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  1. We present results of a search for spin-independent dark matter-nucleus interactions in a 1 cm 2 by 1 mm thick (0.233 g) high-resolution silicon athermal phonon detector operated above ground. For interactions in the substrate, this detector achieves an rms baseline energy resolution of 361.5 ( 4 ) m eV (statistical error), the best for any athermal phonon detector to date. With an exposure of 0.233 g × 12 hours, we place the most stringent constraints on dark matter masses between 44 and 87 M eV / c 2 , with the lowest unexplored cross section of 4 × 10 32 c m 2 at 87 M eV / c 2 . We employ a conservative salting technique to reach the lowest dark matter mass ever probed via direct detection experiment. This constraint is enabled by two-channel rejection of low energy backgrounds that are coupled to individual sensors. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available October 1, 2026
  2. Super-Kamiokande (SK) has observed B 8 solar neutrino elastic scattering at recoil electron kinetic energies ( E kin ) as low as 3.49 MeV to study neutrino flavor conversion within the Sun. At SK-observable energies, these conversions are dominated by the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect. An upturn in the electron neutrino survival probability in which vacuum neutrino oscillations become dominant is predicted to occur at lower energies, but radioactive background increases exponentially with decreasing energy. New machine learning approaches provide substantial background reduction below 3.49 MeV such that statistical extraction of solar neutrino interactions becomes feasible. This article presents an analysis of the solar neutrino interaction rate at E kin < 3.49 MeV with the full SK-IV period, using data from a wideband intelligent trigger when available and with a boosted decision tree for event selection. A solar neutrino signal is observed between 2.99 MeV < E kin < 3.49 MeV with 2.76 σ significance and a data to unoscillated Monte Carlo ratio of 0.307 0.111 + 0.112 . These additional low-energy data have a negligible effect on the 1 σ intervals of the fits to the solar neutrino energy spectrum but have a noticeable effect on the best fit when using the exponential parametrization. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available June 1, 2027
  3. Abstract The electron antineutrino flux limits are presented for the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) of all time, GRB221009A, over a range of 1.8–200 MeV using the Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector. Using multiple time windows ranging from minutes to days surrounding the event to search for electron antineutrinos coincident with the GRB, we set an upper limit on the flux under the assumption of several power-law neutrino source spectra, with power-law indices ranging from 1.5 to 3 in steps of 0.5. No excess was observed in any time windows ranging from seconds to days around the event trigger timeT0. For a power-law index of 2 and a time window ofT0 ±  500 s, a flux upper limit of 2.34  ×  109cm−2was calculated. The limits are compared to the results presented by IceCube. 
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  4. Particle dark matter could belong to a multiplet that includes an electrically charged state. WIMP dark matter (χ0) accompanied by a negatively charged excited state (χ−) with a small mass difference (e.g. < 20 MeV) can form a bound-state with a nucleus such as xenon. This bound-state formation is rare and the released energy is O(1−10) MeV depending on the nucleus, making large liquid scintillator detectors suitable for detection. We searched for bound-state formation events with xenon in two experimental phases of the KamLAND-Zen experiment, a xenon-doped liquid scintillator detector. No statistically significant events were observed. For a benchmark parameter set of WIMP mass mχ0=1 TeV and mass difference Δm=17 MeV, we set the most stringent upper limits on the recombination cross section times velocity 〈σv〉 and the decay-width of χ− to 9.2×10−30cm3/s and 8.7×10−14 GeV, respectively at 90% confidence level. 
