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Physics High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

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Wednesday 12 August

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Soft Collinear Effective Theory for Heavy QCD Axions

We develop a soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) framework for heavy QCD axion, considering two low-energy realizations and taking $B\to Ka$ as a benchmark mode. In the first realization, $aG\widetilde G$ is assumed to be the only independent axion interaction at the scale $\mu\sim m_b$. We show that eliminating the redundant flavor-changing derivative-gluon operator in the weak effective theory generates a new dimension-seven axion operator identified as $\mathrm{O}_{\partial ag}$. We match this operator onto SCET and derive the corresponding leading-power soft and spectator-scattering contributions to $B\to Ka$. We obtain a factorized expression for the spectator contribution in terms of perturbative hard kernels and the $B$- and $K$-meson light-cone distribution amplitudes. The spectator contribution arises at the same order in the power expansion as the soft-overlap term and amounts to approximately $25\%$ of the soft contribution. In the second realization, the Wilson coefficient of $aG\widetilde G$ is assumed to be present above the electroweak scale. Renormalization-group evolution and matching then induce a direct $b\to sa$ operator, which subsequently results in a dominant soft form-factor contribution, whereas the gluonic spectator term turns out to be numerically subleading ($\sim 6-7\%$). We thus identify the conditions under which spectator scattering becomes relevant for heavy-axion production in rare $B$-meson decays. Finally, we derive the corresponding bounds on the axion decay constant $f_a$ for both realizations and compare their phenomenological implications.
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All authors Deepanshu Bisht, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Siddhartha Karmakar, Atanu Samanta

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Probing CP-violating top-quark dipole moments with tomographic observables

Quantum tomography program reconstructs the full spin density matrix of top-quark pairs from dilepton angular correlations at both electron-positron and hadron colliders. We use symmetry arguments to identify tomographic observables sensitive to CP violation in top quark couplings. As a concrete example, we study the sensitivity of these observables to (chromo-)electric dipole moment operators at the LHC and the FCC-ee. We also construct the optimal observable, which combines tomographic and kinematic information to achieve statistically optimal sensitivity for each operator and production process. The analysis is based on fast detector simulation of top pair production and decay in the dilepton channel. We project a $95\%$ CL sensitivity to new-physics scales (the inverse dipole couplings) of $10-15$ TeV for the electroweak electric dipoles at the FCC-ee ($365$ GeV, $3~{\rm ab}^{-1}$) and of 40 (200) TeV for the top chromo-electric dipole moment at the LHC Run 2 (HL-LHC). This sensitivities exceed those of the traditional observables currently used by experiments to use for these operators, indicating the power of the tomographic approach to search for CP violation.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Dark matter in scale-invariant gravity with hidden-sector condensation

The origin of the electroweak scale, cosmic inflation, and dark matter are often treated as independent problems beyond the Standard Models of particle physics and cosmology. In this work, we explore the possibility that they instead arise from a common underlying framework based on classically scale-invariant quadratic gravity coupled to a strongly interacting hidden sector. The $R^2$ term naturally realizes Starobinsky inflation, while confinement in the hidden sector dynamically generates the Planck scale and triggers electroweak symmetry breaking through a gravitationally induced Higgs mass generation mechanism. The scalar degree of freedom associated with the $R^2$ term subsequently reheats both the visible and hidden sectors through universal couplings to the energy-momentum tensor, leading to the gravitational freeze-in production of hidden-sector states. We investigate three representative realizations of the hidden sector in which the dark matter candidate is either a hidden $\eta'$ meson, a hidden vector boson, or charged hidden pions, and derive the corresponding dark matter and dark radiation relic abundances.
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All authors Juan P. Garcés, Jisuke Kubo, Manfred Lindner, Markus Reinig

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from cs.LG

Unifying Generative Models with Path Integrals

We formulate generative modeling as a path integral in which flow-based, diffusion-based, variational, and adversarial models arise as different evaluation principles for a single master action. Its Martin-Siggia-Rose-Janssen-de~Dominicis (MSRJD) form separates free from interacting probability flows and opens them to diagrammatic perturbation theory. The expansion yields a one-loop correction to deterministic samplers at no stochastic-sampling cost, which we validate on solvable and nonlinear drifts, where it reduces a 53 % tree-level error to 1.6 %. Imperfect learned scores enter as insertions and yield a response-weighted score-matching objective, and symmetry-equivariant drift design becomes an operator expansion with EFT power counting.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from hep-ex

Measurement of the $\bar \nu_\mu-$Hydrogen Charged-Current Quasi-Elastic Cross Section using the NOvA Near Detector

