We present a minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) providing a consistent picture of particle physics from the electroweak scale to the Planck scale and of cosmology from inflation until today. Three right-handed neutrinos N_i, a new color triplet Q and a complex SM-singlet scalar σ, whose vacuum expectation value v_σ ~ 10¹¹ GeV breaks lepton number and a Peccei-Quinn symmetry simultaneously, are added to the SM. At low energies, the model reduces to the SM, augmented by seesaw generated neutrino masses and mixing, plus the axion. The latter solves the strong CP problem and accounts for the cold dark matter in the Universe. The inflaton is comprised by a mixture of σ and the SM Higgs, and reheating of the Universe after inflation proceeds via the Higgs portal. Baryogenesis occurs via thermal leptogenesis. Thus, five fundamental problems of particle physics and cosmology are solved at one stroke in this unified Standard Model—axion—seesaw—Higgs portal inflation (SMASH) model. It can be probed decisively by upcoming cosmic microwave background and axion dark matter experiments.

The formal algebraic structures that govern higher-spin theories within the unfolded approach turn out to be related to an extension of the Kontsevich formality, namely, the Shoikhet-Tsygan formality. Effectively, this allows one to construct the Hochschild cocycles of higher-spin algebras that make the interaction vertices. As an application of these results we construct a family of Vasiliev-like equations that generate the Hochschild cocycles with sp (2 n) symmetry from the corresponding cycles. A particular case of sp (4) may be relevant for the on-shell action of the 4d theory. We also give the exact equations that describe propagation of higher-spin fields on a higher-spin flat background. The consistency of formal higher-spin theories turns out to have a purely geometric interpretation: there exists a certain symplectic invariant associated to cutting a polytope into simplices, namely, the Alexander-Spanier cocycle.

Placing bright submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) within the broader context of galaxy formation and evolution requires accurate measurements of their clustering, which can constrain the masses of their host dark matter haloes. Recent work has shown that the clustering measurements of these galaxies may be affected by a 'blending bias', which results in the angular correlation function of the sources extracted from single-dish imaging surveys being boosted relative to that of the underlying galaxies. This is due to confusion introduced by the coarse angular resolution of the single-dish telescope and could lead to the inferred halo masses being significantly overestimated. We investigate the extent to which this bias affects the measurement of the correlation function of SMGs when it is derived via a cross-correlation with a more abundant galaxy population. We find that the blending bias is essentially the same as in the autocorrelation case and conclude that the best way to reduce its effects is to calculate the angular correlation function using SMGs in narrow redshift bins. Blending bias causes the inferred host halo masses of the SMGs to be overestimated by a factor of ∼6 when a redshift interval of δz = 3 is used. However, this reduces to a factor of ∼2 for δz = 0.5. The broadening of photometric redshift probability distributions with increasing redshift can therefore impart a mild halo 'downsizing' effect on to the inferred host halo masses, though this trend is not as strong as seen in recent observational studies.

We provide hadronic input for the B-meson semileptonic transitions to a light pseudoscalar meson at large recoil. The B _s → K form factor calculated from QCD light-cone sum rule is updated, to be used for a | V _ub | determination from the B _s → Kℓν width. Furthermore, we calculate the hadronic input for the binned observables of B → πℓ ⁺ ℓ ^- and B → Kℓ ⁺ ℓ ^-. In addition to the form factors, the nonlocal hadronic matrix elements are obtained, combining QCD factorization and light-cone sum rules with hadronic dispersion relations. We emphasize that, due to nonlocal effects, the ratio of branching fractions of these decays is not sufficient for an accurate extraction of the | V _td /V _ts | ratio. Instead, we suggest to determine the Wolfenstein parameters A, ρ, η of the CKM matrix, combining the branching fractions of B → Kℓ ⁺ ℓ ^- and B → πℓ ⁺ ℓ ^- with the direct CP -asymmetry in the latter decay. We also obtain the hadronic matrix elements for a yet unexplored channel B _s → Kℓ ⁺ ℓ ^-.

We present predictions for the spatial distribution of 21-cm brightness temperature fluctuations from high-dynamic-range simulations for active galactic nucleus (AGN)-dominated reionization histories that have been tested against available Lyα and cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We model AGNs by extrapolating the observed M_bh - σ relation to high redshifts and assign them ionizing emissivities consistent with recent UV luminosity function measurements. We assess the observability of the predicted spatial 21-cm fluctuations in the late stages of reionization in the limit in which the hydrogen 21-cm spin temperature is significantly larger than the CMB temperature. Our AGN-dominated reionization histories increase the variance of the 21-cm emission by a factor of up to 10 compared to similar reionization histories dominated by faint galaxies, to values close to 100 mK² at scales accessible to experiments (k ≲ 1 cMpc^-1 h). This is lower than the sensitivity reached by ongoing experiments only by a factor of about 2 or less. When reionization is dominated by AGNs, the 21-cm power spectrum is enhanced on all scales due to the enhanced bias of the clustering of the more massive haloes and the peak in the large scale 21-cm power is strongly enhanced and moved to larger scales due to bigger characteristic bubble sizes. AGN-dominated reionization should be easily detectable by Low Frequency Array (and later Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and Phase 1 of the Square Kilometre Array) at their design sensitivity, assuming successful foreground subtraction and instrument calibration. Conversely, these could become the first non-trivial reionization scenarios to be ruled out by 21-cm experiments, thereby constraining the contribution of AGNs to reionization.