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  5. We present the results of searches for nucleon decays via p ν π + and n ν π 0 using a 0.484 Mt · yr exposure of Super-Kamiokande I-V data covering the entire pure water phase of the experiment. Various improvements on the previous 2014 nucleon decay search [], which used an exposure of 0.173 Mt · yr , are incorporated. The physics models related to pion production and nuclear interaction are refined with external data, and a more comprehensive set of systematic uncertainties, now including those associated with the atmospheric neutrino flux and pion production channels, is considered. Also, the fiducial volume has been expanded by 21%. No significant indication of a nucleon decay signal is found beyond the expected background. Lower bounds on the nucleon partial lifetimes are determined to be 3.5 × 10 32 yr for p ν π + and 1.4 × 10 33 yr for n ν π 0 at 90% confidence level. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2027
  6. In recent neutrino detectors, neutrons produced in neutrino reactions play an important role. Muon capture on oxygen nuclei is one of the processes that produce neutrons in water Cherenkov detectors. We measured neutron multiplicity in the process using cosmic ray muons that stop in the gadolinium-loaded Super-Kamiokande detector. For this measurement, neutron detection efficiency is obtained with the muon capture events followed by gamma rays to be 50.2 2.1 + 2.0 % . By fitting the observed multiplicity considering the detection efficiency, we measure neutron multiplicity in muon capture as P ( 0 ) = 24 ± 3 % , P ( 1 ) = 7 0 2 + 3 % , P ( 2 ) = 6.1 ± 0.5 % , P ( 3 ) = 0.38 ± 0.09 % . This is the first measurement of the multiplicity of neutrons associated with muon capture on oxygen without neutron energy threshold. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available March 1, 2027
  7. Abstract We present the detection and characterization of fluctuations in linearly polarized emission from the atmosphere above the South Pole. These measurements make use of data from the SPT-3G receiver on the South Pole Telescope in three frequency bands centered at 95, 150, and 220 GHz. We use the cross-correlation between detectors to produce an unbiased estimate of the power in StokesI,Q, andUparameters on large angular scales. Our results are consistent with the polarized signal being produced by the combination of Rayleigh scattering of thermal radiation from the ground and thermal emission from a population of horizontally aligned ice crystals with an anisotropic distribution described by Kolmogorov turbulence. The measured spatial scaling, frequency scaling, and elevation dependence of the polarized emission are explained by this model. Polarized atmospheric emission has the potential to significantly impact observations on the large angular scales being targeted by searches for inflationary B-mode CMB polarization. We present the distribution of measured angular power spectrum amplitudes in StokesQandIfor 4 yr of Austral winter observations, which can be used to simulate the impact of atmospheric polarization and intensity fluctuations at the South Pole on a specified experiment and observation strategy. We present a mitigation strategy that involves both downweighting significantly contaminated observations and subtracting a polarized atmospheric signal from the 150 GHz band maps. In observations with the SPT-3G instrument, the polarized atmospheric signal is a well-understood and subdominant contribution to the measured noise after implementing the mitigation strategies described here. 
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  8. Abstract In 2024, a failed supernova (SN) candidate, M31-2014-DS1, was reported in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), located at a distance of approximately 770 kpc. In this Letter, we search for neutrinos from this failed SN using data from Super-Kamiokande (SK). Based on the estimated time of black hole formation inferred from optical and infrared observations, we define a search window for neutrino events in the SK data. Using this window, we develop a dedicated analysis method for failed SNe and apply it to M31-2014-DS1, by conducting a cluster search using the timing and energy information of candidate events. No significant neutrino excess is observed within the search region. Consequently, we place an upper limit on the time-integrated electron antineutrino luminosity from M31-2014-DS1 and discuss its implications for various failed SN models and their neutrino emission characteristics. Despite the 18 MeV threshold adopted to suppress backgrounds, the search remains sufficiently sensitive to constrain the Shen-TM1 equation of state, in a more optimistic emission scenario with progenitor stars of 40Mand relatively high mean electron-antineutrino energies of about 23.2 MeV, yielding a 90% confidence level upper limit of 1.76 × 1053erg on the time-integrated electron antineutrino luminosity, moderately above the expected value of 1.35 × 1053erg. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 13, 2027
  9. We searched for bound neutron decay via n ν ¯ + K 0 predicted by the grand unified theories in 0.401 Mton · years exposure of all pure water phases in the Super-Kamiokande detector. About 4.4 times more data than in the previous search have been analyzed by a new method including a spectrum fit to kaon invariant mass distributions. No significant data excess has been observed in the signal regions. As a result of this analysis, we set a lower limit of 7.8 × 10 32 years on the neutron lifetime at a 90% confidence level. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 1, 2026
  10. Measurement of the branching ratio of 16N, 15C, 12B, and 13B isotopes through the nuclear muon capture reaction in the Super-Kamiokande detector 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available December 1, 2026