Annihilation Products Research Articles

Impact of inhomogeneous diffusion on secondary cosmic ray and antiproton local spectra

Recent γ-ray and neutrino observations seem to favor the consideration of non-uniform diffusion of cosmic rays (CRs) throughout the Galaxy.In this study, we investigate the consequences of spatially-dependent inhomogeneous propagation of CRs on the fluxes of secondary CRs and antiprotons detected at Earth. A comparison is made among different scenarios in search of potential features that may guide us toward favoring one over another in the near future. We also examine both the influence of inhomogeneous propagation in the production of secondary CRs from interactions with the gas, and the effects of this scenario on the local fluxes of antiprotons and light antinuclei produced as final products of dark matter annihilation. Our results indicate that the consideration of an inhomogeneous diffusion model could improve the compatibility of the predicted local antiproton flux with that of B, Be and Li, assuming only secondary origin of these particles. In addition, our model predicts a slightly harder local antiproton spectrum, making it more compatible with the high energy measurements of AMS-02.Finally, no significant changes are expected in the predicted local flux of antiprotons and antinuclei produced from dark matter among the different considered propagation scenarios.

Effects of Cold Rolling–Induced Defects on Proton Irradiation Response in Nb-1Zr-0.1C Alloy

This work highlights the effect of proton irradiation in the presence of preexisting defects in the Nb-1Zr-0.1C alloy. To introduce the initial defects, the Nb-1Zr-0.1C alloy was subjected to cold rolling (10% and 20%) prior to irradiation. Characterization of the irradiated material was performed using detailed X-ray diffraction line profile analyses. The results, in terms of various microstructural parameters, revealed that the preexisting defects in these materials act as effective sinks for irradiation-induced defects during the initial irradiation. Electron backscattered diffraction analyses suggested that the fraction of low-angle grain boundaries plays a crucial role during irradiation and determines the outcome of the competing process between defect annihilation and defect production. Transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that the black dots were coexisting with carbide precipitate in the cold-rolled Nb alloy after irradiation. Mechanical properties were also assessed by measuring microhardness to correlate with the changes in microstructure after irradiation. The change in yield strength calculated from the change in the microhardness value as a function of dose indicated that the 20% cold-rolled Nb alloy was more radiation resistant than the 10% cold-rolled Nb alloy at ambient temperature and a low-dose regime. To see the effect of alloying elements, similar studies were also carried out on pure Nb, and the results were compared with that of the Nb-1Zr-0.1C alloy. All these findings help to develop a better understanding of the behavior of the proton-irradiated Nb-1Zr-0.1C alloy in the presence of preexisting defects introduced by means of cold rolling prior to irradiation.

Analytic NNLO QCD corrections to top quark pair production in electron-positron collisions

We present the analytic total cross section of top quark pair production in electron-positron annihilation at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). By utilizing the optical theorem, the NNLO corrections are related to the imaginary parts of three-loop self-energy Feynman diagrams, of which the master integrals are calculated with canonical differential equations. The analytic results for the NNLO corrections are expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms as well as elliptic functions. We discuss the asymptotic expansions near the threshold and in the high energy limit in detail. Numerical results are provided for the total cross section of top quark pair production at future lepton colliders.

Determining patterns of leaching titanium(IV) from the Irshansky deposit ilmenite

The research object is the ilmenite concentrate from the Irshansky deposit. This study describes an elemental composition of the mineral raw material and confirms its structure using the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Experimental studies have shown that the ilmenite concentrate from the Irshansky deposit has a significant titanium content in terms of titanium dioxide (79 %). Mineral raw materials with such a chemical composition are unique, so there is a need to find alternative methods for its processing. The research demonstrates that the maximum degree of extraction in the process of alkaline leaching of the ilmenite concentrate is achieved under the condition that the average diameter of particles of the mineral raw material should be ≤71 μm. As a result of temperature studies, it has been found that a temperature of 453 K would suffice to obtain potassium titanate at atmospheric pressure. Further temperature increase does not provide for a significant increase in the degree of titanium extraction, and also contributes to the formation of polytitanates of various compositions. The study of the influence of the molar ratio of the starting reagents on the degree of extraction of titanium(IV) from the ilmenite concentrate has showed that the optimal molar ratio between the components corresponds to the stoichiometric one and is 1:2. Increasing the amount of potassium hydroxide in the reaction mixture is impractical as it reduces the yield of potassium titanate, and the final product will have high alkalinity due to excess alkali. The optimal time for alkaline leaching is three hours of continuous heating in a glycerin bath. A further increase in the duration of heating does not lead to an increase in the degree of extraction, which is associated with the diffusion of alkali from the surface of the nucleus into the volume of ilmenite particles due to the formed products of interaction and annihilation of the initial nuclei

