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1. Observation of $\text{γ}\text{γ}\to \text{τ}\text{τ}$ in proton–proton collisions and limits on the anomalous electromagnetic moments of the τ lepton

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6633/ad6fcb  

   CMS_Collaboration, The (September 2024, Reports on Progress in Physics)

   Abstract The production of a pair of τ leptons via photon–photon fusion, $\text{γ}\text{γ}\to \text{τ}\text{τ}$, is observed for the first time in proton–proton collisions, with a significance of 5.3 standard deviations. This observation is based on a data set recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Events with a pair of τ leptons produced via photon–photon fusion are selected by requiring them to be back-to-back in the azimuthal direction and to have a minimum number of charged hadrons associated with their production vertex. The τ leptons are reconstructed in their leptonic and hadronic decay modes. The measured fiducial cross section of $\text{γ}\text{γ}\to \text{τ}\text{τ}$is ${\sigma }_{\text{obs}}^{\text{fid}}={12.4}_{-3.1}^{+3.8}\text{fb}$. Constraints are set on the contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment ( $a_{\text{τ}}$) and electric dipole moments ( $d_{\text{τ}}$) of the τ lepton originating from potential effects of new physics on the $\text{γ}\text{τ}\text{τ}$vertex: $a_{\text{τ}}={0.0009}_{-0.0031}^{+0.0032}$and $|d_{\text{τ}}|<2.9\times {10}^{-17}e\text{cm}$(95% confidence level), consistent with the standard model. 

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2. Local structure elucidation of tungsten-substituted vanadium dioxide (V$$_{1-x}$$W$$_x$$O$$_2$$)

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18575-0  

   Wilson, Catrina E.; Gibson, Amanda E.; Cuillier, Paul M.; Li, Cheng-Han; Crosby, Patrice H. N.; Trigg, Edward B.; Najmr, Stan; Murray, Christopher B.; Jinschek, Joerg R.; Doan-Nguyen, Vicky (August 2022, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Initially, vanadium dioxide seems to be an ideal first-order phase transition case study due to its deceptively simple structure and composition, but upon closer inspection there are nuances to the driving mechanism of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) that are still unexplained. In this study, a local structure analysis across a bulk powder tungsten-substitution series is utilized to tease out the nuances of this first-order phase transition. A comparison of the average structure to the local structure using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and total scattering pair-distribution function methods, respectively, is discussed as well as comparison to bright field transmission electron microscopy imaging through a similar temperature-series as the local structure characterization. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure fitting of thin film data across the substitution-series is also presented and compared to bulk. Machine learning technique, non-negative matrix factorization, is applied to analyze the total scattering data. The bulk MIT is probed through magnetic susceptibility as well as differential scanning calorimetry. The findings indicate the local transition temperature ($$T_c$$ $T_c$) is less than the average$$T_c$$ $T_c$supporting the Peierls-Mott MIT mechanism, and demonstrate that in bulk powder and thin-films, increasing tungsten-substitution instigates local V-oxidation through the phase pathway VO$$_2\, \rightarrow$$ ${}_2\to$V$$_6$$ ${}_6$O$$_{13} \, \rightarrow$$ ${}_{13}\to$V$$_2$$ ${}_2$O$$_5$$ ${}_5$. 

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3. Measurement of the production cross section of prompt $$\Xi ^0_{\textrm{c}}$$ baryons in p–Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{{\textrm{NN}}}}=5.02$$ TeV

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-13531-w  

   Acharya, S; Adamová, D; Agarwal, A; Aglieri_Rinella, G; Aglietta, L; Agnello, M; Agrawal, N; Ahammed, Z; Ahmad, S; Ahn, S U; et al (January 2025, The European Physical Journal C)

   Abstract The transverse momentum ($$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$) differential production cross section of the promptly produced charm-strange baryon$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$(and its charge conjugate$$\overline{\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}}$$ $\overline{{\Xi }_c^0}$) is measured at midrapidity via its hadronic decay into$$\mathrm{\pi ^{+}}\Xi ^{-}$$ ${\pi }^{+}{\Xi }^{-}$in p–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon collision$$\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}~=~5.02$$ $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$nuclear modification factor ($$R_{\textrm{pPb}}$$ $R_{\text{pPb}}$), calculated from the cross sections in pp and p–Pb collisions, is presented and compared with the$$R_{\textrm{pPb}}$$ $R_{\text{pPb}}$of$$\mathrm {\Lambda _{c}^{+}}$$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$baryons. The ratios between the$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$-differential production cross section of$$\mathrm {\Xi _{c}^{0}}$$ ${\Xi }_c^0$baryons and those of$$\mathrm {D^0}$$ $D^0$mesons and$$\mathrm {\Lambda _{c}^{+}}$$ ${\Lambda }_c^{+}$baryons are also reported and compared with results at forward and backward rapidity from the LHCb Collaboration. The measurements of the production cross section of prompt$$\Xi ^0_\textrm{c}$$ ${\Xi }_{\text{c}}^0$baryons are compared with a model based on perturbative QCD calculations of charm-quark production cross sections, which includes only cold nuclear matter effects in p–Pb collisions, and underestimates the measurement by a factor of about 50. This discrepancy is reduced when the data is compared with a model that includes string formation beyond leading-colour approximation or in which hadronisation is implemented via quark coalescence. The$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$-integrated cross section of prompt$$\Xi ^0_\textrm{c}$$ ${\Xi }_{\text{c}}^0$-baryon production at midrapidity extrapolated down to$$p_{\textrm{T}}$$ $p_{\text{T}}$= 0 is also reported. These measurements offer insights and constraints for theoretical calculations of the hadronisation process. Additionally, they provide inputs for the calculation of the charm production cross section in p–Pb collisions at midrapidity. 

