CDM scaling identity ${\rho }_{\mathrm{c}}(a)={\rho }_{c0}{a}^{-3}C[\varphi (a)]/C({\varphi }_0)$, and the coupled CDM-scalar perturbation equations in synchronous gauge in a form suitable for Einstein-Boltzmann solvers. In the representative benchmarks, ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_{\varphi }(z_{*})\sim {10}^{-9}$, $|\mathrm{\Delta }{r}_d/r_d|\le 3.82\times {10}^{-3}$, and ${\max }_{0<z<3}|E/E_{\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}}-1|\le 0.380\%$, while the quasistatic growth indicator ranges from 0.725% to 5.94%. LTIT therefore demonstrates how late activation can preserve the early calibration sector while producing a perturbation-sensitive signature, providing a concrete target for Boltzmann-level tests of interacting dark energy.

We construct an explicit boundary-action realization of superoscillatory initial states (SIS) for inflation, in which quantum interference within a band-limited initial wave functional generates a spectrally localized Bogoliubov excitation with a rapidly winding phase. Starting from a quadratic boundary term on the initial time surface, we derive the Bogoliubov coefficients and the resulting primordial curvature spectrum, obtaining a localized oscillatory feature fixed by the superoscillatory parameters $(a,N)$ rather than imposed phenomenologically. We compute the projection of this feature onto CMB angular power spectra and show that transfer-function smearing strongly suppresses the oscillatory component; full camb calculations confirm the qualitative effect and show that a simple Gaussian approximation overestimates the peak signal by about a factor of three. Using Planck 2018 TT data, we obtain an indicative matched-filter bound $\lambda \lesssim 0.05$ for a representative feature centered near the first acoustic peak, $\mathrm{\Delta }k/k_{*}=0.05$ at $k_{*}=1.45\times {10}^{-2}{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{-1}$. We further derive correlated predictions for polarization and the bispectrum, identify structural constraints that distinguish SIS from generic excited-state models, and show that galaxy clustering provides a qualitatively more powerful probe because it preserves the full oscillatory structure that CMB projection suppresses. This framework provides a concrete and testable realization of how initial-state quantum interference can imprint itself on cosmological observables.

The population study of stellar-mass black hole (sBH) binaries with ground-based gravitational wave detection has achieved tremendous success in recent years. Future observation of extreme mass-ratio inspirals will similarly require proper population analyses that identify the formation channels, measuring the branch ratio(s) and characterizing major properties within each major channel. In this work, we propose that the measurement of eccentricity, inclination, and component mass provides critical information to distinguish different formation channels and probe detailed formation mechanisms. Focusing on the dry and wet extreme mass-ratio inspirals, we establish the theoretical expectation of these observables in each formation channel. We also discuss how their distributions can be used to probe lifetime and turbulence level of active galactic nuclei disks, accretion patterns of supermassive black holes, and population properties of sBHs within nuclear star clusters.

We calculate the dynamically generated up-quark mass in some QCD-like theories with $F=3$ light flavors, obtained from supersymmetric QCD perturbed via anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking. We match the low-energy effective theory to the traditional chiral Lagrangian of QCD and determine the coefficients to next-to-leading order in chiral perturbation theory, while also varying the number of colors $N$. We find that the dynamically generated up-quark mass vanishes in the large $N$ limit and is small for $F<N$; however, for $F=N$ there is a sizable $\mathcal{O}(1)$ contribution. While our results are reliable only for small supersymmetry breaking, we observe that extrapolating the $F=N$ result to large supersymmetry breaking would lead to a dynamical up-quark mass that is large enough to account for its entire physical mass.

We match the real Higgs triplet model (RHTM) onto Higgs effective field theory (HEFT) under different parameter choices and power-counting schemes, thereby obtaining several representative HEFT formulations and clarifying their relations. We establish the primary HEFT (pHEFT) as a benchmark framework, demonstrating that alternative HEFT constructions can be systematically derived from it. A key advantage of the pHEFT construction is its parameter choice, which maintains linear relations between the UV Lagrangian parameters and squared heavy masses. By strictly employing the inverse squared heavy masses as the expansion parameters without imposing additional constraints, pHEFT preserves maximal UV information and ensures higher perturbative accuracy by avoiding the additional truncations inherent in more complex nonlinear formulations or extra constraints. Through the analysis of the $Z_2$-symmetric real singlet model and the two-Higgs-doublet model, we illustrate the criteria for identifying viable primary HEFT constructions in UV models with scalar extensions. Furthermore, for the first time, we derive the HEFT operators of the RHTM involving fermions.

