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At least 199 records · Page 11

Weak-charge radius of 40 Ar: From CREX constraints to CE⁢𝜈⁢NS sensitivity

Despite significant theoretical efforts, the CREX-PREX dilemma remains unresolved, preventing the reliable prediction of neutron (or weak-charge) radii that, besides their intrinsic nuclear-structure interest, often serve to quantify the impact of nuclear uncertainties in searches for new physics. Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering is a clean and attractive portal to new physics, whose sensitivity may be impacted by such nuclear uncertainties. In this paper I use CREX as the basis, together with a strong calcium-argon correlation, to provide a robust baseline for the weak radius of 40 Ar : 𝑅$^{40}_{wk}$ = 3.452 ± 0.028 (stat) ± 0.022 (syst) fm. Here, the weak radius of argon is an observable, highly relevant to ongoing and future liquid-argon campaigns, that encodes the loss of coherence at small momentum transfers.

39 ≤ A ≤ 58↗

Astrophysical consequences of an electroweak 𝜂 𝑤 pseudoscalar

Recently, it has been suggested that the spectrum of physical states in the Standard Model may include an ultralight pseudoscalar, denoted by 𝜂 w , in analogy with the 𝜂′ state arising from the strong interactions. We find that typical expectations for the properties of 𝜂 w get challenged by astrophysical constraints on the couplings of ultralight bosons. Our strongest limit sets a lower bound of 𝒪⁡(100 TeV) on the decay constant of the hypothesized pseudoscalar. We also briefly discuss whether 𝜂 w could be a dark matter candidate, or the origin of dark energy, but conclude that those identifications appear unlikely. Given the important implications of a potentially overlooked 𝜂 w state for a more complete understanding of the electroweak interactions and a fundamental description of nature, further theoretical and phenomenological investigations of this possibility and its associated physics are warranted.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Higgs to b b ¯ from vector boson fusion for high-scale physics

Vector boson fusion is arguably the most direct collider probe of electroweak symmetry breaking. Typically, the signature includes two forward/backward jets with low transverse momenta with a scale that is set by the mass of the vector boson. For this reason, an upper cut is used when searching for vector boson fusion processes in the Standard Model. Alternatively, the upper cut on the forward jets can be removed and the high-momentum exchange region of vector boson fusion can be studied. This phase space region has sensitivity to new physics via higher dimensional operators and form factors. In this work, we study the high-momentum region of the vector boson fusion channel where the Higgs decays to b b ¯ . We show that, depending on the form of new physics, the limits on the new physics scale range from 0.5 to 1.8 TeV. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Is SMEFT enough?

There are two canonical approaches to treating the Standard Model as an Effective Field Theory (EFT): Standard Model EFT (SMEFT), expressed in the electroweak symmetric phase utilizing the Higgs doublet, and Higgs EFT (HEFT), expressed in the broken phase utilizing the physical Higgs boson and an independent set of Goldstone bosons. HEFT encompasses SMEFT, so understanding whether SMEFT is sufficient motivates identifying UV theories that require HEFT as their low energy limit. This distinction is complicated by field redefinitions that obscure the naive differences between the two EFTs. By reformulating the question in a geometric language, we derive concrete criteria that can be used to distinguish SMEFT from HEFT independent of the chosen field basis. We highlight two cases where perturbative new physics must be matched onto HEFT: ( i ) the new particles derive all of their mass from electroweak symmetry breaking, and ( ii ) there are additional sources of electroweak symmetry breaking. Additionally, HEFT has a broader practical application: it can provide a more convergent parametrization when new physics lies near the weak scale. The ubiquity of models requiring HEFT suggests that SMEFT is not enough.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Ionization yield measurement in a germanium CDMSlite detector using photo-neutron sources

Two photo-neutron sources, Y 88 Be 9 and Sb 124 Be 9 , have been used to investigate the ionization yield of nuclear recoils in the CDMSlite germanium detectors by the SuperCDMS collaboration. In this study, we evaluate the yield for nuclear recoil energies between 1 and 7 keV at a temperature of ~ 50 mK . We use a geant4 simulation to model the neutron spectrum assuming a charge yield model that is a generalization of the standard Lindhard model and consists of two energy dependent parameters. We perform a likelihood analysis using the simulated neutron spectrum, modeled background, and experimental data to obtain the best fit values of the yield model. The ionization yield between recoil energies of 1 and 7 keV is shown to be significantly lower than predicted by the standard Lindhard model for germanium. There is a general lack of agreement among different experiments using a variety of techniques studying the low energy range of the nuclear recoil yield, which is most critical for interpretation of direct dark matter searches. This suggests complexity in the physical process that many direct detection experiments use to model their primary signal detection mechanism and highlights the need for further studies to clarify underlying systematic effects that have not been well understood up to this point.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering at the European Spallation Source

