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1. Constraints on metastable superheavy dark matter coupled to sterile neutrinos with the Pierre Auger Observatory

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.109.L081101  

   Abdul_Halim, A ; Abreu, P ; Aglietta, M ; Allekotte, I ; Almeida_Cheminant, K ; Almela, A ; Aloisio, R ; Alvarez-Muñiz, J ; Ammerman_Yebra, J ; Anastasi, G A ; et al ( April 2024 , Physical Review D)

   Dark matter particles could be superheavy, provided their lifetime is much longer than the age of the Universe. Using the sensitivity of the Pierre Auger Observatory to ultrahigh energy neutrinos and photons, we constrain a specific extension of the Standard Model of particle physics that meets the lifetime requirement for a superheavy particle by coupling it to a sector of ultralight sterile neutrinos. Our results show that, for a typical dark coupling constant of 0.1, the mixing angle${\theta }_m$between active and sterile neutrinos must satisfy, roughly,${\theta }_m\lesssim 1.5\times {10}^{-6}(M_X/{10}^9\mathrm{GeV}{)}^{-2}$for a mass$M_X$of the dark-matter particle between${10}^8\mathrm{GeV}$and${10}^{11}\mathrm{GeV}$.

   Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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2. Photoproduction of K+K− Pairs in Ultraperipheral Collisions

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.222303  

   Acharya, S ; Adamová, D ; Aglieri_Rinella, G ; Agnello, M ; Agrawal, N ; Ahammed, Z ; Ahmad, S ; Ahn, S U ; Ahuja, I ; Akindinov, A ; et al ( May 2024 , Physical Review Letters)

   $K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs may be produced in photonuclear collisions, either from the decays of photoproduced$\varphi (1020)$mesons or directly as nonresonant$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs. Measurements of$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction probe the couplings between the$\varphi (1020)$and charged kaons with photons and nuclear targets. The kaon-proton scattering occurs at energies far above those available elsewhere. We present the first measurement of coherent photoproduction of$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs on lead ions in ultraperipheral collisions using the ALICE detector, including the first investigation of direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$production. There is significant$K^{+}{K}^{-}$production at low transverse momentum, consistent with coherent photoproduction on lead targets. In the mass range$1.1<M_{KK}<1.4\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$above the$\varphi (1020)$resonance, for rapidity$|y_{KK}|<0.8$and$p_{T,KK}<0.1\mathrm{GeV}/c$, the measured coherent photoproduction cross section is$\mathrm{d}\sigma /\mathrm{d}y=3.37\pm 0.61(\text{stat})\pm 0.15(\mathrm{syst})\mathrm{mb}$. The center-of-mass energy per nucleon of the photon-nucleus (Pb) system$W_{\gamma \mathrm{Pb},n}$ranges from 33 to 188 GeV, far higher than previous measurements on heavy-nucleus targets. The cross section is larger than expected for$\varphi (1020)$photoproduction alone. The mass spectrum is fit to a cocktail consisting of$\varphi (1020)$decays, direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction, and interference between the two. The confidence regions for the amplitude and relative phase angle for direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction are presented.

   © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2024CERN 

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3. Search for prompt production of pentaquarks in charm hadron final states

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.110.032001  

   Aaij, R ; Abdelmotteleb, A_S W ; Abellan_Beteta, C ; Abudinén, F ; Ackernley, T ; Adeva, B ; Adinolfi, M ; Adlarson, P ; Afsharnia, H ; Agapopoulou, C ; et al ( August 2024 , Physical Review D)

   A search for hidden-charm pentaquark states decaying to a range of${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\overline{D}$and${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\overline{D}$final states, as well as doubly charmed pentaquark states to${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{c}D$and${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}D$, is made using samples of proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of$5.7{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$recorded by the LHCb detector at$\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$. Since no significant signals are found, upper limits are set on the pentaquark yields relative to that of the${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}$baryon in the${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\to p{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$decay mode. The known pentaquark states are also investigated, and their signal yields are found to be consistent with zero in all cases.

   © 2024 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2024CERN 

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4. First Measurement of the |t| Dependence of Incoherent J/ψ Photonuclear Production

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.162302  

   Acharya, S ; Adamová, D ; Adler, A ; Aglieri_Rinella, G ; Agnello, M ; Agrawal, N ; Ahammed, Z ; Ahmad, S ; Ahn, S U ; Ahuja, I ; et al ( April 2024 , Physical Review Letters)

   The first measurement of the cross section for incoherent photonuclear production of$J/\psi$vector mesons as a function of the Mandelstam$|t|$variable is presented. The measurement was carried out with the ALICE detector at midrapidity,$|y|<0.8$, using ultraperipheral collisions of Pb nuclei at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of$\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$. This rapidity interval corresponds to a Bjorken-$x$range$(0.3–1.4)\times {10}^{-3}$. Cross sections are given in five$|t|$intervals in the range$0.04<|t|<1{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$and compared to the predictions by different models. Models that ignore quantum fluctuations of the gluon density in the colliding hadron predict a$|t|$dependence of the cross section much steeper than in data. The inclusion of such fluctuations in the same models provides a better description of the data.

   © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2024CERN 

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5. First Measurement of νe and νμ Interaction Cross Sections at the LHC with FASER’s Emulsion Detector

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.021802  

   Abraham, Roshan Mammen ; Anders, John ; Antel, Claire ; Ariga, Akitaka ; Ariga, Tomoko ; Atkinson, Jeremy ; Bernlochner, Florian U ; Boeckh, Tobias ; Boyd, Jamie ; Brenner, Lydia ; et al ( July 2024 , Physical Review Letters)

   The first results of the study of high-energy electron neutrino (${\nu }_e$) and muon neutrino (${\nu }_{\mu }$) charged-current interactions in the$\mathrm{FASER}\nu$emulsion-tungsten detector of the FASER experiment at the LHC are presented. A 128.8 kg subset of the$\mathrm{FASER}\nu$volume was analyzed after exposure to$9.5{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$of$\sqrt{s}=13.6\mathrm{TeV}$$pp$data. Four (eight)${\nu }_e$(${\nu }_{\mu }$) interaction candidate events are observed with a statistical significance of$5.2\sigma$($5.7\sigma$). This is the first direct observation of${\nu }_e$interactions at a particle collider and includes the highest-energy${\nu }_e$and${\nu }_{\mu }$ever detected from an artificial source. The interaction cross section per nucleon$\sigma /E_{\nu }$is measured over an energy range of 560–1740 GeV (520–1760 GeV) for${\nu }_e$(${\nu }_{\mu }$) to be$({1.2}_{-0.7}^{+0.8})\times {10}^{-38}{\mathrm{cm}}^2{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$[$(0.5\pm 0.2)\times {10}^{-38}{\mathrm{cm}}^2{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$], consistent with standard model predictions. These are the first measurements of neutrino interaction cross sections in those energy ranges.

   Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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