A quantitative assessment of Geant4 for predicting the yield and distribution of positron-emitting fragments in ion beam therapy

Objective. To compare the accuracy with which different hadronic inelastic physics models across ten Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit versions can predict positron-emitting fragments produced along the beam path during carbon and oxygen ion therapy. Approach. Phantoms of polyethylene, gelatin, or poly(methyl methacrylate) were irradiated with monoenergetic carbon and oxygen ion beams. Post-irradiation, 4D PET images were acquired and parent 11C, 10C and 15O radionuclides contributions in each voxel were determined from the extracted time activity curves. Next, the experimental configurations were simulated in Geant4 Monte Carlo versions 10.0 to 11.1, with three different fragmentation models—binary ion cascade (BIC), quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) and the Liege intranuclear cascade (INCL++) - 30 model-version combinations. Total positron annihilation and parent isotope production yields predicted by each simulation were compared between simulations and experiments using normalised mean squared error and Pearson cross-correlation coefficient. Finally, we compared the depth of the maximum positron annihilation yield and the distal point at which the positron yield decreases to 50% of peak between each model and the experimental results. Main results. Performance varied considerably across versions and models, with no one version/model combination providing the best prediction of all positron-emitting fragments in all evaluated target materials and irradiation conditions. BIC in Geant4 10.2 provided the best overall agreement with experimental results in the largest number of test cases. QMD consistently provided the best estimates of both the depth of peak positron yield (10.4 and 10.6) and the distal 50%-of-peak point (10.2), while BIC also performed well and INCL generally performed the worst across most Geant4 versions. Significance. The best predictions of the spatial distribution of positron annihilations and positron-emitting fragment production along the beam path during carbon and oxygen ion therapy was obtained using Geant4 10.2.p03 with BIC or QMD. These version/model combinations are recommended for future heavy ion therapy research.

Minimal mass of thermal dark matter and the viability of millicharged particles affecting 21-cm cosmology

Thermal freeze-out offers an attractive explanation of the dark matter density free from fine-tuning of initial conditions. For dark matter with a mass below tens of MeV, photons, electrons, and neutrinos are the only available direct Standard Model annihilation products. Using a full three-sector abundance calculation, we determine the minimal mass of dark matter, allowing for an arbitrary branching into electrons/photons and neutrinos that is compatible with current cosmological observations. The analysis takes into account the heat transfer between the various sectors from annihilation elastic scattering, representing the first fully self-consistent analysis that tracks the respective sectors’ temperatures. We thereby provide accurate thermal annihilation cross sections, particularly for velocity-dependent cases, and deduce the sensitivity of current and upcoming CMB experiments to MeV thermal dark matter. In the latter context, we also establish the fine-tuned parameter region where a tiny admixture of neutrinos in the final states rules in MeV-scale p-wave annihilating DM into electrons. Finally, we show that a sub-% millicharged dark matter with an interaction strength that interferes with 21-cm cosmology is still allowed when freeze-out is supplemented with annihilation into neutrinos. For all cases considered, we provide concrete particle physics models and supplement our findings with a discussion of other relevant experimental results. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

SKA sensitivity for possible radio emission from dark matter in Omega Centauri

Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster in the Milky Way, is believed to be the remains of a dwarf galaxy's core. Giving its potential abundance of dark matter (DM), it is an attractive target for investigating the nature of this elusive substance in our local environment. Our study demonstrates that by observing Omega Centauri with the SKA for 100 hours, we can detect synchrotron radio or Inverse Compton (IC) emissions from the DM annihilation products. It enables us to constrain the cross-section of DM annihilation down to ∼ 10-30 cm3 s-1 for DM mass from several GeV to 100 GeV, which is much stronger compared with other observations. Additionally, we explore the axion, another well-motivated DM candidate, and provide stimulated decay calculations. It turns out that the sensitivity can reach g aγγ ∼ 10-10 GeV-1 for 2 × 10-7 eV< ma < 2 × 10-4 eV.

