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At least 541 records · Page 30

From optimal observables to machine learning: an effective-field-theory analysis of e + e − → W + W − at future lepton colliders

We apply machine-learning techniques to the effective-field-theory analysis of the e + e − → W + W − processes at future lepton colliders, and demonstrate their advantages in comparison with conventional methods, such as optimal observables. In particular, we show that machine-learning methods are more robust to detector effects and backgrounds, and could in principle produce unbiased results with sufficient Monte Carlo simulation samples that accurately describe experiments. This is crucial for the analyses at future lepton colliders given the outstanding precision of the e + e − → W + W − measurement (~ 10−4 in terms of anomalous triple gauge couplings or even better) that can be reached. Our framework can be generalized to other effective-field-theory analyses, such as the one of e + e − → t t ¯ or similar processes at muon colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Projection-to-Born-improved subtractions at NNLO

While the current frontier in fixed-order precision for collider observables is N 3 LO, important steps are necessary to consolidate NNLO cross-section predictions with improved stability and efficiency. Slicing methods have been successfully applied to obtain NNLO and N 3 LO predictions, but have shown poor performance in the presence of fiducial cuts due to large kinematical power corrections. In this paper we implement Projection-to-Born-improved q T (P2B q T ) and jettiness (P2Bτ 0 ) subtractions for a large class of color singlet processes in MCFM. This method allows for the efficient evaluation of fiducial power corrections in any non-local subtraction scheme using a Projection-to-Born subtraction. We demonstrate the significant numerical improvements of this method based on fiducial Drell-Yan and Higgs cross-sections. Moreover, with fiducial power corrections removed via this method, the leading-logarithmic power corrections that have only been calculated without fiducial cuts can be included, further improving the calculations. For di-photon production with photon isolation, we devise a novel method in combination with P2B-improved subtractions, which we name P2B γ τ 0 , and P2B γ q T for the two subtraction schemes, respectively. This method allows the inclusion of both fiducial power corrections due to kinematic cuts on the photons and a set of isolation power corrections in the fragmentation channel where a quark may enter the isolation cone. We find significant improvements in the convergence of NNLO di-photon cross-sections with photon isolation cuts, demonstrating that it is possible to achieve a stable and efficient calculation of di-photon cross-sections using slicing methods.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Non-local slicing approaches for NNLO QCD in MCFM

We present the implementation of several processes at Next-to-Next-to Leading Order (NNLO) accuracy in QCD in the parton-level Monte Carlo program MCFM. The processes treated are pp → H, W ± , Z, W ± H, ZH, W ± γ, Zγ and γγ and, for the first time in the code, W + W - , W ± Z and ZZ. Decays of the unstable bosons are fully included, resulting in a flexible fully differential Monte Carlo code. The NNLO corrections have been calculated using two non-local slicing approaches, isolating the doubly unresolved region by cutting on the zero-jettiness, $\mathscr{T}_0$, or on q T , the transverse momentum of the colour singlet final-state particles. We find that for most, but not all processes the q T slicing method leads to smaller power corrections for equal computational burden.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Energy-peak based method to measure top quark mass via B -hadron decay lengths

We develop a method for the determination of the top quark mass using the distribution of the decay length of the B -hadrons originating from its decay. This technique is based on our earlier observation regarding the location of the peak of the b quark energy distribution. Such “energy-peak” methods enjoy a greater degree of model-independence with respect to the kinematics of top quark production compared to earlier proposals. The CMS experiment has implemented the energy-peak method using associated b -jet energy as an approximation for b quark energy. The new method uses B -hadron decay lengths, which are related to b quark energies by convolution. The advantage of the new decay length method is that it can be applied in a way that evades jet-energy scale (JES) uncertainties. Indeed, CMS has measured the top quark mass using B -hadron decay lengths, but they did not incorporate the energy-peak method. Therefore, mismodeling of top quark transverse momentum remains a large uncertainty in their result. We demonstrate that, using energy-peak methods, this systematic uncertainty can become negligible. We show that with the current LHC data set, a sub-GeV statistical uncertainty on the top quark mass can be attained with this method. To achieve a comparable systematic uncertainty as is true for many methods based on exclusive or semi-inclusive observables using hadrons, we find that the quark-hadron transition needs to be described significantly better than is the case with current fragmentation functions and hadronization models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the Z boson production cross-section in proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 8.16 TeV

