We compare the fixed-order NLO QCD predictions for the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mo>+</mo><mi>X</mi></math> process in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>4</mn><mo>ℓ</mo></math> decay channel with the parton-shower-based results obtained with the powheg and mc@nlo matching methods. In the first case, NLO QCD corrections are consistently included in both the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>t</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math> production step and the decays of the four top quarks, preserving all spin correlations. In the second approach, higher-order effects in top-quark decays with approximate spin correlations are simulated in the pythia parton-shower framework. Additionally, we analyze the impact of including the so-called matrix element corrections in top-quark decays in both parton-shower matched predictions. The comparison is performed at the integrated and differential fiducial cross-section level for the LHC center-of-mass energy of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13.6</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math>.

Germany

Manal Alsairafi

Nikolaos Dimitrakopoulos

Malgorzata Worek

Modeling top-quark decays in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>t</mi></mrow><mrow><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mrow></mover><mi>t</mi><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>t</mi></mrow><mrow><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mrow></mover></mrow></math> production at the LHC

In the present work, we perform a combined analysis of the cross sections for $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K^+ K^-$$ and $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K_S^0 K_L^0$$ by including the interference between direct coupling process and resonance intermediate process. When setting the isospin factor as a free parameter, we can well reproduce the structures in the cross sections for $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K^+ K^-$$ and $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K_S^0 K_L^0,$$ however, the isospin factor deviates with the isospin symmetry conservation predicted value of one. By fixing the isospin factor to be one, we find the cross sections for $$e^+ e^-\rightarrow K^+ K^-$$ can be accurately fitted, while the same model parameters fail to adequately reproduce the observed cross section for the process $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K_S^0 K_L^0,$$ which indicate that there should be contributions from other vector meson states, such as $$\rho (2150)$$ and $$\omega (2220).$$ The combined analysis with $$\phi (2170),$$ $$\omega (2220)$$ and $$\rho (2150)$$ indicate that the inclusion of $$\rho (2150)$$ can improve the descriptions of the cross sections for $$e^+ e^-\rightarrow K^+ K^-$$ and $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K_S^0 K_L^0.$$

China

Dian-Yong Chen

Jing Liu

Yu Bai

Chun-Hua Liu

Wen-Biao Yan

Zhao-Xia Meng

A combined analysis of $\textit{Y}$(2240) in the $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K^+ K^-$$ and $$e^+ e^- \rightarrow K_S^0 K_L^0$$ processes

In this paper, we utilize the maximum entropy prescription to determine a quantum state of a small collision system at the kinetic freeze-out. We derive expressions for multiplicity-selected particle momentum spectra and correlation functions by applying a fixed particle number constraint to this state. The results of our analysis can be useful for interpreting the multiplicity dependence of the particle momentum spectra and correlations in high-multiplicity <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi></math> collision events at a fixed LHC energy.

Ukraine

S.V. Akkelin

Particle momentum spectra, correlations, and maximum entropy principle in high-multiplicity collision events

We establish direct evidence for the perturbative distinguishability between black hole microstates and thermal states using the AdS/CFT correspondence. In two-dimensional holographic conformal field theories, we obtain the subsystem fidelity and quantum Jensen-Shannon divergence, both of which provide rigorous lower and upper bounds for subsystem trace distance. This result demonstrates that perturbative quantum gravity corrections break semiclassical indistinguishability, thereby supporting the recovery of information even from a small amount of the Hawking radiation.

Jiaju Zhang

Perturbative distinguishability of black hole microstates from AdS/CFT correspondence

We analyze the spectra of general nonminimal second-order operators. To do this, we derive the local part of the trace of the second Seeley-DeWitt heat kernel coefficient for such operators in a completely model-independent way. Afterwards, we provide three examples to show how our result can be applied in practical scenarios. In particular, we emphasize this discussion when dealing with a toy model of dynamical torsion, which is viewed as a simple instance of higher-spin fields. All our results are compatible with the literature, and we provide a Mathematica notebook with the model-independent results that are written in the paper.

Dario Sauro

Heat kernel of nonminimal second-order operators

We formulate a light-front model for the pion that explicitly incorporates the gluonic degree of freedom. In this framework, high-energy scattering off the pion is described by an active gluon, while the remaining constituents are treated as a spectator system with an effective mass. The mass spectrum and light-front wave functions (LFWFs) of the pion are determined by solving two Schrödinger-like equations derived from quantum chromodynamics: the light-front holographic equation in the chiral limit and the ’t Hooft equation. Using the resulting LFWFs, we compute the gluon distributions within pion, including the parton distribution functions in comparison with the available global fits, generalized parton distributions, and transverse momentum-dependent distributions. The present analysis is restricted to the Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi domain of the pion’s gluon generalized parton distribution, without explicit construction of the Efremov-Radyushkin-Brodsky-Lepage region. Consequently, the polynomiality condition for full Mellin moments is not satisfied by construction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the obtained LFWFs provide a good description of the gravitational form factors of pion when compared with the recent lattice QCD results.

