Beyond Standard Model Research Articles

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 GWth 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 eVee. The ongoing efforts to improve sensitivities to CEvNS and BSM interaction are also discussed.

Flavor violating di-Higgs couplings

Di-Higgs couplings to fermions of the form h2f‾f are absent in the Standard Model, however, they are present in several physics Beyond Standard Model (BSM) extensions, including those with vector-like fermions. In Effective Field Theories (EFTs), such as the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) and the Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT), these couplings appear at dimension 6 and can in general, be flavour-violating (FV). In the present work, we employ a bottom-up approach to investigate the FV in the lepton and quarks sectors through the di-Higgs effective couplings. We assume that all FV arises from this type of couplings and assume that the Yukawa couplings Yij are given by their SM values, i.e. Yij=2miδij/v. In the lepton sector, we set upper limits on the Wilson coefficients Cll′ from l→3l′ decays, l→lγ decays, muonium oscillations, the (g−2)μ anomaly, LEP searches, muon conversion in nuclei, FV Higgs decays, and Z decays. We also make projections on some of these coefficients from Belle II, the Mu2e experiment and the LHC's High Luminosity (HL) run. In the quark sector, we set upper limits on the Wilson coefficients Cqq′ from meson oscillations and from B-physics searches. A key takeaway from this study is that current and future experiments should set out to measure the effective di-Higgs couplings Cff′, whether these couplings are FV or flavour-conserving. We also present a matching between our formalism and the SMEFT operators and show the bounds in both bases.

A diffused background from axion-like particles in the microwave sky

The nature of dark matter is an unsolved cosmological problem and axions are one of the weakly interacting cold dark matter candidates. Axions or ALPs (Axion-like particles) are pseudo-scalar bosons predicted by beyond-standard model theories. The weak coupling of ALPs with photons leads to the conversion of CMB photons to ALPs in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. If they have the same mass as the effective mass of a photon in a plasma, the resonant conversion would cause a polarized spectral distortion leading to temperature fluctuations with the distortion spectrum. The probability of resonant conversion depends on the properties of the cluster such as the magnetic field, electron density, and its redshift. We show that this kind of conversion can happen in numerous unresolved galaxy clusters up to high redshifts, which will lead to a diffused polarised anisotropy signal in the microwave sky. The spectrum of the signal and its shape in the angular scale will be different from the lensed CMB polarization signal. This new polarised distortion spectrum will be correlated with the distribution of clusters in the universe and hence, with the large-scale structure. The spectrum can then be probed using its spectral and spatial variation with respect to the CMB and various foregrounds. An SNR of ~ 4.36 and ~ 93.87 are possible in the CMB-S4 145 GHz band and CMB-HD 150 GHz band respectively for a photon-ALPs coupling strength ofgaγ = 10-12GeV-1using galaxy clusters beyond redshiftz= 1. The same signal would lead to additional RMS fluctuations of ~7.5 × 10-2 μK at 145 GHz. In the absence of any signal, future CMB experiments such as Simons Observatory (SO), CMB-S4, and CMB-HD can put constraints on the coupling strength better than current bounds from particle physics experiment CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST).

The resurgence of the G(2) group for the strong sector and the emergence of dark matter

G(2) is the smallest exceptional group and it is the simplest and viable gauge group to minimally extend the strong interaction sector: G(2) includes the group SU(3) of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) as a maximal subgroup and it is equipped with six additional gluons that can acquire mass via a Higgs mechanism driven by a new Higgs particle and constitute dark matter. In this article I want to describe how the exceptional G(2) group can be a physical gauge group, capable of extending the Standard Model (SM) of particles and including a versatile dark sector, which is compatible with experimental observations. In fact, due to its peculiar mathematical features, the group G(2) manifests some complex features, not properly considered in literature, which guarantee its correct use in physics, as its {3}⊕{3‾} decompositions w.r.t. SU(3) can acquire a complex structure. The resulting framework can be a solid Beyond Standard Model (BSM) solution for the dark matter (DM) problem, in the form of massive complex scalar glueballs, and it includes the proper color representations for quarks and leptons. Several quantum field theory features are discussed, like the G(2) coupling constant running and its spectrum before and after the phase transition, along with all the DM astrophysical realizations, in order to present the unexpected potential of this gauge group.