Theories with extended Higgs sectors constructed in view of cosmological ramifications (gravitational wave signal, baryogenesis, dark matter) are often faced with conflicting requirements for their couplings; in particular those influencing the strength of a phase transition may be large. Large couplings compromise perturbative studies, as well as the high-temperature expansion that is invoked in dimensionally reduced lattice investigations. With the example of the inert doublet extension of the Standard Model (IDM), we show how a resummed 2-loop effective potential can be computed without a high-T expansion, and use the result to scrutinize its accuracy. With the exception of T_c, which is sensitive to contributions from heavy modes, the high-T expansion is found to perform well. 2-loop corrections weaken the transition in IDM, but they are moderate, whereby a strong transition remains an option.

We present cosmological, radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of galaxy formation during the epoch of reionization in an effort towards modelling the interstellar medium (ISM) and interpreting Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations. Simulations with and without stellar radiation are compared at large (Mpc), intermediate (tens of kpc) and small (sub-kpc) scales. At large scales, the dense regions around galaxies reionize first before ultraviolet (UV) photons penetrate the voids; however, considerable amounts of neutral gas remain present within the haloes. The spatial distribution of neutral gas is highly dynamic and is anticorrelated with the presence of stars older than a few Myr. For our specific feedback implementation, most of the metals remain inside the virial radii of haloes, and they are proportionally distributed over the ionized and neutral media by mass. For our most massive galaxy with M_h ∼ 10¹¹ M_⊙, the majority of the C II and O I masses are associated with cold neutral clumps. N II is more diffuse and arises in warmer gas, while O III arises in hotter gas with a higher ionization parameter, produced by photoheating and supernovae. If smaller pockets of high-metallicity gas exist in the ISM, the emission from these ions may be observable by ALMA, while the low metallicity of the galaxy may cause these systems to fall below the local [C II]-star formation rate relation. The presence of dust can cause spatial offsets between UV/Lyman α and [C II] emissions, as suggested by the recent observations of Maiolino et al. [O III] may be spatially offset from both of these components since it arises from a different part of density-temperature phase space.

We present deep 3500-10000 Å spectra of H II regions and planetary nebulae (PNe) in the starburst irregular galaxy NGC 4449, acquired with the Multi Object Double Spectrograph at the Large Binocular Telescope. Using the “direct” method, we derived the abundance of He, N, O, Ne, Ar, and S in six H II regions and in four PNe in NGC 4449. This is the first case of PNe studied in a starburst irregular outside the Local Group. Our H II region and PN sample extends over a galactocentric distance range of ≈2 kpc and spans ≈0.2 dex in oxygen abundance, with average values of 12+{log}({{O}}/{{H}})=8.37+/- 0.05 and 8.3 ± 0.1 for H II regions and PNe, respectively. PNe and H II regions exhibit similar oxygen abundances in the galactocentric distance range of overlap, while PNe appear more than ∼1 dex enhanced in nitrogen with respect to H II regions. The latter result is the natural consequence of N being mostly synthesized in intermediate-mass stars and brought to the stellar surface during dredge-up episodes. On the other hand, the similarity in O abundance between H II regions and PNe suggests that NGC 4449’s interstellar medium has been poorly enriched in α-elements since the progenitors of the PNe were formed. Finally, our data reveal the presence of a negative oxygen gradient for both H II regions and PNe, while nitrogen does not exhibit any significant radial trend. We ascribe the (unexpected) nitrogen behavior to local N enrichment by the conspicuous Wolf-Rayet population in NGC 4449.

