Using <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup></math> collision data collected with the BESIII detector operating at the Beijing electron positron collider, the cross section of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow></msup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mrow><mi>π</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>π</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow></msup><msub><mrow><mi>h</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></math> is measured at 59 points with center-of-mass energy <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt></math> ranging from 4.009 to 4.950 GeV with a total integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>22.2</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mi>fb</mi><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math>. The cross section between 4.3 and 4.45 GeV exhibits a plateaulike shape and drops sharply around 4.5 GeV, which cannot be described by two resonances only. Three coherent Breit-Wigner functions are used to parametrize the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt></math>-dependent cross section line shape. The masses and widths are determined to be <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>M</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mspace linebreak="goodbreak"></mspace><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mrow><mn>4223.6</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3.7</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>2.9</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>3.6</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>2.6</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mrow><mn>58.5</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>11.4</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>6.5</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>10.8</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>6.7</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></mrow></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>M</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mrow><mn>4327.4</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>18.8</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>9.3</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>20.1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>10.7</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><mo>=</mo><mspace linebreak="goodbreak"></mspace><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mn>244.1</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>27.1</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>18.3</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>34.0</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>24.2</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>M</mi><mn>3</mn></msub><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mn>4467.4</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>5.4</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>2.7</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>7.2</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>3.2</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mi>c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mi><mn>3</mn></msub><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msubsup><mn>62.8</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>14.4</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>7.0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>19.2</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>9.9</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math>. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. The inclusion of the relatively narrower third component proves crucial for reproducing the drop at around 4.5 GeV. The statistical significance of the three-resonance assumption over the two-resonance assumption is greater than <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>5</mn><mi>σ</mi></math>.

China

M. Ablikim

Russia

M.N. Achasov

Sweden

P. Adlarson

X.C. Ai

Germany

R. Aliberti

Italy

A. Amoroso

Q. An

Y. Bai

JINR

O. Bakina

Y. Ban

H.R. Bao

Poland

V. Batozskaya

Mongolia

K. Begzsuren

N. Berger

M. Berlowski

M. Bertani

D. Bettoni

F. Bianchi

E. Bianco

A. Bortone

I. Boyko

United States

R.A. Briere

A. Brueggemann

H. Cai

M.H. Cai

X. Cai

A. Calcaterra

G.F. Cao

N. Cao

Türkiye

S.A. Cetin

X.Y. Chai

J.F. Chang

G.R. Che

Y.Z. Che

C.H. Chen

Chao Chen

G. Chen

H.S. Chen

H.Y. Chen

M.L. Chen

S.J. Chen

S.L. Chen

S.M. Chen

T. Chen

X.R. Chen

X.T. Chen

X.Y. Chen

Y.B. Chen

Y.Q. Chen

Z.J. Chen

Z.K. Chen

South Korea

S.K. Choi

X. Chu

G. Cibinetto

F. Cossio

United Kingdom

J. Cottee-Meldrum

J.J. Cui

H.L. Dai

J.P. Dai

A. Dbeyssi

R.E. de Boer

D. Dedovich

C.Q. Deng

Z.Y. Deng

A. Denig

I. Denysenko

M. Destefanis

F. De Mori

B. Ding

X.X. Ding

Y. Ding

Y.X. Ding

J. Dong

L.Y. Dong

M.Y. Dong

X. Dong

M.C. Du

S.X. Du

Y.Y. Duan

P. Egorov

G.F. Fan

J.J. Fan

Y.H. Fan

J. Fang

S.S. Fang

W.X. Fang

Y.Q. Fang

R. Farinelli

L. Fava

F. Feldbauer

G. Felici

C.Q. Feng

J.H. Feng

L. Feng

Q.X. Feng

Y.T. Feng

Observation of Three Resonant Structures in the Cross Section of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>π</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mi>π</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msub><mi>h</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></math>

