Future Searches Research Articles

Probing the Neutrino-Mass Scale with the KATRIN Experiment

The absolute mass scale of neutrinos is an intriguing open question in contemporary physics. The as-yet-unknown mass of the lightest and, at the same time, most abundant massive elementary particle species bears fundamental relevance to theoretical particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The most model-independent experimental approach consists of precision measurements of the kinematics of weak decays, notably tritium β decay. With the KATRIN experiment, this direct neutrino-mass measurement has entered the sub-eV domain, recently pushing the upper limit on the electron-based neutrino mass down to 0.8 eV (90% CL) on the basis of first-year data out of ongoing, multiyear operations. Here, we review the experimental apparatus of KATRIN, the progress of data taking, and initial results. While KATRIN is heading toward the target sensitivity of 0.2 eV, other scientific goals are pursued. We discuss the search for light sterile neutrinos and an outlook on future keV-scale sterile-neutrino searches as well as further physics opportunities beyond the Standard Model.

Protocol for a living systematic review for the management of concussion in adults

IntroductionConcussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often presents initially with disabling symptoms that resolve, but for an unfortunate minority some of these symptoms may become prolonged. Although research into diagnosis and...

The 130–360 GHz rotational spectrum of isocyanocyclobutane (C4H7NC) and cyanocyclobutane (C4H7CN)

The 130–360 GHz rotational spectrum of isocyanocyclobutane is reported herein for the first time. Over 2200 transitions were measured, assigned, and least-squares fit to a partial-octic distorted-rotor Hamiltonian with small deviation (σfit < 50 kHz) for the equatorial conformer. The axial conformer has so far remained elusive. For cyanocyclobutane, we measured the rotational spectra of both equatorial and axial conformers in the same frequency region to allow a direct comparison between the isomers. Transition frequencies for each conformational isomer of cyanocyclobutane were similarly fit to partial octic distorted-rotor Hamiltonians with small deviation. The experimental spectroscopic constants are in very good agreement with the predicted values (B3LYP) for all three species and with those reported in an earlier microwave study of cyanocyclobutane. Measurement of the relative transition intensities provides an updated energy difference of 0.69 (7) kcal/mol between the two conformers, with the equatorial conformation being the more stable one. Analysis of the axial conformation of cyanocyclobutane reveals coupling of its ground state to the vibrationally excited states of the equatorial conformation. Our observations of the vibrationally excited states of the equatorial conformer suggest that there are many Coriolis interactions between these states that were not described previously. Combined with literature values of nuclear quadrupole coupling constants, these spectroscopic constants and reported transition frequencies provide the basis for future astronomical searches for isocyanocyclobutane and cyanocyclobutane.

The LVS parametric tadpole constraint

The large volume scenario (LVS) for de Sitter compactifications of the type IIB string is, at least in principle, well protected from various unknown corrections. The reason is that, by construction, the Calabi-Yau volume is exponentially large. However, as has recently been emphasised, in practice the most explicit models are rather on the border of parametric control. We identify and quantify parametrically what we believe to be the main issue behind this difficulty. Namely, a large volume implies a shallow AdS minimum and hence a small uplift. The latter, if it relies on an anti-D3 in a throat, requires a large negative tadpole. As our main result, we provide a simple and explicit formula for what this tadpole has to be in order to control the most dangerous corrections. The fundamental ingredients are parameters specifying the desired quality of control. We comment on the interplay between our constraint and the tadpole conjecture. We also discuss directions for future work which could lead to LVS constructions satisfying the tadpole constraint with better control, as well as further challenges that may exist for the LVS. Our formula then represents a very concrete challenge for future searches for and the understanding of relevant geometries.