Upcoming observations of the 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization will soon provide the first direct detection of this era. This signal is influenced by many astrophysical effects, including long-range X-ray heating of the intergalactic gas. During the preceding cosmic dawn era, the impact of this heating on the 21-cm signal is particularly prominent, especially before spin temperature saturation. We present the largest volume (349 Mpc comoving = 244 h^-1Mpc) full numerical radiative transfer simulations to date of this epoch which include the effects of helium and multifrequency heating, both with and without X-ray sources. We show that X-ray sources contribute significantly to early heating of the neutral intergalactic medium and, hence, to the corresponding 21-cm signal. The inclusion of hard, energetic radiation yields an earlier, extended transition from absorption to emission compared to the stellar-only case. The presence of X-ray sources decreases the absolute value of the mean 21-cm differential brightness temperature. These hard sources also significantly increase the 21-cm fluctuations compared to the common assumption of temperature saturation. The 21-cm differential brightness temperature power spectrum is initially boosted on large scales, before decreasing on all scales. Compared to the case of the cold, unheated intergalactic medium, the signal has lower rms fluctuations and increased non-Gaussianity, as measured by the skewness and kurtosis of the 21-cm probability distribution functions. Images of the 21-cm signal with resolution around 11 arcmin still show fluctuations well above the expected noise for deep integrations with the SKA1-Low, indicating that direct imaging of the X-ray heating epoch could be feasible.

We present late-time optical R-band imaging data from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) for the nearby Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe. The stacked PTF light curve provides densely sampled coverage down to R ≃ 22 mag over 200-620 d past explosion. Combining with literature data, we estimate the pseudo-bolometric light curve for this event from 200 to 1600 d after explosion, and constrain the likely near-infrared (Near-IR) contribution. This light curve shows a smooth decline consistent with radioactive decay, except over ∼450 to ∼600 d where the light curve appears to decrease faster than expected based on the radioactive isotopes presumed to be present, before flattening at around 600 d. We model the 200-1600 d pseudo-bolometric light curve with the luminosity generated by the radioactive decay chains of ⁵⁶Ni, ⁵⁷Ni and ⁵⁵Co, and find it is not consistent with models that have full positron trapping and no infrared catastrophe (IRC); some additional energy escape other than optical/near-IR photons is required. However, the light curve is consistent with models that allow for positron escape (reaching 75 per cent by day 500) and/or an IRC (with 85 per cent of the flux emerging in non-optical wavelengths by day 600). The presence of the ⁵⁷Ni decay chain is robustly detected, but the ⁵⁵Co decay chain is not formally required, with an upper mass limit estimated at 0.014 M_⊙. The measurement of the ⁵⁷Ni/⁵⁶Ni mass ratio is subject to significant systematic uncertainties, but all of our fits require a high ratio >0.031 (>1.3 in solar abundances).

The 1-70 keV persistent spectra of 15 magnetars, observed with Suzaku from 2006 to 2013, were studied as a complete sample. Combined with early NuSTAR observations of four hard X-ray emitters, nine objects showed a hard power-law emission dominating at ≳ 10 keV with the 15-60 keV flux of ∼1-11× {10}^-11 erg s^-1 cm^-2. The hard X-ray luminosity {L}_{{h}}, relative to that of a soft-thermal surface radiation {L}_{{s}}, tends to become higher toward younger and strongly magnetized objects. Their hardness ratio, updated from a previous study and defined as ξ ={L}_{{h}}/{L}_{{s}}, is correlated with the measured spin-down rate \dot{P} as ξ =0.62× {(\dot{P}/{10}^-11{{s}}{{{s}}}^-1)}^0.72, corresponding to positive and negative correlations with the dipole field strength {B}_{{d}} (ξ \propto {B}_{{d}}^1.41) and the characteristic age {τ }_{{c}} (ξ \propto {τ }_{{c}}^-0.68), respectively. Among our sample, five transients were observed during X-ray outbursts, and the results are compared with their long-term 1-10 keV flux decays monitored with Swift/XRT and RXTE/PCA. Fading curves of three bright outbursts are approximated by an empirical formula used in the seismology, showing a ∼10-40 day plateau phase. Transients show the maximum luminosities of {L}_{{s}} ∼ 10³⁵ erg s^-1, which are comparable to those of persistently bright ones, and fade back to ≲10³² erg s^-1. Spectral properties are discussed in the framework of the magnetar hypothesis.

A small group of the newly discovered superluminous supernovae show broad and slow-evolving light curves. Here we present extensive observational data for the slow-evolving superluminous supernova LSQ14an, which brings this group of transients to four in total in the low-redshift Universe (z < 0.2; SN 2007bi, PTF12dam, SN 2015bn). We particularly focus on the optical and near-infrared evolution during the period from 50 d up to 400 d from peak, showing that they are all fairly similar in their light curve and spectral evolution. LSQ14an shows broad, blueshifted [O III] λλ4959, 5007 lines, as well as a blueshifted [O II] λλ7320, 7330 and [Ca II] λλ7291, 7323. Furthermore, the sample of these four objects shows common features. Semi-forbidden and forbidden emission lines appear surprisingly early at 50-70 d and remain visible with almost no variation up to 400 d. The spectra remain blue out to 400 d. There are small, but discernible light-curve fluctuations in all of them. The light curve of each shows a faster decline than ⁵⁶Co after 150 d and it further steepens after 300 d. We also expand our analysis presenting X-ray limits for LSQ14an and SN 2015bn and discuss their diagnostic power. These features are quite distinct from the faster evolving superluminous supernovae and are not easily explained in terms of only a variation in ejecta mass. While a central engine is still the most likely luminosity source, it appears that the ejecta structure is complex, with multiple emitting zones and at least some interaction between the expanding ejecta and surrounding material.

