In light of prospects for measurements of B_c → D^(∗)lv decays in the upcoming Upgrade II of the LHC, we show that by using calculated B_c → D^(∗) form factors a competitive extraction of the |V_ub| CKM matrix element from the B_c→Dμ v_¯μ decay might be possible. To minimize experimental and theoretical uncertainties we provide the ratio |V_ub|/|V_cb| by normalizing the B_c→D^(∗)μ v_¯μ to B_c→J /ψμ v_¯μ decay. We also briefly examine the suggestion to extract |V_ub|/|V_cs| from the theoretically interesting ratio of B_c→D⁰e v_¯e and B_c→B_se v_¯e decay rates in the zero-recoil limit. With the present average value of |V_ub|, the predicted branching ratios are estimated to be BR (B_c→D⁰μ ν_¯μ )=(2.4 ±0.4 ).10^-5 and BR (B_c→D^∗μ ν_¯μ )=(7 ±3 ).10^-5, and the semileptonic ratios for testing the lepton flavour universality in these B_c decays are R_c(D⁰) = 0.64 ± 0.05 and R_c(D^∗) = 0.55 ± 0.05. We also provide q² distributions and various angular observables of B_c→ D^(∗)lν decays.

Effective field theory (EFT) approaches are widely used at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), such that it is important to study their validity and ease of matching to specific new physics models. In this paper, we consider an extension of the Standard Model (SM) in which a top quark couples to a new heavy scalar. We find the dimension six operators generated by this theory at low energy and match the EFT to the full theory up to the next-to-leading order (NLO) precision in the simplified model coupling. We then examine the range of validity of the EFT description in top pair production, finding excellent validity even if the scalar mass is only slightly above LHC energies, provided NLO corrections are included. In the absence of the latter, the LO EFT overestimates kinematic distributions, such that overoptimistic constraints on beyond the Standard Model (BSM) contributions are obtained. We next examine the constraints on the EFT and full models that are expected to be obtained from both top pair and four top production at the LHC, finding for low scalar masses that both processes show similar exclusion power. However, for larger masses, estimated LHC uncertainties push constraints into the nonperturbative regime, where the full model is difficult to analyze, and thus is not perturbatively matchable to the EFT. This highlights the necessity to improve uncertainties of SM hypotheses in top final states.

Three hidden-charm pentaquark P_c states, P_c(4312 ), P_c(4440 ), and P_c(4457 ) were revealed in the Λ_b⁰→J /ψ p K^- process measured by LHCb using both run I and run II data. Their nature is under lively discussion, and their quantum numbers have not been determined. We analyze the J /ψ p invariant mass distributions under the assumption that the crossed-channel effects provide a smooth background. For the first time, such an analysis is performed employing a coupled-channel formalism with the scattering potential involving both one-pion exchange as well as short-range operators constrained by heavy quark spin symmetry. We find that the data can be well described in the hadronic molecular picture, which predicts seven Σ_c^(*)D^¯(*) molecular states in two spin multiplets, such that the P_c(4312 ) is mainly a Σ_cD ¯ bound state with J^P=1 /2^-, while P_c(4440 ) and P_c(4457 ) are Σ_cD^¯* bound states with quantum numbers 3 /2^- and 1 /2^-, respectively. We also show that there is evidence for a narrow Σ_c^*D ¯ bound state in the data which we call P_c(4380 ), different from the broad one reported by LHCb in 2015. With this state included, all predicted Σ_cD ¯, Σ_c^*D ¯, and Σ_cD^¯* hadronic molecules are seen in the data, while the missing three Σ_c^*D^¯* states are expected to be found in future runs of the LHC or in photoproduction experiments.

We explored the possibility that Higgs coupling to new physics violates flavor universality. In particular, we parametrize such models with dimension-six effective operators which modify the coupling between the first generation quarks, Higgs boson, and Z boson. Through the use of boosted Higgsstrahlung events at both the HL-LHC and potential future hadron colliders, as well as existing ATLAS data for background estimates, we projected constraints on the scale of new physics as a function of the Wilson coefficient. The high energy Z h process will provide unique information about these class of operators, and the sensitivity is competitive with the LEP electroweak precision measurements. We include different scenarios of the overall systematic uncertainties and the PDF uncertainties when presenting the projected sensitivities. We also discuss the constraints from flavor changing neutral currents to these flavor-violating models and the complementarity of the exotic Higgs decay to the Z h process.

For direct detection of sub-MeV dark matter, a promising strategy is to search for individual phonon excitations in a crystal. We perform an analytic calculation of the rate for light dark matter (keV <m_DM<MeV ) to produce two acoustic phonons through scattering in cubic crystals such as GaAs, Ge, Si, and diamond. The multiphonon rate is always smaller than the rate to produce a single optical phonon, whenever the latter is kinematically accessible. In Si and diamond, there is a dark matter mass range for which multiphonon production can be the most promising process, depending on the experimental threshold.

The axion provides a compelling solution to the strong CP problem as well as a candidate for the dark matter of the universe. However, the axion solution relies on the spontaneous breaking of a global U(1)_PQ symmetry, which is also explicitly violated by quantum gravity. To preserve the axion solution, gravitational violations of the U(1)_PQ symmetry must be suppressed to sufficiently high order. We present a simple, geometric solution of the axion quality problem by modelling the axion with a bulk complex scalar field in a slice of AdS₅, where the U(1)_PQ symmetry is spontaneously broken in the bulk but explicitly broken on the UV brane. By localising the axion field towards the IR brane, gravitational violations of the PQ symmetry on the UV brane are sufficiently sequestered. This geometric solution is holographically dual to 4D strong dynamics where the global U(1)_PQ is an accidental symmetry to sufficiently high order.

We study UV-complete Froggatt-Nielsen-like models for the generation of mass and mixing hierarchies, assuming that the integrated heavy fields are chiral with respect to an abelian Froggatt-Nielsen symmetry. It modifies the mixed anomalies with respect to the Standard Model gauge group, which opens up the possibility to gauge the Froggatt-Nielsen symmetry without the need to introduce additional spectator fermions, while keeping mass matrices usually associated to anomalous flavour symmetries. We give specific examples where this happens, and we study the flavourful axion which arises from an accidental Peccei-Quinn symmetry in some of those models. Such an axion is typically more coupled to matter than in models with spectator fermions.

This document is the final report of the ATLAS-CMS Dark Matter Forum, a forum organized by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations with the participation of experts on theories of Dark Matter, to select a minimal basis set of dark matter simplified models that should support the design of the early LHC Run-2 searches. A prioritized, compact set of benchmark models is proposed, accompanied by studies of the parameter space of these models and a repository of generator implementations. This report also addresses how to apply the Effective Field Theory formalism for collider searches and present the results of such interpretations.

We present a detailed analysis of the Magellanic Bridge Cepheid sample constructed using the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment Collection of Variable Stars. Our updated Bridge sample contains 10 classical and 13 anomalous Cepheids. We calculate their individual distances using optical period-Wesenheit relations and construct three-dimensional maps. Classical Cepheid (CC) on-sky locations match very well neutral hydrogen and young stars distributions; thus, they add to the overall young Bridge population. In three dimensions, 8 out of 10 CCs form a bridge-like connection between the Magellanic Clouds. The other two are located slightly farther away and may constitute the Counter Bridge. We estimate ages of our Cepheids to be less than 300 Myr for from 5 up to 8 out of 10, depending on whether the rotation is included. This is in agreement with a scenario where these stars were formed in situ after the last encounter of the Magellanic Clouds. Cepheids' proper motions reveal that they are moving away from both Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Anomalous Cepheids are more spread than CCs in both two and three dimensions, even though they form a rather smooth connection between the Magellanic Clouds. However, this connection does not seem to be bridge-like, as there are many outliers around both Magellanic Clouds.

We use the extended and updated Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) Collection of Variable Stars to thoroughly analyze the distribution of RR Lyrae stars in the Magellanic Bridge. We use photometric metallicities to derive the absolute Wesenheit magnitude and individual distance of each RR Lyrae star. We confirm results from our earlier study showing that RR Lyrae stars are present in between the Magellanic Clouds, though their three-dimensional distribution more resembles two extended overlapping structures than a strict bridge-like connection. The contours do connect in the southern parts of the Bridge, albeit on a level too low to state that an evident connection exists. To test the sample numerically, we use multi-Gaussian fitting and conclude that there is no additional population or overdensity located in the Bridge. We also try to reproduce results on the putative RR Lyrae Magellanic Bridge stream by selecting RR Lyrae candidates from Gaia Data Release 1. We show that we are not able to obtain the evident connection of the Clouds without many spurious sources in the sample, as the cuts are not able to remove artifacts without eliminating the evident connection at the same time. Moreover, for the first time, we present the Gaia Data Release 2 RR Lyrae stars in the Magellanic Bridge area and show that their distribution matches our results.

We show that the leading coupling between a shift symmetric inflaton and the standard model fermions leads to an induced electroweak symmetry breaking due to particle production during inflation, and as a result, a unique oscillating feature in non-Gaussianities. In this one parameter model, the enhanced production of standard model fermions dynamically generates a new electroweak symmetry breaking minimum, where the Higgs field classically rolls to. The production of fermions stops when the Higgs expectation value and hence the fermion masses become too large, suppressing fermion production. The balance between the above-mentioned effects gives the standard model fermions masses that are uniquely determined by their couplings to the inflaton. In particular, the heaviest standard model fermion, the top quark, can produce a distinct cosmological collider physics signature characterized by a one-to-one relation between amplitude and frequency of the oscillating signal, which is observable at future 21-cm surveys.

We explore the possibility that lepton family numbers and baryon number are such good symmetries of Nature because they are the global remnant of a spontaneously broken gauge symmetry. An almost arbitrary linear combination of these symmetries (together with a component of global hypercharge) can be consistently gauged, if the Standard Model (SM) fermion content is augmented by three chiral SM singlet states. Within this framework of U (1 ) extensions of the SM one generically expects flavor nonuniversality to emerge in the charged leptons, in such a way that naturally prevents lepton flavor violation, by aligning the mass and weak eigenbases. For quarks, all the SM Yukawa couplings responsible for their observed masses and mixings arise at the renormalizable level. We perform fits to show that models in this class can explain R_K^(*) and the other neutral current B anomaly data if we introduce a heavy vectorlike quark to mediate the required quark flavor violation, while simultaneously satisfying other constraints from direct Z^' searches at the LHC, B_s meson mixing, a number of electroweak precision observables, and neutrino trident production. Within this symmetry-motivated framework of models, we find interesting implications for the flavor anomalies; notably, any axial couplings of the Z^' to electrons and muons must be flavor universal, with the flavor universality violation arising solely from the vectorlike couplings. We also comment on the generation of neutrino masses in these models.

Context. Planets in accretion disks can excite spiral shocks and if these planets are massive enough, they can even open gaps in their vicinity. Both of these effects can influence the overall thermal structure of the disk.
Aims: We model planets of different masses and semimajor axes in disks of various viscosities and accretion rates to examine their impact on disk thermodynamics and to highlight the mutable, non-axisymmetric nature of ice lines in systems with massive planets.
Methods: We conducted a parameter study using numerical hydrodynamics simulations where we treated viscous heating, thermal cooling, and stellar irradiation as additional source terms in the energy equation, with some runs including radiative diffusion. Our parameter space consists of a grid containing different combinations of planet and disk parameters.
Results: Both gap opening and shock heating can displace the ice line, with the effects amplified for massive planets in optically thick disks. The gap region can split an initially hot (T > 170 K) disk into a hot inner disk and a hot ring just outside of the planet's location, while shock heating can reshape the originally axisymmetric ice line into water-poor islands along spirals. We also find that radiative diffusion does not alter the picture significantly in this context.
Conclusions: Shock heating and gap opening by a planet can effectively heat up optically thick disks and, in general, they can move or reshape the water ice line. This can affect the gap structure and migration torques. It can also produce azimuthal features that follow the trajectory of spiral arms, creating hot zones which lead to "islands" of vapor and ice around spirals that could affect the accretion or growth of icy aggregates.