Ensuring More Inclusive Hiring Processes

Ensuring More Inclusive Hiring Processes Carmen Cole (bio) and Emily Mross (bio) The American Library Association (ALA) considers demonstrating “the principles of effective personnel practices and human resource development” a core competency of librarianship.1 Yet, few librarians receive specific training to serve on hiring committees as part of their degree studies, though most find themselves asked to participate in searches, sometimes frequently, depending on their institution. As early career librarians, the authors have served on multiple committees in a large academic library, gaining more experience about the process each time. Their work on search committees sparked an interest in implementing best practices to ensure a good experience for job candidates and successful searches that improve services to the university community. Their experience also inspired a research interest. Search committees are gatekeepers. Who is kept out, and why? Exploring library hiring from an academic perspective brings to light uncomfortable truths. Each person on a search committee has biases that must be confronted to minimize preconceived ideas, and the group must work together so that each candidate receives a fair evaluation based on objective criteria. This decision-making can be complicated and challenging, depending on many factors.2 A successful search not only means that a good candidate is hired but also requires that the search committee works together, communicates well, develops and uses a fair rubric to assess the applicant pool, gives candidates proper and equal consideration, and chooses a well-qualified finalist who accepts the job offer. It is not impossible, but it is not easy. What further complicates the hiring task is the lack of diversity in librarianship. Homogeneous libraries create homogeneous search committees. Without thoughtful, introspective work, such committees can perpetuate a homogeneous library rather than a diverse, inclusive one.3 The authors are not experts in diversity or hiring. They are practitioners who strive to improve the library hiring process for everyone involved, toward the goal of equitable, inclusive libraries for employees and users. Their responsibilities necessitated much questioning, reading, and research. Members of current and future search committees [End Page 507] at any library should take a similar perspective toward their work. Without a collective understanding of the barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion in library hiring, nothing will change—and change is far overdue. “Fit” and Academic Librarianship The need to diversify librarianship and the lack of progress toward this goal are common topics of conversation in formal and informal spheres of the profession.4 Similar conversations take place throughout academe as well. A culprit often examined in the literature and in practice is the nefarious yet ubiquitous concept of “fit” in hiring.5 Those who serve on search committees have tried to quantify the notion in nonsubjective ways, but the perennial problem is that fit tends to be ineffable. Committee members may declare that a candidate “feels right,” but they often say so because the applicant shares many similarities to them.6 These resemblances tend to reinforce homogeneity and hegemony because librarianship, much like academe as a whole, is overwhelmingly White. The problem does not begin at the hiring stage.7 The notion of fit tracks back much further and can cause people who do not conform to that image to decide against librarianship as a career long before they would ever apply for a job.8 The Librarian Pipeline Frequently, librarians blame the pipeline of new librarians for lacking diversity. The pipeline myth is the persistent idea that diversity remains a challenge for library hiring because of a shortage of qualified, degree-holding persons from historically minoritized groups to fill vacancies.9 Most students pursuing a master of library and information science (MLIS) degree and most recent MLIS graduates are White. In 2020, approximately 60 percent of MLIS students were White, even though the number has dropped approximately 15 percentage points since 1990; currently nearly 40 percent of degree candidates come from other racial or ethnic groups.10 Data from the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) show that in 2020, 62 percent of those receiving a master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program were White.11 The overall percentage of Whites holding a graduate degree in library...

Location and Topology of the Fundamental Gap in Photonic Crystals

The fundamental, or first, band gap is of unmatched importance in the study of photonic crystals. Here, we address precisely where this gap can be opened in the band structure of three-dimensional photonic crystals. Although strongly constrained by symmetry, this problem cannot be addressed directly with conventional band-symmetry analysis due to the existence of a photonic polarization vortex at zero frequency. We develop an approach for overcoming the associated symmetry singularity by incorporating fictitious, auxiliary longitudinal modes. Our strategy also enables us to extend recent developments in symmetry-based topological analysis to the fundamental gap of three-dimensional photonic crystals. Exploiting this, we systematically study the topology of the minimal fundamental gaps. This reveals the existence of topological gap-obstructions that push the fundamental gap higher than what a conventional analysis would suggest. Our work demonstrates that topology can play a crucial role in the opening of the fundamental photonic gap and informs future theoretical and experimental searches for conventional and topological band gaps in three-dimensional photonic crystals.