We report a measurement of the total cross section for muon antineutrino charged-current quasi-elastic scattering on hydrogen, $\bar \nu_\mu {\rm H} \to \mu^+ n$, in the NOvA near detector using a $1.2\times10^{21}$ proton-on-target exposure in the NuMI beam. A selection based on topological and kinematic constraints yields 35,509 signal events in the hydrogen-rich ($10.8\%$) detector, providing the highest statistics of (anti)neutrino–hydrogen interactions measured to date. Backgrounds from (anti)neutrino interactions on heavier nuclei are constrained using dedicated data control samples, significantly reducing the related systematic uncertainties. We obtain a value $\sigma (\bar \nu_\mu {\rm H} \to \mu^+ n) = 0.538 \pm 0.009 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.010 ({\rm syst}) \pm0.055 ({\rm flux}) \times 10^{-38}$ cm$^2$ for the total cross section at an average energy of 1.9 GeV, the most precise total cross-section measurement of this process to date. The combined statistical and non-flux systematic uncertainty is more than four times smaller than the flux uncertainty, allowing a future use of this measurement to constrain the absolute $\bar \nu_\mu$ flux.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

The $D^*D^*\pi$ and $B^*B^*\pi$ couplings from light-cone sum rules

We revisit the calculation of the strong couplings $D^{*}D^{*}\pi$ and $B^{*}B^{*}\pi$ from the light-cone sum rules (LCSR) using the pion light-cone distribution amplitudes. The accuracy of the underlying correlation function is upgraded by establishing the hard-collinear factorization formula at the leading power up to the next-to-leading order in $\alpha_s$. Furthermore, the next-to-leading power contributions are systematically incorporated at the leading order by evaluating the two-particle and three-particle higher-twist pion distribution amplitudes up to twist-4 accuracy. By matching the QCD-level spectral representations with the hadronic dispersion relations, we present a solid numerical analysis that accounts for the finite heavy quark masses and carefully evaluates the systematic uncertainty originating from the two-dimensional quark-hadron duality ansatz. We predict $g_{D^{*}D^{*}\pi} = 5.71_{-0.53}^{+0.67} \text{ GeV}^{-1}$ and $g_{B^{*}B^{*}\pi} = 4.90_{-0.44}^{+0.57} \text{ GeV}^{-1}$. Finally, by parameterizing the $1/m_H$ (with $H=D,\,B$) power corrections to extract the universal static coupling $\hat{g} = 0.30 \pm 0.04$, we compare our results with previous theoretical determinations and experimental data, highlighting the significance of heavy quark spin symmetry breaking effects.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from hep-th

Why There is No Memory Burden in Holographic Space-time Models of Black Hole Formation and Evaporation

Recent papers\cite{dvali} have claimed that general quantum information considerations put macroscopic constraints on the properties of large black holes, which can affect their lifetimes in cosmologically and astrophysically interesting ways. We examine black hole evaporation in Holographic Space Time (HST) models\cite{hstbh}, which appear to have the memory burden effect responsible for these deviations from semi-classical expectations, and explain why, in those models, no such effect exists. It is basically a consequence of Fermi's Golden Rule/The Principle of Detailed Balance, but depends crucially on both the definition of energy in HST models and the way in which causality is implemented.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Photon emission from rotating plasmas: a generalized McLerran-Toimela formula and the onset of superradiance

The photon emission and absorption spectra of a plasma rotating with constant angular velocity $\Omega$ are derived in terms of the spectral function of the current–current correlator. In contrast to the non-rotating case, the leading contribution arises already at one-loop order. The photon emission spectrum and its elliptic flow are calculated for a rotating quark–gluon plasma and compared with the leading two-loop result for a non-rotating plasma. The rotating plasma is found to emit significantly more soft photons than the non-rotating one. An analysis of the emission and absorption of cylindrical waves indicates that photons with energy $\omega$ and azimuthal quantum number $m$ satisfying $\omega<m\Omega$ are emitted at a higher rate than they are absorbed, thereby exhibiting the phenomenon of superradiance. It is further argued that these superradiant modes induce an instability of the magnetic field that is generated concurrently with the plasma in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from nucl-th

Transport properties in binary neutron star mergers: Effect of magnetic field

In extreme environments such as binary neutron star mergers, temperatures as high as $50$ MeV and magnetic fields up to $10^{17}$ G, reach a regime where neutrino transport governs the macroscopic thermodynamic and chemical evolution. Existing merger simulations rely on zero magnetic field neutrino emissivity and opacity, potentially missing critical transport physics in highly magnetized neutron star cores. We present an exact framework for computing charged current Urca emissivity and neutrino opacity at finite temperature and magnetic field. We employ the Nucleon Width Approximation framework to account for the collisional broadening effects dominant in the high-density core. Our calculations demonstrate that extreme magnetic fields significantly enhance charged current neutrino opacity, effectively reducing the mean free path for thermal neutrinos.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Invisible dark-sector radiation: analytic resummation for dark photon searches

