We study the equation of state (EoS) of QCD matter in a bottom-up holographic setup that combines an Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMD) sector with an improved Karch-Katz-Son-Stephanov (KKSS) flavor action. In the probe approximation, we perform an inverse reconstruction of the model functions by parameterizing them with neural networks and solving the EMD equations via a differentiable ODE solver (a neural ODE framework), calibrating the model to a reference thermodynamic table for $(2+1)$ -flavor QCD at finite temperature and finite baryon chemical potential. The reconstructed model functions are then parameterized and kept fixed across thermodynamic states. Next, viewing the EMD sector as an effective description of pure Yang-Mills theory, we fix its parameters by fitting the $\mu_B=0$ lattice pure-glue EoS using a hybrid optimization strategy. Finally, we go beyond the probe limit and solve the coupled EMD+KKSS equations with back-reaction, using the pure-glue-calibrated EMD sector as a fixed input and varying the KKSS couplings to compare with the $\mu_B=0$ two-flavor lattice EoS. We find a visible mismatch and a high-temperature behavior in which the back-reacted dimensionless ratios approach a nearly $\beta_1$ -insensitive plateau close to the pure-glue baseline, providing a simple structural diagnostic for the present flavor-sector truncation.

China

Yutian Deng

Mei Huang

Lin Zhang

Holographic QCD equation of state constrained by lattice QCD: neural-ODE for probe-limit and a back-reaction test * Start-up funding from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) (Y. Deng and L. Zhang); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (12235016) (L. Zhang and M. Huang) and 12221005 (M. Huang)

In this work, Static wormhole models are examined within the framework of curvature-based <math altimg='si17.svg'><mrow><mi mathvariant='italic'>f</mi><mo>(</mo><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>R</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>L</mi><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>m</mi></msub><mo>,</mo><mi mathvariant='italic'>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></math> gravity theory. A relationship between the matter energy density and pressure is proposed for the Morris-Thorne wormhole geometry with a constant redshift function. By incorporating a gradient-dependent equation of state ( <math altimg='si18.svg'><mrow><msub><mi>P</mi><mi>r</mi></msub><mo linebreak='goodbreak'>=</mo><msub><mi>P</mi><mi>r</mi></msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>&#961;</mi><mo>,</mo><msup><mi>&#961;</mi><mo>&#8242;</mo></msup><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math> and <math altimg='si19.svg'><mrow><msub><mi>P</mi><mi>t</mi></msub><mo linebreak='goodbreak'>=</mo><msub><mi>P</mi><mi>t</mi></msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><msub><mi>P</mi><mi>r</mi></msub><mo>,</mo><msubsup><mi>P</mi><mi>r</mi><mo>&#8242;</mo></msubsup><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math>), we derive exact wormhole solutions for two representative cases. Our analysis shows that exact wormhole models can admit null energy condition violations localized at the throat, while preserving a non-negative matter energy density. The stability analysis is performed via the Tolman&#8211;Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation under hydrostatic equilibrium, demonstrating that the balance among anisotropic and hydrostatic forces sustains the wormhole&#8217;s stable configuration. For positive and negative values of <italic>&#950;</italic>, the energy flux attains a pronounced negative magnitude, inducing an outward flux that supports the stability of the wormhole throat. The geometric characteristics of the wormhole are examined through embedding diagrams, and the total exotic matter required to maintain the configuration is evaluated using the volume integral quantifier. Simultaneously, the effective potential demonstrates enhanced photon confinement and increased stability of particle orbits.

India

Sweeti Kiroriwal

Azerbaijan

Oman

S.K. Maurya

Jitendra Kumar

Wormholes generated by a density-gradient dependent equation of state in <math altimg='si17.svg'><mrow><mi mathvariant='italic'>f</mi><mo>(</mo><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>R</mi><mo>,</mo><msub><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>L</mi><mi mathvariant='fraktur'>m</mi></msub><mo>,</mo><mi mathvariant='italic'>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></math> gravity

We study the phenomenology of a sub-GeV $\textit{L}$ − $\textit{L}$ gauge boson. We find discrepancies with existing literature in sensitivity projections for the upcoming SHiP experiment and in the treatment of supernovae cooling constraints. We present a quantitative analysis of different production modes in beam dumps and compare our results to previous work. In the context of supernovae, we re-evaluate the standard supernova cooling bounds from SN1987A and analyze additional supernova-based probes: diffusive cooling, constraints from the existence of low-energy supernovae, and the absence of a high-energy neutrino signal from SN1987A.

