We investigate modifications of hadron masses at finite quark chemical potential in two-flavor and two-color QCD, data of which are available from lattice simulations, within a linear sigma model based on approximate Pauli-Gursey $SU(4)$ symmetry. The model describes not only ground-state scalar diquarks and pseudoscalar mesons but also the excited pseudoscalar diquarks and scalar mesons; each ground-state diquark (meson) has the corresponding excited diquark (hadron) with opposite parity as a chiral partner. Effects of chiral symmetry breaking and diquark condensates are incorporated by a mean-field treatment. We show that various mixings among the hadrons, which are triggered by the breakdown of baryon number conservation in the superfluid phase, lead to a rich hadron mass spectrum. We discuss the influence of $U(1{)}_A$ anomaly on the density dependence of the mass spectrum and also manifestations of the chiral partner structures as the density increases in the superfluid phase. The predicted hadron masses are expected to provide future lattice simulations with useful information on such symmetry properties in dense two-color QCD.

Elastic neutrino-electron scattering represents a powerful tool to investigate key neutrino properties. In view of the recent results released by the LUX-ZEPLIN collaboration, we provide a first determination of the limits achievable on the neutrino magnetic moment and neutrino millicharge, whose effect becomes non-negligible in some beyond the Standard Model theories. In this context, we evaluate and discuss the impact of different approximations to describe the neutrino interaction with atomic electrons. The new LUX-ZEPLIN data allows us to set a very competitive limit on the neutrino magnetic moment when compared to the other laboratory bounds, namely ${\mu }_{\nu }^{\mathrm{eff}}<1.1\times {10}^{-11}{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}$ at 90% C.L., which improves by a factor of 2.5 the Borexino collaboration limit and represents the second best world limit after the recent XENONnT result. Moreover, exploiting the so-called equivalent photon approximation, we obtain the most stringent limit on the neutrino millicharge, namely $|q_{\nu }^{\mathrm{eff}}|<1.5\times {10}^{-13}{e}_0$ at 90% C.L., which represents a great improvement with respect to the previous laboratory bounds.

The choice of optimal event variables is crucial for achieving the maximal sensitivity of experimental analyses. Over time, physicists have derived suitable kinematic variables for many typical event topologies in collider physics. Here, we introduce a deep-learning technique to design good event variables, which are sensitive over a wide range of values for the unknown model parameters. We demonstrate that the neural networks trained with our technique on some simple event topologies are able to reproduce standard event variables like invariant mass, transverse mass, and stransverse mass. The method is automatable and completely general and can be used to derive sensitive, previously unknown, event variables for other, more complex event topologies.

Known examples of the holographic dictionary in asymptotically anti–de Sitter spacetimes equate moduli spaces of bulk vacua with conformal manifolds in the dual quantum field theory. We demonstrate that the same identification holds for gravity in asymptotically flat spacetimes in any dimension, in accord with expectations derived from the celestial conformal field theory (CCFT) formalism. Soft limits of moduli scalars described by the sigma model are universal, and relate to parallel transport of $S$-matrix observables over the moduli space of bulk vacua. The leading “soft moduli operator” is the shadow transform of a dimension $\mathrm{\Delta }=d$ marginal operator $M(x)$. The universal form of the soft limit guarantees that $M(x)$ acts as a marginal deformation in the ${\mathrm{CCFT}}_d$, and coherent states of the soft scalars correspond to finite deformations along the conformal manifold. This manifold typically has curvature, which is captured by the antisymmetric double-soft theorem and which reflects the Berry curvature in ${\mathrm{CCFT}}_d$. We also compute the Mellin-transformed four-point function in the sigma model and compare to a formula of Kutasov for the curvature of the conformal manifold.

We consider the phase structure of the linear quiver gauge theory, using the ’t Hooft anomaly matching condition. This theory is characterized by the length $K$ of the quiver diagram. When $K$ is even, the symmetry and its anomaly are the same as those of massless quantum chromodynamics. Therefore, one can expect that the spontaneous symmetry breaking similar to the chiral symmetry breaking occurs. On the other hand, when $K$ is odd, the anomaly matching condition is satisfied by the massless composite fermions. We also consider the thermal partition function under the twisted boundary conditions. When $K$ is even, from the anomaly at finite temperature, we estimate the relation between the critical temperatures associated with the confinement/deconfinement and the breaking of the global symmetry. Finally we discuss the anomaly matching at finite temperature when $K$ is odd.