We derive an analytic resummed description of the missing-mass spectrum in monophoton searches for invisible dark photons at electron–positron colliders. In a dark Abelian Higgs model with a light dark fermion, we construct the spectrum from scalar and fermionic real and virtual contributions without relying on a Monte Carlo shower implementation. Sudakov resummation method is used to deal with the collinear divergence. The analytic expressions make the dependence on the dark charges and the logarithmic structure explicit. A simplified reinterpretation of the BaBar monophoton search, accounting for its finite missing-mass resolution, shows that dark-sector radiation can modify the inferred upper limit on the kinetic-mixing parameter by $\mathcal{O}(10\%)$ in the benchmarks considered.
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All authors Xiangyu Deng, Rongfeng Ou, Yi Li, Mengchao Zhang

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from hep-lat

Real-time topological rate at non-zero momentum in quenched QCD

We present a proof-of-concept numerical study of the real-time topological rate at non-zero momentum in quenched lattice QCD at a temperature $T\simeq 1.24 \, T_c \simeq 360$ MeV, as an important step toward the determination of this quantity in full QCD. Our strategy, already applied to compute the sphaleron rate in pure Yang–Mills and in full QCD, extracts the rate from the resolution of an appropriate inverse problem, solved applying the Hansen–Lupo–Tantalo (HLT) method to the thermal Euclidean time-correlator of the topological charge density. This method requires to control three different limits: continuum limit, limit of vanishing smearing width used in the HLT inverse problem resolution, and limit of vanishing smoothing radius used in the topological charge density correlator computation. Our lattice calculation is based on the standard Wilson discretization for the gauge action, and on three gauge ensembles with up to $N_\tau=16$ temporal points to achieve a controlled continuum limit. In all cases we employed an aspect ratio $LT=4$, which allowed us to compute the topological rate up to momenta as large as $p/T \sim 10$.
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All authors Claudio Bonanno, Massimo D'Elia, Roberto Dionisio, Giuseppe Gagliardi, Andrea Giorgieri, Francesco Sanfilippo, Alessandra Valentino, Giovanni Villadoro

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Higgs Mass and CP violating Phases Implications on the SUSY Breaking Scale in MSSM

The large Higgs mass $m_h \approx 125 GeV$ can raise the values of the SUSY breaking parameters in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model MSSM to the range of several TeV scale. The CP violating phases in the MSSM can induce EDMs of the fermions in the theory already in conflict with the current experimental upper limit unless the masses of the SUSY partners are on the heavy side. We invistigate the implications of both constraints, the Higgs Mass and the complete set of SUSY CP violating phases in the analysis of the electric dipole moments EDMs on the SUSY breaking parameters and thus on the SUSY mass spectrum. We use the electric dipole moments of the electron, the neutron and the proton as our probes in this study.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

The decay properties of two- and three- gluon glueballs

We previously studied the decay properties of two- and three-gluon glueballs using the Fierz rearrangement method and obtained their relative branching ratios in Ref.~\cite{Tan:2026uue}. In this work, we extend and develop this analysis by providing a more complete treatment of two-gluon glueball decays and by considering the tensor and pseudotensor states with $J^{PC}=2^{++}$ and $2^{-+}$. We also perform an independent QCD sum rule analysis of the $0^{++}$ two-gluon glueball decay. The consistency between the two approaches provides a useful check of the Fierz analysis. Our results support a sizable gluon component in the $f_0(1710)$ and favor the $0^{-+}$ glueball interpretation of the $\eta(2370)$. For the tensor glueball, the vector–vector ($VV$) decay channels, especially $K^{*}(892)\bar{K}^{*}(892)$, are found to be favorable for experimental searches. We also study three-gluon glueballs with $J^{PC}=0^{++}$ and $1^{+-}$ and identify several potentially favorable three-meson decay channels, including $\pi\pi\omega$ and $K\bar K\phi$. These results provide possible guidance for future experimental searches for glueball states.
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All authors Wei-Han Tan, Hua-Xing Chen, Ding-Kun Lian, Wen-Ying Liu

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Physics of the Electron-Ion Collider in China

The Electron-Ion Collider in China (EicC), a cutting-edge facility under development, aims to unveil the internal structure of nucleons and nuclei by leveraging collisions of high-intensity polarized electrons and ions (polarized protons, polarized deuterons, polarized $^{3}$He, and unpolarized heavy ions up to Uranium) at center-of-mass energies of 15-20 GeV and luminosity of (2-4)$\times 10^{33}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. Its primary physics objectives include 3D tomography of nucleon spin and momentum structure, fundamental questions regarding the origin of nucleon mass, partonic structure of nuclei and parton interactions with the nuclear environment, and exploration of exotic hadronic states. In this paper, we review the physics potential of the EicC and highlight its unique capabilities for advancing precision nucleon structure studies by combining its specialized kinematic coverage and high luminosity. Since traditional topics like 3D nucleon structure have already been well-covered by several extensive reviews, we have deliberately dedicated significant space to recent progress in nucleon mass decomposition, nucleon energy-energy correlation, quantum information, and artificial intelligence applications in high-energy nuclear physics, which have been emerging rapidly and attracted a tremendous amount of attention in the community.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from hep-th