This article presents the first measurement of the differential Z-boson production cross-section in the forward region using proton-lead collisions with the LHCb detector. The dataset was collected at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 30.8 nb –1 . The forward-backward ratio and the nuclear modification factors are measured together with the differential cross-section as functions of the Z boson rapidity in the centre-of-mass frame, the transverse momentum of the Z boson and a geometric variable $\phi$*. The results are in good agreement with the predictions from nuclear parton distribution functions, providing strong constraining power at small Bjorken-x.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Cross-section measurements for the production of a Z boson in association with high-transverse-momentum jets in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Cross-section measurements for a $Z$ boson produced in association with high-transverse-momentum jets ($p_T$ ≥ 100 GeV) and decaying into a charged-lepton pair ($e^+$$e^–$, $µ^+$$µ^–$) are presented. The measurements are performed using proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Measurements of angular correlations between the $Z$ boson and the closest jet are performed in events with at least one jet with $p_T$ ≥ 500 GeV. Event topologies of particular interest are the collinear emission of a $Z$ boson in dijet events and a boosted $Z$ boson recoiling against a jet. Fiducial cross sections are compared with state-of-the-art theoretical predictions. The data are found to agree with next-to-nextto-leading-order predictions by NNLOjet and with the next-to-leading-order multi-leg generators MadGraph5_aMC@NLO and Sherpa.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Precision measurement of forward $\mathrm{Z}$ boson production in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A precision measurement of the Z boson production cross-section at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV in the forward region is presented, using pp collision data collected by the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 fb –1 The production cross-section is measured using $\mathrm{Z}$ →$μ^+μ^-$ events within the fiducial region defined as pseudorapidity 2.0 < η < 4.5 and transverse momentum p T > 20 GeV/c for both muons and dimuon invariant mass 60 , M $_{μμ}$ < 120 GeV/c 2 . The integrated cross-section is determined to be $σ(Z → μ^+μ^-)$ = 196.4 ± 0.2 ± 1.6 ± 3.9 pb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the luminosity determination. The measured results are in agreement with theoretical predictions within uncertainties.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Vector boson pair production at one loop: analytic results for the process $q\bar{q}$$ℓ\bar{ℓ}$$ℓ'\bar{ℓ}'g$

We present compact analytic results for the one-loop amplitude for the process 0 → $q\bar{q}$$ℓ\bar{ℓ}$$ℓ'\bar{ℓ}'g$, relevant for both the production of a pair of Z and W-bosons in association with a jet. We focus on the gauge-invariant contribution mediated by a loop of quarks. We explicitly include all effects of the loop-quark mass m, appropriate for the production of a pair of Z-bosons. In the limit m → 0, our results are also applicable to the production of W-boson pairs, mediated by a loop of massless quarks. Implemented in a numerical code, the results are fast. The calculation uses novel advancements in spinor-helicity simplification techniques, for the first time applied beyond five-point massless kinematics. We make use of primary decompositions from algebraic-geometry, which now involve non-radical ideals, and p-adic numbers from number theory. We show how to infer whether numerator polynomials belong to symbolic powers of non-radical ideals through numerical evaluations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Z-boson production in p-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} $ = 8.16 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} $ = 5.02 TeV

Measurement of Z-boson production in p-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} $ = 8 . 16 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} $ = 5 . 02 TeV is reported. It is performed in the dimuon decay channel, through the detection of muons with pseudorapidity - 4 < η μ < - 2 . 5 and transverse momentum $ {p}_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mu } $ > 20 GeV/ c in the laboratory frame. The invariant yield and nuclear modification factor are measured for opposite-sign dimuons with invariant mass 60 < m μμ < 120 GeV/ c 2 and rapidity 2 . 5 < $ {y}_{\mathrm{cms}}^{\mu \mu} $ < 4. They are presented as a function of rapidity and, for the Pb-Pb collisions, of centrality as well. The results are compared with theoretical calculations, both with and without nuclear modifications to the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs). In p-Pb collisions the center-of-mass frame is boosted with respect to the laboratory frame, and the measurements cover the backward ( - 4 . 46 < $ {y}_{\mathrm{cms}}^{\mu \mu} $ < - 2 . 96) and forward (2 . 03 < $ {y}_{\mathrm{cms}}^{\mu \mu} $ < 3 . 53) rapidity regions. For the p-Pb collisions, the results are consistent within experimental and theoretical uncertainties with calculations that include both free-nucleon and nuclear-modified PDFs. For the Pb-Pb collisions, a 3 . 4 σ deviation is seen in the integrated yield between the data and calculations based on the free-nucleon PDFs, while good agreement is found once nuclear modifications are considered.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of branching fractions of ${\Lambda}_{\textrm{c}}^{+}$ decays to Σ⁺K⁺K⁻, Σ⁺Φ and Σ⁺K⁺π⁻(π 0 )

Based on 4.5 fb - 1 data taken at seven center-of-mass energies ranging from 4.600 to 4.699 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we measure the branching fractions of \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + + hadrons relative to \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + π + π - . Combining with the world average branching fraction of \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + π + π - , their branching fractions are measured to be (0 . 377 ± 0 . 042 ± 0 . 020 ± 0 . 021)% for \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + K + K - , (0 . 200 ± 0 . 023 ± 0 . 011 ± 0 . 011)% for \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + K + π - , (0 . 414 ± 0 . 080 ± 0 . 030 ± 0 . 023)% for \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + Φ and (0 . 197 ± 0 . 036 ± 0 . 009 ± 0 . 011)% for \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + K + K - (non- Φ ). In all the above results, the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic and the third are from external input of the branching fraction of \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + π + π - . Since no signal for \( {\Lambda}_c^{+} \) → Σ + K + π - π 0 is observed, the upper limit of its branching fraction is determined to be 0.13% at the 90% confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Using DUNE to shed light on the electromagnetic properties of neutrinos

