Mass and full width of the heavy scalar molecule <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi></math> composed of the mesons <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>−</mo></msubsup></math> are calculated in the QCD sum rule framework. To find its mass and current coupling, we apply the two-point sum rule method. The width of the hadronic molecule <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi><mo>=</mo><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>−</mo></msubsup></math> is evaluated by taking into account its dissociation to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>η</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><msub><mi>η</mi><mi>b</mi></msub><mo>,</mo><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">ϒ</mi></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>−</mo></msubsup></math> mesons. Decays into <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>D</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi></math> meson pairs with appropriate charges and quantum numbers triggered by <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mover accent="true"><mi>b</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>b</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mover accent="true"><mi>c</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>c</mi></math> annihilations to light quark-antiquarks are also included in the analyses. Because the partial widths of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi></math> molecule’s decay channels depend on the strong couplings at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi></math>-meson-meson vertices, we estimate them by invoking tools of the three-point sum rule method. Our predictions <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>12725</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>85</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></mrow></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mi><mo stretchy="false">[</mo><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi><mo stretchy="false">]</mo><mo>=</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>155</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>23</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></mrow></math> for the parameters of the molecule <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">M</mi></mrow></math> provide useful information for experimental studies of numerous heavy resonances.

Azerbaijan

S.S. Agaev

Iran

Türkiye

K. Azizi

H. Sundu

Heavy scalar molecule <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>−</mo></msubsup></math>

In this Letter, we motivate the fact that couplings between a scalar field and the standard model with strengths <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>6</mn></mrow></msup><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>ϕ</mi></mrow></msub><mo>/</mo><mi>eV</mi><msup><mrow><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>4</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math> relative to gravity yield the total measured cosmological dark matter abundance over a broad mass range of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>12</mn></mrow></msup></math> to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>14</mn></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>eV</mi></math>. Remarkably, this result holds with minimal sensitivity to whether the scalar couples to electrons, photons, hadrons, or other particles at laboratory energy scales, thereby linking fifth force experiments to the search for dark matter.

David Cyncynates

United States

Olivier Simon

Scalar Relics from the Hot Big Bang

We investigate the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>-symmetric <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ϕ</mi><mn>6</mn></msup></math> theory in three spacetime dimensions using dimensional regularization and minimal subtraction. The predictions of other methods are scrutinized in a large-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math> expansion. We show how the tricritical line of fixed point emerges in a strict <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>∞</mi></math> limit but argue that it is not a physical manifestation. For the first time in this explicit manner, we compute the effective potential at next-to-leading order in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mi>N</mi></math>-expansion and discuss its stability. The Bardeen-Moshe-Bander phenomenon is also analysed at next-to-leading order, and we demonstrate that it disappears without breaking the scale invariance spontaneously. Our findings indicate that the UV fixed point found by Pisarski persists at large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math>.

Spain

Sandra Kvedaraitė

Germany

Tom Steudtner

Max Uetrecht

Revisiting the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ϕ</mi><mn>6</mn></msup></math> theory in three dimensions at large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math>

We investigate a fifth force mediated by a light vector boson that couples to lepton spins, characterized by axial-vector couplings to leptons and vector couplings to nucleons. This interaction generates a potential proportional to the inner product of the lepton spin vector and the nucleon-lepton relative velocity vector, a feature extensively explored with precision spin sensors. Employing weak symmetry, we show that left-handed charged lepton couplings naturally extend to left-handed neutrinos, enabling this fifth force to influence neutrino oscillations. For electron-nucleon couplings, we find that solar and reactor neutrino experiments provide comparable constraints to those from spin sensors and surpass them in the short-range fifth force region. For muon-nucleon couplings, neutrino oscillation experiments exclude the fifth force as a viable explanation for the muon <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>g</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></math> anomaly in the context of a vector mediator, tightening the bounds by 2 orders of magnitude in coupling strength by solar and atmospheric neutrino data. Our results highlight the critical role of neutrino oscillations in probing fifth forces acting across all three generations of lepton spins.

China

Rundong Fang

Ji-Heng Guo

Jia Liu

Xiao-Ping Wang

Testing the fifth force on lepton spins through neutrino oscillations

We investigate the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ϕ</mi><mrow><mn>2</mn><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math> deformations of the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math>-symmetric (generalized) free theories with a flat boundary, where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>2</mn></math> is an integer. The generalized free theories refer to the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mo>□</mo><mi>k</mi></msup></math> free scalar theories with a higher derivative kinetic term, which is related to the multicritical generalizations of the Lifshitz type. We assume that the (generalized) free theories and the deformed theories have boundary conformal symmetry and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math> global symmetry. The leading anomalous dimensions of some boundary operators are derived from the bulk multiplet recombination and analyticity constraints. We find that the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ε</mi><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math> expansion in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ϕ</mi><mn>6</mn></msup></math>-tricritical version of the special transition extends to other multicritical cases with larger odd integer <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi></math>, and most of the higher derivative cases involve a noninteger power expansion in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>ε</mi></math>. Using the analytic bootstrap, we further verify that the multiplet-recombination results are consistent with boundary crossing symmetry.