On-Shell Amplitudes and Black-Hole Perturbations: Exact Reissner-Nordström Mixing

Can flat-space on-shell amplitudes determine the channel basis of a coupled black-hole perturbation problem? We address this question for electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations of a Reissner-Nordström (RN) black-hole. We organize the minimally coupled photon-graviton tree amplitudes off a heavy charged source into a $2\times 2$ channel-space matrix and perform a parity-resolved Jacob-Wick partial-wave projection. For every radiative multipole $\ell \geq 2$ and in both parity sectors, we show that the trace-free fixed-source partial-wave matrix is exactly proportional to the trace-free Moncrief coupling matrix, and therefore selects the same constant spectral projectors. Through a first-Born matching, the amplitudes determine the same eigenspaces in the leading $r^{-3}$ weak-field potential, but not the complete radial potentials. Using the exact classical RN potentials as independent curved-background input, we show that these projectors persist throughout the full radial domain. We also explicitly retain finite-mass effects through $\mathcal{O}(\omega/m)$, finding a nonvanishing commutator with the Moncrief coupling matrix, which shows that the RN-projector alignment is spoiled by genuine two-body recoil effects. As a first step toward rotation, we further extract the representation-independent linear-spin term from a minimally coupled Dirac amplitude. We find that the complete tree-level channel matrix factorizes with a single linear-spin dressing, while the formal $J=2$ block fails to preserve the unchanged RN projectors. This restricted result does not constitute a test of Kerr-Newman separability, but it indicates that a rotating generalization must account for spin-induced angular-mode mixing. We expect that this on-shell method can be extended to more general long-range scattering systems with two asymptotic channels.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Constraints on ultralight bosons from merging binary and remnant black holes observed during the second and third parts of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