Covariance-analytic performance criteria, Hardy-Schatten norms and Wick-like ordering of cascaded systems

This paper is concerned with robust performance analysis of linear stochastic systems acting as an integral operator on a standard Wiener process at the input and producing a stationary Gaussian random process at the output. We propose a performance criterion which uses the trace of an analytic function of the spectral density of the output process. This class of “covariance-analytic” cost functionals includes the usual mean square and risk-sensitive criteria as particular cases. Due to the “cost-shaping” analytic function, the covariance-analytic performance criterion depends on higher-order Hardy-Schatten norms of the system transfer function. We discuss the links of these norms with the asymptotic behaviour of cumulants of finite-horizon quadratic functionals of the system output and their variational properties pertaining to system robustness to statistically uncertain inputs which differ from the standard Wiener process. In the case of strictly proper finite-dimensional systems, governed in state space by linear stochastic differential equations, we develop a method for recursively computing the Hardy-Schatten norms through a recently proposed technique of rearranging cascaded linear systems, which resembles the Wick ordering of mixed products of noncommuting annihilation and creation operators in quantum mechanics. This computational procedure, which is one of the main results of the paper, involves a recurrence sequence of solutions to algebraic Lyapunov equations and represents the covariance-analytic cost as the squared H2-norm of an auxiliary cascaded system. These results are also compared with an alternative approach, which uses higher-order derivatives of stabilising solutions of parameter-dependent algebraic Riccati equations, and illustrated by a numerical example.

NAJADS: a self-contained framework for the direct determination of astrophysical J-factors

Cosmological simulations play a pivotal role in understanding the properties of the dark matter (DM) distribution in both galactic and galaxy-cluster environments. The characterization of DM structures is crucial for informing indirect DM searches, aiming at the detection of the annihilation (or decay) products of DM particles. A fundamental quantity in these analyses is the astrophysical J-factor. In the DM phenomenology community, J-factors are typically computed through the semi-analytical modelling of the DM mass distribution, which is affected by large uncertainties. With the scope of addressing and possibly reducing these uncertainties, we present NAJADS, a self-contained framework to derive the DM J-factor directly from the raw simulations data. We show how this framework can be used to compute all-sky maps of the J-factor, automatically accounting for the complex 3D structure of the simulated halos and for the boosting of the signal due to the density fluctuations along the line of sight. After validating our code, we present a proof-of-concept application of NAJADS to a realistic halo from the IllustrisTNG suite, and exploit it to make a thorough comparison between our numerical approach and traditional semi-analytical methods.

Optical analogs of pair production and annihilation in binary waveguide arrays with a linearly shifted straight section

We systematically investigate the optical analogs of the e−e+ pair production and annihilation phenomena which can take place simultaneously in a binary waveguide array having a linearly shifted straight section sandwiched between two straight sections. These two processes can be realized by the beam splitting in the linearly shifted straight section which performs the function of an external vector potential with a rectangular form in time in quantum electrodynamics (QED) which is different from two widely used concepts based on an external time-varying electromagnetic field, or an external ultrastrong time-independent potential barrier in space as in the Schwinger mechanism. We show that the numerical results for annihilation and pair production probabilities based on the simulations of beam propagation in binary waveguide arrays in the low-power regime are in very good agreement with the theoretical results. We also reveal that with certain requirements, the proposed discrete model quantitatively mimics the two processes as well as the continuous model of the genuine Dirac equation in free space in QED. We also show that the nonlinearity in the high-power regime can reduce these two effects.

