The particle origin of dark matter (DM) remains elusive despite decades of direct, indirect, and collider searches. Several groups have reported a <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>γ</mi></math>-ray excess toward the Galactic Center commonly referred to as the Galactic Center excess (GCE). Its spectrum is consistent with annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) of mass <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>10</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>100</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> and a thermal-relic cross section. Although many concrete WIMP models reproduce the GCE spectrum, most are now excluded by direct detection experiments that are approaching the neutrino floor. We investigate a class of anomaly-free extensions of the Standard Model featuring gauged differences of lepton number, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math>, and gauged baryon minus lepton number, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></mrow></msub></math>. We show that these models can reproduce the GCE while remaining compatible with the observed relic abundance. We then impose collider and direct detection constraints, accounting for both tree-level and loop-induced kinetic mixing. The <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>e</mi></msub></math> model gives the best fit to the GCE: a DM mass of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>χ</mi></mrow></msub><mo>∼</mo><mn>40</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>50</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> remains consistent with the muon and electron magnetic moment anomalies, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mi>μ</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi></mrow></msub></math>, as well as current collider and direct detection limits, for mediator masses in the range <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>A</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>′</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></msub><mo>∼</mo><mn>70</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>86</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> and a DM mediator coupling of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>. By contrast, the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>e</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></math> models yield poorer fits; satisfying both the relic density and experimental bounds forces the DM mass to lie very close to resonance (i.e. approximately half the mediator mass). Finally, while the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></math> model also matches the GCE well, its parameter space is almost entirely ruled out by strong direct detection limits, except for the narrow resonance region where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>χ</mi></msub></math> should be equal to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><msup><mi>A</mi><mo>′</mo></msup></msub><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></math> requiring a fine-tuning at the few-percent level.

Italy

Jordan Koechler

Mattia Di Mauro

Leptophilic dark matter in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math> models: A solution to the Fermi-LAT Galactic Center excess consistent with cosmological and laboratory observations

A search for the decay $\textit{B}$ $\textit{→ ϕϕ}$ is made using $\textit{pp}$ collision data collected with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb . No significant signal is observed, and an upper limit on the branching fraction of 1$\textit{.}$3 (1$\textit{.}$4) × 10 at 90 (95)% confidence level is set. This result supersedes the previous LHCb study and improves the upper limit by a factor of two.