We present constraints on ultralight bosons using binary black hole mergers observed in the second and third parts of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run. Directed searches are conducted for long-transient gravitational waves from ultralight vector boson clouds around merger remnants, using a hidden-Markov-model (HMM) tracking scheme. We target the remnant black holes formed in the binary coalescences that produced GW250114 and GW250207. We find no evidence for such signals from either target. Estimating our search sensitivity at a threshold corresponding to a 1% false alarm probability, we thus disfavor vector boson masses in the range of $[2.80, 3.95]\times 10^{-13}$ eV with greater than 90% confidence. In addition, we derive constraints on ultralight scalar and vector bosons from the inferred high spins of the constituent black holes in three binaries, using events GW240515, GW241113, and GW241225_08. The excluded mass ranges in this approach depend on the assumed black-hole ages. At $10^5$ years, corresponding to typical dynamically formed binaries, we exclude scalar and vector bosons in the ranges $[1.39, 6.94]\times 10^{-13}$ eV and $[0.32, 14.4]\times 10^{-13}$ eV at 90% confidence, respectively.
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All authors The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration, the KAGRA Collaboration: A. G. Abac, A. Abe, I. Abouelfettouh, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, A. Adam, S. Adhicary, D. Adhikari, R. X. Adhikari, V. K. Adkins, S. Afroz, A. Agapito, D. Agarwal, M. Agathos, N. Aggarwal, S. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, I.-L. Ahrend, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, T. Akutsu, L. Albers, W. Ali, S. Al-Kershi, C. Allene, A. Allocca, S. Al-Shammari, J. A. Alvarez, S. Alvarez-Lopez, W. Amar, O. Amarasinghe, A. Amato, F. Amicucci, C. Amra, A. B. Anand, C. Anand, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. Andia, M. Ando, F. Andrade-Oliveira, M. Andrés-Carcasona, J. L. Andrey, T. Andrić, J. Anglin, J. Anna, J. M. Antelis, S. Antier, T. Aoki, M. Aoumi, E. Z. Appavuravther, E. A. Appelt, S. Appert, S. K. Apple, K. Arai, A. Araya, M. C. Araya, F. Arciprete, J. S. Areeda, N. Aritomi, F. Armato, S. Armstrong, N. Arnaud, M. Arogeti, S. M. Aronson, K. G. Arun, G. Ashton, Y. Aso, L. Asprea, M. Assiduo, S. Assis de Souza Melo, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, P. S. Aswathi, F. Attadio, F. Aubin, K. AultONeal, G. Avallone, N. Avdeev, E. A. Avila, S. Babak, C. Badger, S. Bae, S. Bagnasco, S. Baimukhametova, L. Baiotti, T. Baka, K. A. Baker, T. Baker, G. Balbi, G. Baldi, N. Baldicchi, M. Ball, G. Ballardin, M. Ballelli, S. W. Ballmer, S. Banagiri, B. Banerjee, D. Bankar, T. M. Baptiste, P. Baral, M. Baratti, J. C. Barayoga, K. Baric, B. C. Barish, D. Barker, N. Barman, F. Barone, B. Barr, M. Barrios, L. Barsotti, M. Barsuglia, D. Barta, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, A. Basalaev, R. Bassiri, A. Basti, M. Bawaj, J. C. Bayley, A. C. Baylor, P. A. Baynard II, M. Bazzan, V. M. Bedakihale, F. Beirnaert, M. Bejger, A. S. Bell, C. Bellani, D. S. Bellie, D. Beltran-Martinez, E. Benedetti, W. Benoit, I. Bentara, M. Ben Yaala, S. Bera, F. Bergamin, B. K. Berger, M. Beroiz, I. Berry, D. Bersanetti, T. Bertheas, A. Bertolini, J. Betzwieser, D. Beveridge, N. Bevins, J. Bezerra-Sobrinho, R. Bhandare, R. Bhatt, A. Bhattacharjee, D. Bhattacharjee, S. Bhattacharyya, S. Bhaumik, V. Biancalana, F. Bianchi, I. A. Bilenko, M. Bilicki, G. Billingsley, A. Binetti, S. Bini, S. Biot, O. Birnholtz, S. Biscoveanu, A. Bisht, M. Bitossi, M.