Quantum deformed potentials arise naturally in quantum mechanical systems of one bosonic coordinate coupled to $N_f$ Grassmann valued fermionic coordinates, or to a topological Wess-Zumino term. These systems decompose into sectors with a classical potential plus a quantum deformation. Using exact Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin, we derive exact quantization condition and its median resummation. The solution of median resummed form gives physical Borel-Ecalle resummed results, as we show explicitly in quantum deformed double- and triple-well potentials. Despite the fact that instantons have finite actions, for generic quantum deformation, they do not contribute to the energy spectrum at leading order in semiclassics. For certain quantized quantum deformations, where the alignment of levels to all order in perturbation theory occurs, instantons contribute to the spectrum. If deformation parameter is not properly quantized, their effect disappears, but higher-order effects in semiclassics survive. In this sense, we classify saddle contributions as fading and robust. Finally, for quantum deformed triple-well potential, we demonstrate the perturbative/nonperturbative relation, by computing period integrals and Mellin transform.

We utilize the integrality conjecture to show that the torus partition function of a fermionic rational conformal theory in the Ramond-Ramond sector becomes a constant when the bound $h^R\ge \frac{c}{24}$ is satisfied, where $h^R$ denotes the conformal weights of Ramond states and $c$ is the central charge. The constant-valued Ramond-Ramond partition function strongly suggests the presence of supersymmetry unless a given theory has free fermions. The lower bound $h^R\ge \frac{c}{24}$ can then be identified with the unitarity bound of $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry. We thus propose that, for rational CFTs without free fermions, $(h^R-c/24)\ge 0$ can imply supersymmetry.

Some effective field theories exhibit dynamical resonances that, when properly included, mitigate their bad behavior at high energies. Unitarization of the partial wave amplitudes is the preferred method to unveil such resonances. Interpreting the Einstein-Hilbert theory in the spirit of effective Lagrangians, we implement the inverse amplitude method and unitarize the one-loop level graviton-graviton scattering in pure gravity. Due to the presence of infrared divergences, the analysis requires a careful treatment of the infrared region and the introduction of infrared regulators, carefully selected in order to fulfill perturbative unitarity.

We analyze the effects of modified gravity on specific heats of electrons and ions, Debye temperature, crystallization process, and cooling mechanism in white dwarfs. We derive the Lane-Emden-Chandrasekhar equation and relate it to the cooling process equations for Palatini $f(R)$ gravity. Moreover, for the first time in the literature, we show that the gravity model plays a crucial role not only in the mass and size of the white dwarf, but also affects their internal properties. We further demonstrate that modified gravity can decrease the cooling age significantly.

As the only gravity theory with quadratic curvature terms and second-order field equations, Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a natural test bed to probe the high-curvature regime beyond general relativity in a fully nonperturbative way. Due to nonperturbative effects of the dilatonic coupling, black holes in this theory have a minimum mass which separates a stable branch from an unstable one. The minimum mass solution is a double point in the phase diagram of the theory, wherein the critical black hole and a wormhole solution coexist. We perform extensive nonlinear simulations of the spherical collapse onto black holes with scalar hair in this theory, especially focusing on the region near the minimum mass. We study the nonlinear transition from the unstable to the stable branch and assess the nonlinear stability of the latter. Furthermore, motivated by modeling the mass loss induced by Hawking radiation near the minimum mass at the classical level, we study the collapse of a phantom field onto the black hole. When the black-hole mass decreases past the critical value, the apparent horizon shrinks significantly, eventually unveiling a high-curvature elliptic region. We argue that evaporation in this theory is bound to either violate the weak cosmic censorship or produce horizonless remnants. Addressing the end state might require a different evolution scheme.