We report new constraints and sensitivities to heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) with transition magnetic moments, also known as dipole-portal HNLs. This is accomplished using data from the T2K ND280 near detector in addition to the projected three-year dataset of the upgraded ND280 detector. Dipole-portal HNLs have been extensively studied in the literature and offer a potential explanation for the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>4.8</mn><mi>σ</mi></math> MiniBooNE anomaly. To perform our analysis, we simulate HNL decays to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup></math> pairs in the gaseous time projection chambers of the ND280 detector and its upgrade. Recasting an ND280 search for mass-mixed HNLs, we find that ND280 data places world-leading constraints on dipole-portal HNLs in the 390–743 MeV mass range, disfavoring the region of parameter space favored by the MiniBooNE anomaly. The addition of three years of ND280 upgrade data will be able to disfavor the MiniBooNE solution at the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>5</mn><mi>σ</mi></math> confidence level and extend the world-leading constraints to dipole-portal HNLs in the 148–860 MeV mass range. Our analysis suggests that ND280 data excludes dipole-portal HNLs as a solution to the MiniBooNE excess, motivating a dedicated search within the T2K collaboration and potentially highlighting the need for alternative explanations for the MiniBooNE anomaly.

M-S. Liu

N.W. Kamp

C.A. Argüelles

Constraints and sensitivities for dipole-portal heavy neutral leptons from ND280 and its upgrade

We present an update of HPQCD’s lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) determination of the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> vector and axial-vector form factors, and provide new results for the tensor form factors. We use the highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) action for all valence quarks, together with the second generation MILC <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>n</mi><mi>f</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math> HISQ gluon field configurations. This calculation includes two additional ensembles, one with physically light up and down quarks and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>a</mi><mo>≈</mo><mn>0.06</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>fm</mi></math> and one with <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>a</mi><mo>≈</mo><mn>0.03</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>fm</mi></math> on which we are able to reach the physical bottom quark mass. Our calculation uses nonperturbatively renormalized current operators and covers the full kinematical range of the decay. We use our recent results for the heavy-charm susceptibilities, as a function of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>u</mi><mo>=</mo><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><mo>/</mo><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>h</mi></msub></math>, in order to employ the full dispersive parametrization for <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> in our physical-continuum extrapolation. We give updated Standard Model (SM) predictions <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>R</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>=</mo><mn>0.2597</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>27</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>A</mi><msub><mi>λ</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>0.5093</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>42</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mi>L</mi><mrow><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></mrow></msubsup><mo>=</mo><mn>0.4421</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>55</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi mathvariant="script">A</mi><mi>FB</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.0567</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>61</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>, reducing uncertainties by 29%, 45%, 40%, and 50% respectively. Since our lattice form factors cover the full kinematic range we can use them to test extrapolations using data in a truncated range, at low-recoil. We investigate different physical continuum parametrization schemes, with lattice results in the first <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>3</mn></math> of the kinematic range near <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>q</mi><mi>max</mi><mn>2</mn></msubsup></math>. We find that unexpectedly large systematic uncertainties near <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>=</mo><mn>0</mn></math> can emerge when extrapolating synthetic data in the high-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math> region if higher order kinematical terms are omitted from the physical continuum extrapolation. This suggests a potentially underestimated systematic uncertainty entering extrapolations of synthetic lattice QCD data for the related <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>D</mi><mo>*</mo></msup><mo>ℓ</mo><mover accent="true"><mi>ν</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math> decay from the high-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math> region into the low-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math> region.

Judd Harrison

Improved lattice QCD <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>B</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow></msub><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></mrow></math> vector, axial-vector, and tensor form factors

We consider nonlinear trident, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>+</mo></msup></math>, in various electric background fields. This process has so far been studied for plane-wave backgrounds, using Volkov solutions. Here we first use WKB for trident in time-dependent electric fields, and then for fields which vary slowly in space. Then we show how to use worldline instantons for more general fields which depend on both time and space. For time-dependent fields the WKB approach is at least as simple to use as the worldline approach, but already the relatively modest step of including a slow spatial dependence makes the worldline approach much more efficient.

Gianluca Degli Esposti

Greger Torgrimsson

Nonlinear trident using WKB and worldline instantons

We consider massless scalar field perturbations of regular black holes in quasi-topological gravity. After reviewing various regular black hole solutions, we compute the total absorption cross-section and the partial absorption cross-section for different choices of the parameters using the partial wave method. The results show that the larger the parameter $$\alpha $$ , introduced in the context of quasi-topological gravity, the smaller the total absorption cross-section. In addition, we find that the influence of the space-time dimension $\textit{D}$ on the absorption and scattering of massless scalar waves in this set of regular black holes differs from earlier computations.