We study future DUNE sensitivity to various electromagnetic couplings of neutrinos, including magnetic moments, milli-charges, and charge radii. The DUNE PRISM capabilities play a crucial role in constraining the electron flavored couplings. We find that DUNE will be able to place the strongest beam based constraint on the muon-neutrino magnetic moment by improving on LSND’s bounds by roughly a factor of two, although Borexino’s constraint from solar neutrinos will be stronger. For the muon neutrino millicharge DUNE can place the leading beam based bound, with two orders of magnitude improvement compared to the existing COHERENT constraint, suggesting that DUNE can be useful for light mediators more generally. Despite this strength, the millicharge bounds are not competitive with strong bounds from stellar cooling, beta-decay, and matter stability. Finally, DUNE may be able to test the SM prediction for the muon neutrino charge radius, by placing a constraint two times better than CHARM-II and CCFR experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Deployment and performance of a Low-Energy-Threshold Skipper-CCD inside a nuclear reactor

Charge Coupled Devices (CCD) are being used for reactor neutrino experiments and have already demonstrated their potential in constraining new physics models. The prospect of a Skipper-CCD experiment looking for standard and beyond standard model (BSM) physics in a nuclear reactor has been evaluated for different benchmark scenarios. Here, we report the first installation of a 2-g Skipper-CCD inside the containment building of a 2 GW th nuclear power plant and analyze its performance throughout its first 18 months of operation. The sensor was successfully deployed at Atucha II, in Argentina, 12 meters away from the center of the reactor core. We discuss the challenges involved in the commissioning of the detector and present data acquired during reactor ON and reactor OFF periods, with the sensor functioning with a sub-electron readout noise of 0.17 e - . Based on an exposure of 56.8 g day reactor ON and two reactor OFF data sets with a total exposure of 118.1 g day we characterize the system and evaluate the sensitivity to CEvNS. We achieved a background rate of 33 kdru and a low threshold of 45 eV ee . The ongoing efforts to improve sensitivities to CEvNS and BSM interaction are also discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Data-driven high-dimensional statistical inference with generative models

Crucial to many measurements at the LHC is the use of correlated multi-dimensional information to distinguish rare processes from large backgrounds, which is complicated by the poor modeling of many of the crucial backgrounds in Monte Carlo simulations. In this work, we introduce HI-SIGMA, a method to perform unbinned high-dimensional statistical inference with data-driven background distributions. In contradistinction to many applications of Simulation Based Inference in High Energy Physics, HI-SIGMA relies on generative ML models, rather than classifiers, to learn the signal and background distributions in the high-dimensional space. These ML models allow for interpretable inference while also incorporating model errors and other sources of systematic uncertainties. We showcase this methodology on a simplified version of a di-Higgs measurement in the bbγγ final state, where the di-photon resonance allows for background interpolation from sidebands into the signal region. We demonstrate that HI-SIGMA provides improved sensitivity as compared to standard classifier-based methods, and that systematic uncertainties can be straightforwardly incorporated by extending methods which have been used for histogram based analyses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Evidence of pair production of longitudinally polarised vector bosons and study of CP properties in ZZ → 4ℓ events with the ATLAS detector at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV

A study of the polarisation and CP properties in ZZ production is presented. The used data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb –1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The ZZ candidate events are reconstructed using two same-flavour opposite-charge electron or muon pairs. The production of two longitudinally polarised Z bosons is measured with a significance of 4.3 standard deviations, and its cross-section is measured in a fiducial phase space to be 2.45 ± 0.60 fb, consistent with the next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction. The inclusive differential cross-section as a function of a CP-sensitive angular observable is also measured. The results are used to constrain anomalous CP-odd neutral triple gauge couplings.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Electron and photon structure functions at two loops

We present a fully analytic computation of the complete electron and photon structure functions, or QED lepton parton distribution functions (PDFs) up to two-loop order. Our computation is performed using modern techniques of reduction to Master Integrals and solving them with the differential equation method. We obtain explicit expressions for the electron-in-electron, positron-in-electron, photon-in-electron, electron-in-photon, and photon-in-photon distributions at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). Cross-checks against one-loop results, existing two-loop calculations, and a recent soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) analysis of the electron structure functions are presented.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for e → τ charged lepton flavor violation at the EIC with the ECCE detector

The recently approved Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will provide a unique new opportunity for searches of charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) and other new physics scenarios. In contrast to the e ↔ μ CLFV transition for which very stringent limits exist, there is still a relatively large discovery space for the e → τ CLFV transition, potentially to be explored by the EIC. Here, with the latest detector design of ECCE (EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment) and projected integral luminosity of the EIC, we find the τ-leptons created in the DIS process ep → τX are expected to be identified with high efficiency. A first ECCE simulation study, restricted to the 3-prong τ-decay mode and with limited statistics for the Standard Model backgrounds, estimates that the EIC will be able to improve the current exclusion limit on e → τ CLFV by an order of magnitude. As a result, the very high vertex resolution of the ECCE detector configuration plays a critical role in τ identification.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