Experimental study of C13(α,n)O16 reactions in the Majorana Demonstrator calibration data

Neutron captures and delayed decays of reaction products are common sources of backgrounds in ultrarare event searches. In this work, we studied C13(α,n)O16 reactions induced by α particles emitted within the calibration sources of the Majorana Demonstrator. These sources are thorium-based calibration standards enclosed in carbon-rich materials. The reaction rate was estimated by using the 6129-keV γ rays emitted from the excited O16 states that are populated when the incoming α particles exceed the reaction Q value. Thanks to the excellent energy performance of the Demonstrator's germanium detectors, these characteristic photons can be clearly observed in the calibration data. Facilitated by Geant4 simulations, a comparison between the observed 6129-keV photon rates and predictions by a talys-based software was performed. The measurements and predictions were found to be consistent, albeit with large statistical uncertainties. This agreement provides support for background projections from (α,n) reactions in future double-beta decay search efforts.3 MoreReceived 2 April 2022Accepted 2 June 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.105.064610©2022 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasH & He induced nuclear reactionsNeutrinoless double beta decayNeutron physicsNuclear astrophysicsNuclear reactionsNuclear structure & decaysTransfer reactionsProperties6 ≤ A ≤ 19Nuclear Physics

Study of possible molecular states of Ds(*)Ds(*) and Bs(*)Bs(*)

Recently the LHCb collaboration reported a new exotic state $T^+_{cc}$ which is conjectured to be a molecular state of $D^0D^{*+}$ (or $D^{*0}D^{+}$) theoretically. Belle Collaboration also searched for tetraquark state $X_{ccss}$ in $D_sD_s (D^*_sD^*_s )$ final states but no significant signals were observed, which did not rule out the possibility of $X_{ccss}$ to be a molecular state of $D_sD_s (D^*_sD^*_s )$. Inspired by these experimental results on double charmed exotic state, in this paper we study whether the molecular bound states of $D_s^{(*)}D_s^{(*)}$ and $B_s^{(*)}B_s^{(*)}$ can exist with the Bethe-Salpeter (B-S) equation approach. We employ heavy meson chiral perturbation theory with one boson-exchange approximation to calculate the interaction kernels in the B-S equations. Our numerical results suggest that two $B_s^{*}$ mesons perhaps form a $0^+$ molecular state. Future experimental search for $X_{ccss}$ states in other decay channels may shed light on the structure of double charmed exotic state.

BrainEx: Interactive Visual Exploration and Discovery of Sequence Similarity in Brain Signals

Technology advances and lower equipment costs are enabling non-invasive, convenient recording of brain data outside of clinical settings in more real-world environments, and by non-experts. Despite the growing interest in and availability of brain signal datasets, most analytical tools are made for experts in the specific device technology, and have rigid constraints on the type of analysis available. We developed BrainEx to support interactive exploration and discovery within brain signals datasets. BrainEx takes advantage of algorithms that enable fast exploration of complex, large collections of time series data, while being easy to use and learn. This system enables researchers to perform similarity search, explore feature data and natural clustering, and select sequences of interest for future searches and exploration, while also maintaining the usability of a visual tool. In addition to describing the distributed architecture and visual design for BrainEx, this paper reports on a benchmark experiment showing that it outperforms other existing systems for similarity search. Additionally, we report on a preliminary user study in which domain experts used the visual exploration interface and affirmed that it meets the requirements. Finally, it presents a case study using BrainEx to explore real-world, domain-relevant data.

An electronic health record (EHR) phenotype algorithm to identify patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and psychiatric comorbidities