Sihao Fan

Chen Wu

Wenjun Guo

Absorption and scattering of massless scalar waves by black holes in quasi-topological gravity

We examine quantum mutual information (QMI) extraction through local interactions of three Unruh–DeWitt detectors with the vacuum massless scalar field, comparing scenarios with and without gravitational wave perturbations in Minkowski spacetime. Our analysis reveals that gravitational waves can either enhance or diminish tripartite QMI compared to the flat spacetime case, demonstrating their dual capacity to amplify or suppress tripartite QMI harvesting. A significant resonance phenomenon emerges when detector energy gaps match the gravitational wave frequency. Furthermore, when harvesting a certain amount of tripartite QMI, gravitational wave modifies the spatial parameters for effective tripartite QMI harvesting: the achievable separation range undergoes extension or contraction depending on three critical parameters-detector energy gap, gravitational wave frequency, and the duration of the gravitational wave interaction.

Si-Yu Liu

Xiao-Li Huang

Shu-Min Wu

The influence of gravitational wave on tripartite quantum mutual information harvesting

The universal relations in neutron stars form an essential entity to understand their properties. The moment of inertia, dimensionless tidal deformability, mass quadrupole moment, and oscillation modes are some of the properties that have been studied previously in the context of universal relations. All of these quantities are measurable; thus, analyzing them is of utmost importance. In this article we provide new universal relations in the context of a neutron star’s gravitational redshift. Using the redshift measurements of RBS 1223, RX J0720.4-3125, and RX J1856.5-3754, we provide theoretical estimates of moment of inertia, dimensionless tidal deformability, mass quadrupole moment, the mass of the star times the ratio of angular frequency over the spin angular moment, and the average of the speed of sound squared. In the case of the redshift measurement of RX J0720.4-3125, we found that the theoretical estimate using universal relations aligns closely with the Bayesian estimate. Our findings indicate that such theoretical predictions are highly reliable for observations with low uncertainty and can be used as an alternative for statistical analysis. Additionally, we report a violation of the universality of the dimensionless tidal deformability and average of the speed of sound squared with respect to the gravitational redshift. Our calculations further indicate that, under current astrophysical constraints, the maximum gravitational redshift attainable by neutron stars does not exceed 0.763.

India

Sagnik Chatterjee

Kamal Nath

Insights into neutron stars from gravitational redshifts and universal relations

A confining extension of the quark model with nonlocal currents is proposed. The quark propagator is modified by introducing a cut in $$\alpha $$ -space, which in momentum space corresponds to the subtraction of pole singularities. A two-phase structure is proposed for modeling the confinement-deconfinement phase transition. In the confined phase, the quark propagator does not have any pole singularities, while in the deconfined phase, there is a single quark pole.

A. Radzhabov

X. Shang

Confining modeling of quark propagator

We examine the concept of temperature in non-equilibrium steady states. Using the D3-D5 model of gauge/gravity duality, we investigate spontaneous symmetry breaking in a relativistic (2 + 1)-dimensional defect moving at constant velocity within a (3 + 1)-dimensional heat bath. We find that the dependence of the order parameter on both the heat bath temperature and the defect velocity can be captured by a single variable — the proper effective temperature — for the moving defect. Our results suggest that the proper effective temperature is an essential parameter for a class of relativistic non-equilibrium steady states.

Japan

Shin Nakamura

Fuminori Okabayashi

Proper effective temperature and order parameters in relativistic non-equilibrium steady states

We demonstrate a unified resolution to the strong CP, hierarchy, and cosmological constant problems in type IIA flux compactifications, via 4-form fluxes and KL stabilization. We show that the strong CP problem can be effectively “solved” in type IIA orientifold constructions, particularly in the type IIA $\textit{T}$ /($\textit{ℤ}$ × $\textit{ℤ}$ ) model. Building on this, we explore whether the remaining two fine-tuning problems can also be resolved within the same setup. To obtain a small cosmological constant, we adopt the KL scenario and find that, in order to avoid conflicts with the swampland distance conjecture and to eliminate the need for fine-tuning, the perturbative superpotential ∆$\textit{W}$ must take the form $\textit{f}$ $\textit{U}$ . Additionally, we compute the gravitino mass. This allows for a resolution of the hierarchy problem without introducing fine-tuning if gravitino mass lies below 100 TeV. Taken together, these results suggest that the type IIA $\textit{T}$ /($\textit{ℤ}$ × $\textit{ℤ}$ ) orientifold model provides a promising framework in which all three fine-tuning problems may be addressed simultaneously.

Yang Liu

Fine-tuning problems in type IIA string theory