Principle of multi-critical-points in the ALP-Higgs model and the corresponding phase transition

The principle of multi-critical-points (PMCP) may be a convincing approach to determine the emerging parameter values in different kinds of beyond-standard-model (BSM) models. This could certainly be applied to solve the problem of undetermined new parameters in the ALP-Higgs interaction models. In this paper, we apply this principle to such model and investigate whether there are suitable solutions. Then, using the 1-loop effective potential, we study the phase transition property of this model under the PMCP requirement. It is gratifying to find that under the requirement of PMCP, the phase transition can be not only first-order, but also strong enough to serve as a solution for electroweak baryongenesis (EWBG). Finally, we show the parameter space of ALP and provide the parameter range that leads to the first-order phase transition.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Constraints and Indications for Beyond Standard Model Neutrino Physics

We use Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) to probe Beyond Standard Model physics in the neutrino sector. Recently, the abundances of primordially produced light elements D and He-4 were determined from observations with better accuracy. The good agreement between the theoretically predicted abundances of primordially produced light elements and those derived from observations allows us to update the BBN constraints on Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics. We provide numerical analysis of several BSM models of BBN and obtain precise cosmological constraints and indications for new neutrino physics. Namely, we derive more stringent BBN constraints on electron neutrino–sterile neutrino oscillations corresponding to 1% uncertainty of the observational determination of the primordial He-4. The cosmological constraints are obtained both for the zero and non-zero cases of the initial population of the sterile neutrino state. Then, in a degenerate BBN model with neutrino νe↔νs oscillations, we analyze the change in the cosmological constraints in case lepton asymmetry L is big enough to suppress oscillations. We obtain constraints on the lepton asymmetry L. We discuss a possible solution to the dark radiation problem in degenerate BBN models with νe↔νs oscillations in case L is large enough to suppress neutrino oscillations during the BBN epoch. Interestingly, the required value of L for solving the DR problem is close to the value of L indicated by the EMPRESS experiment, and also it is close to the value of lepton asymmetry that is necessary to relax Hubble tension.

Unravelling physics beyond the standard model with classical and quantum anomaly detection

Much hope for finding new physics phenomena at microscopic scale relies on the observations obtained from High Energy Physics experiments, like the ones performed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However, current experiments do not indicate clear signs of new physics that could guide the development of additional Beyond Standard Model (BSM) theories. Identifying signatures of new physics out of the enormous amount of data produced at the LHC falls into the class of anomaly detection and constitutes one of the greatest computational challenges. In this article, we propose a novel strategy to perform anomaly detection in a supervised learning setting, based on the artificial creation of anomalies through a random process. For the resulting supervised learning problem, we successfully apply classical and quantum support vector classifiers (CSVC and QSVC respectively) to identify the artificial anomalies among the SM events. Even more promising, we find that employing an SVC trained to identify the artificial anomalies, it is possible to identify realistic BSM events with high accuracy. In parallel, we also explore the potential of quantum algorithms for improving the classification accuracy and provide plausible conditions for the best exploitation of this novel computational paradigm.

Heavy resonances and the oblique parameters S and T

It has been confirmed experimentally the existence of a mass gap between Standard Model (SM) and eventual Beyond Standard Model (BSM) fields. Therefore, the use of effective approaches to search for fingerprints of New Physics is very appealing. A non-linear realizations of the Electroweak Symmetry Breaking is considered here, where the Higgs is a singlet with free couplings and the SM fields are also coupled to bosonic heavy resonances. A one-loop-level calculation of the oblique S and T parameters is presented here. This analysis allows us to constrain resonance masses to be above the TeV scale, ▪TeV, in good agreement with our previous determinations, where these observables were computed with a more simplified Lagrangian.

Muon energy reconstruction for applications in neutrino astronomy in the DUNE far detector

DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) is a proposed long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment located in the United States. The main physics objectives of DUNE are to measure neutrino oscillations and interactions, search for nucleon decay, observe supernova neutrino bursts and beyond Standard Model (BSM) effects. The DUNE far detector will be located 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. It will house the world's largest liquid-argon time projection chambers (TPC). The DUNE far detector can detect high-energy leptons that arise from interactions of cosmogenic neutrinos and search for neutrinos originating from the decay of weakly-interactive massive particles (WIMPs) annihilations occurring inside the Sun. Selecting upward-going muons reduces the background from cosmic-ray muons. The muon energy is estimated from the electromagnetic showers accompanying the muon, a technique that allows energy reconstruction up to a few hundred TeV.

