Featured Researches

High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Axion Quasiparticles for Axion Dark Matter Detection

It has been suggested that certain antiferromagnetic topological insulators contain axion quasiparticles (AQs), and that such materials could be used to detect axion dark matter (DM). The AQ is a longitudinal antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation coupled to the electromagnetic Chern-Simons term, which, in the presence of an applied magnetic field, leads to mass mixing between the AQ and the electric field. The electromagnetic boundary conditions and transmission and reflection coefficients are computed. A model for including losses into this system is presented, and the resulting linewidth is computed. It is shown how transmission spectroscopy can be used to measure the resonant frequencies and damping coefficients of the material, and demonstrate conclusively the existence of the AQ. The dispersion relation and boundary conditions permit resonant conversion of axion DM into THz photons in a material volume that is independent of the resonant frequency, which is tuneable via an applied magnetic field. A parameter study for axion DM detection is performed, computing boost amplitudes and bandwidths using realistic material properties including loss. The proposal could allow for detection of axion DM in the mass range between 1 and 10 meV using current and near future technology.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Axion-driven hybrid inflation over a barrier

We present a scenario where an axion-like field drives inflation until a potential barrier, which keeps a waterfall field at the origin, disappears and a waterfall transition occurs. Such a barrier separates the scale of inflation from that of the waterfall transition. We find the observed spectrum of the cosmic microwave background indicates that the decay constant of the inflaton is well below the Planck scale, with the inflationary Hubble parameter spanning a wide range. Further, our model involves dark matter candidates including the inflaton itself. Also, for a complex waterfall field, we can determine cosmologically the Peccei-Quinn scale associated with the strong CP problem.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Axion-matter coupling in multiferroics

Multiferroics (MFs) are materials with two or more ferroic orders, like spontaneous ferroelectric and ferromagnetic polarizations. Such materials can exhibit a magnetoelectric effect whereby magnetic and ferroelectric polarizations couple linearly, reminiscent of, but not identical to the electromagneticE?�Baxion coupling. Here we point out a possible mechanism in which an external dark matter axion field couples linearly to ferroic orders in these materials without external applied fields. We find the magnetic response to be linear in the axion-electron coupling. At temperatures close to the ferromagnetic transition fluctuations can lead to an enhancement of the axion-induced magnetic response. Relevant material candidates such as the Lu-Sc hexaferrite family are discussed.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Axion/Hidden-Photon Dark Matter Conversion into Condensed Matter Axion

The QCD axion or axion-like particles are candidates of dark matter of the universe. On the other hand, axion-like excitations exist in certain condensed matter systems, which implies that there can be interactions of dark matter particles with condensed matter axions. We discuss the relationship between the condensed matter axion and a collective spin-wave excitation in an anti-ferromagnetic insulator at the quantum level. The conversion rate of the light dark matter, such as the elementary particle axion or hidden photon, into the condensed matter axion is estimated for the discovery of the dark matter signals.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Axions: From Magnetars and Neutron Star Mergers to Beam Dumps and BECs

We review topics in searches for axion-like-particles (ALPs), covering material that is complementary to other recent reviews. The first half of our review covers ALPs in the extreme environments of neutron star cores, the magnetospheres of highly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars), and in neutron star mergers. The focus is on possible signals of ALPs in the photon spectrum of neutron stars and gravitational wave/electromagnetic signals from neutron star mergers. We then review recent developments in laboratory-produced ALP searches, focusing mainly on accelerator-based facilities including beam-dump type experiments and collider experiments. We provide a general-purpose discussion of the ALP search pipeline from production to detection, in steps, and our discussion is straightforwardly applicable to most beam-dump type and reactor experiments. We end with a selective look at the rapidly developing field of ultralight dark matter, specifically the formation of Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs). We review the properties of BECs of ultralight dark matter and bridge these properties with developments in numerical simulations, and ultimately with their impact on experimental searches.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

B-hadron hadro-production in NNLO QCD: application to LHCtt¯events with leptonic decays

