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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Duality and supersymmetry constraints on the weak gravity conjecture

Positivity bounds coming from consistency of UV scattering amplitudes are not always sufficient to prove the weak gravity conjecture for theories beyond Einstein-Maxwell. Additional ingredients about the UV may be necessary to exclude those regions of parameter space which are naïvely in conflict with the predictions of the weak gravity conjecture. In this paper we explore the consequences of imposing additional symmetries inherited from the UV theory on higher-derivative operators for Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion theory. Using black hole thermodynamics, for a preserved SL(2, $\mathbb{R}$) symmetry we find that the weak gravity conjecture then does follow from positivity bounds. For a preserved O(d, d; $\mathbb{R}$) symmetry we find a simple condition on the two Wilson coefficients which ensures the positivity of corrections to the charge-to-mass ratio and that follows from the null energy condition alone. We find that imposing supersymmetry on top of either of these symmetries gives corrections which vanish identically, as expected for BPS states.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Towards a UV model of kinetic mixing and portal matter

The nature of dark matter (DM) and how it might interact with the particles of the Standard Model (SM) is an ever-growing mystery. It is possible that the existence of new “dark sector” forces, yet undiscovered, are the key to solving this fundamental problem, and one might hope that in the future such forces might even be “unified” with the ones we already know in some UV-complete framework. In this paper, following a bottom-up approach, we attempt to take the first steps in the construction of such a framework. The much-discussed possibility of the kinetic mixing (KM) of the “dark photon” with the hypercharge gauge boson of the SM via loops of portal matter (PM) fields, charged in both sectors, offers an attractive starting point for these efforts. Given the anticipated finite strength of the KM in a UV-complete theory, the absence of anomalies, and the lifetime constraints on the PM fields arising from cosmic microwave background and nucleosynthesis constraints, PM must behave as vector-like copies of the known SM fermion fields, such as those which appear naturally in, e.g., E 6 -type models. Within such a setup, the SM and their corresponding partner PM fields would be related by a new S U ( 2 ) I gauge symmetry. With this observation as a springboard, we construct a generalization of these ideas where S U ( 2 ) I is augmented by an additional U ( 1 ) I Y factor so that the light dark photon is the result of a symmetry breaking analogous to the SM, i.e., S U ( 2 ) I × U ( 1 ) I Y → U ( 1 ) D , but with U ( 1 ) D now also broken at the ≲ GeV scale. While SM fields are U ( 1 ) D singlets, as in the conventional dark photon approach, they transform nontrivially under the full S U ( 2 ) I × U ( 1 ) I Y gauge group. This approach leads to numerous interesting signatures, both at low energies and at colliders, and can be viewed as an initial step in the construction of a more UV-complete framework.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

The deconstruction of flavor in the privately democratic Higgs sector

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics fails to explain the observed hierarchy in fermion masses or the origin of fermion-flavor structure. We construct a model to explain these observations in the quark sector. We introduce a spectrum of new particles consisting of six of each — massive singlet vector-like quarks (VLQs), singlet scalars, and SU(2)-doublet scalars. SM quark masses are generated when the neutral components of the SU(2)-doublet scalars acquire non-zero vacuum expectation values (VEVs). We impose global symmetries to ensure that Yukawa couplings stay roughly flavor diagonal and democratic (of the same order), as well as to suppress tree-level flavor-changing neutral currents. Quark-mass hierarchy then follows from a hierarchy in scalar VEVs. The singlet scalars also acquire weak-scale VEVs. Together with the VLQs, they act as messengers between different generations of quarks in the SM. These messenger particles are responsible for generating the elements of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Masakawa (CKM) matrix which depend on the ratios of the singlet VEVs and VLQ masses. Constructed this way, the CKM matrix is found to be independent of the SM fermion masses. Using the measured values of the CKM matrix elements and assuming order-one couplings, we derive constraints on the masses of the VLQs and discuss prospects for probing our model in the near future.