We present a unified formalism to study the resonant spin-flavor precession (RSFP) of high-energy ($\sim 1\mathrm{GeV}$) transient astrophysical neutrinos as a probe of their fundamental Dirac or Majorana nature. Current MeV-scale neutrino studies face stringent restrictions: efficient core RSFP for Dirac supernova neutrinos is excluded by SN1987A cooling bounds, while solar neutrino conversion is tightly constrained by Borexino data. We show that considering the 1 GeV energy scale—accessible through solar flares—modifies the resonance conditions. For 1 GeV solar flare neutrinos, the resonance shifts to the tachocline and convective zones, where toroidal magnetic fields ($B\sim 50\mathrm{kG}$) induce adiabatic spin-flavor conversion. In contrast, for supernovae, to avoid the cooling constraints, the RSFP is moved from the core supernovae to the stellar envelope. As for nonthermal 1 GeV supernova neutrinos, the resonance is located in the dilute stellar wind where magnetic fields are negligible, suppressing RSFP and preserving the flux, and one can use these nonthermal neutrinos as a candle to calibrate our signal, reducing its dependence on astrophysical uncertainties. Evaluating these helicity transitions through a density matrix approach, we predict distinct asymmetries in coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering and neutrino-electron scattering cross sections for solar flare neutrinos and supernova neutrinos. Our proposal provides a viable method to distinguish Dirac from Majorana neutrinos and to probe magnetic moments down to ${\mu }_{\nu }\sim {10}^{-14}{\mu }_B$.

In this paper, pair production of standard model (SM)-like Higgs bosons, $hh$, is studied through $\gamma \gamma$ scattering at future electron-positron colliders, in the framework of the inert doublet model with two active doublets—i.e., the I($1+2$)HDM for short. The relevance of the process $\gamma \gamma \to hh$ for such a beyond-the-SM (BSM) scenario stems from the fact that it is a one-loop process at lowest order, wherein inert charged states ${\chi }^{\pm }$ contribute alongside $W^{\pm }$, $H^{\pm }$, and heavy fermions (primarily, bottom and top quarks), crucially, at the same perturbative order. Given that ${\chi }^{\pm }/H^{\pm }$ masses and $h{S}^{+}{S}^{-}$ ($S^{\pm }={\chi }^{\pm },H^{\pm }$) couplings are very mildly constrained, there exist regions of the parameter space of the $\mathrm{I}(1+2)\mathrm{HDM}$ where the former can be rather light and the latter rather large. After imposing up-to-date theoretical and experimental constraints on the $\mathrm{I}(1+2)\mathrm{HDM}$, it is found that the production rates of such processes at future $\gamma \gamma$ machines can be enhanced by up to a factor of $\approx 50$ with respect to the SM, significantly exceeding typical yields of conventional two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs). Further, thanks to the level of control that one can attain at such facilities on the photon kinematics, leading to excellent invariant mass resolution of the incoming photon pairs, we show how it is possible to extract from this process the value of the ${\chi }^{\pm }$ mass (along with those of the active $H^{\pm }$ states) with high precision, and whichever of the decays of the $hh$ pair, both with and without beam polarization.