Canada

Nikita Blinov

United States

Patrick Fox

Kevin Kelly

Switzerland

Ryan Plestid

Tao Zhou

$\textit{L}$ $\textit{μ}$ − $\textit{L}$ $\textit{τ}$ gauge bosons in beam dumps and supernovae

We investigate baryogenesis in Standard Model (SM) extensions with new SU(2) multiplet fields. We focus on sphalerogenesis, in which the baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) is generated through the gradual decoupling of CP-violating electroweak sphaleron-like processes. We show that the observed BAU can be reproduced when the new fields possess CP-violating Yukawa interactions, which leave a CP-violating dimension-six operator involving the SU(2) gauge fields at low energies. As representative examples, we study models with fermionic SU(2) quintuplets and septuplets, and find that these field masses should be $$ \mathcal{O}(1) $$ TeV to explain the BAU. We also show that viable parameter regions for the BAU are consistent with current bounds on the electron electric dipole moment and thoroughly probed by future measurements such as ACME III and by mono-lepton searches at the HL-LHC. Our results provide a concrete and phenomenologically testable ultraviolet completion of sphalerogenesis.

Japan

Kiyoto Ogawa

Masanori Tanaka

Baryogenesis in SU(2) $\textit{L}$ multiplet models

We have investigated the prospects of probing the five-dimensional <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>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math> interactions in present and future muon dump experiments, namely, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>NA</mi><mn>6</mn><msub><mn>4</mn><mi>μ</mi></msub></math>, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">M</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>, MuSIC, and a future muon beam dump experiment. These experiments are classified into two categories: the first two can probe processes where feebly interacting massive particles go into invisible channels, while the latter two can probe processes where these states decay into muon pairs. These two types of experiments are complementary in that they allow exploration of different parameter regions of a model. In our scenario, the presence of multiple massive gauge bosons as Kaluza-Klein (KK) particles leads to an enhancement in the signal events compared to the corresponding four-dimensional scenario. In particular, the decay process into muon pairs enables mass reconstruction of the parent particle, making it possible to directly demonstrate the existence of multiple KK particles in at least some parameter regions. This can provide clear evidence that the origin of the <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>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math> interaction lies in five dimensions. Furthermore, the muon (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>g</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></math>) value, which is now consistent with the Standard Model, can be used to exclude specific parameter regions for new particles interacting with muons. We also carefully discuss the nontrivial effects arising from nonzero kinetic mixing.

Dibyendu Chakraborty

Arindam Chatterjee

Ayushi Kaushik

Kenji Nishiwaki

Muon beam dump experiments probe five-dimensional nature of <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>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math>

We consider realizations of a gauged B-L symmetry in the context of the Dark Dimension scenario, where the SM lives on a codimension one brane in 5d spacetime. The B-L can naturally be a bulk gauge symmetery leading to a global symmetry on the SM brane, and have its gauge anomaly canceled by charged bulk modes. This naturally leads to the existence of 3 right-handed neutrinos propagating in the dark dimension. Allowing for Higgsing of B-L by a bulk scalar at the Higgs scale, results in a massive gauge field with $\textit{m}$ ~ 100 GeV and weak coupling $\textit{g}$ ~ 10 which is allowed by current bounds. The model also predicts a natural matching $\textit{m}$ ~ $\textit{m}$ ~ Λ , thereby providing a theoretical explanation for the observed coincidence between neutrino masses and the Dark Energy scale. It also predicts a tower of sterile right-handed neutrinos in the $\textit{keV}$ mass range.

Spain

Miguel Montero

Cumrun Vafa

Irene Valenzuela

Neutrinos, B-L symmetry and the dark dimension

A modified gravitational model whose action is given by an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar, the matter Lagrangian density, a scalar field, and its kinetic term is investigated as an extension of the gravitational sector including an additional dynamical degree of freedom. Within this framework, the causal structure of rotating cosmological solutions is analyzed by considering Gödel and Gödel-type spacetimes as background geometries used as theoretical probes of the model consistency. Different matter sources are examined, including a perfect fluid and scalar-field configurations. It is found that the standard Gödel metric is not compatible with the scalar sector of the theory unless the model reduces to the General Relativity limit. In contrast, Gödel-type geometries admit a wider class of solutions whose causal properties depend on the model parameters and on the matter content. In particular, perfect-fluid sources may lead to either causal or noncausal configurations, whereas scalar-field configurations constrain the geometry to the causal limit, preventing the formation of closed timelike curves, highlighting that the scalar field plays a nontrivial dynamical role distinct from that of a cosmological constant.