BackgroundIn over half of pediatric cases, ADHD presents with comorbidities, and often, it is unclear whether the symptoms causing impairment are due to the comorbidity or the underlying ADHD. Comorbid conditions increase the likelihood for a more severe and persistent course and complicate treatment decisions. Therefore, it is highly important to establish an algorithm that identifies ADHD and comorbidities in order to improve research on ADHD using biorepository and other electronic record data.MethodsIt is feasible to accurately distinguish between ADHD in isolation from ADHD with comorbidities using an electronic algorithm designed to include other psychiatric disorders. We sought to develop an EHR phenotype algorithm to discriminate cases with ADHD in isolation from cases with ADHD with comorbidities more effectively for efficient future searches in large biorepositories. We developed a multi-source algorithm allowing for a more complete view of the patient’s EHR, leveraging the biobank of the Center for Applied Genomics (CAG) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). We mined EHRs from 2009 to 2016 using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) codes, medication history and keywords specific to ADHD, and comorbid psychiatric disorders to facilitate genotype-phenotype correlation efforts. Chart abstractions and behavioral surveys added evidence in support of the psychiatric diagnoses. Most notably, the algorithm did not exclude other psychiatric disorders, as is the case in many previous algorithms. Controls lacked psychiatric and other neurological disorders. Participants enrolled in various CAG studies at CHOP and completed a broad informed consent, including consent for prospective analyses of EHRs. We created and validated an EHR-based algorithm to classify ADHD and comorbid psychiatric status in a pediatric healthcare network to be used in future genetic analyses and discovery-based studies.ResultsIn this retrospective case-control study that included data from 51,293 subjects, 5840 ADHD cases were discovered of which 46.1% had ADHD alone and 53.9% had ADHD with psychiatric comorbidities. Our primary study outcome was to examine whether the algorithm could identify and distinguish ADHD exclusive cases from ADHD comorbid cases. The results indicate ICD codes coupled with medication searches revealed the most cases. We discovered ADHD-related keywords did not increase yield. However, we found including ADHD-specific medications increased our number of cases by 21%. Positive predictive values (PPVs) were 95% for ADHD cases and 93% for controls.ConclusionWe established a new algorithm and demonstrated the feasibility of the electronic algorithm approach to accurately diagnose ADHD and comorbid conditions, verifying the efficiency of our large biorepository for further genetic discovery-based analyses.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02286817. First posted on 10 November 2014. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02777931. First posted on 19 May 2016. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03006367. First posted on 30 December 2016. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02895906. First posted on 12 September 2016.

Low energy SUSY confronted with new measurements of W-boson mass and muon [formula omitted

The new CDF II measurement of W-boson mass shows a 7σ deviation from the standard model (SM) prediction, while the recent FNAL measurement of the muon g-2 shows a 4.2σ deviation (combined with the BNL result) from the SM. Both of them strongly indicate new physics beyond the SM. In this work, we study the implication of both measurements on low energy supersymmetry. With an extensive exploration of the parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), we find that in the parameter space allowed by current experimental constraints from colliders and dark matter detections, the MSSM can simultaneously explain both measurements on the edge of 2σ level, taking theoretical uncertainties into consideration. The favored parameter space, characterized by a compressed spectrum between bino, wino and stau, with the stop being around 1 TeV, may be covered in the near future LHC searches.

New model of intranuclear neutron-antineutron transformations in O816

There has been much work in recent years pertaining to viability studies for the intranuclear observation of neutron-antineutron transformations. These studies begin firstly with the design and implementation of an event generator for the simulation of this rare process, where one hopes to retain as much of the underlying nuclear physics as possible in the initial state, and then studying how these effects may perturb the final state observable particles for detector efficiency studies following simulated reconstruction. There have been several searches for intranuclear neutron-antineutron transformations, primarily utilizing the ${}^{16}_{8}$O nucleus, and completed within large underground water Cherenkov detectors such as Super-Kamiokande. The latest iteration of a generator is presented here for use in such an experiment. This generator includes several new features, including a new radial (position) annihilation probability distribution and related intranuclear suppression factor for ${}^{16}_{8}$O, as well as a highly general, modern nuclear multifragmentation model with photonic de-excitations. The latter of these may allow for improved identification of the signal using large underground detectors such as Super-Kamiokande and the future Hyper-Kamiokande, potentially increasing the overall signal efficiencies of these rare searches. However, it should be noted that certain fast photonic de-excitations may be washed out by $\pi^0$ decays to photons. These new features implemented in these $\bar{n}$\isotope[15][8]{O} simulations increase the overall physical realism of the model, and are easily portable to other future searches such as to extranuclear $\bar{n}{}^{12}_{6}$C for the ESS NNBAR experiment, as well as intranuclear $\bar{n}{}^{39}_{18}$Ar used in DUNE.

