More Like this

1. Microphysics of Relativistic Collisionless Electron-ion-positron Shocks

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac713e  

   Grošelj, Daniel; Sironi, Lorenzo; Beloborodov, Andrei M. (July 2022, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We perform particle-in-cell simulations to elucidate the microphysics of relativistic weakly magnetized shocks loaded with electron-positron pairs. Various external magnetizationsσ≲ 10⁻⁴and pair-loading factorsZ_±≲ 10 are studied, whereZ_±is the number of loaded electrons and positrons per ion. We find the following: (1) The shock becomes mediated by the ion Larmor gyration in the mean field whenσexceeds a critical valueσ_Lthat decreases withZ_±. Atσ≲σ_Lthe shock is mediated by particle scattering in the self-generated microturbulent fields, the strength and scale of which decrease withZ_±, leading to lowerσ_L. (2) The energy fraction carried by the post-shock pairs is robustly in the range between 20% and 50% of the upstream ion energy. The mean energy per post-shock electron scales as ${\overline{E}}_{\mathrm{e}}\propto {\left(Z_{\pm }+1\right)}^{-1}$. (3) Pair loading suppresses nonthermal ion acceleration at magnetizations as low asσ≈ 5 × 10⁻⁶. The ions then become essentially thermal with mean energy ${\overline{E}}_{\mathrm{i}}$, while electrons form a nonthermal tail, extending from $E\sim {\left(Z_{\pm }+1\right)}^{-1}{\overline{E}}_{\mathrm{i}}$to ${\overline{E}}_{\mathrm{i}}$. Whenσ= 0, particle acceleration is enhanced by the formation of intense magnetic cavities that populate the precursor during the late stages of shock evolution. Here, the maximum energy of the nonthermal ions and electrons keeps growing over the duration of the simulation. Alongside the simulations, we develop theoretical estimates consistent with the numerical results. Our findings have important implications for models of early gamma-ray burst afterglows. 

   more » « less
2. A case study of SMEFT $$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ effects in diboson processes: pp → W±(ℓ±ν)γ

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2024)223  

   Martin, Adam (May 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> In this paper we explorepp→W^±(ℓ^±ν)γto$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^4\right)$in the SMEFT expansion. Calculations to this order are necessary to properly capture SMEFT contributions that grow with energy, as the interference between energy-enhanced SMEFT effects at$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^2\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^2\right)$and the Standard Model is suppressed. We find that there are several dimension eight operators that interfere with the Standard Model and lead to the same energy growth, ~$$ \mathcal{O}\left({E}^4/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(E^4/{\Lambda }^4\right)$, as dimension six squared. While energy-enhanced SMEFT contributions are a main focus, our calculation includes the complete set of$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^4\right)$SMEFT effects consistent with U(3)⁵flavor symmetry. Additionally, we include the decay of theW^±→ ℓ^±ν, making the calculation actually$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {\ell}^{\pm}\nu \gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to {\ell }^{\pm }\mathrm{\nu \gamma }$. As such, we are able to study the impact of non-resonant SMEFT operators, such as$$ \left({L}^{\dagger }{\overline{\sigma}}^{\mu }{\tau}^IL\right)\left({Q}^{\dagger }{\overline{\sigma}}^{\nu }{\tau}^IQ\right) $$ $\left(L^{†}{\overline{\sigma }}^{\mu }{\tau }^{I}L\right)\left(Q^{†}{\overline{\sigma }}^{\nu }{\tau }^{I}Q\right)$B_μν, which contribute to$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {\ell}^{\pm}\nu \gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to {\ell }^{\pm }\mathrm{\nu \gamma }$directly and not to$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {W}^{\pm}\gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to W^{\pm }\gamma$. We show several distributions to illustrate the shape differences of the different contributions. 

   more » « less
3. Observation of a pseudoscalar excess at the top quark pair production threshold

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6633/adf7d3  

   Collaboration, The_CMS (August 2025, Reports on Progress in Physics)