-A. Bizouard, S. Blaber, J. K. Blackburn, L. A. Blagg, C. D. Blair, D. G. Blair, M. Bloch, N. Bode, N. Boettner, P. Bogdan, G. Boileau, M. Boldrini, G. N. Bolingbroke, L. D. Bonavena, V. A. Bonhomme, E. Bonilla, M. S. Bonilla, A. Bonino, R. Bonnand, A. Borchers, N. Borghi, V. Boschi, S. Bose, V. Bossilkov, Y. Bothra, A. Boudon, T. D. Boybeyi, M. Boyle, A. Bozzi, C. Bradaschia, M. J. Brady, P. R. Brady, A. Branch, M. Branchesi, T. Briant, A. Brillet, M. Brinkmann, P. Brockill, E. Brockmueller, A. F. Brooks, D. D. Brown, M. L. Brozzetti, S. Brunett, G. Bruno, R. Bruntz, J. Bryant, Y. Bu, F. Bucci, A. Buchicchio, A. Buggiani, O. Bulashenko, T. Bulik, H. J. Bulten, A. Buonanno, K. Burtnyk, R. Buscicchio, N. Busdon, D. Buskulic, R. L. Byer, R. Cabrita, V. A. Cáceres-Barbosa, L. Cadonati, G. Cagnoli, C. Cahillane, A. Calafat, J. Calderón Bustillo, J. D. Callaghan, T. A. Callister, E. Calloni, S. R. Callos, K. Cannon, V. Cantory, H. Cao, L. A. Capistran, E. Capocasa, G. Capoccia, E. Capote, C. Capuano, G. Capurri, F. Carbognani, K. J. Cardona-Martínez, M. Carlassara, M. Carpinelli, G. Carrillo, G. Carullo, A. Casallas-Lagos, J. Casanueva Diaz, C. Casentini, S. Caudill, M. Cavaglià, R. Cavalieri, A. Ceja, G. Cella, P. Cerdá-Durán, E. Cesarini, N. Chabbra, W. Chaibi, A. Chakraborty, P. Chakraborty, S. Chakraborty, S. Chalathadka Subrahmanya, C. Chan, J. C. L. Chan, M. Chan, C.-Y. Chang, K. Chang, S. Chao, P. Charlton, E. Chassande-Mottin, C. Chatterjee, Debarati Chatterjee, Deep Chatterjee, M. Chaturvedi, S. Chaty, A. Chen, A. H.-Y. Chen, D. Chen, H. Chen, H. Y. Chen, S. Chen, Yanbei Chen, Yiwen Chen, G. Cheng, H. P. Cheng, P. Chessa, T. Cheunchitra, H. T. Cheung, S. Y. Cheung, F. Chiadini, G. Chiarini, A. Chiba, A. Chincarini, D. Chintala, A. Chiummo, A. Chopra, C. Chou, S. Choudhary, N. Christensen, Y. K. Chu, S. S. Y. Chua, G. Ciani, P. Ciecielag, M. Cieślar, M. Cifaldi, B. Cirok, F. Clara, J. A. Clark, T. A. Clarke, A. Claveus, M. R. Claypool, S. Clesse, F. Cleva, S. M. Clyne, E. Coccia, E. Codazzo, P.-F. Cohadon, D. E. Cohen, E. Colangeli, O. Cole, M. Colleoni, C. G. Collette, J. Collins, S. Colloms, A. Colombo, G. Compère, C. M. Compton, G. Connolly, L. Conti, T. R. Corbitt, I. Cordero-Carrión, S. Corezzi, N. J. Cornish, A. Corsi, S. Cortese, L. A. Corubolo, L. Cotnoir, R. Cottingham, J. A. Cotturone, M. W. Coughlin, P. Couvares, R. Coyne, A. Cozzumbo, J. D. E. Creighton, T. D. Creighton, S. Crook, R. Crouch, J. Csizmazia, K. Csukás, T. J. Cullen, A. Cumming, E. Cuoco, M. Cusinato, R. R. Cuzinatto, L. V. da Conceição, T. Dal Canton, S. Dall'Osso, S. Dal Pra, G. Dálya, Y. Dang, B. D'Angelo, S. Danilishin, O. Danner, S. D'Antonio, K. Danzmann, K. E. Darroch, L. P. Dartez, R. Das, S. Das, A. Dasgupta, V. Dattilo, A. Daumas, I. Dave, A. Davenport, T. F. Davies, D. Davis, M. C. Davis, P. Davis, E. J. Daw, M. Dax, J. De Bolle, E. deBruin, M. Deenadayalan, J. Degallaix, M. De Laurentis, C. J. Delgado Mendez, F. De Lillo, S. Della Torre, W. Del Pozzo, O. M. del Rio, A. Demagny, F. De Marco, G. Demasi, F. De Matteis, C. de Melo, N. Demos, T. Dent, A. Depasse, N. DePergola, R. De Pietri, R. De Rosa, C. De Rossi, E. K. Derrick, M. Desai, D. DeSantis, S. Deshmukh, V. Deshmukh, R. De Simone, S. Determan, S. Dhage, A. Dhani, R. Dhatri, R. Dhurkunde, R. Diab, C. Diaz, M. C. Díaz, F. Diaz Guerra, M. Di Cesare, M. A. Dicorato, T. Dietrich, C. Di Fronzo, M. Di Giovanni, D. Diksha, J. Ding, S. Di Pace, I. Di Palma, D. Di Piero, F. Di Renzo, Divyajyoti, A. Dmitriev, J. P. Docherty, Z. Doctor, N. Doerksen, E. Dohmen, A. Doke, A. Domiciano De Souza, L. D'Onofrio, F. Donovan, K. L. Dooley, S. Doravari, O. Dorosh, F. Dosopoulou, M. Drago, J. C. Driggers, M. Dubois, R. S. Dumbreck, U. Dupletsa, D. D'Urso, P. Dutta Roy, H. Duval, S. Dwivedi, S. E. Dwyer, C. Eassa, W. E. East, M. Eberhardt, M. Ebersold, M. Ebiri, G. Eddolls, A. Effler, J. Eichholz, H. Einsle, M. Eisenmann, M. Emma, K. Endo, R. Enficiaud, V. Ernst, L. Errico, R. Espinosa, M. Esposito, R. C. Essick, H. Estellés, T. Etzel, M. Evans, T. Evstafyeva, J. M. Ezquiaga, F. Fabrizi, V. Fafone, S. Fairhurst, X. Fan, A. M. Farah, B. Farr, W. M. Farr, M. Favata, M. Fays, M. Fazio, J. Feicht, M. M. Fejer, J.