The European Spallation Source (ESS), presently well on its way to completion, will soon provide the most intense neutron beams for multi-disciplinary science. Fortuitously, it will also generate the largest pulsed neutrino flux suitable for the detection of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CEνNS), a process recently measured for the first time at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. We describe innovative detector technologies maximally able to profit from the order-of-magnitude increase in neutrino flux provided by the ESS, along with their sensitivity to a rich particle physics phenomenology accessible through high-statistics, precision CEνNS measurements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Chiral magnetic effect reveals the topology of gauge fields in heavy-ion collisions

The topological structure of vacuum is the cornerstone of non-Abelian gauge theories describing strong and electroweak interactions within the standard model of particle physics. However, transitions between different topological sectors of the vacuum (believed to be at the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe) have never been observed directly. Additionally, an experimental observation of such transitions in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) has become possible in heavy-ion collisions, where the chiral magnetic effect converts the chiral asymmetry (generated by topological transitions in hot QCD matter) into an electric current, under the presence of the magnetic field produced by the colliding ions. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider programme on heavy-ion collisions such as the zirconium-zirconium and ruthenium-ruthenium isobars thus has the potential to uncover the topological structure of vacuum in a laboratory experiment. This discovery would have far-reaching implications for the understanding of QCD, the origin of the baryon asymmetry in the present-day Universe, and other areas, including condensed matter physics.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of 𝛿 NS in 10 C using an effective field theory approach

Here, we compute radiative corrections to the superallowed 𝛽 decay of 10 C in an effective field theory approach using nuclear matrix elements obtained from quantum Monte Carlo calculations. These corrections are an important ingredient in the extraction of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Masakawa quark mixing matrix element 𝑉 𝑢⁢𝑑 , and the role of this work is to illuminate the uncertainties arising from nuclear structure. Our results provide good agreement with both the traditional extraction of 𝑉 𝑢⁢𝑑 , as well as with a more recent evaluation performed using the no-core shell model and a dispersion formalism. The dominant uncertainty in this approach is the presence of two unknown low-energy constants that enter into the relevant nuclear matrix elements. Future determinations of these low-energy constants—either from QCD or modeling them with two nucleon amplitudes—would improve the precision of the extraction in this formalism.

beta decay↗

Interference effects for 0 ν β β decay in the left-right symmetric model

Various mechanisms may contribute to neutrinoless double beta decay in the left-right symmetric model. The interference between these mechanisms also contribute to the overall decay rate. The analysis of the contributions of these interference terms is important for disentangling different mechanisms. Here, we study interference effects contributing to the decay rate for neutrinoless double-β decay in the left-right symmetric model. The numerical values for maximum interference for several nuclides are calculated. It is observed that, for most of the interference terms, the contribution is smaller than 20% for all the nuclei considered in the study. However, the interference between the mass mechanisms (light and heavy) and η mechanism is observed to be in the range 30%–50%. The variation of the interference effect with the Q values is also studied.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Uncertainty quantification for neutrino opacities in core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers

We perform an extensive study of the correlations between the neutrino-nucleon inverse mean free paths (IMFPs) and the underlying equation of states (EoSs). Strong interaction uncertainties in the neutrino mean free path are investigated in different density regimes. The nucleon effective mass, the nucleon chemical potentials, and the residual interactions in the medium play an important role in determining neutrino-nucleon interactions in a density-dependent manner. Here we study how the above quantities are constrained by an EoS consistent with (i) nuclear mass measurements, (ii) proton-proton scattering phase shifts, and (iii) neutron star observations. We then study the uncertainties of both the charged current and the neutral current neutrino-nucleon inverse mean free paths due to the variation of these quantities, using the Hartree-Fock+random phase approximation method. Finally, we calculate the Pearson correlation coefficients between (i) the EoS-based quantities and the EoS-based quantities; (ii) the EoS-based quantities and the IMFPs; (iii) the IMFPs and the IMFPs. We find a strong impact of residual interactions on neutrino opacity in the spin and spin-isospin channels, which are not well constrained by current nuclear modelings.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gallium neutrino absorption cross section and its uncertainty

