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At least 163 records · Page 9

Design of the ECCE detector for the Electron Ion Collider

The EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment (ECCE) detector has been designed to address the full scope of the proposed Electron Ion Collider (EIC) physics program as presented by the National Academy of Science and provide a deeper understanding of the quark-gluon structure of matter. To accomplish this, the ECCE detector offers nearly acceptance and energy coverage along with excellent tracking and particle identification. The ECCE detector was designed to be built within the budget envelope set out by the EIC project while simultaneously managing cost and schedule risks. Finally, this detector concept has been selected to be the basis for the EIC project detector.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Evidence for top quark production in nucleus-nucleus collisions

We report droplets of quark-gluon plasma (QGP), an exotic state of strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter, are routinely produced in heavy nuclei high-energy collisions. Although the experimental signatures marked a paradigm shift away from expectations of a weakly coupled QGP, a challenge remains as to how the locally deconfined state with a lifetime of a few fm can be resolved. The only colored particle that decays mostly within the QGP is the top quark. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that top quark decay products are identified, irrespective of whether interacting with the medium (bottom quarks) or not (leptonically decaying W bosons). Using 1.7±0.1 nb -1 of lead-lead (A = 208) collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV, we report evidence of top quark pair ($t\bar{t}$) production. Dilepton final states are selected, and the cross section ($σ_{t\bar{t}}$) is measured from a likelihood fit to a multivariate discriminator using lepton kinematic variables. The $σ_{t\bar{t}}$ measurement is additionally performed considering the jets originating from the hadronization of bottom quarks, which improve the sensitivity to the $t\bar{t}$ signal process. After background subtraction and analysis corrections, the measured $σ_{t\bar{t}}$ is 2.56 ± 0.82(tot) and 2.02 ± 0.69(tot)μb in the two cases, respectively, consistent with predictions from perturbative QCD.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The forward physics facility: Physics opportunities and conceptual design

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposed extension of the HL-LHC program designed to exploit the unique scientific opportunities offered by the intense flux of high energy neutrinos, and possibly new particles, in the far-forward direction. Located in a well-shielded cavern 627 m downstream of one of the LHC interaction points, the facility will support a broad and ambitious physics program that significantly expands the discovery potential of the HL-LHC. Equipped with four complementary detectors -- FLArE, FASER$ν$2, FASER2, and FORMOSA -- the FPF will enable breakthrough measurements that will advance our understanding of neutrino physics, quantum chromodynamics, and astroparticle physics, and will search for dark matter and other new particles. With this Letter of Intent, we propose the construction of the FPF cavern and the construction, integration, and installation of its experiments. We summarize the physics case, the facility design, the layout and components of the detectors, as well as the envisioned collaboration structure, cost estimate, and implementation timeline.

Astroparticle physics↗

William A. Bardeen: A life in physics and the legacy of the chiral anomaly

William Allan Bardeen (September 15, 1941 − November 18, 2025) was an American theoretical physicist who worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is renowned for his foundational work on the chiral anomaly, the Adler-Bardeen theorem, the non-Abelian anomaly and gravitational anomalies. He was instrumental in the development of quantum chromodynamics and its applications, such as semileptonic decays and the Λ $\overline{MS}$ scheme frequently used in perturbative analysis of high energy processes involving strong interactions. Bardeen also played a major role in developing a theory of dynamical breaking of electroweak symmetry via top quark condensates, leading to one of the first composite Brout-Englert-Higgs boson models. His work on the chiral symmetry dynamics of heavy-light quark bound states correctly predicted abnormally long-lived resonances which are chiral symmetry partners of the ground state.

Hill, Christopher T. [Fermi National Accelerator L↗

First measurement of the cross section for top quark pair production with additional charm jets using dileptonic final states in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV

The first measurement of the inclusive cross section for top quark pairs ($t\bar{t}$) produced in association with two additional charm jets is presented. The analysis uses the dileptonic final states of $t\bar{t}$ events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb -1 recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. A new charm jet identification algorithm provides input to a neural network that is trained to distinguish among $t\bar{t}$ events with two additional charm ($t\bar{t}c\bar{c}$), bottom ($t\bar{t}b\bar{b}$), and light-flavour or gluon ($t\bar{t}LL$) jets. By means of a template fitting procedure, the inclusive $t\bar{t}c\bar{c}$, $t\bar{t}b\bar{b}$, and $t\bar{t}LL$ cross sections are simultaneously measured, together with their ratios to the inclusive $t\bar{t}$ + two jets cross section. This provides measurements of the $t\bar{t}c\bar{c}$ and $t\bar{t}b\bar{b}$ cross sections of 10.1 ± 1.2 (stat) ± 1.4 (syst) pb and 4.54 ± 0.35 (stat) ± 0.56 (syst) pb, respectively, in the full phase space. The results are compared and found to be consistent with predictions from two different matrix element generators with next-to-leading order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics, interfaced with a parton shower simulation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Non-perturbative BRST symmetry and the spectral structure of the ghost propagator