SNR G292.0+1.8: A Remnant of a Low-mass-progenitor Stripped-envelope Supernova

We present a study of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G292.0+1.8, a classic example of a core-collapse SNR that contains oxygen-rich ejecta, circumstellar material, a rapidly moving pulsar, and a pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We use hydrodynamic simulations of the remnant’s evolution to show that the SNR reverse shock is interacting with the PWN and has most likely shocked the majority of the supernova ejecta. In our models, such a scenario requires a total ejecta mass of ≲3 M ⊙ and implies that there is no significant quantity of cold ejecta in the interior of the reverse shock. In light of these results, we compare the estimated elemental masses and abundance ratios in the reverse-shocked ejecta to nucleosynthesis models, and further conclude that they are consistent with a progenitor star with an initial mass of 12–16 M ⊙. We conclude that the progenitor of G292.0+1.8 was likely a relatively low-mass star that experienced significant mass loss through a binary interaction and would have produced a stripped-envelope supernova explosion. We also argue that the region known as the “spur” in G292.0+1.8 arises as a result of the pulsar’s motion through the supernova ejecta, and that its dynamical properties may suggest a line-of-sight component to the pulsar’s velocity, leading to a total space velocity of ∼600 km s−1 and implying a significant natal kick. Finally, we discuss binary mass-loss scenarios relevant to G292.0+1.8 and their implications for the binary companion properties and future searches.

A National Virtual Job Search Series for Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellows.

Trainees report stress and unfamiliarity with the job search and have few resources available to guide them.1 They struggle with identifying job openings, writing cover letters, identifying opportunities that align with their academic or clinical interests, and navigating specialty-specific expectations for applying, interviewing, and negotiating a job. No standard approach exists on how best to prepare trainees for finding and transitioning to their first attending jobs. To our knowledge, an attempt to provide comprehensive national education on strategies to find, obtain, and negotiate the first post-fellowship job has not been described in graduate medical education (GME) literature.We describe a virtual 7-part job search series for neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) fellows. The American Academy of Pediatrics' Organization of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Training Program Directors (ONTPD) and Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists (TECaN) co-hosted 1-hour virtual seminars (Table) on Zoom in spring and fall 2021. Sessions were advertised through social media platforms, website postings, and subspecialty listservs. Fellows registered and submitted questions for sessions via an electronic survey. Demographic information and baseline job search knowledge were collected. Sessions included didactics on the timeline and expectations of the job search, the experiences of applicants underrepresented in medicine, gender pay inequity, and job search fundamentals (eg, preparing a curriculum vitae and cover letter, contract negotiation, etc) as well as career panel discussions with moderators (Table). Trainees were given opportunities to moderate and organize these sessions to enhance their networking and academic opportunities. Questions submitted by registrants were answered by invited panelists during the live session. Written summaries and follow-up questions and answers were emailed to registrants upon session completion. Sessions were recorded and archived on the TECaN website.During the 2021-2022 academic year, 265 individuals registered for the series, with 53% (140 of 265) currently undergoing a job search. Registrants spanned 33 states and 2 countries. Seventy-eight percent (207 of 265) of registrants were female, 90% (238 of 265) were neonatology fellows, and 48% (127 of 265) were senior year fellows. A large group of registrants did not feel competent writing a cover letter (49%, 130 of 265) or marketing themselves (52%, 137 of 265). Ninety-one percent (241 of 265) lacked basic understanding of malpractice insurance. Less than 25% reported being “very knowledgeable” or “knowledgeable” of job search components, such as the general roles and responsibilities of junior faculty, the timeline of the job search, typical starting salaries in their desired locations, and contract negotiation.In post-session surveys, registrants' feelings of competence in writing a cover letter and marketing themselves increased to over 80%. More than 80% reported being “very knowledgeable” or “knowledgeable” of job search components. More than 90% reported that they would be “very likely” or “likely” to recommend the sessions to others, and more than 70% reported that they were going to change their approach to the job search because of the sessions.No funding was needed to implement the series. Organizers utilized their networking circles to identify a diverse group of recently graduated fellows and early and later career neonatologists to comprise the series' career panels. Additional time commitments included collating registrant questions for the panelists, identifying moderators, advertising the sessions, and distributing resources and post-session surveys to registrants. Ongoing analysis of survey data will help guide the development and improvement of future job search series.We identified a knowledge gap in NPM fellows' understanding of how to find their first attending job, and we describe a national structured approach to preparing trainees for the job search. We strongly believe this knowledge gap is not unique to NPM fellows and that all GME trainees would benefit from a similar, easy-to-implement, low-cost job search series.