-N. Feldhusen, E. Fenyvesi, A. Feo, J. Fernandes, T. Fernandes, G. Fernández Rodríguez, D. Fernando, S. Ferraiuolo, T. A. Ferreira, M. Ferrer-Martinez, F. Fidecaro, P. Figura, I. Fiori, M. Fishbach, R. P. Fisher, S. K. Fitzgerald, V. Fiumara, R. Flaminio, B. Flanagan, S. M. Fleischer, L. S. Fleming, F. Flocco, E. Floden, H. Fong, J. A. Font, F. Fontinele-Nunes, C. Foo, B. Fornal, P. W. F. Forsyth, A. Fragkos, N. Franchini, A. Franco-Ordovas, F. Frappez, F. Frasconi, J. P. Freed, Z. Frei, A. Freise, O. Freitas, R. Frey, W. Frischhertz, P. 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Sunil, J. Suresh, P. J. Sutton, K. Suzuki, M. Suzuki, A. Svizzeretto, B. L. Swinkels, A. Syx, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Tacca, M. Tagliazucchi, H. Tagoshi, S. C. Tait, H. Takaba, K. Takada, H. Takahashi, R. Takahashi, A. Takamori, S. Takano, H. Takeda, I. Takimoto Schmiegelow, C. Talbot, M. Tamaki, N. Tamanini, D. Tanabe, K. Tanaka, S. J. Tanaka, S. Tanioka, D. B. Tanner, W. Tanner, L. Tao, R. D. Tapia, E. N. Tapia San Martín, A. Taruya, J. D. Tasson, J. G. Tau, A. Tejera, J. G. Temple, Y. Teng, H. Themann, A. Theodoropoulos, M. P. Thirugnanasambandam, L. M. Thomas, M. Thomas, P. Thomas, J. E. Thompson, S. R. Thondapu, E. Thrane, J. Tissino, A. Tiwari, Pawan Tiwari, Praveer Tiwari, S. Tiwari, V. Tiwari, M. R. Todd, E. Tofani, M. Toffano, A. M. Toivonen, K. Toland, T. Tomaru, V. Tommasini, H. Tong, C. I. Torrie, I. Tosta e Melo, E. Tournefier, A. Trapananti, R. Travaglini, F. Travasso, G. Traylor, L. Traylor, M. Trevor, M. C. Tringali, A. Tripathee, G. Troian, A. Trovato, L. Trozzo, R. J. Trudeau, T. Tsang, S. Tsuchida, K. Tsuji, L. Tsukada, A. Tuci, M. Turconi, C. Turski, H. Ubach, A. S. Ubhi, N. Uchikata, T. Uchiyama, R. P. Udall, T. Uehara, V. Undheim, V. Upadhyaya, L. E. Uronen, T. Ushiba, M. Vacatello, H. Vahlbruch, G. Vajente, J. Valencia, M. Valentini, E. Vallejo-Pagès, S. A. Vallejo-Peña, S. Vallero, M. van Dael, E. Van den Bossche, J. F. J. van den Brand, C. Van Den Broeck, M. van der Kolk, M. van der Sluys, A. Van de Walle, J. van Dongen, K. Vandra, M. VanDyke, H. van Haevermaet, J. V. van Heijningen, P. Van Hove, J. Vanier, J. Vanosky, N. van Remortel, M. Vardaro, A. F. Vargas, V. Varma, A. Vecchio, G. Vedovato, J. Veitch, P. J. Veitch, S. Venikoudis, P. Verdier, M. Vereecken, D. Verkindt, B. Verma, S. Verma, Y. Verma, S. M. Vermeulen, F. Vetrano, A. Veutro, A. Viceré, S. Vidyant, A. D. Viets, A. Vijaykumar, A. Vilkha, N. Villanueva Espinosa, E. T. Vincent, J.-Y. Vinet, S. Viret, S. Vitale, A. Vives, L. Vizmeg, B. Vizzone, H. Vocca, D. Voigt, E. R. G. von Reis, J. S. A. von Wrangel, W. E. Vossius, L. Vujeva, S. P. Vyatchanin, J. Wack, L. E. Wade, M. Wade, K. J. Wagner, L. Wallace, R.-Z. Wan, H. Wang, P. Wang, W. H. Wang, Y. F. Wang, Z. Wang, R. L. Ward, J. Warner, M. Was, T. Washimi, N. Y. Washington, D. Watarai, B. Weaver, S. A. Webster, N. L. Weickhardt, M. Weinert, A. J. Weinstein, R. Weiss, L. Wen, K. Wette, C. Wheeler, J. T. Whelan, B. F. Whiting, E. G. Wickens, D. Wilken, B. M. Williams, D. Williams, M. J. Williams, N. S. Williams, J. L. Willis, B. Willke, M. Wils, L. Wimmer, C. W. Winborn, A. Wingfield, J. Winterflood, C. C. Wipf, G. Woan, N. E. Wolfe, H. T. Wong, I. C. F. Wong, T. Wouters, J. L. Wright, M. Wright, B. Wu, C. Wu, D. S. Wu, H. Wu, K. Wu, Z. Wu, E. Wuchner, D. M. Wysocki, V. A. Xu, Y. Xu, N. Yadav, H. Yamamoto, K. Yamamoto, T. S. Yamamoto, T. Yamamoto, R. Yamazaki, T. Yan, H. Yang, K. Z. Yang, Y. Yang, Z. Yarbrough, J. Yébana Carrilero, A. B. Yelikar, X. Yin, J. Yokoyama, T. Yokozawa, M. Yoshihara, S. Yuan, H. Yuzurihara, M. Zanatta, M. Zanolin, M. Zeeshan, T. Zelenova, J.-P. Zendri, M. Zeoli, M. Zerrad, M. Zevin, H. Zhang, J. Zhang, L. Zhang, N. Zhang, R. Zhang, T. Zhang, C. Zhao, J. Zhao, Yue Zhao, Yuhang Zhao, L.-M. Zheng, Y. Zheng, L. Zhizhong, H. Zhong, H. Zhou, H. O. Zhu, X.-J. Zhu, Z.-H. Zhu, Z. Zhu, D. Z. Zieba, A. B. Zimmerman, L. Zimmermann, M. E. Zucker