We introduce a — somewhat holographic — dictionary between gravitational observables for scattering processes (measured at the boundary) and adiabatic invariants for bound orbits (in the bulk), to all orders in the Post-Minkowskian (PM) expansion. Our map relies on remarkable connections between the relative momentum of the twobody problem, the classical limit of the scattering amplitude and the deflection angle in hyperbolic motion. These relationships allow us to compute observables for generic orbits (such as the periastron advance ∆Φ) through analytic continuation, via a radial action depending only on boundary data. A simplified (more geometrical) map can be obtained for circular orbits, enabling us to extract the orbital frequency as a function of the (conserved) binding energy, Ω(E), directly from scattering information. As an example, using the results in Bernet al. [36, 37], we readily derive Ω(E) and ∆Φ(J, E) to two-loop orders. We also provide closed-form expressions for the orbital frequency and periastron advance at tree-level and one-loop order, respectively, which capture a series of exact terms in the Post-Newtonian expansion. We then perform a partial PM resummation, using a no-recoil approximation for the amplitude. This limit is behind the map between the scattering angle for a test-particle and the two-body dynamics to 2PM. We show that it also captures a subset of higher order terms beyond the test-particle limit. While a (rather lengthy) Hamiltonian may be derived as an intermediate step, our map applies directly between gauge invariant quantities. Our findings provide a starting point for an alternative approach to the binary problem. We conclude with future directions and some speculations on the classical double copy.

In models with extended scalars and C P violation, resonance searches in double Higgs final states stand in competition with related searches in top quark final states as optimal channels for the discovery of beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics. This complementarity is particularly relevant for benchmark scenarios that aim to highlight multi-Higgs production as a standard candle for the study of BSM phenomena. In this paper, we compare interference effects in t t ¯ final states with correlated phenomena in double Higgs production in the complex singlet and the complex two-Higgs-doublet models. Our results indicate that the BSM discovery potential in di-Higgs searches can be underestimated in comparison to t t ¯ resonance searches. Top pair final states are typically suppressed due to destructive signal-background interference, while h h final states can be enhanced due to signal-signal interference. For parameter choices where the two heavy Higgs resonances are well separated in mass, top final states are suppressed relative to the naive signal expectation, while estimates of the production cross section times branching ratio remain accurate at the O (10 %) level for double Higgs final states.

Searching for new physics in large data sets needs a balance between two competing effects---signal identification vs background distortion. In this work, we perform a systematic study of both single variable and multivariate jet tagging methods that aim for this balance. The methods preserve the shape of the background distribution by either augmenting the training procedure or the data itself. Multiple quantitative metrics to compare the methods are considered, for tagging 2-, 3-, or 4-prong jets from the QCD background. This is the first study to show that the data augmentation techniques of Planing and PCA based scaling deliver similar performance as the augmented training techniques of Adversarial NN and uBoost, but are both easier to implement and computationally cheaper.

The detection of an oscillating pattern in the bispectrum of density perturbations could suggest the existence of a high-energy second minimum in the Higgs potential. If the Higgs field resided in this new minimum during inflation and was brought back to the electroweak vacuum by thermal corrections during reheating, the coupling of Standard Model particles to the inflaton would leave its imprint on the bispectrum. We focus on the fermions, whose dispersion relation can be modified by the coupling to the inflaton, leading to an enhanced particle production during inflation even if their mass during inflation is larger than the Hubble scale. This results in a large non-analytic contribution to non-Gaussianities, with an amplitude f_NL as large as 100 in the squeezed limit, potentially detectable in future 21-cm surveys. Measuring the contributions from two fermions would allow us to compute the ratio of their masses, and to ascribe the origin of the signal to a new Higgs minimum. Such a discovery would be a tremendous step towards understanding the vacuum instability of the Higgs potential, and could have fascinating implications for anthropic considerations.

Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the protoplanetary disk around HD 169142 reveal a peculiar structure made of concentric dusty rings: a main ring at ∼20 au, a triple system of rings at ∼55-75 au in millimetric continuum emission, and a perturbed gas surface density from the ¹²CO,¹³CO, and C¹⁸O (J = 2-1) surface brightness profile. In this Letter, we perform 3D numerical simulations and radiative transfer modeling exploring the possibility that two giant planets interacting with the disk and orbiting in resonant locking can be responsible for the origin of the observed dust inner rings structure. We find that in this configuration the dust structure is actually long lived while the gas mass of the disk is accreted onto the star and the giant planets, emptying the inner region. In addition, we also find that the innermost planet is located at the inner edge of the dust ring, and can accrete mass from the disk, generating a signature in the dust ring shape that can be observed in mm ALMA observations.

We present new 890 μm continuum ALMA observations of five brown dwarfs (BDs) with infrared excess in Lupus I and III, which in combination with four previously observed BDs allowed us to study the millimeter properties of the full known BD disk population of one star-forming region. Emission is detected in five out of the nine BD disks. Dust disk mass, brightness profiles, and characteristic sizes of the BD population are inferred from continuum flux and modeling of the observations. Only one source is marginally resolved, allowing for the determination of its disk characteristic size. We conduct a demographic comparison between the properties of disks around BDs and stars in Lupus. Due to the small sample size, we cannot confirm or disprove a drop in the disk mass over stellar mass ratio for BDs, as suggested for Ophiuchus. Nevertheless, we find that all detected BD disks have an estimated dust mass between 0.2 and 3.2 M_⊙; these results suggest that the measured solid masses in BD disks cannot explain the observed exoplanet population, analogous to earlier findings on disks around more massive stars. Combined with the low estimated accretion rates, and assuming that the mm-continuum emission is a reliable proxy for the total disk mass, we derive ratios of Ṁ_acc/M_disk that are significantly lower than in disks around more massive stars. If confirmed with more accurate measurements of disk gas masses, this result could imply a qualitatively different relationship between disk masses and inward gas transport in BD disks.

Following the 1999 analysis of Gambino, Haisch and one of us, we stress that all the recent NLO analyses of ε′/ ε in the Standard Model (SM) suffer from the renormalization scheme dependence present in the electroweak penguin contributions as well as from scale uncertainties in them related to the matching scale μW and in particular to μt in mt(μt). We also reemphasize the important role of isospin-breaking and QED effects in the evaluation of ε′/ ε. Omitting all these effects, as done in the 2015 analysis by RBC-UKQCD collaboration, and choosing as an example the QCD penguin (Q6) and electroweak penguin (Q8) parameters B6(1/2) and B8(3/2) to be B6(1/2)=0.80±0.08 and B8(3/2)=0.76±0.04 at μ=mc=1.3GeV, we find (ε′/ε)SM=(9.4±3.5)×10-4, whereas including them results in (ε′/ε)SM=(5.6±2.4)×10-4. This is an example of an anomaly at the 3.3σ level, which would be missed without these corrections. NNLO QCD contributions to QCD penguins are expected to further enhance this anomaly. We provide a table for ε′/ ε for different values of B6(1/2) and the isospin-breaking parameter Ω ^ eff, that should facilitate monitoring the values of ε′/ ε in the SM when the RBC-UKQCD calculations of hadronic matrix elements including isospin-breaking corrections and QED effects will improve with time.

We carry out an analysis of the full set of ten B¯→D(∗) form factors within the framework of the Heavy-Quark Expansion (HQE) to order (αs,1/mb,1/m2c), both with and without the use of experimental data. This becomes possible due to a recent calculation of these form factors at and beyond the maximal physical recoil using QCD light-cone sum rules, in combination with constraints from lattice QCD, QCD three-point sum rules and unitarity. We find good agreement amongst the various theoretical results, as well as between the theoretical results and the kinematical distributions in B¯→D(∗){e−,μ−}ν¯ measurements. The coefficients entering at the 1/m2c level are found to be of (1), indicating convergence of the HQE. The phenomenological implications of our study include an updated exclusive determination of |Vcb| in the HQE, which is compatible with both the exclusive determination using the BGL parametrization and with the inclusive determination. We also revisit predictions for the lepton-flavour universality ratios RD(∗), the τ polarization observables PD(∗)τ, and the longitudinal polarization fraction FL. Posterior samples for the HQE parameters are provided as ancillary files, allowing for their use in subsequent studies.

Parametric correlations are studied in several classes of covariant density functional theories (CDFTs) using a statistical analysis in a large parameter hyperspace. In the present manuscript, we investigate such correlations for two specific types of models, namely, for models with density dependent meson exchange and for point coupling models. Combined with the results obtained previously in Ref. [1] for a non-linear meson exchange model, these results indicate that parametric correlations exist in all major classes of CDFTs when the functionals are fitted to the ground state properties of finite nuclei and to nuclear matter properties. In particular, for the density dependence in the isoscalar channel only one parameter is really independent. Accounting for these facts potentially allows one to reduce the number of free parameters considerably.

Single-particle resonances are crucial for exotic nuclei near and beyond the drip lines. Since the majority of nuclei are deformed, the interplay between deformation and orbital structure near threshold becomes very important and can lead to an improved description of exotic nuclei. In this work, the Green's function (GF) method is applied to solve the coupled-channel Dirac equation with quadrupole-deformed Woods-Saxon potentials. The detailed formalism for the partial-wave expansion of the Green's function is presented. A different approach getting exact values for energies and widths of resonant states by the GF method is proposed. Numerical checks are carried out by comparing with our previous implementation of the spherical GF method and the results from the deformed complex momentum representation, the analytical continuation of the coupling constant, and the scattering phase shift methods, and it is proved that the GF method is very effective and reliable for describing resonance states, no matter whether they are narrow or broad, spherical or deformed. Finally, Nilsson levels for bound and resonant orbitals in the halo candidate nucleus 37Mg are calculated from the deformed GF method over a wide range of deformations, and some decisive hints of p-wave halo formation are shown in this nucleus; namely, the crossing between the configurations 1/2[321] and 5/2[312] at deformation parameter β>0.5 may enhance the probability to occupy the 1/2[321] orbital that originates from the 2p3/2 shell.

Direct imaging is a tried and tested method of detecting exoplanets in the near infrared, but has so far not been extended to longer wavelengths. New data at mid-IR wavelengths (8-20{\mu}m) canprovide additional constraints on planetary atmospheric models. We use the VISIR instrumenton the VLT to detect or set stringent limits on the 8.7{\mu}m flux of the four planets surrounding HR8799, and to search for additional companions. We use a novel circularised PSF subtractiontechnique to reduce the stellar signal and obtain instrument limited background levels andobtain optimal flux limits. The BT SETTL isochrones are then used to determine the resultingmass limits. We find flux limits between 0.7 and 3.3 mJy for the J8.9 flux of the differentplanets at better than5{\sigma}level and derive a new mass limit of 30 MJupfor any objects beyond40 AU. While this work has not detected planets in the HR 8799 system at 8.7{\mu}m, it has foundthat an instrument with the sensitivity of VISIR is sufficient to detect at least 4 known hotplanets around close stars, including\b{eta}Pictoris b (1700 K, 19 pc), with more than5{\sigma}certaintyin 10 hours of observing time in the mid-IR.