In BRST-quantised Yang-Mills theory the existence of BRST symmetry imposes significant constraints on the analytic structure of the continuum theory. In particular, the presence of this symmetry in the non-perturbative regime implies that any on-shell state with vanishing norm must have an associated partner state with identical mass, but negative inner product. In this work we demonstrate that for quantum chromodynamics (QCD) this constraint gives rise to an interconnection between the ghost and gluon spectra, and in doing so provides a non-trivial test of whether BRST symmetry is realised non-perturbatively. By analysing infrared lattice data for the minimal Landau gauge ghost propagator in pure SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, and comparing this with previous results for the gluon propagator, we show that this interconnection is violated, and hence conclude that continuum and current lattice formulations of Yang-Mills theory in Landau gauge represent two distinct realisations of the theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Light mesons with one dynamical gluon on the light front

We obtain the light meson mass spectroscopy from the light-front quantum chromodynamics (QCD) Hamiltonian, determined for their constituent quark-antiquark and quark-antiquark-gluon Fock components, together with a three-dimensional confinement. The eigenvectors of the light-front effective Hamiltonian provide a good quality description of the pion electromagnetic form factor, decay constant, and the valence quark distribution functions following QCD scale evolution. We also show that the pion's gluon densities can be probed through the pion-nucleus induced $J/ψ$ production data. Our pion parton distribution functions provide excellent agreement with $J/ψ$ production data from widely different experimental conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Accessing subnuclear fluctuations and saturation with multiplicity dependent J/ψ production in p+p and p+Pb collisions

We study the production of J/ψ vector mesons as a function of charged hadron multiplicity in p+p and p+Pb collisions at LHC energies. We employ the color glass condensate framework, using running coupling Balitsky-Kovchegov evolved dipole amplitudes, to compute gluon and cc¯-pair production. We use fragmentation functions to obtain charged hadrons, and explore two different hadronization schemes for the J/ψ: non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics and the improved color evaporation model. In our framework, event-by-event multiplicity fluctuations of both hadrons and J/ψ are driven by geometric and saturation scale normalization fluctuations. Studying the correlation between J/ψ and hadron multiplicity, we show that the characteristic difference between forward and backward rapidity in p+Pb collisions is a result of different degrees of saturation probed at different rapidities. We demonstrate that experimental data on heavy-flavor production as a function of event activity provide stringent constraints on the fluctuating proton structure

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to a jet and a Lorentz-boosted resonance in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search is reported for high-mass hadronic resonances that decay to a parton and a Lorentz-boosted resonance, which in turn decays into a pair of partons. The search is based on data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The boosted resonance is reconstructed as a single wide jet with substructure consistent with a two-body decay. The high-mass resonance is thus considered as a dijet system. The jet substructure information and the kinematic properties of cascade resonance decays are exploited to disentangle the signal from the large quantum chromodynamics multijet background. The dijet mass spectrum is analyzed for the presence of new high-mass resonances, and is found to be consistent with the standard model background predictions. Results are interpreted in a warped extra dimension model where the high-mass resonance is a Kaluza-Klein gluon, the boosted resonance is a radion, and the final state partons are all gluons. Limits on the production cross section are set as a function of the Kaluza-Klein gluon and radion masses. These limits exclude at 95% confidence level models with Kaluza-Klein gluon masses in the range from 2.0 to 4.3 TeV and radion masses in the range from 0.20 to 0.74 TeV. By exploring a novel experimental signature, the observed limits on the Kaluza-Klein gluon mass are extended by up to about 1 TeV compared to previous searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Evidence for WW/WZ vector boson scattering in the decay channel ℓνqq produced in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