Eccentricity of compact binaries can improve the parameter estimation of gravitational waves (GWs), which is due to the fact that the multiple harmonics induced by eccentricity can provide more information and break the degeneracy between waveform parameters. In this paper, we first investigate the parameter estimation of eccentric GWs with decihertz observatory. We consider two scenarios for the configuration of DECIGO, i.e., the one cluster of DECIGO with its design sensitivity and B-DECIGO which also has one cluster but with inferior sensitivity as a comparison. We adopt the Fisher matrix to estimate the parameter errors. By mocking up the typical binaries in GWTC-3, we find a nonvanishing eccentricity can significantly improve the estimation for almost all waveform parameters. In particular, the localization of typical binary black holes (BBH) can achieve $\mathcal{O}(10–{10}^{3.5})$ factors of improvement when the initial eccentricity $e_0=0.4$ at 0.1 Hz. The precise localization of binary neutron stars (BNS) and neutron star–black hole binaries (NSBH), together with the large improvement of localization of BBH from eccentricity in the midband, inspire us to construct the catalogs of golden dark sirens whose host galaxies can be uniquely identified. We find that with only one cluster of DECIGO running 1 year in its design sensitivity, hundreds of golden dark BNS, NSBH, and tens of golden dark BBH can be observed. Eccentricity can greatly increase the population of golden dark BBH from $\sim 7(e_0=0)$ to $\sim 65(e_0=0.2)$. Such an increase of population of golden dark BBH events can improve the precision of Hubble constant measurement from 2.06% to 0.68%, matter density parameter from 64% to 16% in $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ model. Through the phenomenological parametrization of GW propagation, the constraints of modified gravity can be improved from 6.2% to 1.6%. Our results show the remarkable significance of eccentricity for the detection and parameter estimation of GW events, allowing us to probe the Universe precisely.

The wide field-of-view Cherenkov telescope array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) measures the longitudinal development of Cherenkov light in the air shower of cosmic rays, while the kilometer-square array of LHAASO measures the number of muons in the air shower. The unique detector arrangement of LHAASO can facilitate the precise reconstruction of the cosmic ray energy in the knee region. Thus, this study proposed a new energy reconstruction method by simultaneously using the Cherenkov light size and the number of muons, which is insensitive to the primary particle type. Using this method, the energy bias and resolution of the light component (proton and helium) were less than 1% and 10% at approximately 1 PeV, respectively. Moreover, the difference in energy bias between helium and proton was less than 1% at approximately 1 PeV. In addition, the dependence of this energy reconstruction method on hadronic interaction models and cosmic ray components was also discussed.

A prospective measurement of the differential cross section of $tWZ$ production with respect to the transverse momentum of the $Z$ boson using a general-purpose detector at the high-luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is described. The response of a general-purpose detector at the HL-LHC is simulated and used to estimate the uncertainties and covariances of the differential cross section measurement. Constraints on the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) enabled by the measurement are estimated. A parametric model of the differential cross section in the SMEFT is constructed and is used to determine the expected posterior probability function of six SMEFT Wilson coefficients and the expected 95% Bayesian credible intervals for each coefficient and pair of coefficients. The intervals suggest that for all coefficients, the measurement will provide competitive but weaker constraints than those derived from other HL-LHC measurements involving top quarks and $Z$ bosons. However, as the measurement is simultaneously sensitive to a unique set of SMEFT coefficients, it will provide a useful input to a global SMEFT analysis that considers many operators.

In the presence of a background magnetic field, axion dark matter induces an electric field and can thus excite phonon-polaritons in suitable materials. We revisit the calculation of the axion-photon conversion power output from such materials, accounting for finite volume effects, and material losses. Our calculation shows how phonon-polaritons can be converted to propagating photons at the material boundary, offering a route to detecting the signal. Using the dielectric functions of GaAs, ${\text{Al}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3$, and ${\mathrm{SiO}}_2$, a fit to our loss model leads to a signal of lower magnitude than previous calculations. We demonstrate how knowledge of resonances in the dielectric function can directly be used to calculate the sensitivity of any material to axion dark matter. We argue that a combination of low losses encountered at $\mathcal{O}(1)\mathrm{K}$ temperatures and near future improvements in detector dark count allow one to probe the QCD axion in the mass range $m_a\approx 100\mathrm{meV}$. This provides further impetus to examine novel materials and further develop detectors in the THz regime. We also discuss possible tuning methods to scan the axion mass.

Direct detection experiments utilizing electronic excitations are spearheading the search for light, sub-GeV, dark matter (DM). It is thus crucial to have accurate predictions for any DM-electron interaction rate in this regime. EXCEED-DM (extended calculation of electronic excitations for direct detection of dark matter) computes DM-electron interaction rates with inputs from a variety of ab initio electronic structure calculations. The purpose of this manuscript is twofold: to familiarize the user with the formalism and inputs of EXCEED-DM, and perform novel calculations to showcase what EXCEED-DM is capable of. We perform four calculations which extend previous results: the scattering rate in the dark photon model, screened with the numerically computed dielectric function, the scattering rate with an interaction potential dependent on the electron velocity, an extended absorption calculation for scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector DM, and the annual modulation of the scattering rate in the dark photon model.