We present an observable-driven study of leptophilic gauge interactions mediated by a neutral vector boson $Z_{\ell }$ at future $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ colliders. Focusing on the process $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$, we investigate the sensitivity of angular observables to off-shell leptophilic interactions in regimes where interference effects dominate over resonant rate enhancements. The analysis is centered on the forward-backward asymmetry, which provides a robust probe of interference-induced angular deformations and retains sensitivity well beyond the resonance region. To characterize the relative angular response independently of the overall rate modification, we additionally introduce the interference-normalized quantity ${\mathcal{I}}_{\mathrm{FB}}$ as a diagnostic observable. Realistic collider effects, including initial-state radiation, beamstrahlung, and finite energy resolution, are consistently incorporated. Using benchmark configurations for the Future Circular Collider in its electron-positron mode, Circular Electron Positron Collider, International Linear Collider, and Compact Linear Collider, we derive projected sensitivities in the $(M_{Z_{\ell }},g_{\ell })$ plane. The results demonstrate the complementarity between high-luminosity circular colliders and high-energy linear colliders, reflecting the interplay between precision measurements and the energy enhancement of interference effects. Overall, the present framework provides an experimentally grounded approach for probing leptophilic gauge interactions through interference-sensitive angular observables at future lepton colliders.

Scalars carrying a conserved global charge $Q$ can form stable localized field configurations composed of a large number of particles. These nontopological solitons are spherically symmetric and are called Q-balls. While usually analyzed in three spatial dimensions, these solitons can be straightforwardly generalized to $d$ spatial dimensions. For $d=1$, we can analytically solve the nonlinear differential equation for an important class of single-field potentials; for $d>1$, we can analytically approximate the solutions in the thin-wall or large Q-ball regime, including the first subleading correction consistently. Since the underlying differential equations have the same form as vacuum-decay bounce solutions, our results find applications there, too.

We present a lattice quantum chromodynamics calculation of the $x$-dependent isovector quark helicity parton distribution function (PDF) of the proton in the large momentum effective theory (LaMET) framework. Through operator product expansion (OPE) we also extract the ${\tilde{d}}_2$ moment of the twist-3 PDF $g_T(x)$ for the first time in the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme, which is proportional to the average color Lorentz force experienced by the quark in the proton. This calculation is performed on a lattice of spacing $a=0.076\mathrm{fm}$ at physical quark masses. The quasi-PDF matrix elements are measured in proton states boosted to momenta $P_z=\{0,0.25,1.02,1.53\}\mathrm{GeV}$. We first extract the lowest few helicity PDF moments from the renormalization-group (RG) invariant ratios of the matrix elements with OPE. Combined with the matrix elements relevant for $g_T(x)$, we obtain ${\tilde{d}}_2^{u-d}(2\mathrm{GeV})=0.0024(46)$ at next-to-leading order in $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$. Then, the helicity quasi-PDF matrix elements are renormalized in the hybrid scheme with linear renormalon resummation and Fourier transformed to the $x$-space after an asymptotic extrapolation. The quasi-PDF is perturbatively matched to the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ PDF with RG and threshold resummations at next-to-leading power and next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracies. After resummations, we determine the PDF in the region $x\in [0.25,0.75]$. The end-point regions are then parametrized, combined with the LaMET prediction at moderate $x$, and fitted to the short-distance matrix elements in coordinate space.

In this work, we perform a lattice QCD calculation of the branching ratios and the form factors of radiative leptonic decays $P\to \ell {\nu }_{\ell }\gamma$ ($P=\pi$, $K$) using $N_f=2+1$ domain wall fermion ensembles generated by the RBC and UKQCD Collaborations at the physical pion mass. We adopt the infinite-volume reconstruction (IVR) method, which extends lattice data to infinite volume and effectively controls the finite-volume effects. This study represents a first step toward a complete calculation of radiative corrections to leptonic decays using the IVR method, including both real photon emissions and virtual photon loops. For decays involving a final-state electron, collinear radiative corrections, enhanced by the large logarithmic factors such as $\ln (m_{\pi }^2/m_e^2)$ and $\ln (m_K^2/m_e^2)$, can reach the level of $O(10\%)$ and are essential at the current level of theoretical and experimental precision. After including these corrections, our result for $\pi \to e{\nu }_e\gamma$ agrees with the PIBETA measurement; for $K\to e{\nu }_e\gamma$, our results are consistent with the KLOE data and exhibit a $1.7\sigma$ tension with E36; and for $K\to \mu {\nu }_{\mu }\gamma$, where radiative corrections are negligible, our results confirm the previously observed discrepancies between lattice results and the ISTRA/OKA measurements at large photon energies, and with the E787 results at large muon-photon angles.