The (tree) amplituhedron A(n,k,m) is the image in the Grassmannian Gr(k,k+m) of the totally nonnegative part of Gr(k,n), under a (map induced by a) linear map which is totally positive. It was introduced by Arkani-Hamed and Trnka in 2013 in order to give a geometric basis for the computation of scattering amplitudes in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In the case relevant to physics (m=4), there is a collection of recursively-defined 4k-dimensional BCFW cells in the totally nonnegative part of Gr(k,n), whose images conjecturally "triangulate" the amplituhedron--that is, their images are disjoint and cover a dense subset of A(n,k,4). In this paper, we approach this problem by first giving an explicit (as opposed to recursive) description of the BCFW cells. We then develop sign-variational tools which we use to prove that when k=2, the images of these cells are disjoint in A(n,k,4). We also conjecture that for arbitrary even m, there is a decomposition of the amplituhedron A(n,k,m) involving precisely M(k, n-k-m, m/2) top-dimensional cells (of dimension km), where M(a,b,c) is the number of plane partitions contained in an a x b x c box. This agrees with the fact that when m=4, the number of BCFW cells is the Narayana number N(n-3, k+1).

Deformed relativistic kinematics, expected to emerge in a flat-spacetime limit of quantum gravity, predicts violation of discrete symmetries at energy scale in the vicinity of the Planck mass. Momentum-dependent deformations of the C, P and T invariance are derived from the \k{appa}-deformed Poincaré algebra. Deformation of the CPT symmetry leads to a subtle violation of Lorentz symmetry. This entails some small but measurable phenomenological consequences, as corrections to characteristics of time evolution: particle lifetimes or frequency of flavour oscillations in two-particle states at high energy. We argue here that using current experimental precisions on the muon lifetime one can bound the deformation parameter \k{appa} > 10^14 GeV at LHC energy and move this limit even to 10^16 GeV at Future Circular Collider, planned at CERN. Weaker limits on deformation can be also obtained from interference of neutral mesons. In case of B0s from {\Upsilon} decay it amounts to \k{appa} > 10^8 GeV at confidence level 99%.

The structure and morphology of supernova remnants (SNRs) reflect the properties of the parent supernovae (SNe) and the characteristics of the inhomogeneous environments through which the remnants expand. Linking the morphology of SNRs to anisotropies developed in their parent SNe can be essential to obtain key information on many aspects of the explosion processes associated with SNe. Nowadays, our capability to study the SN-SNR connection has been largely improved thanks to multi-dimensional models describing the long-term evolution from the SN to the SNR as well as to observational data of growing quality and quantity across the electromagnetic spectrum which allow to constrain the models. Here we used the numerical resources obtained in the framework of the ``Accordo Quadro INAF-CINECA (2017)'' together with a CINECA ISCRA Award N.HP10BARP6Y to describe the full evolution of a SNR from the core-collapse to the full-fledged SNR at the age of 2000 years. Our simulations were compared with observations of SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) at the age of ∼ 350 years. Thanks to these simulations we were able to link the physical, chemical and morphological properties of a SNR to the physical processes governing the complex phases of the SN explosion.

The measurement of an astrophysical flux of high-energy neutrinos by IceCube is an important step towards finding the long-sought sources of cosmic rays. Nevertheless, the long exposure neutrino sky map shows no significant indication of point sources so far. This may point to a large population of faint, steady sources or flaring objects as origins of this flux. The most compelling evidence for a neutrino point source so far is the recent observation of the flaring gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056 in coincidence with a high-energy neutrino from IceCube. This is a result of a Neutrino Target of Opportunity (NToO) program in which all currently operating Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) take part. The case for TXS 0506+056 being a neutrino source was made stronger by evidence of a 5-month long neutrino flare in 2014-2015.Here we investigate the chances of a detection of a gamma-ray counterpart to a neutrino source with CTA, as a result of a follow-up observation of a neutrino alert. We use the FIRESONG software to simulate different neutrino sources populations, which could be responsible for the diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos as measured by IceCube. We scan over parameters that can be used to describe the populations such as density (density rate) for steady (flaring) objects. Several CTA array layouts and instrument response functions are tested in order to derive optimal follow-up strategies and the potential science reach of the NToO program for CTA. We find that following neutrino alerts by IceCube, CTA has a low per alert probability of detecting a matching steady source. However, using a model by Halzen et al. (2018), for neutrino flares similar to that of 2014-2015, we find that CTA will detect a counterpart in as many as one third of the alerts.

The large volume of data expected to be produced by the Belle II experiment presents the opportunity for studies of rare, previously inaccessible processes. Investigating such rare processes in a high data volume environment necessitates a correspondingly high volume of Monte Carlo simulations to prepare analyses and gain a deep understanding of the contributing physics processes to each individual study. This resulting challenge, in terms of computing resource requirements, calls for more intelligent methods of simulation, in particular for processes with very high background rejection rates. This work presents a method of predicting in the early stages of the simulation process the likelihood of relevancy of an individual event to the target study using graph neural networks. The results show a robust training that is integrated natively into the existing Belle II analysis software framework.

Numerically estimating the integral of functions in high dimensional spaces is a non-trivial task. A oft-encountered example is the calculation of the marginal likelihood in Bayesian inference, in a context where a sampling algorithm such as a Markov Chain Monte Carlo provides samples of the function. We present an Adaptive Harmonic Mean Integration (AHMI) algorithm. Given samples drawn according to a probability distribution proportional to the function, the algorithm will estimate the integral of the function and the uncertainty of the estimate by applying a harmonic mean estimator to adaptively chosen regions of the parameter space. We describe the algorithm and its mathematical properties, and report the results using it on multiple test cases.

Recent years have seen considerable progress with ab-initio calculations of the

nuclear structure by non-relativistic many-body methods. Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock

Theory provides a relativistic ab-intio approach, which is able to reproduce saturation properties

of symmetric nuclear matter without three-body forces. However, so far, the corresponding

equations have been solved only for positive energy states. Negative energy states have

been included for forty years in various approximations, leading to differences in the isospin

dependence. This problem has been solved only recently by a complete solution of the self-

consistent relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock equations in asymmetric nuclear matter. Due

to its numerical complexity, however, it is very difficult to extend the Relativistic Brueckner-

Hartree-Fock theory to the study of finite nuclear systems. Recent efforts will be discussed to

overcome this problem.

The time dependent density functional theory is applied to study modes of vibrational excitations in atomic nuclei. The covariant density functional DD-ME2 is adopted. It turns out that DD-ME2 is able to provide simultaneously a satisfactory description of isocalar giant monopole (ISGM), isovector giant dipole (IVGD), and isoscalar giant quadrupole (ISGQ) resonances. The functional is also able to describe very well the soft dipole modes known as pygmy dipole resonances (PDR).

In an interacting neutrino gas, flavor coherence becomes dynamical and can propagate as a collective mode. In particular, tachyonic instabilities can appear, leading to "fast flavor conversion" that is independent of neutrino masses and mixing angles. On the other hand, without neutrino-neutrino interaction, a prepared wave packet of flavor coherence simply dissipates by kinematical decoherence of infinitely many non-collective modes. We reexamine the dispersion relation for fast flavor modes and show that for any wavenumber, there exists a continuum of non-collective modes besides a few discrete collective ones. So for any initial wave packet, both decoherence and collective motion occurs, although the latter typically dominates for a sufficiently dense gas. We derive explicit eigenfunctions for both collective and non-collective modes. If the angular mode distribution of electron-lepton number crosses between positive and negative values, two non-collective modes can merge to become a tachyonic collective mode. We explicitly calculate the interaction strength for this critical point. As a corollary we find that a single crossing always leads to a tachyonic instability. For an even number of crossings, no instability needs to occur.

This thesis seeks to identify and investigate various universal quantum phenomena that are particularly, albeit by far not exclusively, relevant for gravity. In the first part, we study the question of how long a generic quantum system can be approximated as classical. Using a prototypical model of a self-interacting scalar field, we discuss possible scalings of the quantum break-time, after which the classical description breaks down. Subsequently, we apply this analysis to the hypothetical QCD axion. We conclude that the approximation as classically oscillating scalar field is extremely accurate. Next we turn to de Sitter. Our approach is to resolve the classical metric as a multi-graviton state defined on top of Minkowski vacuum. On the one hand, this composite picture of de Sitter is able to reproduce all known (semi)classical properties. On the other hand, it leads a breakdown of the description in terms of a classical metric after the timescale 1/(G H^3), where G and H correspond to Newton’s constant and the Hubble scale, respectively. This finding results in important restrictions on inflationary scenarios. [...]

The location at which life emerged on Earth defined the physical boundary conditions under which the first replicating systems evolved. Nonequilibrium systems were necessary to provide the energy driving these processes. One such nonequilibrium system could have been temperature gradients, found for example across porous rock in hydrothermal vents. The work presented here focuses on the effects of temperature gradients on molecules in these water-filled micro-compartments and on methods how they could be analyzed. [...]

Unilamellar lipid vesicles can serve as model for protocells. We present a vesicle fission mechanism in a thermal gradient under flow in a convection chamber, where vesicles cycle cold and hot regions periodically. Crucial to obtain fission of the vesicles in this scenario is a temperature-induced membrane phase transition that vesicles experience multiple times. We model the temperature gradient of the chamber with a capillary to study single vesicles on their way through the temperature gradient in an external field of shear forces. Starting in the gel-like phase the spherical vesicles are heated above their main melting temperature resulting in a dumbbell-deformation. Further downstream a temperature drop below the transition temperature induces splitting of the vesicles without further physical or chemical intervention. This mechanism also holds for less cooperative systems, as shown here for a lipid alloy with a broad transition temperature width of 8 K. We find a critical tether length that can be understood from the transition width and the locally applied temperature gradient. This combination of a temperature-induced membrane phase transition and realistic flow scenarios as given e.g. in a white smoker enable a fission mechanism that can contribute to the understanding of more advanced protocell cycles.

We revisit the decay Λ0b→Λ+cℓ−ν¯ (ℓ=e,μ,τ) with a subsequent two-body decay Λ+c→Λ0π+ in the Standard Model and in generic New Physics models. The decay's joint four-differential angular distribution can be expressed in terms of ten angular observables, assuming negligible polarization of the initial Λb state. We present compact analytical results for all angular observables, which enables us to discuss their possible New Physics reach. We find that the decay at hand probes more and complementary independent combinations of Wilson coefficients compared to its mesonic counter parts B¯→D(∗)ℓ−ν¯. Our result for the angular distribution is at variance with some of the results on scalar-vector interference terms in the literature. We provide numerical estimates for all angular observables based on lattice-QCD results for the Λb→Λc form factors and account for a recent measurement of the parity-violating parameter in Λ+c→Λ0π+ decays by BESIII. A numerical implementation of our results is made publicly available as part of the EOS software.

We present an alternative method for carrying out a principal-component analysis of Wilson coefficients in standard model effective field theory (SMEFT). The method is based on singular-value decomposition (SVD). The SVD method provides information about the sensitivity of experimental observables to physics beyond the standard model that is not accessible in the Fisher-information method. In principle, the SVD method can also have computational advantages over diagonalization of the Fisher information matrix. We demonstrate the SVD method by applying it to the dimension-6 coefficients for the process of top-quark decay to a b quark and a W boson and use this example to illustrate some pitfalls in widely used fitting procedures. We also outline an iterative procedure for applying the SVD method to dimension-8 SMEFT coefficients.

