Small Mass Difference Research Articles

Improved limits on n→n′ transformation from the Spallation Neutron Source

Conversions between neutrons n and dark matter candidate sterile neutrons n′ have been proposed as a mechanism for baryon number B violation. In the case that there is a small mass difference Δm between the n and the n′ states, oscillations can be induced by compensating for Δm with a magnetic field. A search for such neutron oscillations was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source by looking for anomalous neutron transmission through a strongly absorbing cadmium wafer inside of a 6.6 T magnet. The approach described here saw no regenerated neutrons above background, which provides an improved limit for neutron–sterile neutron transformations for a range of Δm between 0.1 and 1000 neV. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

An FONLL prescription with coexisting flavor number PDFs

We present a new prescription to account for heavy quark mass effects in the determination of parton distribution functions (PDFs) based on the FONLL scheme. Our prescription makes explicit use of the freedom to choose the number of active flavors at a given scale and, thus, use coexisting PDFs with different active flavor number. This new prescription is perturbatively equivalent to the former but improves the implementation in two ways. First, it can be naturally generalized to account simultaneously for multiple heavy quark effects, such as charm and bottom effects, which can both be relevant at the same scale due to the small mass difference. Second, it can be trivially generalized to use at any fixed-order or collinear resummed accuracy, while previous prescriptions required ad-hoc expansions of the DGLAP evolution kernels for each coefficient. We supplement the paper with codes for the computation of deep inelastic scattering observables in this new prescription.

Rise and Fall of Light Top Squarks in the LHC Top-Quark Sample.

We discuss the possibility that light new physics in the top-quark sample at the LHC can be found by investigating with greater care well-known kinematic distributions, such as the invariant mass m_{bℓ} of the b-jet and the charged lepton in fully leptonic tt[over ¯] events. We demonstrate that new physics can be probed in the rising part of the already measured m_{bℓ} distribution. To this end, we analyze a concrete supersymmetric scenario with a light right-handed top-squark, chargino and neutralino. The corresponding spectra are characterized by small mass differences, which make them not yet excluded by current LHC searches and give rise to a specific end point in the shape of the m_{bℓ} distribution. We argue that this sharp feature is general for models of light new physics that have so far escaped the LHC searches and can offer a precious handle for the implementation of robust searches that exploit, rather than suffer from, soft bottom quarks and leptons. Recasting public data on searches for new physics, we identify candidate models that are not yet excluded. For these models, we study the m_{bℓ} distribution and derive the expected signal yields, finding that there is untapped potential for discovery of new physics using the m_{bℓ} distribution.

Search for charged excited states of dark matter with KamLAND-Zen

Particle dark matter could belong to a multiplet that includes an electrically charged state. WIMP dark matter (χ0) accompanied by a negatively charged excited state (χ−) with a small mass difference (e.g. < 20 MeV) can form a bound-state with a nucleus such as xenon. This bound-state formation is rare and the released energy is O(1−10) MeV depending on the nucleus, making large liquid scintillator detectors suitable for detection. We searched for bound-state formation events with xenon in two experimental phases of the KamLAND-Zen experiment, a xenon-doped liquid scintillator detector. No statistically significant events were observed. For a benchmark parameter set of WIMP mass mχ0=1 TeV and mass difference Δm=17 MeV, we set the most stringent upper limits on the recombination cross section times velocity 〈σv〉 and the decay-width of χ− to 9.2×10−30cm3/s and 8.7×10−14 GeV, respectively at 90% confidence level.