Based on a novel method for producing antineutrons via $J/\psi$ decays, we report a study of $\overline{n}p$ inelastic scattering into final states containing kaons. The analysis uses $(10087\pm 44)\times {10}^{6}J/\psi$ events collected at the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring. Antineutrons are produced via $J/\psi \to p{\pi }^{-}\overline{n}$ decays and tagged by the detected protons and pions, resulting in antineutron momenta ranging from 0 to $1174\mathrm{MeV}/c$, while target protons are provided by the hydrogen in the beam-pipe material. The flux-averaged cross sections of the reactions $\overline{n}p\to K^{+}{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ and $\overline{n}p\to K^{+}{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^0$ over this antineutron momentum spectrum are measured to be ${0.53}_{-0.12}^{+0.15}\pm 0.08\mathrm{mb}$ and ${1.09}_{-0.30}^{+0.36}\pm 0.31\mathrm{mb}$, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. Due to limited statistics, the contributions of intermediate states remain speculative. The observation of clean antineutron-proton scattering candidates indicates the potential of this approach for future investigations of antineutron-proton interactions.

We propose the use of transition-edge sensor (TES) single-photon detectors as a simultaneous target and sensor for direct dark matter searches and report results from the first search of this kind. We perform a 489 h science run with a TES device optimized for the detection of 1064 nm photons, with a mass of $\sim 0.2\mathrm{ng}$ and an energy threshold of $\sim 0.3\mathrm{eV}$, and set new limits on dark matter interactions with both electrons and nucleons for dark matter with mass below the MeV scale. With their excellent energy resolution, TESs enable search strategies that are complementary to recent results from superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors and kinetic inductance detectors. We show that next-generation TES arrays hold promise to probe new regions of light dark matter parameter space.

We show that the low energy fluctuations of spinning black Dp branes are described by a theory of spin hydrodynamics on a spacetime ${\mathbb{M}}_{p+1}\times {\mathbb{T}}^{n+2}$ in which the fluid is flowing on ${\mathbb{M}}_{p+1}$ and spinning on ${\mathbb{T}}^{n+2}$. Focusing on the hydrodynamic regime of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, we provide a geometric interpretation of the R-current anomaly in terms of a gravitational anomaly from the ten-dimensional point of view. This follows from the holographic duality between a spinning fluid in ten dimensions and an anomalous chiral fluid in four dimensions. We comment on the relations between the theory of spin hydrodynamics introduced here and other theories of spin hydrodynamics in the context of heavy-ion collisions.

Extreme astrophysical environments provide unique laboratories for testing fundamental neutrino interactions. We present the first oscillation-independent astrophysical probe of nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSI), using coincident neutral-current signals across diverse detectors to break degeneracies that have long limited sensitivity reach. Using self-consistent NSI supernova simulations and flavor-independent neutral-current scattering we show that anticorrelated signatures between JUNO liquid scintillator and dark matter detectors such as DARWIN/XLZD, ARGO, or RES-NOVA enable clear discrimination between NSI and flavor-conversion effects. For a Galactic supernova at Betelgeuse distance our approach enables an independent probe of neutrino-quark NSI couplings in parameter space that can reach and extend beyond current terrestrial limits. This multidetector approach enables breaking degeneracies in terrestrial searches and is broadly applicable to a wide range of upcoming experiments, establishing a new principle for testing fundamental interactions with astrophysical data.

When tunneling occurs out of generic initial states, a significant fraction of probability is lost at early times, during which the dynamics is governed by excited resonance states. However, first-principles analyses based on path-integrals have only captured the leading asymptotic behavior, during which the tunneling rate is dominated by the false vacuum contribution. In this work, we discuss the behavior in the preasymptotic regime from a first-principles path-integral perspective. We demonstrate how the relevant expressions can be evaluated systematically through semiclassical methods in the recently developed steadyon picture. This approach allows one to trace the role of the relevant physical scales, making transparent the underlying assumptions and approximations, and offering a clear path to establishing a systematically improvable framework to evaluate tunneling rates nonperturbatively.