We examine the relation between gas-phase oxygen abundance and stellar mass - the MZ relation - as a function of the large-scale galaxy environment parametrized by the local density. The dependence of the MZ relation on the environment is small. The metallicity where the MZ relation saturates and the slope of the MZ relation are both independent of the local density. The impact of the large-scale environment is completely parametrized by the anticorrelation between local density and the turnover stellar mass where the MZ relation begins to saturate. Analytical modelling suggests that the anticorrelation between the local density and turnover stellar mass is a consequence of a variation in the gas content of star-forming galaxies. Across ∼1 order of magnitude in local density, the gas content at a fixed stellar mass varies by ∼5 per cent. Variation of the specific star formation rate with the environment is consistent with this interpretation. At a fixed stellar mass, galaxies in low-density environments have lower metallicities because they are slightly more gas-rich than galaxies in high-density environments. Modelling the shape of the mass-metallicity relation thus provides an indirect means to probe subtle variations in the gas content of star-forming galaxies.

We examine the behaviour of the infrared-radio correlation (IRRC) over the range 0 <z ≲ 6 using new, highly sensitive 3 GHz observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and infrared data from the Herschel Space Observatory in the 2 deg² COSMOS field. We distinguish between objects where emission is believed to arise solely from star-formation, and those where an active galactic nucleus (AGN) is thought to be present. We account for non-detections in the radio or in the infrared using a doubly-censored survival analysis. We find that the IRRC of star-forming galaxies, quantified by the infrared-to-1.4 GHz radio luminosity ratio (q_TIR), decreases with increasing redshift: q_TIR(z) = (2.88 ± 0.03)(1 + z)^{- 0.19 ± 0.01}. This is consistent with several previous results from the literature. Moderate-to-high radiative luminosity AGN do not follow the same q_TIR(z) trend as star-forming galaxies, having a lower normalisation and steeper decrease with redshift. We cannot rule out the possibility that unidentified AGN contributions only to the radio regime may be steepening the observed q_TIR(z) trend of the star-forming galaxy population. We demonstrate that the choice of the average radio spectral index directly affects the normalisation, as well as the derived trend with redshift of the IRRC. An increasing fractional contribution to the observed 3 GHz flux by free-free emission of star-forming galaxies may also affect the derived evolution. However, we find that the standard (M82-based) assumption of the typical radio spectral energy distribution (SED) for star-forming galaxies is inconsistent with our results. This suggests a more complex shape of the typical radio SED for star-forming galaxies, and that imperfect K corrections in the radio may govern the derived trend of decreasing q_TIR with increasing redshift. A more detailed understanding of the radio spectrum is therefore required for robust K corrections in the radio and to fully understand the cosmic evolution of the IRRC. Lastly, we present a redshift-dependent relation between rest-frame 1.4 GHz radio luminosity and star formation rate taking the derived redshift trend into account.

We present and analyse an extensive dataset of the superluminous supernova (SLSN) LSQ14mo (z = 0.256), consisting of a multi-colour light curve from -30 d to +70 d in the rest-frame (relative to maximum light) and a series of six spectra from PESSTO covering -7 d to +50 d. This is among the densest spectroscopic coverage, and best-constrained rising light curve, for a fast-declining hydrogen-poor SLSN. The bolometric light curve can be reproduced with a millisecond magnetar model with 4 M_⊙ ejecta mass, and the temperature and velocity evolution is also suggestive of a magnetar as the power source. Spectral modelling indicates that the SN ejected 6 M_⊙ of CO-rich material with a kinetic energy of 7 × 10⁵¹ erg, and suggests a partially thermalised additional source of luminosity between -2 d and +22 d. This may be due to interaction with a shell of material originating from pre-explosion mass loss. We further present a detailed analysis of the host galaxy system of LSQ14mo. PESSTO and GROND imaging show three spatially resolved bright regions, and we used the VLT and FORS2 to obtain a deep (five-hour exposure) spectra of the SN position and the three star-forming regions, which are at a similar redshift. The FORS2 spectrum at + 300 days shows no trace of SN emission lines and we place limits on the strength of [O I] from comparisons with other Ic supernovae. The deep spectra provides a unique chance to investigate spatial variations in the host star-formation activity and metallicity. The specific star-formation rate is similar in all three components,as is the presence of a young stellar population. However, the position of LSQ14mo exhibits a lower metallicity, with 12 + log (O/H) = 8.2 in both the R₂₃ and N2 scales (corresponding to 0.3 Z_⊙ ). We propose that the three bright regions in the host system are interacting, which could induce gas flows triggering star formation in low-metallicity regions.