Understanding the Effect of Conserved Charges on the Coalescence Sum Rule of Directed Flow

Recently, the rapidity-odd directed flow (v1) of produced hadrons (K−, ϕ, p¯, Λ¯, Ξ¯+, Ω−, and Ω¯+) has been studied. Several combinations of these produced hadrons, with very small mass differences but differences in the net electric charge (Δq) and net strangeness (ΔS) on the two sides, have been considered. A difference in v1 between the two sides of these combinations (Δv1) has been proposed as a consequence of the electromagnetic field produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, especially if Δv1 increases with Δq. Our study is performed to understand the effect of the coalescence sum rule (CSR) on Δv1. We point out that the CSR leads to Δv1=cqΔq+cSΔS, where the coefficients cq and cS reflect the Δv1 of produced quarks. Equivalently, one can write Δv1=cqΔq+cBΔB, involving the difference in the net baryon number ΔB, where the CSR gives cB=−3cS. We then propose two methods to extract the coefficients for the Δq and ΔS dependences of Δv1.

Gamma-enhancement of reflected light images as a routine method for assessment of compositional heterogeneity in common low-reflectance Fe-bearing minerals

Abstract Incorporation of impurity elements into minerals impacts on their physical properties (e.g., reflectance, hardness, and electrical conductivity) but the quantitative relationships between these features and compositional variation remain inadequately constrained. Prior work has shown that gamma-enhancement of reflected light images represents a simple yet powerful tool to assess the compositional heterogeneity of single pyrite crystals as it can enhance subtle differences in reflectance between distinct domains with different minor element concentrations. This study extends the gamma correction method to several other common Fe-bearing minerals, magnetite, garnet, wolframite, and tetrahedrite-tennantite, which all have far lower reflectance than pyrite. Gamma-enhanced optical images reveal clear variations in reflectance that are either systematic with increased minor element concentration as the change in gray value on backscatter electron (BSE) images (in the case of magnetite, garnet, and tetrahedrite-tennantite) or contrasting (as in pyrite), yielding a convincing linkage between reflectance variation and compositional heterogeneity. Reflectance variation is an expression of the distribution of the average effective number of free electrons on the mineral surface that can re-emit light when excited by visible light. Gamma-enhanced images can reveal compositional heterogeneity in minerals such as wolframite where small atomic mass differences between substituting elements (Mn and Fe, in the case of wolframite) are virtually impossible to observe as a variation of gray values on BSE images. Results also demonstrate that Fe-rich domains in these minerals can be expected to have higher reflectance than Fe-poor domains whenever Fe is a major constituent. The greater reflectance is attributed to Fe ions having a greater effective number of free electrons than many other elements (e.g., Co, Ni, Si, Ca, Al, Mg, Mn, and As). The research highlights the utility of gamma correction as an inexpensive tool for routine evaluation of compositional heterogeneity in common Fe-bearing minerals, potentially obviating the necessity of a microbeam platform to correlate textures and composition.

Coalescence sum rule and the electric charge- and strangeness-dependences of directed flow in heavy ion collisions

The rapidity-odd directed flows (v1) of identified hadrons are expected to follow the coalescence sum rule when the created matter is initially in parton degrees of freedom and then hadronizes through quark coalescence. A recent study has considered the v1 of produced hadrons that do not contain u or d constituent quarks. It has constructed multiple hadron sets with a small mass difference but given difference in electric charge Δq and strangeness ΔS between the two sides, where a nonzero and increasing Δv1 with Δq has been proposed to be a consequence of electromagnetic fields. In this study, we examine the consequence of coalescence sum rule on the Δv1 of the hadron sets in the absence of electromagnetic fields. We find that in general Δv1≠0 for a hadron set with nonzero Δq and/or ΔS due to potential v1 differences between u¯ and d¯ and between s and s¯ quarks. We further propose methods to extract the coefficients for the Δq- and ΔS-dependences of the direct flow difference, where a nonzero constant term would indicate the breaking of the coalescence sum rule. The extraction methods are then demonstrated with transport model results.

Comparison of Olympic-Style Weightlifting Performances of Elite Athletes: Scaling Models Account for Body Mass.