We present a lattice calculation of the leading order hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment for the connected light and strange quarks, $a_{\mathrm{con},l/s}^{\mathrm{W}}$ in the widely used window $t_0=0.4\mathrm{fm}$, $t_1=1.0\mathrm{fm}$, $\mathrm{\Delta }=0.15\mathrm{fm}$, and also of $a_{\mathrm{con},l/s}^{\mathrm{S}}$ in the short distance region. We use overlap fermions on four physical-point ensembles. Two $2+1$ flavor RBC/UKQCD ensembles use domain wall fermions and Iwasaki gauge actions at $a=0.084$ and 0.114 fm, and two $2+1+1$ flavor MILC ensembles use the highly improved staggered quark and Symanzik gauge actions at $a=0.088$ and 0.121 fm. We have incorporated infinite volume corrections from three additional domain wall fermion ensembles at $\mathrm{L}=4.8$, 6.4, and 9.6 fm and physical pion mass. For $a_{\mathrm{con},l}^{\mathrm{W}}$, we find that our results on the two smaller lattice spacings are consistent with those using the unitary setup, but those at the two coarser lattice spacings are slightly different. Eventually, we predict $a_{\mathrm{con},l}^{\mathrm{W}}=206.7(1.5)(1.0)$ and $a_{\mathrm{con},s}^{\mathrm{W}}=26.8(0.1)(0.3)$, using linear extrapolation in $a^2$, with systematic uncertainties estimated from the difference of the central values from the RBC/UKQCD and MILC ensembles.

We develop a number of sum rules comparing spectral integrals involving judiciously chosen weights to integrals over the corresponding Euclidean two-point function. The applications we have in mind are to the hadronic vacuum polarization that determines the most important hadronic correction $a_{\mu }^{\mathrm{HVP}}$ to the muon anomalous magnetic moment. First, we point out how spectral weights may be chosen that emphasize narrow regions in $\sqrt{s}$, providing a tool to investigate emerging discrepancies between data-driven and lattice determinations of $a_{\mu }^{\mathrm{HVP}}$. Alternatively, for a narrow region around the $\rho$ mass, they may allow for a comparison of the dispersive determination of $a_{\mu }^{\mathrm{HVP}}$ with lattice determinations zooming in on the region of the well-known BABAR-KLOE discrepancy. Second, we show how such sum rules can in principle be used for carrying out precision comparisons of hadronic-$\tau$-decay-based data and $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to \text{hadrons}(\gamma )$-based data, where lattice computations can provide the necessary isospin-breaking corrections.

We investigate static quark-antiquark operators based on trial states formed from eigenvectors of the covariant three-dimensional lattice Laplace operator. We test the method by computing the static quark-antiquark potential and comparing results to standard Wilson loop measurements. The new method is efficient not only for on-axis, but also for many off-axis quark-antiquark separations when a fine spatial resolution is required. We further improve the ground-state overlap by using multiple eigenvector pairs, weighted with Gaussian profile functions of the eigenvalues, providing a variational basis. The method presented here can be applied to potential functions for all possible excitations of a gluonic string with fixed ends, hybrid or tetraquark potentials, as well as static-light systems and allows visualization of the spatial distribution of the Laplace trial states.

We study the threshold effect for neutral and charged Drell-Yan productions, associated production of Higgs boson with a massive vector boson and Higgs production in bottom quark annihilation at the Large Hadron Collider to the third order in QCD. Using the third order soft-virtual results for these processes and exploiting the universality of the threshold logarithms, we extract the process-dependent coefficients for these processes and resum large threshold logarithms to next-to-next-to-next-to leading logarithmic (${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LL}$) accuracy. By matching our results to the recently available ${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LO}$ results, we provide the most precise theoretical predictions for these processes. We present numerical results for invariant mass distribution and total production cross sections. We find the conventional scale uncertainties of about 0.4% at ${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LO}$ level in the fixed order results get reduced to as small as less than 0.1% at ${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LO}+{\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LL}$ level in the high invariant mass region.

In this paper, we analyze the exclusive photoproduction of heavy quarkonia pairs in the collinear factorization framework. We evaluate the amplitude of the process for the $J/\psi -{\eta }_c$ quarkonia pair in the leading order of the strong coupling ${\alpha }_s$, and express it in terms of generalized parton distributions (GPDs) of gluons in the proton. We make numerical estimates in the kinematics of the Electron Ion Collider and find that, in the photoproduction regime, when the virtuality of the photon is much smaller than the quarkonia mass, the cross section of the process is sufficiently large for experimental studies. We demonstrate that the study of this channel can complement existing studies of gluon GPDs from other channels.