We calculate, for the first time, the NNLO QCD corrections to identified heavy hadron production at hadron colliders. The calculation is based on a flexible numeric framework which allows the calculation of any distribution of a single identified heavy hadron plus jets and non-QCD particles. As a first application we provide NNLO QCD predictions for several differential distributions ofBhadrons intt¯events at the LHC. Among others, these predictions are needed for the precise determination of the top quark mass. The extension of our results to other processes, like open or associatedBand charm production is straightforward. We also explore the prospects for extracting heavy flavor fragmentation functions from LHC data.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Baryogenesis and gravity waves from a UV-completed electroweak phase transition

We study gravity wave production and baryogenesis at the electroweak phase transition, in a real singlet scalar extension of the Standard Model, including vector-like top partners to generate the CP violation needed for electroweak baryogenesis (EWBG). The singlet makes the phase transition strongly first-order through its coupling to the Higgs boson, and it spontaneously breaks CP invariance through a dimension-5 contribution to the top quark mass term, generated by integrating out the heavy top quark partners. We improve on previous studies by incorporating updated transport equations, compatible with large bubble wall velocities. The wall speed and thickness are computed directly from the microphysical parameters rather than treating them as free parameters, allowing for a first-principles computation of the baryon asymmetry. The size of the CP-violating dimension-5 operator needed for EWBG is constrained by collider, electroweak precision, and renormalization group running constraints. We identify regions of parameter space that can produce the observed baryon asymmetry or observable gravitational (GW) wave signals. Contrary to standard lore, we find that for strong deflagrations, the efficiencies of large baryon asymmetry production and strong GW signals can be positively correlated. However we find the overall likelihood of observably large GW signals to be smaller than estimated in previous studies. In particular, only detonation-type transitions are predicted to produce observably large gravitational waves.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Baryogenesis via gauge field production from a relaxing Higgs

We show that the baryon asymmetry of the universe can be explained in models where the Higgs couples to the Chern-Simons term of the hypercharge group and is away from the late-time minimum of its potential during inflation. The Higgs then relaxes toward this minimum once inflation ends which leads to the production of (hyper)magnetic helicity. We discuss the conditions under which this helicity can be approximately conserved during its joint evolution with the thermal plasma. At the electroweak phase transition the helicity is then converted into a baryon asymmetry by virtue of the chiral anomaly in the standard model. We propose a simple model which realizes this mechanism and show that the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe can be reproduced.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Baryon axial vector current in large-Ncchiral perturbation theory: Complete analysis forNc=3

The baryon axial vector current is computed in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory in the large-Nclimit, whereNcis the number of color charges. One-loop nonanalytic corrections of ordermqlnmqare comprised in the analysis, with contributions of both intermediate octet and decuplet baryon states, to all orders in the1/Ncexpansion of the axial vector current relevant forNc=3. Theoretical expressions are obtained in the limit of vanishing decuplet-octet mass difference only, which allows one to carry out a full comparison with conventional heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory results for three flavors of light quarks and at the physical valueNc=3. Both approaches perfectly agree to all orders considered. Furthermore, a numerical analysis via a least-squares fit is performed in order to extract the values of the free parameters of the theory, using the experimental data available. The predictions of formalism are remarkable.

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High Energy Physics Phenomenology

Bose-Einstein condensation of pions in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider using non-extensive Tsallis statistics

The possibility of formation of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) is studied inppcollisions ats??= 7 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. A thermodynamically consistent non-extensive formulation of the identified hadron transverse momentum distributions is used to estimate the critical temperature required to form BEC of charged pions, which are the most abundant species in a multi-particle production process in hadronic and nuclear collisions. The obtained results have been contrasted with the systems produced in Pb-Pb collisions to have a better understanding. We observe an explicit dependency of BEC critical temperature and number of particles in the pion condensates on the non-extensive parameterq, which is a measure of degree of non-equilibrium -- asqdecreases, the critical temperature increases and approaches to the critical temperature obtained from Bose-Einstein statistics without non-extensivity. Studies are performed on the final state multiplicity dependence of number of particles in the pion condensates in a wide range of multiplicity covering hadronic and heavy-ion collisions, using the inputs from experimental transverse momentum spectra.

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