We developed a scale for comparison of performances by weightlifters of different body mass and compare this scaling formula to current systems. Data from Olympics and World and Continental Championships from 2017 to 2021 were obtained; results from athletes with doping violations were excluded, resulting in performances from 1900 athletes from 150 countries for use in analysis. Functional relationships between performance and body mass were explored by testing various transformations of body mass in the form of fractional polynomials that include a wide range of nonlinear relationships. These transformations were evaluated in quantile regression models to determine the best fit, examine sex differences, and distinguish fits for different performance levels (90th, 75th, and 50th percentiles). The resulting model used a transformation of body mass with powers -2 and 2 for males and females and was used to specify a scaling formula. The small percentage deviations between modeled and actual performances confirm the high accuracy of the model. In the subset of medalists, scaled performances were comparable across different body masses, whereas both Sinclair and Robi scalings, currently used in competitions, were more variable. The curves had similar shapes for the 90th and 75th percentile levels but were less steep for the 50th percentile. The scaling formula we derived to compare weightlifting performances across a range of body mass can easily be implemented in the competition software to determine the overall best lifters. This is an improvement over current methods that do not accurately account for differences in body mass and result in bias or yield large variations even with small differences in body mass despite identical performances.

Precise estimate of charged Wino decay rate

The Wino is an SU(2)L triplet Majorana fermion and a well-motivated dark matter candidate. The mass difference between the charged and the neutral Winos is small thanks to the SU(2)L symmetry. The small mass difference makes the charged Wino metastable, which provides disappearing charged track signatures at collider experiments. The constraint on the Wino dark matter at the LHC strongly depends on the Wino lifetime. We compute the next-to-leading order (NLO) correction of the charged Wino decay and make the most precise estimate of the decay rate. We find that the NLO decay rate is determined by the mass difference and scarcely depend on the Wino mass itself in the heavy Wino limit. As a result, we find the NLO correction gives a minor impact on the lifetime of 2–4% increase.

Radiative corrections to stop-antistop annihilation into gluons and light quarks

We present the full one-loop supersymmetry-QCD corrections to stop-antistop annihilation into gluons and light quarks within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model including Sommerfeld enhancement effects from the exchange of multiple gluons between the incoming particles. These corrections are important as stop (co)annihilation becomes the dominant contribution to the relic density for scenarios with a small mass difference between the neutralino and the stop which are less constrained by current LHC searches and consistent with the observation of a 125 GeV SM-like Higgs boson. We discuss important technical details of our one-loop, real emission, and resummation calculations where we pay particular attention to the cancellation of infrared divergences and the associated application of the dipole formalism for massive initial scalars. The corrections have been implemented in the dark matter precision tool dm@nlo which allows us to study numerically the impact of these corrections on the annihilation cross section. We find that for the chosen reference scenario the dominant correction comes from the Sommerfeld effect and that the pure NLO correction is below 3%. The inclusion of these radiative corrections is still large enough to decrease the relic density by more than 10% and shift the cosmologically preferred parameter region by a few GeV relative to the standard micromegas result. Therefore, the inclusion of these corrections is mandatory if the experimental errors are taken as upper and lower bounds of the theory value.

Geochemical behavior of stable strontium isotopes during continental weathering process: A review