Context. Large area catalogs of galaxy clusters constructed from ROSAT All-Sky Survey provide the basis for our knowledge of the population of clusters thanks to long-term multiwavelength efforts to follow up observations of these clusters.Aims. The advent of large area photometric surveys superseding previous, in-depth all-sky data allows us to revisit the construction of X-ray cluster catalogs, extending the study to lower cluster masses and higher redshifts and providing modeling of the selection function.Methods. We performed a wavelet detection of X-ray sources and made extensive simulations of the detection of clusters in the RASS data. We assigned an optical richness to each of the 24 788 detected X-ray sources in the 10 382 square degrees of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey area using red sequence cluster finder redMaPPer version 5.2 run on Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry. We named this survey COnstrain Dark Energy with X-ray (CODEX) clusters.Results. We show that there is no obvious separation of sources on galaxy clusters and active galactic nuclei (AGN) based on the distribution of systems on their richness. This is a combination of an increasing number of galaxy groups and their selection via the identification of X-ray sources either by chance or by groups hosting an AGN. To clean the sample, we use a cut on the optical richness at the level corresponding to the 10% completeness of the survey and include it in the modeling of the cluster selection function. We present the X-ray catalog extending to a redshift of 0.6.Conclusions. The CODEX suvey is the first large area X-ray selected catalog of northern clusters reaching fluxes of 10−13 ergs s−1 cm−2. We provide modeling of the sample selection and discuss the redshift evolution of the high end of the X-ray luminosity function (XLF). Our results on z <  0.3 XLF agree with previous studies, while we provide new constraints on the 0.3 <  z <  0.6 XLF. We find a lack of strong redshift evolution of the XLF, provide exact modeling of the effect of low number statistics and AGN contamination, and present the resulting constraints on the flat ΛCDM.Key words: surveys / catalogs / large-scale structure of Universe⋆ The catalog of clusters is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/638/A114

The light-meson spectrum can be studied by analyzing data from diffractive dissociation of pion or kaon beams. The contributions of the various states that are produced in these reactions are disentangled by the means of partial-wave analysis. A challenge in these analyses is that the partial-wave expansion has to be truncated, i.e. that only a finite subset of the infinitely many partial-wave amplitudes can be inferred from the data. In recent years, different groups have applied regularization techniques in order to determine the contributing waves from the data. However, to obtain meaningful results the choice of the regularization term is crucial. We present our recent developments of wave-selection methods for partial-wave analyses based on simulated data for diffractively produced three-pion events.

Context. Analyzing the properties of dust and its evolution in the early phases of star formation is crucial to put constraints on the collapse and accretion processes as well as on the pristine properties of planet-forming seeds.
Aims: In this paper, we aim to investigate the variations of the dust grain size in the envelopes of the youngest protostars.
Methods: We analyzed Plateau de Bure interferometric observations at 1.3 and 3.2 mm for 12 Class 0 protostars obtained as part of the CALYPSO survey. We performed our analysis in the visibility domain and derived dust emissivity index (β_1-3mm) profiles as a function of the envelope radius at 200-2000 au scales.
Results: Most of the protostellar envelopes show low dust emissivity indices decreasing toward the central regions. The decreasing trend remains after correction of the (potentially optically thick) central region emission, with surprisingly low β_1-3mm < 1 values across most of the envelope radii of NGC 1333-IRAS 4A, NGC 1333-IRAS 4B, SVS13B, and Serpens-SMM4.
Conclusions: We discuss the various processes that could explain such low and varying dust emissivity indices at envelope radii 200-2000 au. Our observations of extremely low dust emissivity indices could trace the presence of large (millimeter-size) grains in Class 0 envelopes, in which case our results would point to a radial increase of the dust grain size toward the inner envelope regions. While it is expected that large grains in young protostellar envelopes could be built via grain growth and coagulation, we stress that the typical timescales required to build millimeter grains in current coagulation models are at odds with the youth of our Class 0 protostars. Additional variations in the dust composition could also partly contribute to the low β_1-3mm we observe. We find that the steepness of the β_1-3mm radial gradient depends strongly on the envelope mass, which might favor a scenario in which large grains are built in high-density protostellar disks and transported to the intermediate envelope radii, for example with the help of outflows and winds.

We study the impact of anomalous couplings in the Higgs sector on the shape of the Higgs boson pair invariant mass distribution at NLO. Our analysis is based on a five-dimensional coupling parameter space relevant for Higgs boson pair production in gluon fusion, in the framework of a non-linear Effective Field Theory. In particular, we present a clustering procedure into certain shape types based on unsupervised machine learning, with the aim to infer information about the underlying parameter space from a given shape type.

We report the discovery of 10 kpc [C II] 158 μm halos surrounding star-forming galaxies in the early universe. We choose deep Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data for 18 galaxies, each with a star formation rate of ≃10-70 M _⊙ with no signature of an active galactic nucleus whose [C II] lines are individually detected at z = 5.153-7.142, and we conduct stacking of the [C II] lines and dust continuum in the uv-visibility plane. The radial profiles of the surface brightnesses show a 10 kpc scale [C II] halo at the 9.2σ level, significantly more extended than the Hubble Space Telescope stellar continuum data by a factor of ∼5 on the exponential-profile basis, as well as the dust continuum. We compare the radial profiles of [C II] and Lyα halos universally found in star-forming galaxies at this epoch, and we find that the scale lengths agree within the 1σ level. While two independent hydrodynamic zoom-in simulations match the dust and stellar continuum properties, the simulations cannot reproduce the extended [C II] line emission. The existence of the extended [C II] halo is evidence of outflow remnants in the early galaxies and suggests that the outflows may be dominated by cold-mode outflows expelling the neutral gas.

We developed methods for mapping spatial variations of the spatial power spectrum (SPS) and structure function slopes, with the goal of connecting the statistical properties of neutral hydrogen (H I) with the turbulent drivers. The new methods were applied to the H I observations of the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC and LMC). In the case of the SMC, we find highly uniform turbulent properties of H I, with no evidence for local enhancements of turbulence due to stellar feedback. These properties could be caused by a significant turbulent driving on large scales. Alternatively, the significant line-of-sight depth of the SMC could be masking out localized regions with a steeper SPS slope caused by stellar feedback. In contrast to the SMC, the LMC H I shows a large diversity in terms of its turbulent properties. Across most of the LMC, the small-scale SPS slope is steeper than the large-scale slope due to the presence of the H I disk. On small spatial scales, we find several areas of localized steepening of the SPS slope around major H II regions, with the 30 Doradus region being the most prominent. This is in agreement with predictions from numerical simulations, which suggest a steepening of the SPS slope due to stellar feedback that erodes and destroys interstellar clouds. We also find a localized steepening of the large-scale SPS slope in the outskirts of the LMC. This is likely caused by the flaring of the H I disk, or alternatively, by ram-pressure stripping of the LMC disk due to the interactions with the surrounding halo gas.

We investigate the [C II] line intensity mapping (IM) signal from galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) to assess its detectability, the possibility to constrain the L_{C II}-SFR relation, and to recover the [C II] luminosity function (LF) from future experiments. By empirically assuming that log L_{C II}=log A+γ SFR± σ _ L, we derive the [C II] LF from the observed UV LF, and the [C II] IM power spectrum. We study the shot noise and the full power spectrum separately. Although, in general, the shot-noise component has a much higher signal-to-noise ratio than the clustering one, it cannot be used to put independent constraints on log A and γ. Full power spectrum measurements are crucial to break such degeneracy and reconstruct the [C II] LF. In our fiducial survey S1 (inspired by CCAT-p/1000 h) at z ∼ 6, the shot-noise (clustering) signal is detectable for two (one) of the five considered L_{C II}-SFR relations. The shot noise is generally dominated by galaxies with L_{C II}≳ 10⁸-10⁹ L_⊙ (M_UV ∼ -20 to -22), already at reach of ALMA pointed observations. However, given the small field of view of such telescope, an IM experiment would provide unique information on the bright end of the LF. The detection depth of an IM experiment crucially depends on the (poorly constrained) L_{C II}-SFR relation in the EoR. If the L_{C II}-SFR relation varies in a wide log A-γ range, but still consistent with ALMA [C II] LF upper limits, even the signal from galaxies with L_{C II} as faint as ∼10⁷ L_⊙ could be detectable. Finally, we consider the contamination by continuum foregrounds (cosmic infrared background, dust, cosmic microwave background) and CO interloping lines, and derive the requirements on the residual contamination level to reliably extract the [C II] signal.

Dark matter substructure can contribute significantly to local dark matter searches and may provide a large uncertainty in the interpretation of those experiments. For direct detection experiments, sub-halos give rise to an additional dark matter component on top of the smooth dark matter distribution of the host halo. In the case of dark matter capture in the Sun, sub-halo encounters temporarily increase the number of captured particles. Even if the encounter happened in the past, the number of dark matter particles captured by the Sun can still be enhanced today compared to expectations from the host halo as those enhancements decay over time. Using results from an analytical model of the sub-halo population of a Milky Way-like galaxy, valid for sub-halo masses between 10^-5 M_solar and 10¹¹ M_solar, we assess the impact of sub-halos on direct dark matter searches in a probabilistic way. We find that the impact on direct detection can be sizable, with a probability of ~ 10^-3 to find an Script O(1) enhancement of the recoil rate. In the case of the capture rate in the Sun, we find that Script O(1) enhancements are very unlikely, with probability lesssim 10^-5, and are even impossible for some dark matter masses.

We present two determinations of the strong coupling α_s. The first one is from the static energy at three-loop accuracy, and may be considered an update of earlier determinations by some of us. The new analysis includes new lattice data at smaller lattice spacings, and reaches distances as short as 0.0237 fm. We present a comprehensive and detailed estimate of the error sources that contribute to the uncertainty of the final result, α_s(M_Z)=0.1166 0_-0.00056^+0.00110. The second determination is based on lattice data for the singlet free energy at finite temperature up to distances as small as 0.0081 fm, from which we obtain α_s(M_Z)=0.1163 8_-0.00087^{+0.0009 5}.

We calculate the step scaling function, the lattice analog of the renormalization group β -function, for an SU(3) gauge theory with twelve flavors. The gauge coupling of this system runs very slowly, which is reflected in a small step scaling function, making numerical simulations particularly challenging. We present a detailed analysis including the study of systematic effects of our extensive data set generated with twelve dynamical flavors using the Symanzik gauge action and three times stout smeared Möbius domain wall fermions. Using up to 32⁴ volumes, we calculate renormalized couplings for different gradient flow schemes and determine the step-scaling β function for a scale change s =2 on up to five different lattice volume pairs. Our preferred analysis is fully O (a²) Symanzik improved and uses Zeuthen flow combined with the Symanzik operator. We find an infrared fixed point within the range 5.2 ≤g_c²≤6.4 in the c =0.250 finite volume gradient flow scheme. We account for systematic effects by calculating the step-scaling function based on alternative flows (Wilson or Symanzik) as well as operators (Wilson plaquette, clover) and also explore the effects of the perturbative tree-level improvement.

The detection of the high-energy neutrino event, IceCube-170922A, demonstrated that multimessenger particle astrophysics triggered by neutrino alerts is feasible. We consider time delay signatures caused by secret neutrino interactions with the cosmic neutrino background and dark matter and suggest that these can be used as a novel probe of neutrino interactions beyond the standard model (BSM). The tests with BSM-induced neutrino echoes are distinct from existing constraints from the spectral modification and will be enabled by multimessenger observations of bright neutrino transients with future experiments such as IceCube-Gen2, KM3Net, and Hyper-Kamiokande. The constraints are complementary to those from accelerator and laboratory experiments and powerful for testing various particle models that explain tensions prevailing in the cosmological data.

The existence of millicharged dark matter (mDM) can leave a measurable imprint on 21-cm cosmology through mDM-baryon scattering. However, the minimal scenario is severely constrained by existing cosmological bounds on both the fraction of dark matter that can be millicharged and the mass of mDM particles. We point out that introducing a long-range force between a millicharged subcomponent of dark matter and the dominant cold dark matter (CDM) component leads to efficient cooling of baryons in the early Universe, while also significantly extending the range of viable mDM masses. Such a scenario can explain the anomalous absorption signal in the sky-averaged 21-cm spectrum observed by EDGES and leads to a number of testable predictions for the properties of the dark sector. The mDM mass can then lie between 10 MeV and a few hundreds of GeVs, and its scattering cross section with baryons lies within an unconstrained window of parameter space above direct detection limits and below current bounds from colliders. In this allowed region, mDM can make up as little as 10^-8 of the total dark matter energy density. The CDM mass ranges from 10 MeV to a few GeVs and has an interaction cross section with the Standard Model that is induced by a loop of mDM particles. This cross section is generically within reach of near-future low-threshold direct detection experiments.