Evidence is reported for electroweak (EW) vector boson scattering in the decay channel $\ell\nu$qq of two weak vector bosons WV (V = W or Z), produced in association with two parton jets. The search uses a data set of proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector during 2016-2018 with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected requiring one lepton (electron or muon), moderate missing transverse momentum, two jets with a large pseudorapidity separation and a large dijet invariant mass, and a signature consistent with the hadronic decay of a W/Z boson. The cross section is computed in a fiducial phase space defined at parton level requiring all parton transverse momenta $p_\mathrm{T}$$\gt$ 10 GeV and at least one pair of outgoing partons with invariant mass $m_\mathrm{qq}$$\gt$ 100 GeV. The measured and expected EW WV production cross sections are 1.90 $^{+0.53}_{-0.46}$ pb and 2.23 $^{+0.08}_{-0.11}$ (scale) $\pm$ 0.05 (PDF) pb, respectively, where PDF is the parton distribution function. The observed EW signal strength is $m_\mathrm{EW}$ = 0.85 $\pm$ 0.12 (stat) $^{+0.19}_{-0.17}$ (syst), corresponding to a signal significance of 4.4 standard deviations with 5.1 expected, and it is measured keeping the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) associated diboson production fixed to the standard model prediction. This is the first evidence of vector boson scattering in the $\ell\nu$qq decay channel at LHC. The simultaneous measurement of the EW and QCD associated diboson production agrees with the standard model prediction.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Closing in on critical net-baryon fluctuations at LHC energies: Cumulants up to third order in Pb–Pb collisions

Fluctuation measurements are important sources of information on the mechanism of particle production at LHC energies. This article reports the first experimental results on third-order cumulants of the net-proton distributions in Pb–Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ALICE detector. The results on the second-order cumulants of net-proton distributions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 and 5.02 TeV are also discussed in view of effects due to the global and local baryon number conservation. The results demonstrate the presence of long-range rapidity correlations between protons and antiprotons. Such correlations originate from the early phase of the collision. The experimental results are compared with HIJING and EPOS model calculations, and the dependence of the fluctuation measurements on the phase-space coverage is examined in the context of lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) and hadron resonance gas (HRG) model estimations. The measured third-order cumulants are consistent with zero within experimental uncertainties of about 4% and are described well by LQCD and HRG predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the $t\bar{t}$ charge asymmetry in events with highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The measurement of the charge asymmetry in top quark pair events with highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks decaying to a single lepton and jets is presented. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb -1 . The selection is optimized for top quarks produced with large Lorentz boosts, resulting in nonisolated leptons and overlapping jets. The top quark charge asymmetry is measured for events with a $t\bar{t}$ invariant mass larger than 750 GeV and corrected for detector and acceptance effects using a binned maximum likelihood fit. The measured top quark charge asymmetry of ($0.42_{-0.69}^{+0.64}$) % is in good agreement with the standard model prediction at next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamic perturbation theory with next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections. The result is also presented for two invariant mass ranges, 750–900 and > 900 GeV .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for the chiral magnetic effect in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 27 GeV with the STAR forward event plane detectors

A decisive experimental test of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is considered one of the major scientific goals at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) towards understanding the nontrivial topological fluctuations of the Quantum Chromodynamics vacuum. In heavy-ion collisions, the CME is expected to result in a charge separation phenomenon across the reaction plane, whose strength could be strongly energy dependent. The previous CME searches have been focused on top RHIC energy collisions. In this Letter, we present a low energy search for the CME in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 27 GeV. We measure elliptic flow scaled charge-dependent correlators relative to the event planes that are defined at both mid-rapidity |η| < 1.0 and at forward rapidity 2.1 < |η| < 5.1. We compare the results based on the directed flow plane ( $Ψ$ 1 ) at forward rapidity and the elliptic flow plane ( $Ψ$ 2 ) at both central and forward rapidity. The CME scenario is expected to result in a larger correlation relative to $Ψ$ 1 than to $Ψ$ 2 , while a flow driven background scenario would lead to a consistent result for both event planes. In 10-50% centrality, results using three different event planes are found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, suggesting a flow driven background scenario dominating the measurement. We obtain an upper limit on the deviation from a flow driven background scenario at the 95% confidence level. This work opens up a possible road map towards future CME search with the high statistics data from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Phase-II.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Ab-initio nucleon-nucleon correlations and their impact on high energy 16 O+ 16 O collisions