Based on observations at ESO, Program IDs: 191.D-0935, 094.D-0645, 096.A-9099.

We compute perturbative QCD corrections to B → D form factors at leading power in Λ/ m _b , at large hadronic recoil, from the light-cone sum rules (LCSR) with B-meson distribution amplitudes in HQET. QCD factorization for the vacuum-to- B-meson correlation function with an interpolating current for the D-meson is demonstrated explicitly at one loop with the power counting scheme {m}_c∼ O(√{Λ {m}_b}) . The jet functions encoding information of the hard-collinear dynamics in the above-mentioned correlation function are complicated by the appearance of an additional hard-collinear scale m _c , compared to the counterparts entering the factorization formula of the vacuum-to- B-meson correction function for the construction of B → π from factors. Inspecting the next-to-leading-logarithmic sum rules for the form factors of B → Dℓν indicates that perturbative corrections to the hard-collinear functions are more profound than that for the hard functions, with the default theory inputs, in the physical kinematic region. We further compute the subleading power correction induced by the three-particle quark-gluon distribution amplitudes of the B-meson at tree level employing the background gluon field approach. The LCSR predictions for the semileptonic B → Dℓν form factors are then extrapolated to the entire kinematic region with the z-series parametrization. Phenomenological implications of our determinations for the form factors f _BD ^+,0 ( q ²) are explored by investigating the (differential) branching fractions and the R( D) ratio of B → Dℓν and by determining the CKM matrix element |V _cb | from the total decay rate of B → Dμν _μ .

We modeled the radio non-detection of two Type Ia supernovae (SNe), SN 2011fe and SN 2014J, considering synchrotron emission from the interaction between SN ejecta and the circumstellar medium. For ejecta whose outer parts have a power-law density structure, we compare synchrotron emission with radio observations. Assuming that 20% of the bulk shock energy is being shared equally between electrons and magnetic fields, we found a very low-density medium around both the SNe. A less tenuous medium with particle density ∼1 cm^-3, which could be expected around both SNe, can be estimated when the magnetic field amplification is less than that presumed for energy equipartition. This conclusion also holds if the progenitor of SN 2014J was a rigidly rotating white dwarf (WD) with a main-sequence (MS) or red giant companion. For a He star companion, or a MS for SN 2014J, with 10% and 1% of bulk kinetic energy in magnetic fields, we obtain mass-loss rates of < {10}^-9 and < ∼ 4× {10}^-9 {M}_⊙ {{yr}}^-1 for a wind velocity of 100 {km} {{{s}}}^-1. The former requires a mass accretion efficiency of >99% onto the WD, but is less restricted for the latter case. However, if the tenuous medium is due to a recurrent nova, it is difficult from our model to predict synchrotron luminosities. Although the formation channels of SNe 2011fe and 2014J are not clear, the null detection in radio wavelengths could point toward a low amplification efficiency for magnetic fields in SN shocks.

We explicitly show how the field dependent 2-cocycle that arises in the current algebra of 4 dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes can be used as a central extension to turn the BMS4 Lie algebra, or more precisely, the BMS4 action Lie algebroid, into a genuine Lie algebroid with field dependent structure functions. Both a BRST formulation, where the extension appears as a ghost number 2 cocyle, and a formulation in terms of vertex operator algebras are introduced. The mapping of the celestial sphere to the cylinder then implies zero mode shifts of the asymptotic part of the shear and of the news tensor.

We analyze a simple extension of the standard model (SM) with a dark sector composed of a scalar and a fermion, both singlets under the SM gauge group but charged under a dark sector symmetry group. Sterile neutrinos, which are singlets under both groups, mediate the interactions between the dark sector and the SM particles, and generate masses for the active neutrinos via the seesaw mechanism. We explore the parameter space region where the observed Dark Matter relic abundance is determined by the annihilation into sterile neutrinos, both for fermion and scalar Dark Matter particles. The scalar Dark Matter case provides an interesting alternative to the usual Higgs portal scenario. We also study the constraints from direct Dark Matter searches and the prospects for indirect detection via sterile neutrino decays to leptons, which may be able to rule out Dark Matter masses below and around 100 GeV.

We study the light curve of SN 1604 using the historical data collected at the time of observation of the outburst. Comparing the supernova with recent SNe Ia of various rates of decline after maximum light, we find that this event looks like a normal SN Ia (stretch s close to 0.9 : 0.9 ± 0.13), a fact that is also favored by the late light curve. The supernova is heavily obscured by 2.7 ± 0.1 mag in V. We obtain an estimate of the distance to the explosion with a value of d=5+/- 0.7 {kpc}. This can help to settle ongoing discussions on the distance to the supernova. It also shows that this supernova is of the same kind as those of the SN Ia samples that we now use for cosmology.