Physics beyond the Standard Model can manifest itself as both new light states and heavy degrees of freedom. In this paper, we assume that the former comprise only a sterile neutrino, N . Therefore, the most agnostic description of the new physics is given by an effective field theory built upon the Standard Model fields as well as N . We show that Higgs phenomenology provides a sensitive and potentially crucial tool to constrain effective gauge interactions of sterile neutrinos, not yet probed by current experiments. In parallel, this motivates a range of new Higgs decay channels with clean signatures as candidates for the next LHC runs, including h →γ +p_T^miss and h →γ γ +p_T^miss .

We study charged Dirac quasinormal modes (QNMs) on Reissner-Nordström-anti-de Sitter (RN-AdS) black holes with generic Robin boundary conditions, by extending our earlier work of neutral Dirac QNMs on Schwarzschild-AdS black holes. We first derive the equations of motion for charged Dirac fields on a RN-AdS background. To solve these equations we impose a requirement on the Dirac field: that its energy flux should vanish at asymptotic infinity. A set of two Robin boundary conditions compatible with QNMs is consequently found. By employing both analytic and numeric methods, we then obtain the quasinormal spectrum for charged Dirac fields and analyze the impact of various parameters, in particular of electric charges. An analytic calculation shows explicitly that the charge coupling between the black hole and the Dirac field does not trigger super-radiant instabilities in the small black hole and low frequency limit. Numeric calculations, on the other hand, show quantitatively that Dirac QNMs may change substantially due to the electric charge. Our results illustrate how vanishing energy flux boundary conditions, as a generic principle, are applicable not only to neutral but also to electrically charged fields.

Consistency relations for the large scale structure are exact equalities between correlation functions of different order. These relations descend from the equivalence principle and hold for primordial perturbations generated by single-field models of inflation. They are not affected by nonlinearities and hold also for biased tracers and in redshift space. We show that baryonic acoustic oscillations in the bispectrum (BS) in the squeezed limit are suppressed with respect to those in the power spectrum by a coefficient that depends on the BS configuration and on the bias parameter (and, in redshift space, also on the growth rate). We test these relations using large volume N -body simulations and show that they provide a novel way to measure large scale halo bias and, potentially, the growth rate. Since bias is obtained by comparing two directly observable quantities, the method is free from theoretical uncertainties both on the computational scheme and on the underlying cosmological model.

By means of 3D hydrodynamical simulations, we evaluate here the impact that supernova (SN) explosions occurring within wind-driven bubbles have on the survival or destruction of dust grains. We consider both the dust generated within the ejecta and the dust initially present in the ambient gas and later locked up in the surrounding wind-driven shell (WDS). The collision of the SN blast wave with the WDS leads to a transmitted shock that moves into the shell and a reflected shock that moves into the ejecta. The transmitted shock is capable of destroying large amounts of the dust locked in the shell, but only if the mass of the WDS is small, less than a few tens the ejected mass. Conversely, massive WDSs, with several times the ejected mass, lead upon the interaction to strong radiative cooling, which inhibits the Sedov-Taylor phase and weakens the transmitted shock, making it unable to traverse the WDS. In such a case, the destruction/disruption of the ambient dust is largely inhibited. On the other hand, the SN remnants grow rapidly in the very tenuous region excavated by the stellar winds, and thus a large fraction of the dust generated within the ejecta is not efficiently destroyed by the SN reverse shock, nor by the reflected shock. Our calculations favor a scenario in which core-collapse SNe within sufficiently massive WDSs supply more dust to the interstellar medium than they are able to destroy.

We introduce k-evolution, a relativistic N-body code based on gevolution, which includes clustering dark energy among its cosmological components. To describe dark energy, we use the effective field theory approach. In particular, we focus on k-essence with a speed of sound much smaller than unity but we lay down the basis to extend the code to other dark energy and modified gravity models. We develop the formalism including dark energy non-linearities but, as a first step, we implement the equations in the code after dropping non-linear self-coupling in the k-essence field. In this simplified setup, we compare k-evolution simulations with those of CLASS and gevolution 1.2, showing the effect of dark matter and gravitational non-linearities on the power spectrum of dark matter, of dark energy and of the gravitational potential. Moreover, we compare k-evolution to Newtonian N-body simulations with back-scaled initial conditions and study how dark energy clustering affects massive halos.

We introduce a new technique to estimate the comet nuclear size frequency distribution (SFD) that combines a cometary activity model with a survey simulation and apply it to 150 long period comets (LPC) detected by the Pan-STARRS1 near-Earth object survey. The debiased LPC size-frequency distribution is in agreement with previous estimates for large comets with nuclear diameter ≳1 km but we measure a significant drop in the SFD slope for small objects with diameters <1 km and approaching only 100 m diameter. Large objects have a slope α_big = 0.72 ± 0.09(stat.) ± 0.15(sys.) while small objects behave as α_small = 0.07 ± 0.03(stat.) ± 0.09(sys.) where the SFD is ∝ 1^{0 αH_N} and H_N represents the cometary nuclear absolute magnitude. The total number of LPCs that are >1 km diameter and have perihelia q < 10 au is 0.46 ± 0.15 × 10⁹ while there are only 2.4 ± 0.5(stat.) ± 2(sys.) × 10⁹ objects with diameters >100 m due to the shallow slope of the SFD for diameters <1 km. We estimate that the total number of 'potentially active' objects with diameters ≥1 km in the Oort cloud, objects that would be defined as LPCs if their perihelia evolved to <10 au, is (1.5 ± 1) × 10¹² with a combined mass of 1.3 ± 0.9 M_⊕. The debiased LPC orbit distribution is broadly in agreement with expectations from contemporary dynamical models but there are discrepancies that could point towards a future ability to disentangle the relative importance of stellar perturbations and galactic tides in producing the LPC population.

We study the role of anisotropic escape in generating the elliptic flow of bottomonia produced in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. We implement temperature-dependent decay widths for the various bottomonium states to calculate their survival probability when traversing through the anisotropic hot medium formed in noncentral collisions. We employ the recently developed 3 +1 -dimensional quasiparticle anisotropic hydrodynamic simulation to model the space-time evolution of the quark-gluon plasma. We provide a quantitative prediction for the transverse momentum dependence of bottomonium elliptic flow and the nuclear modification factor for Pb +Pb collisions in √{s_NN}=2.76 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

We discuss how LHC di-muon data collected to study $B_q \to \mu\mu$ can be used to constrain light particles with flavour-violating couplings to $b$-quarks. Focussing on the case of a flavoured QCD axion, $a$, we compute the decay rates for $B_q \to \mu \mu a$ and the SM background process $B_q \to \mu \mu \gamma$ near the kinematic endpoint. These rates depend on non-perturbative $B_q \to \gamma^{(*)}$ form factors with on- or off-shell photons. The off-shell form factors -- relevant for generic searches for beyond-the-SM particles -- are discussed in full generality and computed with QCD sum rules for the first time. With these results, we analyse available LHCb data to obtain the sensitivity on $B_q \to \mu \mu a$ at present and future runs. We find that the full LHCb dataset alone will allow to probe axion-coupling scales of the order of $10^6$ GeV for both $b\to d$ and $b \to s$ transitions.

The gradient flow transformation can be interpreted as continuous real-space renormalization group transformation if a coarse-graining step is incorporated as part of calculating expectation values. The method allows to predict critical properties of strongly coupled systems including the renormalization group $\beta$ function and anomalous dimensions at nonperturbative fixed points. In this contribution we discuss a new analysis of the continuous renormalization group $\beta$ function for $N_f=2$ and $N_f=12$ fundamental flavors in SU(3) gauge theories based on this method. We follow the approach developed and tested for the $N_f=2$ system in arXiv:1910.06408. Here we present further information on the analysis, emphasizing the robustness and intuitive features of the continuous $\beta$ function calculation. We also discuss the applicability of the continuous $\beta$ function calculation in conformal systems, extending the possible phase diagram to include a 4-fermion interaction. The numerical analysis for $N_f=12$ uses the same set of ensembles that was generated and analyzed for the step scaling function in arXiv:1909.05842. The new analysis uses volumes with $L \ge 20$ and determines the $\beta$ function in the $c=0$ gradient flow renormalization scheme. The continuous $\beta$ function predicts the existence of a conformal fixed point and is consistent between different operators. Although determinations of the step scaling and continuous $\beta$ function use different renormalization schemes, they both predict the existence of a conformal fixed point around $g^2\sim 6$.

We present a novel approach to compute the force between a static quark and a static antiquark from lattice gauge theory directly, rather than extracting it from the static energy. We explore this approach for SU(3) pure gauge theory using the multilevel algorithm and smeared operators.

We present a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) forecast for the precision of neutrino mass and cosmological parameter measurements with a Euclid-like galaxy clustering survey. We use a complete perturbation theory model for the galaxy one-loop power spectrum and tree-level bispectrum, which includes bias, redshift space distortions, IR resummation for baryon acoustic oscillations and UV counterterms. The latter encapsulate various effects of short-scale dynamics which cannot be modeled within perturbation theory. Our MCMC procedure consistently computes the non-linear power spectra and bispectra as we scan over different cosmologies. The second ingredient of our approach is the theoretical error covariance which captures uncertainties due to higher-order non-linear corrections omitted in our model. Having specified characteristics of a Euclid-like spectroscopic survey, we generate and fit mock galaxy power spectrum and bispectrum likelihoods. Our results suggest that even under very agnostic assumptions about non-linearities and short-scale physics a future Euclid-like survey will be able to measure the sum of neutrino masses with a standard deviation of 28 meV . When combined with the Planck cosmic microwave background likelihood, this uncertainty decreases to 13 meV . Over-optimistically reducing the theoretical error on the bispectrum down to the two-loop level marginally tightens this bound to 11 meV . Moreover, we show that the future large-scale structure (LSS) spectroscopic data will greatly improve constraints on the other cosmological parameters, e.g. reaching a percent (per mille) error on the Hubble constant with LSS alone (LSS + Planck).

Nuclear structure models built from phenomenological mean fields, the effective nucleon–nucleon interactions (or Lagrangians), and the realistic bare nucleon–nucleon interactions are reviewed. The success of covariant density functional theory (CDFT) to describe nuclear properties and its influence on Brueckner theory within the relativistic framework are focused upon. The challenges and ambiguities of predictions for unstable nuclei without data or for high-density nuclear matter, arising from relativistic density functionals, are discussed. The basic ideas in building an ab initio relativistic density functional for nuclear structure from ab initio calculations with realistic nucleon–nucleon interactions for both nuclear matter and finite nuclei are presented. The current status of fully self-consistent relativistic Brueckner–Hartree–Fock (RBHF) calculations for finite nuclei or neutron drops (ideal systems composed of a finite number of neutrons and confined within an external field) is reviewed. The guidance and perspectives towards an ab initio covariant density functional theory for nuclear structure derived from the RBHF results are provided.

We test exact marginality of the deformation describing the blow-up of a zero- size D(-1) brane bound to a background of D3-branes by analyzing the equations of motion of superstring field theory to third order in the size. In the process we review the derivation of the instanton profile from string theory, extending it to include α'-corrections.

The compact binary radio pulsar system J0453+1559 consists of a recycled pulsar as primary component of 1.559(5) M _⊙ and an unseen companion star of 1.174(4) M _⊙. Because of the relatively large orbital eccentricity of e = 0.1125, it was argued that the companion is a neutron star (NS), making it the NS with the lowest accurately determined mass to date. However, a direct observational determination of the nature of the companion is currently not feasible. Moreover, state-of-the-art stellar evolution and supernova modeling are contradictory concerning the possibility of producing such a low-mass NS remnant. Here we challenge the NS interpretation by reasoning that the lower-mass component could instead be a white dwarf born in a thermonuclear electron-capture supernova (tECSN) event, in which oxygen-neon deflagration in the degenerate stellar core of an ultra-stripped progenitor ejects several 0.1 M _⊙ of matter and leaves a bound ONeFe white dwarf as the second-formed compact remnant. We determine the ejecta mass and remnant kick needed in this scenario to explain the properties of PSR J0453+1559 by a NS-white dwarf system. More work on tECSNe is needed to assess the viability of this scenario.