CKM Parameters↗
DOE OSTI2025

Classifying One-Dimensional Quantum States Prepared by a Single Round of Measurements

Measurements and feedback have emerged as powerful resources for creating many-body quantum states. However, a detailed understanding has been restricted to fixed-point representatives of phases of matter. Here, we go beyond this and characterize the patterns of many-body entanglement that can be deterministically created from measurement. Focusing on one spatial dimension, a framework is developed for the case where a single round of measurements is the only entangling operation. We show this creates matrix-product states and identify necessary and sufficient tensor conditions for preparability, which uniquely determine the preparation protocol. We use these conditions to both classify preparable quantum states and characterize their physical constraints. In particular, we find a trade-off between the richness of the preparable entanglement spectrum and correlation functions, which leads to a no-go theorem for preparing certain quantum states. More broadly, we connect properties of the preparation protocol to the resulting phase of matter, including trivial, symmetry-breaking, and symmetry-protected topological phases—for both uniform and modulated symmetries. This work offers a resource-theoretic perspective on preparable quantum entanglement and shows how to systematically create states of matter, away from their fixed points, in quantum devices. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Sahay, Rahul (ORCID:0000000174579826)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Joint neutrino oscillation analysis from the T2K and NOvA experiments

The landmark discovery that neutrinos have mass and can change type (or flavour) as they propagate—a process called neutrino oscillation—has opened up a rich array of theoretical and experimental questions being actively pursued today. Neutrino oscillation remains the most powerful experimental tool for addressing many of these questions, including whether neutrinos violate charge-parity (CP) symmetry, which has possible connections to the unexplained preponderance of matter over antimatter in the Universe. Oscillation measurements also probe the mass-squared differences between the different neutrino mass states (Δ$m^2$), whether there are two light states and a heavier one (normal ordering) or vice versa (inverted ordering), and the structure of neutrino mass and flavour mixing. Here we carry out the first joint analysis of datasets from NOvA and T2K, the two currently operating long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments (hundreds of kilometres of neutrino travel distance), taking advantage of our complementary experimental designs and setting new constraints on several neutrino sector parameters. This analysis provides new precision on the $Δm_{32}^2$ mass difference, finding $-2.43_{−0.03}^{+0.04}$ x $10^{-13}$ $\textrm{eV}^2$ in the normal ordering and $-2.43^{+0.03}_{-0.04}$ x $10^{-13}$ $\textrm{eV}^2$ in the inverted ordering, as well as a 3σ interval on δ CP of [−1.38π, 0.30π] in the normal ordering and [−0.92π, −0.04π] in the inverted ordering. The data show no strong preference for either mass ordering, but notably, if inverted ordering were assumed true within the three-flavour mixing model, then our results would provide evidence of CP symmetry violation in the lepton sector.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Brown-York charges at null boundaries

The Brown-York stress tensor provides a means for defining quasilocal gravitational charges in subregions bounded by a timelike hypersurface. We consider the generalization of this stress tensor to null hypersurfaces. Such a stress tensor can be derived from the on-shell subregion action of general relativity associated with a Dirichlet variational principle, which fixes an induced Carroll structure on the null boundary. The formula for the mixed-index tensor T i j takes a remarkably simple form that is manifestly independent of the choice of auxiliary null vector at the null surface, and we compare this expression to previous proposals for null Brown-York stress tensors. The stress tensor we obtain satisfies a covariant conservation equation with respect to any connection induced from a rigging vector at the hypersurface, as a result of the null constraint equations. For transformations that act covariantly on the boundary structures, the Brown-York charges coincide with canonical charges constructed from a version of the Wald-Zoupas procedure. For anomalous transformations, the charges differ by an intrinsic functional of the boundary geometry, which we explicity verify for a set of symmetries associated with finite null hyper-surfaces. Applications of the null Brown-York stress tensor to symmetries of asymptotically flat spacetimes and celestial holography are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