Netherlands

R. Aaij

United Kingdom

A. Abdelmotteleb

Switzerland

C. Abellan Beteta

F. Abudinén

T. Ackernley

United States

A. Adefisoye

Spain

B. Adeva

M. Adinolfi

Sweden

P. Adlarson

France

C. Agapopoulou

C. Aidala

Z. Ajaltouni

S. Akar

K. Akiba

P. Albicocco

Germany

J. Albrecht

Lithuania

R. Aleksiejunas

F. Alessio

Z. Aliouche

P. Alvarez Cartelle

R. Amalric

Brazil

S. Amato

J. Amey

Y. Amhis

China

L. An

L. Anderlini

M. Andersson

P. Andreola

M. Andreotti

S. Andres Estrada

A. Anelli

D. Ao

F. Archilli

Z. Areg

M. Argenton

Costa Rica

S. Arguedas Cuendis

A. Artamonov

M. Artuso

E. Aslanides

R. Ataíde Da Silva

M. Atzeni

B. Audurier

J. Authier

D. Bacher

I. Bachiller Perea

S. Bachmann

M. Bachmayer

J. Back

P. Baladron Rodriguez

V. Balagura

A. Balboni

W. Baldini

L. Balzani

H. Bao

J. Baptista de Souza Leite

C. Barbero Pretel

M. Barbetti

I. Barbosa

R. Barlow

M. Barnyakov

S. Barsuk

W. Barter

J. Bartz

Poland

S. Bashir

B. Batsukh

P. Battista

A. Bay

A. Beck

M. Becker

F. Bedeschi

I. Bediaga

N. Behling

S. Belin

K. Belous

I. Belov

I. Belyaev

G. Benane

G. Bencivenni

E. Ben-Haim

A. Berezhnoy

R. Bernet

S. Bernet Andres

A. Bertolin

C. Betancourt

F. Betti

J. Bex

Ia. Bezshyiko

Ukraine

O. Bezshyyko

J. Bhom

M. Bieker

N. Biesuz

P. Billoir

A. Biolchini

M. Birch

F. Bishop

A. Bitadze

A. Bizzeti

Canada

T. Blake

F. Blanc

J. Blank

Search for the decay $\textit{B}$

The observation of a wide peaking structure in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><mi>γ</mi></math> mass spectrum is reported using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>9</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mi>fb</mi><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math>. The statistical significance over the background-only hypothesis exceeds seven standard deviations. The width of the observed structure is larger than the expectation from a single-peak hypothesis, and is well described by an effective minimal model consisting of two narrow peaks located at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>6704.8</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>5.5</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>2.8</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.3</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mrow><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo></mrow><msup><mi>c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>6752.4</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>9.5</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>3.1</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.3</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mrow><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo></mrow><msup><mi>c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math>. The uncertainty terms are statistical, systematic, and associated to the knowledge of the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> mass, respectively. The measured peak locations are in line with theoretical predictions for lowest excited <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>P</mi></math>-wave <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> states, marking the first observation of orbitally excited beauty-charm mesons and providing important insights into the internal dynamics of hadrons containing two heavy quarks.

A.S.W. Abdelmotteleb

A.A. Adefisoye

C.A. Aidala

CERN

J.L. Amey

J.A. Authier

J.J. Back

I.R. Barbosa

R.J. Barlow

P.B. Battista

I.B. Bediaga

N.A. Behling

M.S. Bieker

N.V. Biesuz

F.C.R. Bishop

J.E. Blank

S. Blusk

Observation of Orbitally Excited <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> States

The study of a wide peaking structure in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><mi>γ</mi></math> mass spectrum is reported using a data sample of proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>9</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mi>fb</mi><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math>. The observed structure is consistent with the lowest excited <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>P</mi></math>-wave <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> states and exhibits a statistical significance exceeding 7 standard deviations relative to the background-only hypothesis. A two-peak model serves as an effective description of the data, with various theory-constrained models further explored to provide physical interpretation. Based on the predictions for the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mi>P</mi><msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo></msup></math> spectrum, the relative production cross section of the overall <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mi>P</mi><msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo></msup></math> states with respect to the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> ground state with the transverse momentum <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>p</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">T</mi></msub></math> and rapidity <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>y</mi></math> of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup></math> mesons in the regions <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>p</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">T</mi></msub><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>20</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>c</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>2.0</mn><mo>&lt;</mo><mi>y</mi><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>4.5</mn></math> at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math> is measured to be <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>0.20</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.03</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.02</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.03</mn></math>, where the uncertainty terms represent statistical, systematic, and uncertainties related to the choice of theoretical models, respectively. The results provide a test of theoretical models and deepen our understanding of quantum chromodynamics.

Z Areg

Study of <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><mn>1</mn><mi>P</mi><msup><mrow><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math> states in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>B</mi><mi>c</mi><mo>+</mo></msubsup><mi>γ</mi></math> mass spectrum

We revisit the calculation of exclusive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> production in electron-proton scattering within the QCD dipole model, employing a refined description of the proton in terms of gluonic hot spots in the dilute regime. In contrast to earlier studies, we incorporate key missing elements; the event-by-event fluctuations in both the number of hot spots and their local saturation scales, as well as the first relativistic corrections to the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> wave function. We perform a Bayesian analysis to constrain the model parameters using HERA data. These enhancements significantly improve the agreement with HERA data. Saturation scale fluctuations are found to be more important than fluctuations in the number of hot spots. Including the first relativistic correction is found to be important, especially in order to describe the observed power-law behavior in the incoherent cross section at large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>t</mi></math>.

Finland

Anh Dung Le

Heikki Mäntysaari

Exclusive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> production off a dilute proton within a refined hotspot description

Based on available experimental results on $ \chi _{cJ}(J=0,1,2) $ decays, we investigated the $ \chi_{cJ}\to PP $ , $ VV $ , $ PV $ , and $ PT $ decays using the $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking approach, where $\textit{P}$, $\textit{V}$, and $\textit{T}$ denote light pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor mesons, respectively. With the decay amplitude relations determined by $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking, we present the branching ratios for all $ \chi_{cJ}\to PP $ and $ \chi_{cJ}\to VV $ modes, including those without experimental data. While theoretical considerations strongly suppress or even forbid most $ \chi_{cJ}\to PV $ and $ PT $ decays, we also provide quantitative predictions constrained by existing experimental data. Our results are expected to be accessible in future experiments at BESIII and the planned Super Tau-Charm Facility.