Confining hidden sectors are an attractive possibility for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). They are especially motivated by neutral naturalness theories, which reconcile the lightness of the Higgs with the strong constraints on colored top partners. We study hidden QCD with one light quark flavor, coupled to the SM via effective operators suppressed by the mass M of new electroweak-charged particles. This effective field theory is inspired by a new tripled top model of supersymmetric neutral naturalness. The hidden sector is accessed primarily via the Z and Higgs portals, which also mediate the decays of the hidden mesons back to SM particles. We find that exotic Z decays at the LHC and future Z factories provide the strongest sensitivity to this scenario, and we outline a wide array of searches. For a larger hidden confinement scale Λ ∼ O (10) GeV, the exotic Z decays dominantly produce final states with two hidden mesons. ATLAS and CMS can probe their prompt decays up to M ∼ 3 TeV at the high luminosity phase, while a TeraZ factory would extend the reach up to M ∼ 20 TeV through a combination of searches for prompt and displaced signals. For smaller Λ ∼ O (1) GeV, the Z decays to the hidden sector produce jets of hidden mesons, which are long-lived. LHCb will be a powerful probe of these emerging jets. Furthermore, the light hidden vector meson could be detected by proposed dark photon searches.

We present high angular resolution (∼80 mas) ALMA continuum images of the SN 1987A system, together with CO J = 2 \to 1, J = 6 \to 5, and SiO J = 5 \to 4 to J = 7 \to 6 images, which clearly resolve the ejecta (dust continuum and molecules) and ring (synchrotron continuum) components. Dust in the ejecta is asymmetric and clumpy, and overall the dust fills the spatial void seen in Hα images, filling that region with material from heavier elements. The dust clumps generally fill the space where CO J = 6 \to 5 is fainter, tentatively indicating that these dust clumps and CO are locationally and chemically linked. In these regions, carbonaceous dust grains might have formed after dissociation of CO. The dust grains would have cooled by radiation, and subsequent collisions of grains with gas would also cool the gas, suppressing the CO J = 6 \to 5 intensity. The data show a dust peak spatially coincident with the molecular hole seen in previous ALMA CO J = 2 \to 1 and SiO J = 5 \to 4 images. That dust peak, combined with CO and SiO line spectra, suggests that the dust and gas could be at higher temperatures than the surrounding material, though higher density cannot be totally excluded. One of the possibilities is that a compact source provides additional heat at that location. Fits to the far-infrared-millimeter spectral energy distribution give ejecta dust temperatures of 18-23 K. We revise the ejecta dust mass to M _dust = 0.2-0.4 {M}_⊙ for carbon or silicate grains, or a maximum of <0.7 {M}_⊙ for a mixture of grain species, using the predicted nucleosynthesis yields as an upper limit.

We argue that the tree-level graviton-scalar scattering in the Regge limit is unitarized by non-perturbative effects within General Relativity alone, that is without resorting to any extension thereof. At Planckian energy the back reaction of the incoming graviton on the background geometry produces a non-perturbative plane wave which softens the UV-behavior in turn. Our amplitude interpolates between the perturbative graviton-scalar scattering at low energy and scattering on a classical plane wave in the Regge limit that is bounded for all values of s.

The goal of blinding is to hide an experiment’s critical results – here the inferred cosmological parameters – until all decisions affecting its analysis have been finalized. This is especially important in the current era of precision cosmology, when the results of any new experiment are closely scrutinized for consistency or tension with previous results. In analyses that combine multiple observational probes, like the combination of galaxy clustering and weak lensing in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), it is challenging to blind the results while retaining the ability to check for (in)consistency between different parts of the data. We propose a simple new blinding transformation, which works by modifying the summary statistics that are input to parameter estimation, such as two-point correlation functions. The transformation shifts the measured statistics to new values that are consistent with (blindly) shifted cosmological parameters while preserving internal (in)consistency. We apply the blinding transformation to simulated data for the projected DES Year 3 galaxy clustering and weak lensing analysis, demonstrating that practical blinding is achieved without significant perturbation of internal-consistency checks, as measured here by degradation of the χ^2 between the data and best-fitting model. Our blinding method’s performance is expected to improve as experiments evolve to higher precision and accuracy.

Cosmic voids gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, resulting in a distinct imprint on degree scales. We use the simulated CMB lensing convergence map from the Marenostrum Institut de Ciencias de l’Espai (MICE) N-body simulation to calibrate our detection strategy for a given void definition and galaxy tracer density. We then identify cosmic voids in Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 1 data and stack the Planck 2015 lensing convergence map on their locations, probing the consistency of simulated and observed void lensing signals. When fixing the shape of the stacked convergence profile to that calibrated from simulations, we find imprints at the 3σ significance level for various analysis choices. The best measurement strategies based on the MICE calibration process yield S/N ≈ 4 for DES Y1, and the best-fitting amplitude recovered from the data is consistent with expectations from MICE (A ≈ 1). Given these results as well as the agreement between them and N-body simulations, we conclude that the previously reported excess integrated Sachs–Wolfe (ISW) signal associated with cosmic voids in DES Y1 has no counterpart in the Planck CMB lensing map.

We present a blind time-delay cosmographic analysis for the lens system DES J0408−5354. This system is extraordinary for the presence of two sets of multiple images at different redshifts, which provide the opportunity to obtain more information at the cost of increased modelling complexity with respect to previously analysed systems. We perform detailed modelling of the mass distribution for this lens system using three band Hubble Space Telescope imaging. We combine the measured time delays, line-of-sight central velocity dispersion of the deflector, and statistically constrained external convergence with our lens models to estimate two cosmological distances. We measure the ‘effective’ time-delay distance corresponding to the redshifts of the deflector and the lensed quasar |$D_{\Delta t}^{\rm eff}=$||$3382_{-115}^{+146}$| Mpc and the angular diameter distance to the deflector D_d = |$1711_{-280}^{+376}$| Mpc, with covariance between the two distances. From these constraints on the cosmological distances, we infer the Hubble constant H_0= |$74.2_{-3.0}^{+2.7}$| km s^−1 Mpc^−^1 assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology and a uniform prior for Ω_m as |$\Omega _{\rm m} \sim \mathcal {U}(0.05, 0.5)$|⁠. This measurement gives the most precise constraint on H_0 to date from a single lens. Our measurement is consistent with that obtained from the previous sample of six lenses analysed by the H_0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL’s Wellspring (H0LiCOW) collaboration. It is also consistent with measurements of H_0 based on the local distance ladder, reinforcing the tension with the inference from early Universe probes, for example, with 2.2σ discrepancy from the cosmic microwave background measurement.

The doubled target space of the fundamental closed string is identified with its phase space and described by an almost para-Hermitian geometry. We explore this setup in the context of group manifolds which admit a maximally isotropic subgroup. This leads to a formulation of the Poisson-Lie σ-model and Poisson-Lie T-duality in terms of para-Hermitian geometry. The emphasis is put on so called half-integrable setups where only one of the Lagrangian subspaces of the doubled space has to be integrable. Using the dressing coset construction in Poisson-Lie T-duality, we extend our construction to more general coset spaces. This allows to explicitly obtain a huge class of para-Hermitian geometries. Each of them is automatically equipped which a generalized frame field, required for consistent generalized Scherk-Schwarz reductions. As examples we present integrable λ- and η-deformations on the three- and two-sphere.

The effect of galactic orbits on a galaxy's internal evolution within a galaxy cluster environment has been the focus of heated debate in recent years. To understand this connection, we use both the (0.5 Gpc)³ and the Gpc³ boxes from the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation set Magneticum Pathfinder. We investigate the velocity anisotropy, phase space, and the orbital evolution of up to ∼5 × 10⁵ resolved satellite galaxies within our sample of 6776 clusters with M_{vir} > 10^{14} M_{⊙ } at low redshift, which we also trace back in time. In agreement with observations, we find that star-forming satellite galaxies inside galaxy clusters are characterized by more radially dominated orbits, independent of cluster mass. Furthermore, the vast majority of star-forming satellite galaxies stop forming stars during their first passage. We find a strong dichotomy both in line-of-sight and radial phase space between star-forming and quiescent galaxies, in line with observations. The tracking of individual orbits shows that the star formation of almost all satellite galaxies drops to zero within 1 Gyr after infall. Satellite galaxies that are able to remain star forming longer are characterized by tangential orbits and high stellar mass. All this indicates that in galaxy clusters the dominant quenching mechanism is ram-pressure stripping.

We propose a mechanism to solve the Higgs naturalness problem through a cosmological selection process. The discharging of excited field configurations through membrane nucleation leads to discrete jumps of the cosmological constant and the Higgs mass, which vary in a correlated way. The resulting multitude of universes are all empty, except for those in which the cosmological constant and the Higgs mass are both nearly vanishing. Only under these critical conditions can inflation be activated and create a non-empty universe.

A tight relation between the [C II] 158 μm line luminosity and star formation rate is measured in local galaxies. At high redshift (z > 5), though, a much larger scatter is observed, with a considerable (15-20 per cent) fraction of the outliers being [C II]-deficient. Moreover, the [C II] surface brightness (Σ_[C II]) of these sources is systematically lower than expected from the local relation. To clarify the origin of such [C II]-deficiency, we have developed an analytical model that fits local [C II] data and has been validated against radiative transfer simulations performed with CLOUDY. The model predicts an overall increase of Σ_[C II] with Σ_SFR. However, for Σ_SFR {≳} 1 M_⊙ yr^{-1} kpc^{-2}, Σ_[C II] saturates. We conclude that underluminous [C II] systems can result from a combination of three factors: (a) large upward deviations from the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation (κ_s ≫ 1), parametrized by the `burstiness' parameter κ_s; (b) low metallicity; (c) low gas density, at least for the most extreme sources (e.g. CR7). Observations of [C II] emission alone cannot break the degeneracy among the above three parameters; this requires additional information coming from other emission lines (e.g. [O III]88 μm, C III]1909 Å, CO lines). Simple formulae are given to interpret available data for low- and high-z galaxies.

Two-fluid (electron-positron) plasma modeling has shown that inductive acceleration can convert Poynting flux directly into bulk kinetic energy in the relativistic flows driven by rotating magnetized neutron stars and black holes. Here, we generalize this approach by adding an ion fluid. Solutions are presented in which all particles are accelerated as the flow expands, with comparable power channeled into each of the plasma components. In an ion-dominated flow, each species reaches the limiting rigidity, according to Hillas’ criterion, in a distance significantly shorter than in a lepton-dominated flow. These solutions support the hypothesis that newly born magnetars and pulsars are potential sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. The competing process of Poynting flux dissipation by magnetic reconnection is shown to be ineffective in low-density flows in which the conventionally defined electron multiplicity satisfies {κ }_{{e}}≲ {10}⁵{≤ft(4π {L}₃₈/{{Ω }}\right)}^1/4/{{Max}}≤ft({η }_ion}^1/2,1\right), where L ₃₈ × 10³⁸ erg s^-1 is the power carried by the flow in a solid angle Ω, and {η }_ion} is the ratio of the ion to lepton power at launch.