In various extensions of the Standard Model it is possible that the electroweak phase transition was first order. This would have been a violent process, involving the formation of bubbles and associated shock waves. Not only would the collision of these bubbles and shock waves be a detectable source of gravitational waves, but persistent acoustic waves could enhance the signal and improve prospects of detection by eLISA. I summarise the results of a recent campaign to model such a phase transition based on large-scale hydrodynamical simulations, and its implications for the eLISA mission.

We present a comparison between several observational tests of the post-reionization intergalactic medium and the numerical simulations of reionization completed under the Cosmic Reionization On Computers (CROC) project. The CROC simulations match the gap distribution reasonably well, and also provide a good match for the distribution of peak heights, but there is a notable lack of wide peaks in the simulated spectra and the flux-probability distribution functions are poorly matched in the narrow redshift interval 5.5< z< 5.7, with the match at other redshifts being significantly better, albeit not exact. Both discrepancies are related: simulations show more opacity than the data.

We discuss some aspects of soft hairy black holes and a new kind of "soft hairy cosmologies," including a detailed derivation of the metric formulation, results on flat space, and novel observations concerning the entropy. Remarkably, like in the case with negative cosmological constant, we find that the asymptotic symmetries for locally flat spacetimes with a horizon are governed by infinite copies of the Heisenberg algebra that generate soft hair descendants. It is also shown that the generators of the three-dimensional Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra arise from composite operators of the affine u ^ (1 ) currents through a twisted Sugawara-like construction. We then discuss entropy macroscopically and microscopically and discover that a microscopic formula derived recently for boundary conditions associated with the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy fits perfectly our results for entropy and ground state energy. We conclude with a comparison to related approaches.

We compare observed far infrared/sub-millimetre (FIR/sub-mm) galaxy spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of massive galaxies (M_⋆ ≳ 10¹⁰ h^-1 M_⊙) derived through a stacking analysis with predictions from a new model of galaxy formation. The FIR SEDs of the model galaxies are calculated using a self-consistent model for the absorption and re-emission of radiation by interstellar dust based on radiative transfer calculations and global energy balance arguments. Galaxies are selected based on their position on the specific star formation rate (sSFR)-stellar mass (M_⋆) plane. We identify a main sequence of star-forming galaxies in the model, I.e. a well-defined relationship between sSFR and M_⋆, up to redshift z ∼ 6. The scatter of this relationship evolves such that it is generally larger at higher stellar masses and higher redshifts. There is a remarkable agreement between the predicted and observed average SEDs across a broad range of redshifts (0.5 ≲ z ≲ 4) for galaxies on the main sequence. However, the agreement is less good for starburst galaxies at z ≳ 2, selected here to have elevated sSFRs>10× the main-sequence value. We find that the predicted average SEDs are robust to changing the parameters of our dust model within physically plausible values. We also show that the dust temperature evolution of the main-sequence galaxies in the model is driven by star formation on the main sequence being more burst-dominated at higher redshifts.

We study the large gauge transformations of massless higher-spin fields in four-dimensional Minkowski space. Upon imposing suitable fall-off conditions, providing higher-spin counterparts of the Bondi gauge, we observe the existence of an infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetry algebra. The corresponding Ward identities can be held responsible for Weinberg's factorisation theorem for amplitudes involving soft particles of spin greater than two.

We study the process of dark matter particles scattering off ^He,4₃ with nuclear wave functions computed using an ab initio many-body framework. We employ realistic nuclear interactions derived from chiral effective field theory at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) and develop an ab initio scheme to compute a general set of different nuclear response functions. In particular, we then perform an accompanying uncertainty quantification on these quantities and study error propagation to physical observables. We find a rich structure of allowed nuclear responses with significant uncertainties for certain spin-dependent interactions. The approach and results that are presented here establish a new framework for nuclear structure calculations and uncertainty quantification in the context of direct and (certain) indirect searches for dark matter.

The Gross-Neveu model defines a unitary CFT of interacting fermions in 2 < d < 4 which has perturbative descriptions in the 1 /N expansion and in the epsilon-expansion near two and four dimensions. In each of these descriptions, the CFT has an infinite tower of nearly conserved currents of all spins. We determine the structure of the non-conservation equations both at large N and in the epsilon-expansion, and use it to find the leading order anomalous dimensions of the broken currents. Similarly, we use the fact that the CFT spectrum includes a nearly free fermion to fix the leading anomalous dimensions of a few scalar composite operators. We also compute the scaling dimensions of double-trace spinning operators in the large N expansion, which correspond to interaction energies of two-particle states in the AdS dual higher-spin theory. We first derive these anomalous dimensions by a direct Feynman diagram calculation, and then show that the result can be exactly reproduced by analytic bootstrap methods, provided the sum over the tower of weakly broken higher-spin currents is suitably regularized. Finally, we apply the analytic bootstrap approach to derive the anomalous dimensions of the double-trace spinning operators in the 3d bosonic and fermion vector models coupled to Chern-Simons theory, to leading order in 1 /N but exactly in the `t Hooft coupling.