Continental weathering, an important geological process that affects the formation and evolution of the earth, involves the interaction of matter and energy among the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Stable Sr isotope (δ88/86Sr) is a novel non-traditional stable isotope. It has been widely discussed in tracing continental weathering, studying marine Sr cycle, and analyzing biogeochemical behavior in recent years. Its combination with 87Sr/86Sr can indicate the source of Sr and the mass fractionation of geological processes, which has incomparable advantages over other isotopic systems, such as Li, Mg, and Ba. However, owing to the small mass difference (2%) between 86Sr and 88Sr, fractionation is not significant, which makes the measurement of the ratio δ88/86Sr difficult and limits its application to trace continental weathering.In this study, major developments and challenges in using stable Sr isotopes to trace continental weathering are reviewed, when considering high-precision testing methods, characteristics of δ88/86Sr in natural reservoirs, and geochemical behaviors. The high-precision measurement methods currently used for stable Sr isotopes mainly include multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), both of which involve chemical purification by a cation exchange column or Sr specific resin, coupled with various methods for quality discrimination correction. The present analytical precision for the determination of δ88/86Sr in geological samples is 0.02‰ ∼ 0.08‰. The δ88/86Sr varies widely in natural reservoirs. In particular, the range of δ88/86Sr values in extraterrestrial reservoirs, the biosphere, the lithosphere, and the hydrosphere are -1.73‰ to +0.66‰, -0.87‰ to +0.85‰, -0.20‰ to +0.53‰ and -0.45‰ to +0.66‰, respectively. Stable Sr isotope fractionation occurs in the processes of differential dissolution of primary minerals (Δ88/86Sr = -0.13‰), formation and adsorption of secondary minerals (Δ88/86Sr = -0.15‰), precipitation of carbonate (Δ88/86Sr = -0.20‰), and biological processes (Δ88/86Sr = -0.15‰), which causes the δ88/86Sr in fluid (solid) phase to δ88/86Sr increases (decrease). Previous research on the fractionation mechanisms and constraint conditions of stable Sr isotopes during continental weathering is insufficient. Thus, promoting a wide application of stable Sr isotopes to trace continental weathering through the combination of field profiles, laboratory experiments and theoretical calculation is urgently warranted.

Exploring the NΛ–NΣ coupled system with high precision correlation techniques at the LHC

The interaction of Λ and Σ hyperons (Y) with nucleons (N) is strongly influenced by the coupled-channel dynamics. Due to the small mass difference of the NΛ and NΣ systems, the sizable coupling strength of the NΣ↔NΛ processes constitutes a crucial element in the determination of the NΛ interaction. In this letter we present the most precise measurements on the interaction of pΛ pairs, from zero relative momentum up to the opening of the NΣ channel. The correlation function in the relative momentum space for pΛ⊕p‾Λ‾ pairs measured in high-multiplicity triggered pp collisions at s=13 TeV at the LHC is reported. The opening of the inelastic NΣ channels is visible in the extracted correlation function as a cusp-like structure occurring at relative momentum k⁎=289MeV/c. This represents the first direct experimental observation of the NΣ↔NΛ coupled channel in the pΛ system. The correlation function is compared with recent chiral effective field theory calculations, based on different strengths of the NΣ↔NΛ transition potential. A weaker coupling, as possibly supported by the present measurement, would require a more repulsive three-body NNΛ interaction for a proper description of the Λ in-medium properties, which has implications on the nuclear equation of state and for the presence of hyperons inside neutron stars.

Substantial but Misunderstood Human Sexual Dimorphism Results Mainly From Sexual Selection on Males and Natural Selection on Females.

Human sexual dimorphism has been widely misunderstood. A large literature has underestimated the effect of differences in body composition and the role of male contest competition for mates. It is often assumed that sexually dimorphic traits reflect a history of sexual selection, but natural selection frequently builds different phenotypes in males and females. The relatively small sex difference in stature (∼7%) and its decrease during human evolution have been widely presumed to indicate decreased male contest competition for mates. However, females likely increased in stature relative to males in order to successfully deliver large-brained neonates through a bipedally-adapted pelvis. Despite the relatively small differences in stature and body mass (∼16%), there are marked sex differences in body composition. Across multiple samples from groups with different nutrition, males typically have 36% more lean body mass, 65% more muscle mass, and 72% more arm muscle than women, yielding parallel sex differences in strength. These sex differences in muscle and strength are comparable to those seen in primates where sexual selection, arising from aggressive male mating competition, has produced high levels of dimorphism. Body fat percentage shows a reverse pattern, with females having ∼1.6 times more than males and depositing that fat in different body regions than males. We argue that these sex differences in adipose arise mainly from natural selection on women to accumulate neurodevelopmental resources.