Recent high-resolution interferometric observations of protoplanetary disks at (sub)millimeter wavelengths reveal omnipresent substructures, such as rings, spirals, and asymmetries. A detailed investigation of eight rings detected in five disks by the DSHARP survey came to the conclusion that all rings are just marginally optically thick with optical depths between 0.2 and 0.5 at a wavelength of 1.25 mm. This surprising result could either be coincidental or indicate that the optical depth in all of the rings is regulated by the same process. We investigated if ongoing planetesimal formation could explain the “fine-tuned” optical depths in the DSHARP rings by removing dust and transforming it into “invisible” planetesimals. We performed a one-dimensional simulation of dust evolution in the second dust ring of the protoplanetary disk around HD 163296, including radial transport of gas and dust, dust growth and fragmentation, and planetesimal formation via gravitational collapse of sufficiently dense pebble concentrations. We show that planetesimal formation can naturally explain the observed optical depths if streaming instability regulates the midplane dust-to-gas ratio to unity. Furthermore, our simple monodisperse analytical model supports the hypothesis that planetesimal formation in dust rings should universally limit their optical depth to the observed range.

We present Period-Luminosity and Period-Luminosity-Color relations at maximum light for Mira variables in the Magellanic Clouds using time-series data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) and Gaia data release 2. The maximum-light relations exhibit a scatter typically up to ∼30% smaller than their mean-light counterparts. The apparent magnitudes of oxygen-rich Miras at maximum light display significantly smaller cycle-to-cycle variations than at minimum light. High-precision photometric data for Kepler Mira candidates also exhibit stable magnitude variations at the brightest epochs, while their multi-epoch spectra display strong Balmer emission lines and weak molecular absorption at maximum light. The stability of maximum-light magnitudes for Miras possibly occurs due to the decrease in the sensitivity to molecular bands at their warmest phase. At near-infrared wavelengths, the period-luminosity relations (PLRs) of Miras display similar dispersion at mean and maximum light with limited time-series data in the Magellanic Clouds. A kink in the oxygen-rich Mira PLRs is found at 300 days in the VI-bands, which shifts to longer periods (∼350 days) at near-infrared wavelengths. Oxygen-rich Mira PLRs at maximum light provide a relative distance modulus, Δμ = 0.48 ± 0.08 mag, between the Magellanic Clouds with a smaller statistical uncertainty than the mean-light relations. The maximum-light properties of Miras can be very useful for stellar atmosphere modeling and distance scale studies provided their stability and the universality can be established in other stellar environments in the era of extremely large telescopes.

Neutron star mergers can form a hypermassive neutron star (HMNS) remnant, which may be the engine of a short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) before it collapses to a black hole, possibly several hundred milliseconds after the merger. During the lifetime of an HMNS, numerical relativity simulations indicate that it will undergo strong oscillations and emit gravitational waves with frequencies of a few kilohertz, which are unfortunately too high for detection to be probable with the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. Here we discuss the current and future prospects for detecting these frequencies as modulation of the SGRB. The understanding of the physical mechanism responsible for the HMNS oscillations will provide information on the equation of state of the hot HMNS, and the observation of these frequencies in the SGRB data would give us insight into the emission mechanism of the SGRB.

We present results from a comparative study of light curves of Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds with their theoretical models generated from the stellar pulsation codes. Fourier decomposition method is used to analyse the theoretical and the observed light curves at multiple wavelengths. In case of RR Lyrae stars, the amplitude and Fourier parameters from the models are consistent with observations in most period bins except for low metal-abundances (Z < 0:004). In case of Cepheid variables, we observe a greater offset between models and observations for both the amplitude and Fourier parameters. The theoretical amplitude parameters are typically larger than those from observations, except close to the period of 10 days. We find that these discrepancies between models and observations can be reduced if a higher convective efficiency is adopted in the pulsation codes. Our results suggest that a quantitative comparison of light curve structure is very useful to provide constraints for the input physics to the stellar pulsation models.

Dust temperature is an important property of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. It is required when converting (sub)millimetre broad-band flux to total infrared luminosity (L_IR), and hence star formation rate, in high-redshift galaxies. However, different definitions of dust temperatures have been used in the literature, leading to different physical interpretations of how ISM conditions change with, e.g. redshift and star formation rate. In this paper, we analyse the dust temperatures of massive (M_star > 10^{10} M_{\odot }) z = 2-6 galaxies with the help of high-resolution cosmological simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. At z ∼ 2, our simulations successfully predict dust temperatures in good agreement with observations. We find that dust temperatures based on the peak emission wavelength increase with redshift, in line with the higher star formation activity at higher redshift, and are strongly correlated with the specific star formation rate. In contrast, the mass-weighted dust temperature, which is required to accurately estimate the total dust mass, does not strongly evolve with redshift over z = 2-6 at fixed IR luminosity but is tightly correlated with L_IR at fixed z. We also analyse an `equivalent' dust temperature for converting (sub)millimetre flux density to total IR luminosity, and provide a fitting formula as a function of redshift and dust-to-metal ratio. We find that galaxies of higher equivalent (or higher peak) dust temperature (`warmer dust') do not necessarily have higher mass-weighted temperatures. A `two-phase' picture for interstellar dust can explain the different scaling relations of the various dust temperatures.

We study for the first time the collider reach on the derivative Higgs portal, the leading effective interaction that couples a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) scalar Dark Matter to the Standard Model. We focus on Dark Matter pair production through an off-shell Higgs boson, which is analyzed in the vector boson fusion channel. A variety of future high-energy lepton colliders as well as hadron colliders are considered, including CLIC, a muon collider, the High-Luminosity and High-Energy versions of the LHC, and FCC-hh. Implications on the parameter space of pNGB Dark Matter are discussed. In addition, we give improved and extended results for the collider reach on the marginal Higgs portal, under the assumption that the new scalars escape the detector, as motivated by a variety of beyond the Standard Model scenarios.

Atmospheric neutrinos produced by cosmic-ray interactions around the globe provide a beam for the study of neutrino properties. They are also a background in searches for neutrinos of astrophysical origin. Both aspects are addressed in this chapter, which begins with a brief introduction on neutrino oscillations in relation to the spectrum of atmospheric neutrinos. Section 2 describes the cascade equation for hadrons in the atmosphere and the main features of atmospheric leptons from their decays. Next, uncertainties in the fluxes that arise from limited knowledge of the primary spectrum and of particle production are discussed. The final section covers aspects specific to neutrino telescopes.

Turbulence is the natural state of many weakly collisional space and astrophysical plasmas.

Prominent examples range from the near-Earth solar wind, to more distant astrophysical systems such as the warm interstellar medium, hot accretion flows, and galaxy clusters. In low-collisionality turbulent plasmas, it is anticipated theoretically and documented observationally that the electromagnetic energy cascade extends beyond the inertial, magnetohydrodynamic range into the plasma kinetic range of scales. Upon transition into the kinetic range, below the ion gyroradius and the ion inertial scale, the character of the turbulence changes significantly compared to the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The nature of this kinetic-scale turbulence is presently the subject of ongoing investigations, with important implications for the general thermodynamic properties of weakly collisional plasmas.

This document summarises the current theoretical and experimental status of the di-Higgs boson production searches, and of the direct and indirect constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling, with the wish to serve as a useful guide for the next years. The document discusses the theoretical status, including state-of-the-art predictions for di-Higgs cross sections, developments on the effective field theory approach, and studies on specific new physics scenarios that can show up in the di-Higgs final state. The status of di-Higgs searches and the direct and indirect constraints on the Higgs self-coupling at the LHC are presented, with an overview of the relevant experimental techniques, and covering all the variety of relevant signatures. Finally, the capabilities of future colliders in determining the Higgs self-coupling are addressed, comparing the projected precision that can be obtained in such facilities. The work has started as the proceedings of the Di-Higgs workshop at Colliders, held at Fermilab from the 4th to the 9th of September 2018, but it went beyond the topics discussed at that workshop and included further developments. FERMILAB-CONF-19-468-E-T, LHCHXSWG-2019-005

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are an enigmatic class of extragalactic transients emitting Jy-level radio bursts in the GHz band, lasting for only a few ms. So far, some objects are known to repeat while several others are not, likely indicating multiple origins. There are many theoretical models, some predict prompt VHE or optical emission correlated with FRBs while others imply VHE afterglows hours after the FRB. To test these predictions and unravel the nature of FRB progenitors, the stereoscopic Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) system MAGIC has been participating in FRB observation campaigns since 2016. As IACTs are sensitive to Cherenkov photons in the UV/blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum and use photo-detectors with time response faster than a ms, MAGIC is also able to perform simultaneous optical observations through a dedicated system installed in the central PMT of its camera. The main challenge faced by MAGIC in searching for optical counterpart of FRBs is the presence of irreducible background optical events due to terrestrial sources. We present new results from MAGIC observations of the first repeating FRB 121102 during several MWL observation campaigns. The recently improved instrument and refined strategy to search for counterparts of FRBs in the VHE and optical bands will also be presented

What are the mass and galaxy profiles of cosmic voids? In this paper, we use two methods to extract voids in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Year 1 redMaGiC galaxy sample to address this question. We use either 2D slices in projection, or the 3D distribution of galaxies based on photometric redshifts to identify voids. For the mass profile, we measure the tangential shear profiles of background galaxies to infer the excess surface mass density. The signal-to-noise ratio for our lensing measurement ranges between 10.7 and 14.0 for the two void samples. We infer their 3D density profiles by fitting models based on N-body simulations and find good agreement for void radii in the range 15–85 Mpc. Comparison with their galaxy profiles then allows us to test the relation between mass and light at the 10 per cent level, the most stringent test to date. We find very similar shapes for the two profiles, consistent with a linear relationship between mass and light both within and outside the void radius. We validate our analysis with the help of simulated mock catalogues and estimate the impact of photometric redshift uncertainties on the measurement. Our methodology can be used for cosmological applications, including tests of gravity with voids. This is especially promising when the lensing profiles are combined with spectroscopic measurements of void dynamics via redshift-space distortions.

We describe the minimal space of polylogarithmic functions that is required to express the six-particle amplitude in planar N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory through six and seven loops, in the NMHV and MHV sectors respectively. This space respects a set of extended Steinmann relations that restrict the iterated discontinuity structure of the amplitude, as well as a cosmic Galois coaction principle that constrains the functions and the transcendental numbers that can appear in the amplitude at special kinematic points. To put the amplitude into this space, we must divide it by the BDS-like ansatz and by an additional zeta-valued constant ρ. For this normalization, we conjecture that the extended Steinmann relations and the coaction principle hold to all orders in the coupling. We describe an iterative algorithm for constructing the space of hexagon functions that respects both constraints. We highlight further simplifications that begin to occur in this space of functions at weight eight, and distill the implications of imposing the coaction principle to all orders. Finally, we explore the restricted spaces of transcendental functions and constants that appear in special kinematic configurations, which include polylogarithms involving square, cube, fourth and sixth roots of unity.

Using the latest LHC data, we analyse and compare the lower limits on the masses of gluinos and the lightest stop in two natural supersymmetric motivated scenarios: one with a neutralino being the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) and the other one with gravitino as the LSP and neutralino as the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. In the second case our analysis applies to neutralinos promptly decaying to very light gravitinos, which are of cosmological interest, and are generic for low, of order O (100) TeV, messenger scale in gauge mediation models. We find that the lower bounds on the gluino and the lightest stop masses are stronger for the gravitino LSP scenarios due to the extra handle from the decay products of neutralinos. Generally, in contrast to the neutralino LSP case the limits now extend to a region of compressed spectrum. In bino scenarios the highest excluded stop mass increases from 1000 GeV to almost 1400 GeV. Additionally, in the higgsino-like NLSP scenario the higgsinos below 650 GeV are universally excluded and the stop mass limit is {m}_{\tilde{t}} > 1150 GeV, whereas there is no limit on stops in the higgsino LSP model for {m}_{\tilde{h}} = 650 GeV. Nevertheless, we find that the low messenger scale still ameliorates the fine tuning in the electroweak potential.