Investigating nucleon-nucleon correlations inherent to the strong nuclear force is one of the core goals in nuclear physics research. We showcase the unique opportunities offered by collisions of 16 O nuclei at high-energy facilities to reveal detailed many-body properties of the nuclear ground state. We interface existing knowledge about the geometry of 16 O coming from ab-initio calculations of nuclear structure with transport simulations of high-energy 16 O+ 16 O collisions. Bulk observables in these processes, such as the elliptic flow or the fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum, are found to depend significantly on the input nuclear model and to be sensitive to realistic clustering and short-range repulsive correlations, effectively opening a new avenue to probe these features experimentally. This finding demonstrates collisions of oxygen nuclei as a tool to elucidate initial conditions of small collision systems while fostering connections with effective field theories of nuclei rooted in quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

Zhang, Chunjian [Fudan University, Shanghai (China↗

Observation of nuclear modification of energy-energy correlators inside jets in heavy ion collisions

Energy-energy correlators are constructed by averaging the number of charged particle pairs within jets, weighted by the product of their transverse momenta, as a function of the angular separation of the particles within a pair. They are sensitive to a multitude of perturbative and nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics phenomena in high-energy particle collisions. Using lead-lead data recorded with the CMS detector, energy-energy correlators inside high transverse momentum jets are measured in heavy ion collisions for the first time. The data are obtained at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.70 nb −1 . A similar analysis is done for proton-proton collisions at the same center-of-mass energy to establish a reference. The ratio of lead-lead to proton-proton energy-energy correlators reveals significant jet substructure modifications in the quark-gluon plasma. The results are compared to different models that incorporate either color coherence or medium response effects, where the two effects predict similar substructure modifications.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Determination of the strong coupling and its running from measurements of inclusive jet production

The value of the strong coupling α S is determined in a comprehensive analysis at next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics. The analysis uses double-differential cross section measurements from the CMS Collaboration at the CERN LHC of inclusive jet production in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV, combined with inclusive deep-inelastic data from HERA. The value α S (m z ) = 0.1176 $^{+0.0014}_{-0.0016}$ is obtained at the scale of the Z boson mass. By using the measurements in different intervals of jet transverse momentum, the running of α S is probed for energies between 100 and 1600 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High-energy $η^{(')}π$ photoproduction and the nature of exotic waves

The observation of hybrid mesons in photoproduction experiments can provide essential insight into the inner workings of quantum chromodynamics in the strong coupling regime. In particular, the study of final $η^{(')}π$ states is of great interest due to the presence of the lowest lying hybrid candidate with manifestly exotic quantum numbers, the $π_1$(1600). In this work, a double-vector exchange model with Reggeized $ρ$ and $ω$ trajectories is developed to describe the photoproduction of $η^{(')}π$ in the high-mass region. Results are presented for the differential cross sections and forward-backward asymmetries in the energy region of interest to the GlueX experiment. The model contains no free parameters, and reproduces the magnitude and t-dependence of existing CLAS data at $E_γ$ = 5 GeV. The model predicts a stronger asymmetry in the $η'π$ channel than in the $ηπ$ channel, consistent with what has previously been observed in pion beam experiments. This suggests that the sizeable production of exotic odd waves in $η'π$ is not necessarily related to the presence of gluon-rich environments. Confirmation of these predicted asymmetries from forthcoming GlueX data would enable further predictions of the low-energy spectrum.

Montaña, Glòria [Thomas Jefferson National Acceler↗

Nuclear matrix elements from lattice QCD for electroweak and beyond-Standard-Model processes

Over the last decade, numerical solutions of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) using the technique of lattice QCD have developed to a point where they are beginning to connect fundamental aspects of nuclear physics to the underlying degrees of freedom of the Standard Model. In this review, the progress of lattice QCD studies of nuclear matrix elements of electroweak currents and beyond-Standard-Model operators is summarized, and connections with effective field theories and nuclear models are outlined. Lattice QCD calculations of nuclear matrix elements can provide guidance for low-energy nuclear reactions in astrophysics, dark matter direct detection experiments, and experimental searches for violations of the symmetries of the Standard Model, including searches for additional CP violation in the hadronic and leptonic sectors, baryon-number violation, and lepton-number or flavor violation. Similarly, important inputs to neutrino experiments seeking to determine the neutrino-mass hierarchy and oscillation parameters, as well as other electroweak and beyond-Standard-Model processes can be determined. As a result, the phenomenological implications of existing studies of electroweak and beyond-Standard-Model matrix elements in light nuclear systems are discussed, and future prospects for the field toward precision studies of these matrix elements are outlined.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