Forbidden dark matter combusted around supermassive black hole

The forbidden dark matter cannot annihilate into a pair of heavier partners, either SM particles or its partners in the dark sector, at the late stage of cosmological evolution by definition. We point out the possibility of reactivating the forbidden annihilation channel around supermassive black holes. Being attracted towards a black hole, the forbidden dark matter is significantly accelerated to overcome the annihilation threshold. The subsequent decay of the annihilation products to photon leaves a unique signal around the black hole, which can serve as a smoking gun for the forbidden dark matter. For illustration, the Fermi-LAT data around Sgr A⁎ provides a preliminary constraint on the thermally averaged cross section of the reactivated forbidden annihilation that is consistent with the DM relic density requirement.

(γ, χcJ(J = 0,1)) and (γ, ηc) production in electron-positron annihilation at [formula omitted] GeV and 4.6 GeV in the framework of Bethe-Salpeter equation

In present work we study the production of ground and excited charmonium states in e−e+→γχcJ(nP)(J=0,1), and e−e+→γηc(nS), through leading order (LO) diagrams, which proceed through exchange of a virtual photon that couples to γ and ηc/χcJ through the triangular quark loop diagram, in the framework of 4×4 Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE), at center of mass energies s=10.6 GeV (Belle energy), and 4.6 GeV (BESIII energy). The amplitude simplifies to a general form required by Lorentz-covariance, in terms of its form factors. The cross sections for these processes with leading order diagrams alone at s=10.6 GeV provide a sizable contribution, which might be mainly due to the BSE being a fully relativistic approach that incorporates the relativistic effect of quark spins and can also describe internal motion of constituent quarks within the hadron in a relativistically covariant manner. Our results are compared with recent Belle data at 10.6 GeV, and BESIII data at 4.6 GeV, as well as other models. Plots of cross sections versus the center-of mass energy, s reveal mild fluctuations in their behaviour for all the three processes in the low energy (s=4–6 GeV) region, and are analyzed in terms of the form factors.

Two body final states production in electron-positron annihilation and their contributions to (g − 2)μ

In this paper, we study the processes of e+e− annihilation into two body final states, either two pseudoscalar mesons or one meson with a photon. The hadronic vacuum polarization form factors are calculated within the framework of resonance chiral theory in the energy region of E ≲ 2 GeV, with final state interactions taken into account. A joint analysis on the processes of e+e−→ π+π−, K+K−, {K}_L^0{K}_S^0 , π0γ, and ηγ has been performed, and the latest experimental data are included. Based on the vacuum polarization form factors of these processes, we estimate their contributions to the lowest order of anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, (g – 2)μ. Combined with other contributions from hadronic vacuum polarization and other interactions from the standard model, the discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement is ∆aμ = (24.1 ± 5.4) × 10−10, i.e., 4.5σ.

Glauber P-representations for fermions

The Glauber-Sudarshan P-representation for bosons is well-known within quantum optics, and is widely applied to problems involving photon statistics. Less familiar, perhaps, is its fermionic counterpart, introduced by Cahill and Glauber. We present a derivation of both the bosonic and fermionic distributions and, in doing so, demonstrate the reason for the existence of two distinct fermionic forms and the relationship between these. We consider both single mode systems and also multiparticle systems with many modes. Expressions for the moments involving products of mode annihilation and creation operators are obtained. For simplicity only one type of boson or fermion will be considered, but generalising to more types is straightforward.

Threshold enhanced cross sections for colorless productions

We study the threshold effect for neutral and charged Drell-Yan productions, associated production of Higgs boson with a massive vector boson and Higgs production in bottom quark annihilation at LHC to the third order in QCD. Using the third order soft-virtual results for these processes and exploiting the universality of the threshold logarithms, we extract the process-dependent coefficients for these processes and resum large threshold logarithms to next-to-next-to-next-to leading logarithmic (N$^3$LL) accuracy. By matching our results to the recently available N$^3$LO results, we provide the most precise theoretical predictions for these processes. We present numerical results for invariant mass distribution and total production cross-sections. We find the conventional scale uncertainties of about $0.4\%$ at N$^3$LO level in the fixed order results get reduced to as small as less than $0.1\%$ at N$^3$LO+N$^3$LL level in the high invariant mass region.