We show that simple Two Higgs Doublet models might still provide a viable explanation for the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe via electroweak baryogenesis, even after taking into account the recent order-of-magnitude improvement on the electron-EDM experimental bound by the ACME Collaboration. Moreover we show that, in the region of parameter space where baryogenesis may be possible, the gravitational wave spectrum generated at the end of the electroweak phase transition is within the sensitivity reach of the future space-based interferometer LISA.

Owing to a renewed interest in flat space higher spin gauge theories, in this note we provide further details and clarifications on the results presented in arXiv:1107.5843 and arXiv: 1209.5755, which investigated their locality properties. Focusing, for simplicity, on quartic couplings with one of the external legs having non-zero integer spin (which can be considered as a prototype for Weinberg-type arguments), we review the appearance of 1/□ non-localities. In particular, we emphasise that it appears to be not possible to eliminate all of the aforementioned non-localities in the general quartic Noether procedure solution with a judicious choice of coupling constants and spectrum. We also discuss the light-cone gauge fixing in d = 4, and argue that the non-local obstruction discussed in the covariant language cannot be avoided using light-cone gauge formalism.

We find a simple relation between two-dimensional BPS \mathcal{N}=2 superconformal blocks and bosonic Virasoro conformal blocks, which allows us to analyze the crossing equations for BPS 4-point functions in unitary (2, 2) superconformal theories numerically with semidefinite programming. We constrain gaps in the non-BPS spectrum through the operator product expansion of BPS operators, in ways that depend on the moduli of exactly marginal deformations through chiral ring coefficients. In some cases, our bounds on the spectral gaps are observed to be saturated by free theories, by \mathcal{N}=2 Liouville theory, and by certain Landau-Ginzburg models.

Most massive stars, the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae, are in close binary systems and may interact with their companion through mass transfer or merging. We undertake a population synthesis study to compute the delay-time distribution of core-collapse supernovae, that is, the supernova rate versus time following a starburst, taking into account binary interactions. We test the systematic robustness of our results by running various simulations to account for the uncertainties in our standard assumptions. We find that a significant fraction, %, of core-collapse supernovae are "late", that is, they occur 50-200 Myr after birth, when all massive single stars have already exploded. These late events originate predominantly from binary systems with at least one, or, in most cases, with both stars initially being of intermediate mass (4-8 M_⊙). The main evolutionary channels that contribute often involve either the merging of the initially more massive primary star with its companion or the engulfment of the remaining core of the primary by the expanding secondary that has accreted mass at an earlier evolutionary stage. Also, the total number of core-collapse supernovae increases by % because of binarity for the same initial stellar mass. The high rate implies that we should have already observed such late core-collapse supernovae, but have not recognized them as such. We argue that φ Persei is a likely progenitor and that eccentric neutron star - white dwarf systems are likely descendants. Late events can help explain the discrepancy in the delay-time distributions derived from supernova remnants in the Magellanic Clouds and extragalactic type Ia events, lowering the contribution of prompt Ia events. We discuss ways to test these predictions and speculate on the implications for supernova feedback in simulations of galaxy evolution.

This report was prepared in the context of the LPCC Electroweak Precision Measurements at the LHC WG (https://lpcc.web.cern.ch/lpcc/index.php?page=electroweak_wg) and summarizes the activity of a subgroup dedicated to the systematic comparison of public Monte Carlo codes, which describe the Drell–Yan processes at hadron colliders, in particular at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This work represents an important step towards the definition of an accurate simulation framework necessary for very high-precision measurements of electroweak (EW) observables such as the W boson mass and the weak mixing angle. All the codes considered in this report share at least next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy in the prediction of the total cross sections in an expansion either in the strong or in the EW coupling constant. The NLO fixed-order predictions have been scrutinized at the technical level, using exactly the same inputs, setup and perturbative accuracy, in order to quantify the level of agreement of different implementations of the same calculation. A dedicated comparison, again at the technical level, of three codes that reach next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) accuracy in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) for the total cross section has also been performed. These fixed-order results are a well-defined reference that allows a classification of the impact of higher-order sets of radiative corrections. Several examples of higher-order effects due to the strong or the EW interaction are discussed in this common framework. Also the combination of QCD and EW corrections is discussed, together with the ambiguities that affect the final result, due to the choice of a specific combination recipe. All the codes considered in this report have been run by the respective authors, and the results presented here constitute a benchmark that should be always checked/reproduced before any high-precision analysis is conducted based on these codes. In order to simplify these benchmarking procedures, the codes used in this report, together with the relevant input files and running instructions, can be found in a repository at twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/Main/DrellYanComparison.