Investigation of hidden-charm double strange pentaquark candidate P_{css} via its mass and strong decays

This work presents an analysis of a hidden charmed pentaquark candidate state with double strange quark in its quark content. The investigation is performed in two parts, which provide the mass prediction of the considered state and its partial decay widths for the P_{css}rightarrow Xi ^0 J/psi and P_{css}rightarrow Xi _c^+ D_s^- channels. For the analyses, two-point and three-point QCD sum rule methods are applied to get the mass and the widths, respectively. The mass for this candidate state is obtained as m_{P_{css}}=4600 pm 155 MeV with corresponding current coupling constant lambda _{P_{css}}=(0.81 pm 0.21)times 10^{-3} GeV^6. These results are used in the analysis of the partial widths of this state for the decays P_{css}rightarrow Xi ^0 J/psi and P_{css}rightarrow Xi _c^+ D_s^-. From these decays, the total width is obtained as Gamma = 12.29pm 2.94 MeV. These results may shed light on the future experimental searches in which such types of states are probed and may provide information to discriminate between such possible observations.

High-z Sudoku: a diagnostic tool for identifying robust (sub)mm redshifts

ABSTRACT We present methods to (i) graphically identify robust redshifts using emission lines in the (sub)mm regime, (ii) evaluate the capabilities of different (sub)mm practices for measuring spectroscopic redshifts, and (iii) optimize future (sub)mm observations towards increasing the fraction of robust redshifts. Using this publicly available code (https://github.com/tjlcbakx/redshift-search-graphs), we discuss scenarios where robust redshifts can be identified using both single- and multiple-line detections, as well as scenarios where the redshift remains ambiguous, even after the detection of multiple lines. Using the redshift distribution of (sub)mm samples, we quantify the efficiencies of various practices for measuring spectroscopic redshifts, including interferometers, as well as existing and future instruments specifically designed for redshift searches. Finally, we provide a method to optimize the observation strategy for future (sub)mm spectroscopic redshift searches with the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array, where 2 mm proves indispensable for robust redshifts in the $\mathit{ z}$ = 2−4 region.

Dimuons in neutrino telescopes: New predictions and first search in IceCube

Neutrino telescopes allow powerful probes of high-energy astrophysics and particle physics. Their power is increased when they can isolate different event classes, e.g., by flavor, though that is not the only possibility. Here we focus on a new event class for neutrino telescopes: dimuons, two energetic muons from one neutrino interaction. We make new theoretical and observational contributions. For the theoretical part, we calculate dimuon-production cross sections and detection prospects via deep-inelastic scattering (DIS; where we greatly improve upon prior work) and $W$-boson production (WBP; where we present first results). We show that IceCube should have $\simeq 130$ dimuons ($\simeq 6$ from WBP) in its current data and that IceCube-Gen2, with a higher threshold but a larger exposure, could detect $\simeq 620$ dimuons ($\simeq 30$ from WBP) in 10 years. These dimuons are almost all produced by atmospheric neutrinos. For the observational part, we perform a simple but conservative analysis of IceCube public data, finding 19 candidate dimuon events. Subsequent to our paper appearing, visual inspection of these events by the IceCube Collaboration revealed that they are not real dimuons, but instead arise from an internal reconstruction error that identifies some single muons crossing the dust layer as two separate muons. To help IceCube and the broader community with future dimuon searches, we include the updated full details of our analysis. Together, these theoretical and observational contributions help open a valuable new direction for neutrino telescopes, one especially important for probing high-energy QCD and new physics.