A theory of dark pions

We present a complete model of a dark QCD sector with light dark pions, broadly motivated by hidden naturalness arguments. The dark quarks couple to the Standard Model via irrelevant Z- and Higgs-portal operators, which encode the low-energy effects of TeV-scale fermions interacting through Yukawa couplings with the Higgs field. The dark pions, depending on their CP properties, behave as either composite axion-like particles (ALPs) mixing with the Z or scalars mixing with the Higgs. The dark pion lifetimes fall naturally in the most interesting region for present and proposed searches for long-lived particles, at the LHC and beyond. This is demonstrated by studying in detail three benchmark scenarios for the symmetries and structure of the theory. Within a coherent framework, we analyze and compare the GeV-scale signatures of flavor-changing meson decays to dark pions, the weak-scale decays of Z and Higgs bosons to hidden hadrons, and the TeV-scale signals of the ultraviolet theory. New constraints are derived from B decays at CMS and from Z-initiated dark showers at LHCb, focusing on the displaced dimuon signature. We also emphasize the strong potential sensitivity of ATLAS and CMS to dark shower signals with large multiplicities and long lifetimes of the dark pions. As a key part of our phenomenological study, we perform a new data-driven calculation of the decays of a light ALP to exclusive hadronic Standard Model final states. The results are provided in a general form, applicable to any model with arbitrary flavor-diagonal couplings of the ALP to fermions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Non-decoupling new particles

We initiate the study of a new class of beyond the Standard Model states that we call “Loryons.” They have the defining characteristic of being non-decoupling, in the sense that their physical mass is dominated by a contribution from the vacuum expectation value of the Higgs boson. The stakes are high: the discovery of a Loryon would tell us that electroweak symmetry must be non-linearly realized in the effective field theory of the Standard Model. Loryons have their masses bounded from above by perturbative unitarity considerations and thus define a finite parameter space for exploration. After providing a complete catalog of Loryon representations under mild assumptions, we turn to examining the constraints on the parameter space from Higgs couplings measurements, precision electroweak tests, and direct collider searches. We show that most fermionic candidates are already ruled out (with some notable exceptions), while much of the scalar Loryon parameter space is still wide open for discovery.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Neutrino condensation from a new Higgs-like interaction

In this work, we revisit the scenario of having a new interaction between neutrinos and a Higgs-like scalar suggested by short-baseline neutrino anomalies. We find that there are two possible attractive channels in the resulting effective 4-Fermi theory which lead to a neutrino condensation in cosmic neutrinos and the creation of a neutrino superfluid at low temperatures and finite chemical potential. We find that at the minimum of the effective potential V the condensates are mostly made up of pairs of left-left + right-right composites, with a tiny admixture of left-right + right-left composites which differs from the scenario of Kapusta which focused on the energetically unfavored left-right + right-left scenario. We obtain an approximate equation for the gap Δ 2 = 4 m H ( μ - m ) Exp [ - π 2 G eff μ μ 2 - m 2 ] , where m H is the mass of the Higgs scalar, and G eff is the effective (renormalized) 4- Fermi interaction. Recent constraints on cosmological neutrinos suggest the possibility that log 10 ( G eff MeV 2 ) = - 1.72 which would lead to an exponentially small gap.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Classical Equations of Motion of Quantized Gauge Theories, Part I: General Relativity

In this and a companion paper, we show that quantum field theories with gauge symmetries permit a broader class of classical dynamics than typically assumed. In this article, we show that the dynamics extracted from the path integral or Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity allows for classical states that do not satisfy the full set of Einstein's equations. This amounts to loosening the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints that are imposed on the initial state. Nevertheless, the quantum theory permits gauge invariant time evolution of these states. The time evolution of these states is such that at the classical level the full set of Einstein's equations would appear to hold, with the physical effects of these states being attributable to an auxiliary, covariantly conserved energy-momentum tensor with no internal degrees of freedom. We derive the generalized Einstein equations for these states and show that a homogeneous and isotropic initial background state contributes to expansion identical to cold dark matter. The inhomogeneous components of this state could source curvature perturbations that grow linearly at linear order. This auxiliary contribution to Einstein's equations could have either sign and thus provide a trivial way to violate the null energy condition, enabling novel gravitational dynamics such as cosmic bounces and wormholes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dark showers from sneaky dark matter