Search for supersymmetry in final states with two or three soft leptons and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search for supersymmetry in events with two or three low-momentum leptons and missing transverse momentum is performed. The search uses proton-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV collected in the three-year period 2016–2018 by the CMS experiment at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 137 fb−1. The data are found to be in agreement with expectations from standard model processes. The results are interpreted in terms of electroweakino and top squark pair production with a small mass difference between the produced supersymmetric particles and the lightest neutralino. For the electroweakino interpretation, two simplified models are used, a wino-bino model and a higgsino model. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on {overset{sim }{upchi}}_2^0/{overset{sim }{upchi}}_1^{pm } masses up to 275 GeV for a mass difference of 10 GeV in the wino-bino case, and up to 205(150) GeV for a mass difference of 7.5 (3) GeV in the higgsino case. The results for the higgsino are further interpreted using a phenomenological minimal supersymmetric standard model, excluding the higgsino mass parameter μ up to 180 GeV with the bino mass parameter M1 at 800 GeV. In the top squark interpretation, exclusion limits are set at top squark masses up to 540 GeV for four-body top squark decays and up to 480 GeV for chargino-mediated decays with a mass difference of 30 GeV.

Quantum coherence in neutrino oscillation in matter

A closer and more detailed study of neutrino oscillation, in addition to assisting us in founding physics beyond the standard model, can potentially be used to understand the fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. In particular, we know that the neutrino oscillation occurs because the quantum states of the produced and detected neutrinos are a coherent superposition of the mass eigenstates, and this coherency is maintained during the propagation due to the small mass difference of neutrinos. In this paper, we consider the decoherence due to the neutrino interaction in the material medium with constant density in addition to the decoherence coming from the localization properties. For this purpose, we use $l_1\text{-norm}$ in order to quantify the coherence and investigate its dependence on the matter density. According to our results, in general, the coherence in material medium is less than vacuum. However, there exist exceptions; for some matter densities, the localization coherence lengths become infinite. So, for these cases, $l_1\text{-norm}$ in matter is more than the vacuum.

LC-HRMS-Based Identification of Transformation Products of the Drug Salinomycin Generated by Electrochemistry and Liver Microsome.

The drug salinomycin (SAL) is a polyether antibiotic and used in veterinary medicine as coccidiostat and growth promoter. Recently, SAL was suggested as a potential anticancer drug. However, transformation products (TPs) resulting from metabolic and environmental degradation of SAL are incompletely known and structural information is missing. In this study, we therefore systematically investigated the formation and identification of SAL derived TPs using electrochemistry (EC) in an electrochemical reactor and rat and human liver microsome incubation (RLM and HLM) as TP generating methods. Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was applied to determine accurate masses in a suspected target analysis to identify TPs and to deduce occurring modification reactions of derived TPs. A total of 14 new, structurally different TPs were found (two EC-TPs, five RLM-TPs, and 11 HLM-TPs). The main modification reactions are decarbonylation for EC-TPs and oxidation (hydroxylation) for RLM/HLM-TPs. Of particular interest are potassium-based TPs identified after liver microsome incubation because these might have been overlooked or declared as oxidated sodium adducts in previous, non-HRMS-based studies due to the small mass difference between K and O + Na of 21 mDa. The MS fragmentation pattern of TPs was used to predict the position of identified modifications in the SAL molecule. The obtained knowledge regarding transformation reactions and novel TPs of SAL will contribute to elucidate SAL-metabolites with regards to structural prediction.

Flavor changing neutral couplings for leptons

The article reviews the conditions for lepton-flavor conservation in leptonic interactions. The conditions are similar to those developed in the quark sector. For neutrinos the mass eigenstates are unitary superpositions of flavor states which together with small mass differences produce neutrino oscillations. A new property for neutrinos is the fact that their masses are very small suppressing their couplings to neutral scalar fields. The results are demonstrated in several models.