Dark Matter phenomenology in 2HDMS

The constituents of dark matter are still an unresolved puzzle. Several Beyond Standard Model (BSM) Physics offer suitable candidates. In this study here we consider the Two Higgs Doublet model augmented with a complex scalar singlet (2HDMS) and focus on the dark matter phenomenology of 2HDMS with the complex scalar singlet as the dark matter candidate. The parameter space allowed from existing experimental constraints from dark matter, flavour physics and collider searches has been studied. The discovery potential for such a 2HDMS at HL-LHC and at future e^+e^-e+e− colliders has been worked out.

Probing exotic neutral current interactions with coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

The Exotic Neutral Current introduces new interactions beyond standard model (BSM) which consist of all possible four-fermion nonderivative Lorentz structures: scalar (S), pseudoscalar (P), vector (V), axial-vector (A), and tensor (T). In this work, we investigate the prediction of this model via the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE$\nu$NS). The differential cross-section spectrum of CE$\nu$NS for three nuclei in regards to experiment advancement are calculated in the framework of this model independent proposal using recent obtained bound. We present the ratio of this exotic model with the SM for various threshold energies. Significant bound is shown lie in the lower threshold case. The contributions from Exotic Neutral Current Interactions can considerably increase the rate of production relative to the SM case.

BRAND—A detection system for [formula omitted]-decay correlation measurement

The BRAND experiment aims at the search of Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics via measurement of exotic components of the weak interaction. For this purpose, eleven correlation coefficients of neutron β-decay will be measured simultaneously. The BRAND detection system is oriented for the registration of charged products of β-decay of polarized, free neutrons. With the measurement of the four-momenta of electron and proton, the complete kinematic of the decay will be determined. Moreover, the transverse spin component of the electron, which is the crucial observable to probe BSM exotic components of weak interaction, will be measured via Mott scattering. The electron detection system features both tracking and energy measurement capability. It is also responsible for the determination of the electron spin orientation. A challenging detection of low-energy protons from the β-decay is performed with a system, which involves the acceleration and subsequent conversion of protons into bunches of electrons. To test the feasibility of the proposed experimental techniques, a small-scale prototype setup was installed at the cold neutron beam facility PF1B at the Laue-Langevin Institute (ILL) in Grenoble, France. In this contribution, the preliminary results of the commissioning run are presented with an emphasis on the performance of individual parts of the detection system.

The BeEST Experiment: Searching for Beyond Standard Model Neutrinos Using $$^7$$Be Decay in STJs

Precision measurements of nuclear $$\beta $$ decay are among the most sensitive methods to probe beyond standard model (BSM) physics in the neutrino sector. In particular, momentum conservation between the emitted decay products in the final state is sensitive to any new physics that couples to the neutrino mass. One way to observe these momentum recoil effects experimentally is through high-precision measurements of nuclear electron capture (EC) decay where the final state only contains the neutrino and a recoiling atom. The Beryllium Electron capture in Superconducting Tunnel junctions (BeEST) experiment precisely measures the eV-scale radiation that follows the radioactive decay of $$^7$$ Be implanted into sensitive superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) quantum sensors. STJs are ideally suited for measurements of this type due to their high resolution at the low recoil energies in EC decay, and their high-rate counting capabilities. We present the motivation for the BeEST experiment and describe the various phases of the project.

Future Physics Prospects with the CMS Detector at the High-Luminosity LHC

The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider is expected to deliver up to 3000 fb^{-1}−1 of proton-proton collisions at 14 TeV center-of-mass energy. We present prospects for selected heavy-ion, Standard Model and Higgs sector measurements with the CMS detector at the HL-LHC, and discuss potential sensitivity to several beyond-Standard Model new physics scenarios.

Complementarity of Lepton-Charge and Forward-Backward Drell-Yan Asymmetries for Precision Electroweak Measurements and Quark Density Determinations

We address the impact of future measurements of charged and neutral current Drell-Yan (DY) asymmetries and their combination on Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) uncertainties. We quantify the reduction of PDF uncertainties using the QCD tool xFitter. We examine the effects of such reduced PDF errors on both Standard Model (SM) and Beyond SM (BSM) observables.