Complete Chloroplast Genome of the Inverted Repeat-Lacking Species Vicia bungei and Development of Polymorphic Simple Sequence Repeat Markers.

BackgroundVicia bungei is an economically important forage crop in South Korea and China. Although detailed genetic and genomic data can improve population genetic studies, conservation efforts, and improved breeding of crops, few such data are available for Vicia species in general and none at all for V. bungei. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to sequence, assemble, and annotate V. bungei chloroplast genome and to identify simple sequence repeats (SSRs) as polymorphic genetic markers.ResultsThe whole-genome sequence of V. bungei was generated using an Illumina MiSeq platform. De novo assembly of complete chloroplast genome sequences was performed for the low-coverage sequence using CLC Genome Assembler with a 200–600-bp overlap size. Vicia bungei chloroplast genome was 130,796-bp long. The genome lacked an inverted repeat unit and thus resembled those of species in the inverted repeat-lacking clade within Fabaceae. Genome annotation using Dual OrganellarGenoMe Annotator (DOGMA) identified 107 genes, comprising 75 protein-coding, 28 transfer RNA, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. In total, 432 SSRs were detected in V. bungei chloroplast genome, including 64 mononucleotides, 14 dinucleotides, 5 trinucleotides, 4 tetranucleotides, 233 pentanucleotides, 90 hexanucleotides, and 14 complex repeated motifs. These were used to develop 232 novel chloroplast SSR markers, 39 of which were chosen at random to test amplification and genetic diversity in Vicia species (20 accessions from seven species). The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean cluster analysis identified seven clusters at the interspecies level and intraspecific differences within clusters.ConclusionThe complete chloroplast genome sequence of V. bungei was determined. This reference genome should facilitate chloroplast resequencing and future searches for additional genetic markers using population samples. The novel chloroplast genome resources and SSR markers will greatly contribute to the conservation of the genus Vicia and facilitate genetic and evolutionary studies of this genus and of other higher plants.

CP -violating dark photon kinetic mixing and type-III seesaw model

The hypothetical dark photon portal connecting the visible and dark sectors of the Universe has received considerable attention in recent years, with a focus on CP-conserving kinetic mixing between the Standard Model (SM) hypercharge gauge boson and a new U(1)$_X$ gauge boson. In the effective field theory context, one may write down non-renormalizable CP-violating kinetic mixing interactions involving the $X$ and SU(2)$_L$ gauge bosons. We construct for the first time a renormalizable model for CP-violating kinetic mixing that induces CP-violating non-Abelian kinetic mixing at mass dimension five. The model grows out of the type-III seesaw model, with the lepton triplets containing right-handed neutrinos playing a crucial role in making the model renormalizable and providing a bridge to the origin of neutrino mass. This scenario also accommodates electron electric dipole moments (EDM) as large as current experimental bound, making future EDM searches an important probe of this scenario.

Nonthermally trapped inflation by tachyonic dark photon production

We show that a dark Higgs field charged under ${\mathrm{U}(1)}_{\mathrm{H}}$ gauge symmetry is trapped at the origin for a long time, if dark photons are produced by an axion condensate via tachyonic preheating. The trapped dark Higgs can drive late-time inflation, producing a large amount of entropy. Unlike thermal inflation, the dark Higgs potential does not have to be very flat because the effective mass for the dark Higgs is enhanced by large field values of dark photons with extremely low momentum. After inflation, the dark Higgs decays into massive dark photons, which further decay into the SM particles through a kinetic mixing. We show that a large portion of the viable parameter space is within the future experimental searches for the dark photon because the kinetic mixing is bounded below for successful reheating. We also comment on the Schwinger effect, which can hamper the tachyonic production of dark photons, when the mass of the dark photon is not the St\"uckelberg mass but is generated by the Higgs mechanism. Such nonthermal trapped inflation could be applied to other cosmological scenarios such as the early dark energy, which is known as one of the solutions to the Hubble tension.