Search for physics beyond the standard model in final states with two or three soft leptons and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at TeV

The most recent CMS results from a search for supersymmetry (SUSY) with a compressed mass spectrum in leptonic final states will be presented. The search is targeting signatures with missing transverse momentum and two or three low-momentum (soft) leptons. The dataset used is collected by the CMS experiment during the Run–2 proton-proton collisions at TeV at the LHC, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of up to 137 fb−1. The observed data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model prediction and exclusion upper limits are set on the SUSY particles production cross section. The results are interpreted in terms of electroweakino and top squark pair production. In both cases, a small mass difference between the produced SUSY particles and the lightest neutralino is considered. A wino-bino and a higgsino simplified models are used for the electroweakino interpretation. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on masses up to 280 GeV for a mass difference between the and the lightest neutralino of 10 GeV for the wino-bino production. In the higgsino interpretation masses are excluded up to 210 GeV for a mass difference of 7.5 GeV and up to 150 GeV for a mass difference of 3 GeV. The results for the higgsino production are additionally interpreted in terms of a phenomenological minimal SUSY extension of the standard model, excluding the higgsino mass parameter μ up to 180 GeV for bino mass parameter M1 = 800 GeV. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the top squark pair production interpretation, excluding top squark masses up to 530 GeV in the four-body top squark decay model and up to 475 GeV in the chargino-mediated decay model for a mass difference between the top squark and the lightest neutralino of 30 GeV.

A multi-component SIMP model with U(1)X\u2192 Z2 \xd7 Z3

Multi-component dark matter scenarios are studied in the model with U(1)X dark gauge symmetry that is broken into its product subgroup Z2 × Z3 á la Krauss-Wilczek mechanism. In this setup, there exist two types of dark matter fields, X and Y, distinguished by different Z2 × Z3 charges. The real and imaginary parts of the Z2-charged field, XR and XI, get different masses from the U(1)X symmetry breaking. The field Y, which is another dark matter candidate due to the unbroken Z3 symmetry, belongs to the Strongly Interacting Massive Particle (SIMP)-type dark matter. Both XI and XR may contribute to Y’s 3 → 2 annihilation processes, opening a new class of SIMP models with a local dark gauge symmetry. Depending on the mass difference between XI and XR, we have either two-component or three-component dark matter scenarios. In particular two- or three-component SIMP scenarios can be realised not only for small mass difference between X and Y, but also for large mass hierarchy between them, which is a new and unique feature of the present model. We consider both theoretical and experimental constraints, and present four case studies of the multi-component dark matter scenarios.

Application of a "Continuous-Acquisition-Method" to potassium isotope measurements by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

The very small mass difference between 41 K and 40 ArH+ makes the flat, hydride interference-free peak shoulders very narrow (0.002-0.003 m/z unit), bringing a number of analytical challenges when measuring K isotopic compositions by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). In traditional Sequence Run mode, the parameters are loaded every line of the sequence which can introduce tiny drifts of tune parameters and mass peaks. This may occasionally lead to the failure of K isotope measurements when mass drifts exceed 0.002 m/z unit. It is thus essential to keep the tune parameters, especially the magnet current, very stable to achieve high-precision K isotopic compositions. We developed a "Continuous-Acquisition-Method" (CAM) MC-ICP-MS Run mode to improve the stability when determining K isotopes. Two sets of experiments were designed: (a) Stability test: measuring a single pure K solution (viz. NIST-999c) for ~3h and comparing the stability of the two run modes; and (b) GSB-K test: measuring our inhouse pure K standard solution (GSB-K) in both run modes and comparing the accuracy and precision. The traditional Sequence Run mode only kept the MC-ICP-MS system stable for the first ~1.5h during the ~3-h test, with an offset of the mass peaks of ~0.003 m/z unit. The CAM Run mode yielded higher stability during the whole test (~3h), with a peak shift <0.0004 m/z unit. Measurement of the GSB-K standard solution in Sequence Run and CAM Run modes gives identical δ41 K values when the magnet was kept stable, with the CAM Run mode offering a better precision and keeping the instrument stable for longer time. The MC-ICP-MS CAM Run mode shows higher stability and better precision. It is, therefore, good for high-precision K isotope measurements.