Bo Lan

Qin-Ze Song

Jin-Huan Sheng

Yi Qiao

Ru-Min Wang

Study of χ$_{cJ}$ ($\textit{J}$ = 0,1,2) decays to light meson pairs based on $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking analysis * Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12175088, 12305100, 12365014) and Graduate Innovation Fund Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (YJS2024091)

A first search at LHCb for the lepton-flavour-violating decays $\textit{B}$ → $\textit{K}$ $\textit{τ}$ $\textit{e}$ is presented. The analysis is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data, collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV between 2016 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb . No significant signal is observed, and upper limits on the branching fractions are determined to be $$ \mathcal{B}\left({B}^0\to {K}^{\ast 0}{\tau}^{-}{e}^{+}\right)&lt;5.9(7.1)\times {10}^{-6} $$ and $$ \mathcal{B}\left({B}^0\to {K}^{\ast 0}{\tau}^{+}{e}^{-}\right)&lt;4.9(5.9)\times {10}^{-6} $$ at the 90% (95%) confidence level. These results correspond to the current most stringent upper limits for $\textit{b}$ → $\textit{sτl}$ transitions.

A. Andreianov

V. Bocharnikov

Search for the lepton-flavour-violating decays $\textit{B}$

The production ratio of $\textit{ψ}$(2$\textit{S}$) to $\textit{J/ψ}$ charmonium states is presented as a function of multiplicity in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}=8.16 $$ TeV, for both prompt and nonprompt sources. The total luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment corresponds to 13.6 nb for $\textit{p}$Pb collisions and 20.8 nb for Pb$\textit{p}$ collisions, where the first particle corresponds to the particle traveling towards the detector. Measurements are performed in the dimuon final state at forward (backward) centre-of-mass rapidity, with respect to the proton direction, 1$\textit{.}$5 $\textit{< y}$ $\textit{<}$ 4$\textit{.}$0 (−5$\textit{.}$0 $\textit{< y}$ $\textit{<}$ −2$\textit{.}$5) for $\textit{p}$Pb (Pb$\textit{p}$) collisions. A multiplicity dependence of the prompt production ratio is observed in $\textit{p}$Pb collisions, whereas no dependence is found in nonprompt production, nor in either prompt or nonprompt production in Pb$\textit{p}$ collisions. These results suggest that in the Pb-going direction additional suppression mechanisms beyond comover effects may be present, possibly related to the formation of quark-gluon plasma. This highlights a transition from small to large collision systems and provides important insight into the suppression of charmonia in proton-nucleus collisions.

Measurement of $\textit{ψ}$(2$\textit{S}$) to $\textit{J/ψ}$ cross-section ratio as function of multiplicity in $\textit{p}$Pb collisions at $$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}=8.16 $$ TeV

Results from the study of the rare decays $$ {K}^{+}\to {\pi}^{+}\nu \overline{\nu} $$ , $\textit{K}$ → $\textit{π}$ $\textit{μ}$ $\textit{μ}$ and $\textit{K}$ → $\textit{π}$ $\textit{γγ}$ at the NA62 experiment at CERN are interpreted in terms of improved limits for $$ \mathcal{B}\left({K}^{+}\to {\pi}^{+}X\right) $$ and coupling parameters of hidden-sector models, where $\textit{X}$ is a mediator. World-leading limits are achieved for dark photon, dark scalar and axion-like particle models.

Belgium

E. Cortina Gil

J. Jerhot

E. Minucci

S. Padolski

P. Petrov

A. Shaikhiev

R. Volpe

T. Numao

Y. Petrov

V. Shang

B. Velghe

V. Wong

D. Bryman

J. Fu

Czechia

Z. Hives

T. Husek

K. Kampf

M. Kolesar

M. Zamkovsky

B. Martino

M. Perrin-Terrin

L. Petit

B. Döbrich

S. Lezki

J. Schubert

A. Akmete

R. Aliberti

M. Ceoletta

G. Khoriauli

J. Kunze

D. Lomidze

L. Peruzzo

C. Polivka

M. Vormstein

R. Wanke

L. Bandiera

Searches for hidden sectors using $\textit{K}$