Satvir Kaur

Chandan Mondal

Gluon distributions in the pion

We derive and analyze a Schwarzschild-like Anti-de Sitter (AdS) (BH) obtained as a static, spherically symmetric solution of Einstein’s equations sourced by a cloud of strings (CoS) and a dark matter (DM) halo modeled by a Dehnen-type density profile. We first study the geodesic motion of massless and massive test particles, emphasizing how the CoS parameter $$\alpha $$ and the DM halo parameters $$(\rho _s,r_s)$$ influence photon spheres, circular orbits, the BH shadow, and the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). We then examine scalar perturbations via the effective potential and the associated quasinormal-mode (QNM) spectra, showing how $$\alpha $$ and $$(\rho _s,r_s)$$ deform oscillation frequencies and damping rates, thereby affecting stability diagnostics. Furthermore, we investigate the thermodynamics in the extended phase space, deriving the Hawking temperature, equation of state, Gibbs free energy, and specific heat capacity, and establishing a consistent first law and Smarr relation with natural work terms for $$\alpha $$ and $$(\rho _s,r_s).$$ We find that the interplay between the CoS and the DM halo produces quantitative and sometimes qualitative changes in both dynamical and thermodynamic properties, including shifts in the Hawking–Page transition and heat-capacity divergences, thereby reshaping the phase structure of Schwarzschild–AdS BHs.

India

Faizuddin Ahmed

Algeria

Abdelmalek Bouzenada

Brazil

Edilberto Silva

AdS black hole solution with a dark matter halo surrounded by a cloud of strings

In this paper, we identify a novel topological subclass, dubbed <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>W</mi><mo stretchy="false">˜</mo></mover><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math>, in the thermodynamics of higher odd-dimensional, multiply rotating Kerr anti–de Sitter (AdS) black holes. This discovery extends the established topological classification beyond the five classes and two subclasses previously known. The <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>W</mi><mo stretchy="false">˜</mo></mover><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math> subclass exhibits a unique and previously unreported stability profile: it admits a thermodynamically stable small black hole state in the low-temperature limit, while in the high-temperature limit, the phase space simultaneously contains one stable large black hole, one stable small black hole, and one unstable small black hole state. Our analysis, which treats black hole solutions as topological defects, reveals a richer landscape of black hole thermodynamics than previously understood and necessitates an expansion of the topological classification scheme to accommodate this new phenomenology.

Wangyu Ai

Di Wu

<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>W</mi><mo stretchy="false">˜</mo></mover><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math> subclass: Extending the topological classification of black hole thermodynamics

We investigate thermal properties of a <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math> lattice gauge theory in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math> dimensions through real-time simulations. We extract the spectral functions directly coupling to the pseudoscalar and scalar mesons, demonstrating the thermal modifications of these states with increasing temperatures. Introducing the notion of energy-flow operators, we quantify the temporal buildup of correlations in the energy flows across the lattice. We demonstrate that energy-energy correlators fail to factorize to products of energy flows, both in the vacuum and at nonzero temperature, indicating the presence of nontrivial correlations in the quantum states. Our results constitute a first real-time ab initio study of bound-state thermal broadening and finite temperature energy-flow correlations in a gauge theory, providing a benchmark for future studies of hadronic matter under extreme conditions.

CERN

João Barata

United States

David Frenklakh

Swagato Mukherjee

Thermal modifications of mesons and energy-energy correlators from real-time simulations of a <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math> lattice gauge theory

We perform a theoretical study of the decay process <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="normal">ϒ</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>D</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mn>0</mn></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> in search of the doubly heavy tetraquark states <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow></msub></math> with quark content <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mover accent="true"><mi>d</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math>. These <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow></msub></math> states are assumed to be dynamically generated molecular states from the S-wave interactions between <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mi>s</mi><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mo>*</mo><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></msubsup><msup><mi>D</mi><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mo>*</mo><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mo>*</mo><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mo>*</mo><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo></mrow></msubsup></math> meson pairs. Based on the total angular momentum and the type of the constituent mesons (pseudoscalars <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>P</mi></math> or vectors <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>V</mi></math>), they are labeled as <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>P</mi><mi>P</mi></mrow></msubsup></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>V</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow></msubsup></math>, and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>V</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow></msubsup></math>, respectively. The <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mn>0</mn></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> invariant mass distribution for this decay is calculated using current algebra, incorporating contributions from <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow></msub></math> states arising from final-state interactions. Our results reveal a clear peak structure in the 7415–7425 MeV region, which is attributed to the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>V</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow></msubsup></math> state. Additionally, a distinct dip structure appears near the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mrow><mo>*</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mrow><mo>*</mo><mo>+</mo></mrow></msubsup></math> threshold, characteristic of the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>V</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow></msubsup></math> as a hadronic molecular state. A near-threshold enhancement associated with the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>P</mi><mi>P</mi></mrow></msubsup></math> state and a dip arising from the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>V</mi><mi>V</mi></mrow></msubsup></math> state are also identified, though the manifestation of these features depends sensitively on model parameter fine-tuning. Therefore, with increased experimental statistics, the decay channel <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="normal">ϒ</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>D</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mn>0</mn></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> offers a promising avenue for discovering and characterizing the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow></msub></math> states.

Wen-Ying Liu

Hua-Xing Chen

<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>T</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mi>c</mi><mover accent="true"><mi>s</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></mrow></msub></math> states in the process <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="normal">ϒ</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><msup><mi>D</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mover accent="true"><mi>B</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover><mn>0</mn></msup><msubsup><mi>D</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math>