   Abstract A search for resonances in top quark pair ( $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$) production in final states with two charged leptons and multiple jets is presented, based on proton–proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at $\sqrt{s}=13\text{TeV}$, corresponding to 138 fb⁻¹. The analysis explores the invariant mass of the $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$system and two angular observables that provide direct access to the correlation of top quark and antiquark spins. A significant excess of events is observed near the kinematic $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$threshold compared to the non-resonant production predicted by fixed-order perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD). The observed enhancement is consistent with the production of a color-singlet pseudoscalar ( ${}^1{\text{S}}_0^{\left[1\right]}$) quasi-bound toponium state, as predicted by non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics. Using a simplified model for ${}^1{\text{S}}_0^{\left[1\right]}$toponium, the cross section of the excess above the pQCD prediction is measured to be $8.8{}_{-1.4}^{+1.2}\text{pb}$. 

   more » « less
4. Characterizing the fundamental bending vibration of a linear polyatomic molecule for symmetry violation searches

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ace471  

   Jadbabaie, Arian; Takahashi, Yuiki; Pilgram, Nickolas H; Conn, Chandler J; Zeng, Yi; Zhang, Chi; Hutzler, Nicholas R (July 2023, New Journal of Physics)

   Abstract Polyatomic molecules have been identified as sensitive probes of charge-parity violating and parity violating physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). For example, many linear triatomic molecules are both laser-coolable and have parity doublets in the ground electronic $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state arising from the bending vibration, both features that can greatly aid BSM searches. Understanding the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state is a crucial prerequisite to precision measurements with linear polyatomic molecules. Here, we characterize the fundamental bending vibration of ${}^{174}$YbOH using high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nominally forbidden $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$ $\to \tilde{A}{}^2{\mathrm{\Pi }}_{1/2}\left(000\right)$transition at 588 nm. We assign 39 transitions originating from the lowest rotational levels of the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state, and accurately model the state’s structure with an effective Hamiltonian using best-fit parameters. Additionally, we perform Stark and Zeeman spectroscopy on the $\tilde{X}{}^2{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{+}\left(010\right)$state and fit the molecule-frame dipole moment to $D_{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{l}}=2.16\left(1\right)$Dand the effective electrong-factor to $g_S=2.07\left(2\right)$. Further, we use an empirical model to explain observed anomalous line intensities in terms of interference from spin–orbit and vibronic perturbations in the excited $\tilde{A}{}^2{\mathrm{\Pi }}_{1/2}\left(000\right)$state. Our work is an essential step toward searches for BSM physics in YbOH and other linear polyatomic molecules. 

   more » « less
5. Measurement of the e+e− → $$ {B}_s^0{\overline{B}}_s^0X $$ cross section in the energy range from 10.63 to 11.02 GeV using inclusive $$ {D}_s^{+} $$ and D0 production

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2023)131  

   Zhukova, V; Mizuk, R; Adachi, I; Aihara, H; Al_Said, S; Asner, D M; Atmacan, H; Aulchenko, V; Aushev, T; Ayad, R; et al (August 2023, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> We report the first measurement of the inclusivee⁺e⁻→$$ b\overline{b} $$ $b\overline{b}$→$$ {D}_s^{\pm } $$ $D_s^{\pm }$Xande⁺e⁻→$$ b\overline{b} $$ $b\overline{b}$→ D⁰/$$ {\overline{D}}^0 $$ ${\overline{D}}^0$Xcross sections in the energy range from 10.63 to 11.02 GeV. Based on these results, we determineσ(e⁺e⁻→$$ {B}_s^0{\overline{B}}_s^0 $$ $B_s^0{\overline{B}}_s^0$X) andσ(e⁺e⁻→$$ B\overline{B} $$ $B\overline{B}$X) in the same energy range. We measure the fraction of$$ {B}_s^0 $$ $B_s^0$events at Υ(10860) to bef_s= ($$ {22.0}_{-2.1}^{+2.0} $$ ${22.0}_{-2.1}^{+2.0}$)%. We determine also the ratio of the$$ {B}_s^0 $$ $B_s^0$inclusive branching fractions$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$($$ {B}_s^0 $$ $B_s^0$→ D⁰/$$ {\overline{D}}^0 $$ ${\overline{D}}^0$X)/$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$($$ {B}_s^0 $$ $B_s^0$→$$ {D}_s^{\pm } $$ $D_s^{\pm }$X) = 0.416 ± 0.018 ± 0.092. The results are obtained using the data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energye⁺e⁻collider. 

   more » « less