In the recent Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST), a suppressed rate of neutrino absorption on a gallium target was observed, consistent with earlier results from neutrino source calibrations of the SAGE and GALLEX/GNO solar neutrino experiments. The BEST Collaboration, utilizing a 3.4 MCi 51 Cr neutrino source, found observed-to-expected counting rates at two very short baselines of 𝑅 = 0.791 ± 0.05 and 0.766 ± 0.05, respectively. Among recent neutrino experiments, BEST is notable for the simplicity of both its neutrino spectrum, line neutrinos from an electron-capture source whose intensity can be measured to a estimated precision of 0.23%, and its absorption cross section, where the precisely known rate of electron capture to the gallium ground state, 71 Ge ⁢(𝑒−, 𝜈 𝑒 )⁢ 71 Ga ⁢(g.s.), establishes a minimum value. However, the absorption cross section uncertainty is a common systematic in the BEST, SAGE, and GALLEX/GNO neutrino source experiments. Here, in this work, we update that cross section, considering a variety of electroweak corrections and the role of transitions to excited states, to establish both a central value and reasonable uncertainty, thereby enabling a more accurate assessment of the statistical significance of the gallium anomalies. Results are given for 51 Cr and 37 Ar sources. The revised neutrino capture rates are used in a reevaluation of the BEST and gallium anomalies.

electroweak interactions in nuclear physics↗

Toward ab-initio nuclear theory calculations of 𝛿 𝐶

We propose a theory framework to study the isospin-symmetry breaking correction 𝛿 C in superallowed nuclear 𝛽 decays, crucial for the precise determination of |𝑉 𝑢⁢𝑑 |. Based on a general assumptions of the isovector dominance in isospin-symmetry breaking interactions, we construct a set of functions 𝐹 𝑇 𝑧 which involve nuclear matrix elements of isovector monopole operators and the nuclear Green's function. Via the functions 𝐹 𝑇 𝑧 , a connection of 𝛿 C to measurable electroweak nuclear radii is established, providing an experimental gauge of the theory accuracy of 𝛿 C . Here, we outline a strategy to perform ab initio calculations of 𝐹 𝑇 𝑧 based on the Lanczos algorithm, and discuss its similarity with other nuclear-structure-dependent inputs in nuclear 𝛽 decays.

Ab initio calculations↗

Analog-antianalog isospin mixing in 47 K 𝛽−decay

Here, we have measured the isospin mixing of the 𝐼 𝜋 =1/2 + , 𝐸 𝑥 = 2.599 MeV state in nearly doubly magic 47 Ca with the isobaric analog 1/2 + state of 47 K . Using the TRIUMF atom trap for 𝛽 decay, we have measured a nonzero asymmetry of the progeny 47 Ca with respect to the initial 47 K spin polarization, which together with the 𝛽 asymmetry implies a nonzero ratio of Fermi to Gamow-Teller matrix elements 𝑦 = 0.098 ± 0.037 for the 1/2 + → 1/2 + transition. Interpreting 𝑦 as mixing between this state and the isobaric analog state implies a Coulomb matrix element magnitude 101 ± 37 keV. This relatively large matrix element supports a model from the literature of analog-antianalog isospin mixing, which predicts large matrix elements in cases involving excess neutrons over protons occupying more than one major shell. The result supports pursuing a search for time-reversal odd, parity-even, isovector interactions using a correlation in 47 K 𝛽 decay.

beta decay↗

Simultaneous extraction of the weak radius and the weak mixing angle from parity-violating electron scattering on 12 C

We study the impact of nuclear structure uncertainties on a measurement of the weak charge of 12 C at the future Mainz Energy Recovering Superconducting Accelerator (MESA) facility in Mainz. Information from a large variety of nuclear models, accurately calibrated to the ground-state properties of selected nuclei, suggest that a 0.3% precision measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry at forward angles will not be compromised by nuclear structure effects, thereby allowing a world-leading determination of the weak charge of 12 C . Furthermore, we show that a combination of measurements of the parity-violating asymmetry at forward and backward angles for the same electron-beam energy can be used to extract information on the nuclear weak charge distribution. We conclude that a 0.34% precision on the weak radius of 12 C may be achieved by performing a 3% precision measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry at backward angles.

Electroweak interaction↗

Effect of magnetic fields on Urca rates in neutron star mergers

Isospin-equilibrating weak processes, called “Urca” processes, are of fundamental importance in astrophysical environments like (proto-)neutron stars, neutron star mergers, and supernovae. In these environments, matter can reach high temperatures of tens of MeVs and be subject to large magnetic fields. We thus investigate Urca rates at different temperatures and field strengths by performing the full temperature and magnetic-fielddependent rate integrals for different equations of state. We find that the magnetic fields play an important role at temperatures of a few MeV, especially close to or below the direct Urca threshold, which is softened by the magnetic field. At higher temperatures, the effect of the magnetic fields can be overshadowed by the thermal effects. Finally, we observe that the magnetic field influences the neutron decay rates more strongly than the electron-capture rates, leading to a shift in the flavor equilibrium.

electroweak interactions in nuclear physics↗