We present a minimal composite dark matter model, based on a SU(Nd) dark sector with nf dark quarks and a heavy t-channel mediator. For nf ≥ 4, the dark flavor symmetry guarantees the stability of a subset of the dark pions, which serve as our dark matter candidates. Their relic abundance is determined by dark sector annihilation with the remaining dark pions, which are unstable and decay. Due to their degenerate masses, the annihilation cross section is suppressed at low temperatures, thereby avoiding stringent constraints from indirect detection and opening up the GeV mass window. The decaying dark pions are naturally long lived. We obtain limits on the model from semi-visible or emerging jet searches and estimate the reach of future probes.

ALPs↗
DOE OSTI2020

Addressing R D(*) , R K(*) , muon g -2 and ANITA anomalies in a minimal R-parity violating supersymmetric framework

We analyze the recent hints of lepton flavor universality violation in both charged-current and neutral-current rare decays of B mesons in an R -parity-violating supersymmetric scenario. Motivated by simplicity and minimality, we had earlier postulated the third-generation superpartners to be the lightest (calling the scenario “RPV3”) and explicitly showed that it preserves gauge coupling unification and of course has the usual attribute of naturally addressing the Higgs radiative stability. Here we show that both R D ( * ) and R K ( * ) flavor anomalies can be addressed in this RPV3 framework. Interestingly, this scenario may also be able to accommodate two other seemingly disparate anomalies, namely, the longstanding discrepancy in the muon ( g - 2 ), as well as the recent anomalous upgoing ultrahigh-energy Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna events. Based on symmetry arguments, we consider three different benchmark points for the relevant RPV3 couplings and carve out the regions of parameter space where all (or some) of these anomalies can be simultaneously explained. We find it remarkable that such overlap regions exist, given the plethora of precision low-energy and high-energy experimental constraints on the minimal model parameter space. The third-generation superpartners needed in this theoretical construction are all in the 1–10 TeV range, accessible at the LHC and/or next-generation hadron colliders. We also discuss some testable predictions for the lepton-flavor-violating decays of the tau lepton and B mesons for the current and future B -physics experiments, such as LHCb and Belle II. Complementary tests of the flavor anomalies in the high- p T regime in collider experiments such as the LHC are also discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Bayesian refinement of covariant energy density functionals

The last five years have seen remarkable progress in our quest to determine the equation of state of neutron rich matter. Here, recent advances across the theoretical, experimental, and observational landscape have been incorporated in a Bayesian framework to refine existing covariant energy density functionals previously calibrated by the properties of finite nuclei. In particular, constraints on the maximum neutron star mass from pulsar timing, on stellar radii from the NICER mission, on tidal deformabilities from the LIGO-Virgo collaboration, and on the dynamics of pure neutron matter as predicted from chiral effective field theories have resulted in significant refinements to the models, particularly to those predicting a stiff symmetry energy. Still, even after these improvements, we find it challenging to reproduce simultaneously the neutron skin thickness of both 208 Pb and 48 Ca recently reported by the PREX/CREX collaboration.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ghostbusters: unitarity and causality of non-equilibrium effective field theories

For a non-equilibrium physical system defined along a closed time path (CTP), a key constraint is the so-called largest time equation, which is a consequence of unitarity and implies causality. In this paper, we present a simple proof that if the propagators of a non-equilibrium effective action have the proper pole structure, the largest time equation is obeyed to all loop orders. Ghost fields and BRST symmetry are not needed. In particular, the arguments for the proof can also be used to show that if ghost fields are introduced, their contributions vanish.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of the nuclear equation of state on the formation of twin stars