We consider the Standard Model extended by a heavy scalar singlet in different regions of parameter space and construct the appropriate low-energy effective field theories up to first nontrivial order. This top-down exercise in effective field theory is meant primarily to illustrate with a simple example the systematics of the linear and nonlinear electroweak effective Lagrangians and to clarify the relation between them. We discuss power-counting aspects and the transition between both effective theories on the basis of the model, confirming in all cases the rules and procedures derived in previous works from a bottom-up approach.

We study the cubic vertices for Maxwell-like higher-spins in flat and (A)dS background spaces of any dimension. Reducibility of their free spectra implies that a single cubic vertex involving any three fields subsumes a number of couplings among different particles of various spins. The resulting vertices do not involve traces of the fields and in this sense are simpler than their Fronsdal counterparts. We propose an extension of both the free theory and of its cubic deformation to a more general class of partially reducible systems, that one can obtain from the original theory upon imposing trace constraints of various orders. The key to our results is a version of the Noether procedure allowing to systematically account for the deformations of the transversality conditions to be imposed on the gauge parameters at the free level.

We consider a minimal interacting theory of a single tower of spin j = 0, 2, 4,… massless Fronsdal fields in flat space with local Lorentz-covariant cubic interaction vertices. We address the question of constraints on possible quartic interaction vertices imposed by the condition of on-shell gauge invariance of the tree-level four-point scattering amplitudes involving three spin 0 and one spin j particle. We find that these constraints admit a local solution for quartic 000 j interaction term in the action only for j = 2 and j = 4. We determine the non-local terms in four-vertices required in the j ≥ 6 case and suggest that these non-localities may be interpreted as a result of integrating out a tower of auxiliary ghost-like massless higher spin fields in an extended theory with a local action, up to possible higher-point interactions of the ghost fields. We also consider the conformal off-shell extension of the Einstein theory and show that the perturbative expansion of its action is the same as that of the non-local action resulting from integrating out the trace of the graviton field from the Einstein action. Motivated by this example, we conjecture the existence of a similar conformal off-shell extension of a massless higher spin theory that may be related to the above extended theory. It may then have the same infinite-dimensional symmetry as the higher-derivative conformal higher spin theory and may thus lead to a trivial S matrix.

The measured (central) values of the Higgs and top quark masses indicate that the standard model (SM) effective potential develops an instability at high field values. The scale of this instability, determined as the Higgs field value at which the potential drops below the electroweak minimum, is about 1 0¹¹ GeV . However, such a scale is unphysical as it is not gauge invariant and suffers from a gauge-fixing uncertainty of up to 2 orders of magnitude. Subjecting our system, the SM, to several probes of the instability (adding higher order operators to the potential, letting the vacuum decay through critical bubbles, heating up the system to very high temperature, and inflating it) and asking in each case physical questions, we are able to provide several gauge-invariant scales related with the Higgs potential instability.

In this paper we show that using frame-like gauge invariant formulation for the massive bosonic and fermionic fields in three dimensions the free Lagrangians for these fields can be rewritten in the explicitly gauge invariant form in terms of the appropriately chosen set of gauge invariant objects. This in turn opens the possibility to apply the Fradkin–Vasiliev formalism to the investigation of possible interactions of such fields.

In this note we analyse the excess in the W+W− inclusive cross section recently measured by the LHC experiments. We point out that in fact for the ATLAS fiducial cross sections there is no excess in the measurements compared to the NLO QCD predictions. We also argue that higher order effects to the fiducial cross section are small, and tend to cancel each other, hence the inclusion of NNLO and NNLL corrections will not modify this agreement significantly. We find that at 8 TeV a substantial part of the disagreement with the NLO prediction for the total cross section observed by ATLAS is due to the extrapolation carried out with POWHEG.

The goal of this work is to conduct a photometric study of eclipsing binaries in M31. We apply a modified box-fitting algorithm to search for eclipsing binary candidates and determine their period. We classify these candidates into detached, semi-detached, and contact systems using the Fourier decomposition method. We cross-match the position of our detached candidates with the photometry from Local Group Survey and select 13 candidates brighter than 20.5 mag in V. The relative physical parameters of these detached candidates are further characterized with the Detached Eclipsing Binary Light curve fitter (DEBiL) by Devor. We will follow up the detached eclipsing binaries spectroscopically and determine the distance to M31.

The resummed transverse momentum distribution of supersymmetric Higgs bosons produced through gluon fusion at NLO + NLL is presented, including the exact quark and squark mass dependences. Considering various MSSM scenarios, we compare our results to previous ones within the POWHEG approach. We analyze the impact of the bottom loop which becomes the dominant contribution to the gluon fusion cross section for a wide range of the parameter space for the pseudo-scalar and heavy Higgs.