Yongwei Guo

Wenliang Li

Boundary anomalous dimensions from BCFT: <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math>-symmetric <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>ϕ</mi><mrow><mn>2</mn><mi>n</mi></mrow></msup></math> theories with a boundary and higher-derivative generalizations

We propose a quantum mechanical theory of quantum spaces described by large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math> noncommutative geometry as a model for quantum gravity. The model admits a fuzzy sphere as a static solution. Over the fuzzy geometry, the quantum mechanics of the fermions is given by a sum of oscillators with equal frequency. The energy state where exactly half of the Fermi sea is filled contains the maximal amount of degeneracy. This state of the fuzzy sphere obeys the mass-radius relation of a Schwarzschild black hole if the fuzzy sphere is identified with the black hole horizon. Moreover, the set of states in the Fermi sea gives precisely the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We thus propose that quantum black holes are described by fuzzy spheres with a half-filled Fermi sea in our model. We also consider a system of two fuzzy spheres by embedding them as blocks in the matrix quantum mechanics. When the distance <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>r</mi></math> between the two fuzzy spheres is small, the total energy of the system can be computed using perturbation theory. We show that, in the leading order of large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math> limit, the interaction energy depends on <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo>−</mo><mi>G</mi><msub><mi>M</mi><mn>1</mn></msub><msub><mi>M</mi><mn>2</mn></msub></math> exactly in the manner as in Newton gravity. To reproduce the correct <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>r</mi></math> dependence in the long range, we expect the inclusion of large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math> corrections and quantum effects will be needed.

Taiwan

Chong-Sun Chu

Matrix model proposal for quantum gravity and the quantum mechanics of black holes

We study resonant production of pairs of Standard Model (SM-)like Higgs bosons, in the presence of new neutral Higgs states together with new colored scalars (stops or sbottoms) in loops within the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. This is used as a test case to prove that the Large Hadron Collider has sensitivity to a variety of effects stemming from interferences between resonant (heavy) Higgs diagrams and/or among these and nonresonant topologies involving loops of both tops and stops. These effects can alter significantly the naive description of individual <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>s</mi></mrow></math>-channel Breit-Wigner resonances, leading to distortions of the latter, which, on the one hand, may mask their presence but, on the other hand, could enable one to extract features of the underlying new physics scenario. This last aspect is made possible through a decomposition of the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>g</mi><mi>g</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>h</mi><mi>h</mi></math> signal process into all its amplitude components, each of which has a well-defined coupling structure. Ultimately, such effects can be traced back to the relevant Feynman diagrams and can enable a detailed interpretation of this process. To illustrate this, we introduce various benchmark points that exhibit potentially observable features during the current and/or upcoming runs of the LHC in one or more of the three customary di-Higgs decay channels: <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>b</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>b</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>b</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>b</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><msup><mi>τ</mi><mo>+</mo></msup><msup><mi>τ</mi><mo>−</mo></msup></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>b</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>γ</mi><mi>γ</mi></math>.

United Kingdom

Sweden

Stefano Moretti

Italy

Luca Panizzi

Jörgen Sjölin

Harri Waltari

Deconstructing resonant Higgs boson pair production at the LHC: Effects of colored and neutral scalars in the NMSSM test case

Fifth force and equivalence principle tests search for new interactions by precisely measuring forces between macroscopic collections of atoms and molecules and their properties under free fall. In contrast, the early Universe plasma probes these interactions at a more fundamental level. In this paper, we consider the case of a scalar mediating a fifth force, and show that the effects of dimensional transmutation, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and the running of the gauge couplings cause the scalar’s low-energy interactions to mix, leading to nearly universal dynamics at early times. We use known expressions for the pressure of the Standard Model during its various epochs to compute the scalar effective potential, and find that the cosmological dynamics of this scalar are very sensitive to the reheat temperature of the Universe. Given the unknown reheat temperature, we show that scalar couplings to matter larger than <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo>∼</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>6</mn></mrow></msup><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>ϕ</mi></msub><mo>/</mo><mi>eV</mi><msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>4</mn></mrow></msup></math> relative to gravity produce the correct dark matter abundance, motivating new physics searches in this part of parameter space.

Minimal targets for dilaton direct detection

The three Standard Model neutrinos can have Majorana mass or strictly Dirac mass, but both scenarios are practically indistinguishable in neutrino oscillation experiments. If they are pseudo-Dirac, however, there will be new mass splittings among the pseudo-Dirac pairs, potentially leaving traces in neutrino oscillation phenomena. In this work, we use flavor ratios of astrophysical neutrinos to discriminate different possible mass spectra of pseudo-Dirac neutrinos. We show that it will be possible to impose robust bounds of order <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>δ</mi><msubsup><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo>≲</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>12</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mrow><mi>eV</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math> on the new mass squared splitting involving the third pseudo-Dirac mass eigenstates (those with the least electron flavor composition) with the future experiment IceCube-Gen2. The derived sensitivity is robust because it only assumes an extragalactic origin for the astrophysical neutrinos and hierarchical pseudo-Dirac mass spectrum. In case the neutrino sources are known in the future, such bounds can potentially improve by up to five orders of magnitude, reaching <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>δ</mi><msubsup><mi>m</mi><mn>3</mn><mn>2</mn></msubsup><mo>≲</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>17</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mi>eV</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math>.

Brazil

Chee Sheng Fong

Yago Porto

Constraining the pseudo-Dirac nature of neutrinos using astrophysical neutrino flavor data

Daniel Castillo

Canada

Lotta Jokiniemi

Pablo Soriano

Javier Menéndez

Corrigendum to “Neutrinoless ββ decay nuclear matrix elements complete up to N 2LO in heavy nuclei&#8221; [Physics Letters B 860 (2025) 139181]