Twin stars-two stable neutron stars (NSs) with the same mass but different radii have long been proposed to appear as a consequence of a possible first-order phase transition in NS matter. Within a meta-model for the EOS of hybrid stars, we revisit the viability of twin stars and its dependence on numerous parameters characterizing the EOS of nuclear matter, quark matter, and the phase transition between them. While essentially no experimental constraint exists for the last two, parameters characterizing the EOS of neutron-rich nucleonic matter have been constrained within various ranges by terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations. Within these ranges, the impact of nuclear EOS and crust-core transition density on the formation of twin stars is studied. Here, it is found that the symmetry energy of neutron-rich nucleonic matter notably influences the formation of twin stars, particularly through its slope L and curvature K sym . Conversely, varying the EOS of symmetric nuclear matter within their currently known uncertainty ranges shows minimal influence on the formation of twin stars.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

AI-Assisted Conceptual Development of a Pre-Geometric Cosmological Model - An Exercise in AI-Assisted Conceptual Framework Generation, Paper I: Foundations and Replication Dynamics

We develop a pre-geometric cosmological framework in which existence is identified with a finite amount of unstructured energy possessing vibration as its only intrinsic property. This vibrational substrate occupies an open, bounded spectral interval $(\omega_{\min},\omega_{\max})$, ensuring finiteness of total energy and excluding infinitely stable configurations. The substrate evolves under two fundamental and competing tendencies---excitation, which amplifies coherence, and randomization, which scrambles it. Their balance produces a metastable unstructured regime in which rare fluctuations may form long-lived self-consistent spectral configurations. Because the substrate is finite and subject to competing order--disorder dynamics, no coherent configuration can be perpetually stable. We show that the only mechanism capable of sustaining long-lived organization is a replication instability: a coherent unit may reproduce into multiple offspring according to a general $1\!\to n$ rule. Replication consumes energy from the finite substrate, breaks the metastable symmetry, and induces a discrete notion of event time through the replication tick $\Delta\tau$. Temporal succession is defined through correlation ordering of spectral microstates, producing an intrinsic pre-causal structure. The compactness of the spectral domain imposes minimal and maximal timescales, bounds the internal coherence of emergent units, and limits their proliferation. These spectral constraints serve as precursors for the emergence of geometry, adjacency, and a limiting propagation speed, developed in subsequent papers of this series. Paper I provides the foundational axioms (PG1--PG9) governing the spectral substrate, its metastable dynamics, the formation of coherent units, and the necessity of replication, establishing a fully pre-geometric stage from which causal and geometric structure naturally emerge.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spin-statistics for black hole microstates

The gravitational path integral can be used to compute the number of black hole states for a given energy window, or the free energy in a thermal ensemble. In this article we explain how to use the gravitational path integral to compute the separate number of bosonic and fermionic black hole microstates. We do this by comparing the partition function with and without the insertion of (–1) F . In particular we introduce a universal rotating black hole that contributes to the partition function in the presence of (–1) F. We study this problem for black holes in asymptotically flat space and in AdS, putting constraints on the high energy spectrum of holographic CFTs (not necessarily supersymmetric). Finally, we analyze wormhole contributions to related quantities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Recursion relations for 5-point conformal blocks

We consider 5-point functions in conformal field theories in d2 dimensions. Using weight-shifting operators, we derive recursion relations which allow for the computation of arbitrary conformal blocks appearing in 5-point functions of scalar operators, reducing them to a linear combination of blocks with scalars exchanged. We additionally derive recursion relations for the conformal blocks which appear when one of the external operators in the 5-point function has spin 1 or 2. Our results allow us to formulate positivity constraints using 5-point functions which describe the expectation value of the energy operator in bilocal states created by two scalars.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