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4. What Does the Geometry of the Hβ BLR Depend On?

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accc84  

   Villafaña, Lizvette; Williams, Peter R.; Treu, Tommaso; Brewer, Brendon J.; Barth, Aaron J.; U, Vivian; Bennert, Vardha N.; Guo, Hengxiao; Bentz, Misty C.; Canalizo, Gabriela; et al (May 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We combine our dynamical modeling black-hole mass measurements from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2016 sample with measured cross-correlation time lags and line widths to recover individual scale factors,f, used in traditional reverberation-mapping analyses. We extend our sample by including prior results from Code for AGN Reverberation and Modeling of Emission Lines (caramel) studies that have utilized our methods. Aiming to improve the precision of black-hole mass estimates, as well as uncover any regularities in the behavior of the broad-line region (BLR), we search for correlations betweenfand other AGN/BLR parameters. We find (i) evidence for a correlation between the virial coefficient ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\sigma }\right)$and black-hole mass, (ii) marginal evidence for a similar correlation between ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$and black-hole mass, (iii) marginal evidence for an anticorrelation of BLR disk thickness with ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$and ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$, and (iv) marginal evidence for an anticorrelation of inclination angle with ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\mathrm{FWHM}}\right)$, ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$, and ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{mean},\sigma }\right)$. Last, we find marginal evidence for a correlation between line-profile shape, when using the root-mean-square spectrum, ${\log }_{10}{\left(\mathrm{FWHM}/\sigma \right)}_{\mathrm{rms}}$, and the virial coefficient, ${\log }_{10}\left(f_{\mathrm{rms},\sigma }\right)$, and investigate how BLR properties might be related to line-profile shape usingcaramelmodels. 

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5. Search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of pseudoscalars in the $$\upmu \upmu \text{ b } \text{ b } $$ and $$\uptau \uptau \text{ b } \text{ b } $$ final states

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12727-4  

   Hayrapetyan, A; Tumasyan, A; Adam, W; Andrejkovic, J W; Bergauer, T; Chatterjee, S; Damanakis, K; Dragicevic, M; Del_Valle, A Escalante; Hussain, P S; et al (May 2024, The European Physical Journal C)

   Abstract A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson ($$\text {H}$$ $\text{H}$) with a mass of 125$$\,\text {Ge}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$ $\text{Ge}\text{V}$to a pair of light pseudoscalars$$\text {a}_{1} $$ ${\text{a}}_1$is performed in final states where one pseudoscalar decays to two$${\textrm{b}}$$ $\text{b}$quarks and the other to a pair of muons or$$\tau $$ $\tau$leptons. A data sample of proton–proton collisions at$$\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {Te}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V} $$ $\sqrt{s}=13\text{Te}\text{V}$corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138$$\,\text {fb}^{-1}$$ ${\text{fb}}^{-1}$recorded with the CMS detector is analyzed. No statistically significant excess is observed over the standard model backgrounds. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level ($$\text {CL}$$ $\text{CL}$) on the Higgs boson branching fraction to$$\upmu \upmu \text{ b } \text{ b } $$ $\mu \mu \text{b}\text{b}$and to$$\uptau \uptau \text{ b } \text{ b },$$ $\tau \tau \text{b}\text{b},$via a pair of$$\text {a}_{1} $$ ${\text{a}}_1$s. The limits depend on the pseudoscalar mass$$m_{\text {a}_{1}}$$ $m_{{\text{a}}_1}$and are observed to be in the range (0.17–3.3) $$\times 10^{-4}$$ $\times {10}^{-4}$and (1.7–7.7) $$\times 10^{-2}$$ $\times {10}^{-2}$in the$$\upmu \upmu \text{ b } \text{ b } $$ $\mu \mu \text{b}\text{b}$and$$\uptau \uptau \text{ b } \text{ b } $$ $\tau \tau \text{b}\text{b}$final states, respectively. In the framework of models with two Higgs doublets and a complex scalar singlet (2HDM+S), the results of the two final states are combined to determine upper limits on the branching fraction$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} \rightarrow \ell \ell \text{ b } \text{ b})$$ $B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1\to \ell \ell \text{b}\text{b})$at 95%$$\text {CL}$$ $\text{CL}$, with$$\ell $$ $\ell$being a muon or a$$\uptau $$ $\tau$lepton. For different types of 2HDM+S, upper bounds on the branching fraction$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} )$$ $B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1)$are extracted from the combination of the two channels. In most of the Type II 2HDM+S parameter space,$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} )$$ $B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1)$values above 0.23 are excluded at 95%$$\text {CL}$$ $\text{CL}$for$$m_{\text {a}_{1}}$$ $m_{{\text{a}}_1}$values between 15 and 60$$\,\text {Ge}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$ $\text{Ge}\text{V}$. 

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