Testing the Standard Model with CP asymmetries in flavor-specific nonleptonic decays

Motivated by recent indications that the rates of color-allowed nonleptonic channels are not in agreement with their Standard Model expectations based on QCD factorization, we investigate the potential to study $CP$ asymmetries with these decays. In the Standard Model, these flavor-specific decays are sensitive to $CP$ violation in ${B}_{(s)}^{0}--{\overline{B}}_{(s)}^{0}$ mixing, which is predicted with low uncertainties and can be measured precisely with semileptonic decays. Allowing beyond Standard Model (BSM) contributions to the nonleptonic decay amplitudes, we derive explicit expressions for the flavor-specific $CP$ asymmetries in a model-independent way. We find that BSM contributions could lead to significant enhancements to the $CP$ asymmetries. Therefore measurements of these quantities and subsequent comparison with the $CP$ asymmetries measured with semileptonic decays have potential to identify BSM effects without relying on Standard Model predictions that might be affected by hadronic effects. In addition, we discuss the experimental prospects, and note the excellent potential for a precise determination of the $CP$ asymmetry in ${\overline{B}}_{s}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{D}_{s}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ decays by the LHCb experiment.

Effects of an intermediate mass sterile neutrino population on the early Universe

The hot and dense early Universe combined with the promise of high-precision cosmological observations provide an intriguing laboratory for Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics. We simulate the early Universe to examine the effects of the decay of thermally populated sterile neutrino states into Standard Model products around the time of weak decoupling. These decays deposit a significant amount of entropy into the plasma as well as produce a population of high-energy out-of-equilibrium active neutrinos. As a result, we can constrain these models by their inferred value of $N_{\rm eff}$, the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom. In this work, we explore a variety of models with $N_{\rm eff}{}$ values consistent with CMB observations, but with vastly different active neutrino spectra which will challenge the standard cosmological model, affect lepton capture rates on free nucleons, and may significantly affect Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN).

Production of Radioactive Molecular Ions in Radiofrequency Quadrupole Gas-Reaction Cells

Limited types of radioactive molecules (RM) can be made inside hot-cavity targets at ISOL facilities like TRIUMF. However, extreme conditions in these targets present formidable unsolved challenges to efficient production and delivery of RM’s. Here we propose using RFQ gas-reaction cells to produce RM from radioactive ion beams (RIB) by room temperature RIB-gas chemical reactions at eV energies. Two options are possible: (1) using an ion reaction cell (IRC) that is a linear RFQ ion guide and reaction cell used as an ‘on-line ion source’, and (2) using the ARIEL RFQ cooler-buncher (ARQB). RFQ gas-cells are a controllable and efficient method to produce RM from chemical reactants that cannot be used in ISOL targets. This ‘online chemistry’ offers a way to enable groundbreaking Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics research, using a wide diversity of new rare and exotic RM beams that would be difficult or impossible to produce in hot-cavity targets.

Charged Lepton Flavor Violation at the High-Energy Colliders: Neutrino Mass Relevant Particles

We summarize the potential charged lepton flavor violation (LFV) from neutrino mass relevant models, for instance the seesaw mechanisms. In particular, we study, in a model-dependent way, the LFV signals at the high-energy hadron and lepton colliders originating from the beyond standard model (BSM) neutral scalar H, doubly charged scalar H±±, heavy neutrino N, heavy WR boson, and the Z′ boson. For the neutral scalar, doubly charged scalar and Z′ boson, the LFV signals originate from the (effective) LFV couplings of these particles to the charged leptons, while for the heavy neutrino N and WR boson, the LFV effects are from flavor mixing in the neutrino sector. We consider current limits on these BSM particles and estimate their prospects at future high-energy hadron and lepton colliders.

A Review of the Tension between the T2K and NOνA Appearance Data and Hints to New Physics

In this article, we review the status of the tension between the long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiments T2K and NOνA. The tension arises mostly due to the mismatch in the apappearance data of the two experiments. We explain how this tension arises based on νμ→νe and ν¯μ→ν¯e oscillation probabilities. We define the reference point of vacuum oscillation, maximal θ23 and δCP and compute the νe/ν¯e appearance events for each experiment. We then study the effects of deviating the unknown parameters from the reference point and the compatibility of any given set of values of unknown parameters with the data from T2K and NOνA. T2K observes a large excess in the νe appearance event sample compared to the expected νe events at the reference point, whereas NOνA observes a moderate excess. The large excess in T2K dictates that δCP be anchored at −90° and that θ23 > π/4 with a preference for normal hierarchy. The moderate excess at NOνA leads to two degenerate solutions: (a) NH, 0 < δCP < 180°, and θ23 > π/4; (b) IH, −180° < δCP < 0, and θ23 > π/4. This is the main cause of tension between the two experiments. We review the status of three beyond standard model (BSM) physics scenarios, (a) non-unitary mixing, (b) Lorentz invariance violation, and (c) non-standard neutrino interactions, to resolve the tension.