Brazil

L. Evangelista

M. Silva

J. Moretti

A. Santos

Causality and its violation in $$f(R,\mathcal {L}_m,\phi ,g^{\mu \nu }\nabla _\mu \phi \nabla _\nu \phi )$$ gravity

We consider type IIB string theory on AdS × $\textit{S}$ /ℤ orbifold spaces with generic $\textit{L}$. Recent localisation results in the dual 4d $$ \mathcal{N}=2 $$ circular quiver gauge theories provide us with strong coupling expansions of certain correlators involving twisted half-BPS operators. To leading order, these results have been matched to an effective theory for massless twisted string states, which can be constructed by resolving the orbifold singularity and considering localised supergravity modes on the resolution cycles. Applying this reasoning to subleading order in strong coupling, we observe that for $\textit{L}$ ≠ 2, 3, 4, 6, a naive reduction of the 10d ($\textit{α′}$) -correction does not result in the correct coefficients to match the localisation result. We explain this mismatch by the appearance of twisted sector resonances in string amplitudes involving external twisted sector states. We perform the low-energy expansion of a “twisted” Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude and recover the expected coefficients, suggesting that the orbifold resolution and the low-energy expansion can not be interchanged directly. Finally, we comment on the long-quiver limit, $\textit{L}$ → ∞, in the context of the low-energy effective action.

United Kingdom

Carlos Barredo Martínez

Germany

Torben Skrzypek

Exploring the twisted sector of ℤ $\textit{L}$ orbifolds: matching $\textit{α′}$-corrections to localisation

We report a search for an invisible particle <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math> in the decay <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>L</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>γ</mi><mi>X</mi></mrow></math> (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mtext>invisible</mtext></math>), where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math> can be interpreted as a massless or massive dark photon. No evidence for <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math> was found, based on 13 candidate events consistent with a predicted background of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>12.66</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>4.4</mn><msub><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>stat</mi></mrow></msub><mo>±</mo><mn>2.1</mn><msub><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow><mrow><mi>syst</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></math> events. Upper limits on the branching ratio of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mi>K</mi><mi>L</mi><mn>0</mn></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>γ</mi><mi>X</mi></math> were set for the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math> mass range <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>≤</mo><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow></msub><mo>≤</mo><mn>425</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi>c</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>. For massless <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math>, the upper limit was <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>3.4</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>7</mn></mrow></msup></math> at the 90% confidence level, improving the previous indirect bound by over three orders of magnitude. This result yielded a new lower bound of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>4.1</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>6</mn></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math> on the probed effective mass scale governing flavor-changing dark-photon couplings, representing approximately two orders of magnitude improvement on existing constraints. For massive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>X</mi></math>, the upper limits in the searched mass region ranged from <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>7</mn></mrow></msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math> to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>.

T. Wu

Taiwan

Y.C. Tung

Y.B. Hsiung

South Korea

J.K. Ahn

M. Gonzalez

E.J. Kim

T.K. Komatsubara

K. Kotera

S.K. Lee

G.Y. Lim

C. Lin

T. Matsumura

H. Nanjo

Y. Noichi

T. Nomura

T. Nunes

K. Ono

J. Redeker

N. Shimizu

S. Shinohara

K. Shiomi

R. Shiraishi

Y. Tajima

Y.W. Wah

H. Watanabe

T. Yamanaka

H.Y. Yoshida

Search for Dark Particles in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msubsup><mrow><mi>K</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>L</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msubsup><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>γ</mi><mi>X</mi></mrow></math> at the KOTO Experiment

The decay of light bosonic dark matter particles can produce a bright electron/positron (<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>) flux that can be strongly constrained by local Voyager observations of the direct <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> flux, as well as 511 keV line and x-ray continuum observations 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></math> emission. We carefully analyze the <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> yield and resulting cosmic ray and x-ray spectra from theoretically well-motivated light dark matter models, including (a) electrophilic axion-like particles, (b) dark photons, (c) scalars, and (d) <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></math> vector bosons. We use the morphology and spectrum of the INTEGRAL 511 keV line data, the eROSITA x-ray continuum spectrum and the Voyager <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> spectrum to constrain the decay lifetime and coupling of each dark matter model. We find that 511 keV observations typically set world-leading limits on bosonic dark matter decay below masses of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo>∼</mo><mn>1</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></math>, while eROSITA observations provide the strongest constraints in the range from 1–10 GeV. Finally, we forecast future limits from 21 cm line searches with next-generation HERA data.

Sweden

Thong T.Q. Nguyen

Pedro De la Torre Luque

Italy

Isabelle John

Shyam Balaji

Pierluca Carenza

Tim Linden

INTEGRAL, eROSITA and Voyager constraints on light bosonic dark matter: ALPs, dark photons, scalars, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></math> vectors