Inverse Compton-pair cascades are initiated when gamma-rays are absorbed on an ambient soft photon field to produce relativistic pairs, which in turn up-scatter the same soft photons to produce more gamma-rays. If the Compton scatterings take place in the deep Klein-Nishina regime, then triplet pair production (e{γ }_b\to {{ee}}⁺{e}^-) becomes relevant and may even regulate the development of the cascade. We investigate the properties of pair-Compton cascades with triplet pair production in accelerating gaps, i.e., regions with an unscreened electric field. Using the method of transport equations for the particle evolution, we compute the growth rate of the pair cascade as a function of the accelerating electric field in the presence of blackbody and power-law ambient photon fields. Informed by the numerical results, we derive simple analytical expressions for the peak growth rate and the corresponding electric field. We show that for certain parameters, which can be realized in the vicinity of accreting supermassive black holes at the centers of active galactic nuclei, the pair cascade may well be regulated by inverse Compton scattering in the deep Klein-Nishina regime and triplet pair production. We present indicative examples of the escaping gamma-ray radiation from the gap, and discuss our results in application to the TeV observations of radio galaxy M87.

Rare B-decays induced by flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNC) is one of the promising candidates for probing physics beyond the Standard model. However, for identifying potential new physics from the data, reliable control over QCD contributions is necessary. We focus on one of such QCD contributions - the charming loops - that potentially can lead to difficulties in disentangling new physics effects from the observable and discuss the possibility to gain control over theoretical predictions for charming loops.

Dark matter evolution during the process of cosmological structure formation can be described in terms of a one-particle irreducible effective action at a characteristic scale k_m and a loop expansion below this scale, based on the effective propagators and vertices. We calculate the form of the effective vertices and compute the bispectrum of density perturbations within a one-loop approximation. We find that the effective vertices play a subdominant role as compared to the effective viscosity and sound velocity that modify the (inverse) propagators. For the bispectrum we reproduce the results of standard perturbation theory in the range where it is applicable, and find a slightly improved agreement with N-body simulations at larger wavenumbers.

In the simple Higgs-portal dark matter model with a conserved dark matter number, we show that there exists a non-topological soliton state of dark matter. This state has smaller energy per dark matter number than a free particle state and has its interior in the electroweak symmetric vacuum. It could be produced in the early universe from first-order electroweak phase transition and contribute most of dark matter. This electroweak symmetric dark matter ball is a novel macroscopic dark matter candidate with an energy density of the electroweak scale and a mass of 1 gram or above. Because of its electroweak-symmetric interior, the dark matter ball has a large geometric scattering cross section off a nucleon or a nucleus. Dark matter and neutrino experiments with a large-size detector like Xenon1T, BOREXINO and JUNO have great potential to discover electroweak symmetric dark matter balls. We also discuss the formation of bound states of a dark matter ball and ordinary matter.

We study the soft limit of a recently proposed generalization of the biadjoint scalar amplitudes $m^{(k)}_{n}$, which have been conjectured to have a relation to the tropical Grassmannian $\text{Tr G}(k,n)$. Using the CHY formulation along with the Global Residue Theorem, we prove the soft factorization for $m^{(k)}_{n}$ amplitudes for arbitrary $k$ and $n$. We find that the soft factors are in direct correspondence to vertices of the associahedron $\mathcal{A}_{k-1}$, and hence take the form of $m^{(2)}_{n}$ amplitudes. This entails that all scattering amplitudes of the ordinary biadjoint scalar theory can be interpreted as an infinite family of soft factors. Additionally, Grassmannian duality reveals that generalized amplitudes $m^{(k)}_{n}$ with $k>2$ satisfy not only a soft theorem, but also a non-trivial "hard" theorem. We perform numerical checks of our theorems against previous results for $\text{Tr G}(4,7)$ and $\text{Tr G}(5,8)$, thereby providing strong evidence of their relation with the CHY formulation.

The in-medium dynamics of heavy particles are governed by transport coefficients. The heavy quark momentum diffusion coefficient, κ , is an object of special interest in the literature, but one which has proven notoriously difficult to estimate, despite the fact that it has been computed by weak-coupling methods at next-to-leading order accuracy, and by lattice simulations of the pure SU(3) gauge theory. Another coefficient, γ , has been recently identified. It can be understood as the dispersive counterpart of κ . Little is known about γ . Both κ and γ are, however, of foremost importance in heavy quarkonium physics as they entirely determine the in and out of equilibrium dynamics of quarkonium in a medium, if the evolution of the density matrix is Markovian, and the motion, quantum Brownian; the medium could be a strongly or weakly coupled plasma. In this paper, using the relation between κ , γ and the quarkonium in-medium width and mass shift respectively, we evaluate the two coefficients from existing 2 +1 flavor lattice QCD data. The resulting range for κ is consistent with earlier determinations, the one for γ is the first nonperturbative determination of this quantity.

We present a method to flexibly and self-consistently determine individual galaxies' star formation rates (SFRs) from their host haloes' potential well depths, assembly histories, and redshifts. The method is constrained by galaxies' observed stellar mass functions, SFRs (specific and cosmic), quenched fractions, ultraviolet (UV) luminosity functions, UV-stellar mass relations, IRX-UV relations, auto- and cross-correlation functions (including quenched and star-forming subsamples), and quenching dependence on environment; each observable is reproduced over the full redshift range available, up to 0 < z < 10. Key findings include the following: galaxy assembly correlates strongly with halo assembly; quenching correlates strongly with halo mass; quenched fractions at fixed halo mass decrease with increasing redshift; massive quenched galaxies reside in higher-mass haloes than star-forming galaxies at fixed galaxy mass; star-forming and quenched galaxies' star formation histories at fixed mass differ most at z < 0.5; satellites have large scatter in quenching time-scales after infall, and have modestly higher quenched fractions than central galaxies; Planck cosmologies result in up to 0.3 dex lower stellar - halo mass ratios at early times; and, none the less, stellar mass-halo mass ratios rise at z > 5. Also presented are revised stellar mass - halo mass relations for all, quenched, star-forming, central, and satellite galaxies; the dependence of star formation histories on halo mass, stellar mass, and galaxy SSFR; quenched fractions and quenching time-scale distributions for satellites; and predictions for higher-redshift galaxy correlation functions and weak lensing surface densities. The public data release (DR1) includes the massively parallel (>10⁵ cores) implementation (the UNIVERSEMACHINE), the newly compiled and remeasured observational data, derived galaxy formation constraints, and mock catalogues including lightcones.

We present a simple and well defined prescription to compare absorption lines in supernova (SN) spectra with lists of transitions drawn from the National Institute of Standards and Technology database. The method is designed to be applicable to simple spectra where the photosphere can be mostly described by absorptions from single transitions with a single photospheric velocity. These conditions are plausible for SN spectra obtained shortly after explosion. Here we show that the method also works well for spectra of hydrogen-poor (Type I) superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) around peak. Analysis of high signal to noise spectra leads to clear identification of numerous spectroscopic features arising from ions of carbon and oxygen, which account for the majority of absorption features detected in the optical range, suggesting the outer envelope of SLSN-I progenitors is dominated by these elements. We find that the prominent absorption features seen in the blue are dominated by numerous lines of O II, as previously suggested, and that the apparent absorption feature widths are dominated by line density and not by Doppler broadening. In fact, we find that while the expansion velocities of SLSNe-I around peak are similar to those of normal SNe, the apparent velocity distribution (manifested as the width of single transition features) is much lower (∼1500 km s^-1) indicating emission from a very narrow photosphere in velocity space that is nevertheless expanding rapidly. We inspect the controversial case of ASASSN-15lh, and find that the early spectrum of this object is not consistent with those of SLSNe-I. We also show that SLSNe that initially lack hydrogen features but develop these at late phases, such as iPTF15esb and iPTF16bad, also differ in their early spectra from standard SLSNe-I.

This is the first installment of a series of three papers in which we describe a method to determine higher-point correlation functions in one-loop open-superstring amplitudes from first principles. In this first part, we exploit the synergy between the co-homological features of pure-spinor superspace and the pure-spinor zero-mode integration rules of the one-loop amplitude prescription. This leads to the study of a rich variety of multiparticle superfields which are local, have covariant BRST variations, and are compatible with the particularities of the pure-spinor amplitude prescription. Several objects related to these superfields, such as their non-local counterparts and the so-called BRST pseudo-invariants, are thoroughly reviewed and put into new light. Their properties will turn out to be mysteriously connected to products of one-loop worldsheet functions in packages dubbed "generalized elliptic integrands", whose prominence will be seen in the later parts of this series of papers.

This is the second installment of a series of three papers in which we describe a method to determine higher-point correlation functions in one-loop open-superstring amplitudes from first principles. In this second part, we study worldsheet functions defined on a genus-one surface built from the coefficient functions of the Kronecker-Einsenstein series. We construct two classes of worldsheet functions whose properties lead to several simplifying features within our description of one-loop correlators with the pure-spinor formalism. The first class is described by functions with prescribed monodromies, whose characteristic shuffle-symmetry property leads to a Lie-polynomial structure when multiplied by the local superfields from part I of this series. The second class is given by so-called generalized elliptic integrands (GEIs) that are constructed using the same combinatorial patterns of the BRST pseudo-invariant superfields from part I. Both of them lead to compact and combinatorially rich expressions for the correlators in part III. The identities obeyed by the two classes of worldsheet functions exhibit striking parallels with those of the superfield kinematics. We will refer to this phenomenon as a duality between worldsheet functions and kinematics.

In this final part of a series of three papers, we will assemble supersymmetric expressions for one-loop correlators in pure-spinor superspace that are BRST invariant, local, and single valued. A key driving force in this construction is the generalization of a so far unnoticed property at tree-level; the correlators have the symmetry structure akin to Lie polynomials. One-loop correlators up to seven points are presented in a variety of representations manifesting different subsets of their defining properties. These expressions are related via identities obeyed by the kinematic superfields and worldsheet functions spelled out in the first two parts of this series and reflecting a duality between the two kinds of ingredients. Interestingly, the expression for the eight-point correlator following from our method seems to capture correctly all the dependence on the worldsheet punctures but leaves undetermined the coefficient of the holomorphic Eisenstein series G₄. By virtue of chiral splitting, closed-string correlators follow from the double copy of the open-string results.

We study the formation and evolution of a sample of Lyman break galaxies in the epoch of reionization by using high-resolution (∼10 pc), cosmological zoom-in simulations part of the SERRA suite. In SERRA, we follow the interstellar medium thermochemical non-equilibrium evolution and perform on-the-fly radiative transfer of the interstellar radiation field (ISRF). The simulation outputs are post-processed to compute the emission of far infrared lines ([C II], [N II], and [O III]). At z = 8, the most massive galaxy, `Freesia', has an age t_\star ∼eq 409 Myr, stellar mass M_⋆ ≃ 4.2 × 10⁹M_⊙, and a star formation rate (SFR), SFR∼eq 11.5 M_{⊙ } yr^{-1}, due to a recent burst. Freesia has two stellar components (A and B) separated by ≃ 2.5 kpc; other 11 galaxies are found within 56.9 ± 21.6 kpc. The mean ISRF in the Habing band is G = 7.9 G_0 and is spatially uniform; in contrast, the ionization parameter is U = 2^{+20}_{-2} × 10^{-3}, and has a patchy distribution peaked at the location of star-forming sites. The resulting ionizing escape fraction from Freesia is f_esc∼eq 2{{ per cent}}. While [C II] emission is extended (radius 1.54 kpc), [O III] is concentrated in Freesia-A (0.85 kpc), where the ratio Σ _[O III]/Σ _[C II]≃ 10. As many high-z galaxies, Freesia lies below the local [C II]-SFR relation. We show that this is the general consequence of a starburst phase (pushing the galaxy above the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation) that disrupts/photodissociates the emitting molecular clouds around star-forming sites. Metallicity has a sub-dominant impact on the amplitude of [C II]-SFR deviations.