Attaining the PeV frontier of the cosmic ray spectrum in space with HERD

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection facility (HERD) is a calorimetric experiment planned to be launched in 2027. It will be operational for at least 10 years on board the China Space Station. With HERD we will measure the energy flux of cosmic protons and heavier nuclei from 30 GeV up to, for the first time in space, a few PeV. We will search for signatures of annihilation and decay products of dark matter in the energy spectrum of cosmic electrons and gamma rays from 10 GeV to 100 TeV. A wide field of view monitoring of the gamma-ray full-sky from 100 MeV will also be performed. The five HERD subdetectors, the calorimeter (CALO), the scintillating fiber tracker (FIT), the plastic scintillator detector (PSD), the silicon charge detector (SCD) and the transition radiation detector (TRD), are currently under development. The design, prospects and expected performance of HERD, as well as its contribution to the multimessenger astronomy will be presented in this contribution.

Investigating the effect of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies extension on dark matter searches with Fermi-LAT data

Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way with high mass-to-light ratios and little baryon content, i.e., dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), are among the most promising targets to detect or constrain the nature of dark matter (DM) through its final annihilation products into high-energy photons. Previously, the assumption that DM emission from dSphs is pointlike has been used to set strong constraints on DM candidates using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). However, due to their high DM densities and proximity, dSphs actually have sufficient angular extension to be detected by the Fermi-LAT. Here, we perform a comprehensive analysis about the impact of accounting for angular extension in the search for gamma-ray DM signals toward known dSphs with Fermi-LAT. We show that, depending on the dSph under consideration, limits on the DM cross section can be weakened by up to a factor of 2--2.5, while the impact on the stacked, i.e., combined, limits is at most 1.5--1.8 depending on the annihilation channel. This result is of relevance when comparing dSph limits to other multimessenger DM constraints and for testing the DM interpretation of anomalous ``excesses.''

Resonant search for the X17 boson at PADME

We discuss the experimental reach of the Frascati PADME experiment in searching for new light bosons via their resonant production in positron annihilation on fixed target atomic electrons. A scan in the mass range around 17 MeV will thoroughly probe the particle physics interpretation of the anomaly observed by the ATOMKI nuclear physics experiment. In particular, for the case of a spin-1 boson, the viable parameter space can be fully covered in a few months of data taking.

Dark matter pollution in the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background

The Hyper-Kamiokande (HyperK) experiment is expected to precisely measure the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB). This requires that the backgrounds in the relevant energy range are well understood. One possible background that has not been considered thus far is the annihilation of low-mass dark matter (DM) to neutrinos. We conduct simulations of the DSNB signal and backgrounds in HyperK, and quantify the extent to which DM annihilation products can pollute the DSNB signal. We find that the presence of DM could affect the determination of the correct values of parameters of interest for DSNB physics, such as effective neutrino temperatures and star formation rates. While this opens the possibility of simultaneously characterising the DNSB and discovering dark matter via indirect detection, we argue that it would be hard to disentangle the two contributions due to the lack of angular information available at low energies.

Final bound-state formation effect on dark matter annihilation * *Supported in part by the One Hundred Talent Program of Sun Yat-sen University, China

If two annihilation products of dark matter (DM) particles are non-relativistic and couple to a light force mediator, their plane wave functions are modified due to multiple exchanges of the force mediator. This gives rise to the final state Sommerfeld (FSS) effect. It is also possible that the final state particles form a bound state. Both the FSS effect and final bound-state (FBS) effect need to be considered in the calculation of the DM relic abundance. The annihilation products can be non-relativistic if their masses are comparable to those of the annihilating DM particles. We study the FSS and FBS effects in the mass-degenerate region using two specific models. Both models serve to illustrate different partial-wave contributions in the calculations of the FSS and FBS effects. We find that the FBS effect can be comparable to the FSS effect when the annihilation products couple strongly with a light force mediator. Those effects significantly modify the DM relic abundance.