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

How to Identify a Majoron: Effective Field Theories of Spontaneous Lepton Number Breaking

We revisit the traditional Type I, II and III Seesaw mechanisms in the presence of a complex scalar field charged under a global $U(1)$ symmetry that can be identified with lepton number and the Peccei-Quinn symmetry. After symmetry breaking, the radial mode becomes heavy while the angular mode appears as an axion-like particle, traditionally dubbed the Majoron. We construct the effective field theory obtained after integrating out the heavy states and analyse two matching orders: first removing the radial mode and then the Seesaw fields, and vice versa. Both procedures yield the same low-energy Lagrangian containing only Standard Model fields and the Majoron. Because a single vacuum expectation value fixes the mediator masses, the radial mode and every Majoron coupling, these models predict relations among observables rather than their individual size, and it is these relations that are testable. Indeed, the invisible Higgs width is locked to the universal suppression of the Higgs couplings, while the Majoron-lepton coupling is fixed by the measured non-unitarity of the leptonic mixing matrix, and the two independently give comparable lower bounds on the same lepton-number breaking scale, of order $1$-$10$ TeV. Neutrinoless double beta decay with Majoron emission, by contrast, has no sensitivity in this class of models. The framework is thus falsifiable even when the new states lie far beyond experimental reach.
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All authors Carla Biggio, Marta Fuentes Zamoro, Xu Li, Luca Merlo, Luca Ottonello

Tuesday 11 August

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Robust Quantum Machine Learning for Collider Event Selection under Detector Variability

Robust machine-learning methods are becoming increasingly important for high-energy physics data analysis as experiments enter the era of higher luminosity and future higher-energy colliders. Detector degradation, changing running conditions and calibration drift can shift data distributions, causing models trained on clean reference samples to degrade after deployment. We investigate whether parameterised quantum models provide a useful inductive bias for robust collider-event selection in two complementary settings. In the unsupervised study, quantum autoencoders trained on background events are compared with classical and variational autoencoders for anomaly detection. In the supervised study, quantum classifiers with data reuploading are trained to distinguish a supersymmetric signal from background and are compared with linear and multilayer-perceptron classifiers. All models are trained under reference conditions and subsequently evaluated under controlled feature-level smearing while their parameters and preprocessing transformations are held fixed. On clean inputs, the quantum autoencoders achieve competitive anomaly-detection performance, including in the low-false-positive-rate regime relevant for triggering, while the deeper data-reuploading classifier attains discrimination comparable to the non-linear classical baseline. Under smearing, the quantum models generally exhibit smaller shifts in their output scores and retain their discrimination more effectively than the expressive classical baselines. These results suggest that parameterised quantum models can provide a useful robustness inductive bias for collider-event selection and motivate further studies with realistic detector systematics, finite-shot statistics and quantum-device noise.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Particle Production, Equilibration, and Quantum Recurrences from Classical Fields

We investigate particle production from classical fields, a phenomenon central to the pre-equilibrium dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and the reheating epoch of the early Universe. Using lattice $\lambda\phi^4$ theory as a proof of principle, we show that this problem is naturally amenable to quantum computation, providing a first-principles framework for nonequilibrium quantum-field dynamics beyond existing approximations. We perform simulations on small spatial lattices, exhausting our available classical computational resources while maintaining a direct mapping to future quantum-computing implementations. We find that particle production is accompanied by equilibration of observables, including the field expectation value, occupation-number distribution, and pressure. The observed equilibration persists for timescales several times longer than the initial equilibration time before the observables resume oscillatory behavior associated with quantum Poincaré recurrences. Our results establish a route toward first-principles studies of equilibration in nonequilibrium quantum field theory and provide insight into the search for the smallest possible locally equilibrated quark-gluon systems at hadron colliders.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Effective Lagrangians from functional matching

We briefly review a variant of functional matching to derive an Effective Field Theory (EFT) for heavy particles at the one-loop level in the top-down approach. The method integrates out heavy fields that correspond to mass eigenstates, i.e. after removing mixing effects by diagonalizing mass matrices. Tree- and loop-level effects are separated by employing the background-field method, hard and soft modes are separated with the use of the expansion by regions. The method is exemplified for the Higgs Singlet Extension of the Standard Model where the mass $M_\mathrm{H}$ of the additional Higgs boson is considered large, and the Higgs mixing angle $\alpha$ is assumed to scale like $1/M_\mathrm{H}$, in order to guarantee decoupling in the large-$M_\mathrm{H}$ limit. Our calculation is agnostic w.r.t. the type (SMEFT vs. HEFT) of the emerging EFT. Eventually the emerging EFT Lagrangian can be transformed into SMEFT form, but only at the cost of introducing fermionic EFT operators, although no such operators are directly generated upon solving the functional integral over the heavy Higgs field.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Anomalies in Hadronic $B$ Decays

The decays $B\to PP$, where the pseudoscalar $P$ is a $\pi$ or $K$, have been studied under the assumption of flavour SU(3) symmetry [SU(3)$_F$]. The global fit shows a 3.6$\sigma$ discrepancy with the Standard Model (SM). Separate fits for $\Delta S = 0$ and $\Delta S = 1$ decays find parameter sets that differ by a factor of 10, suggesting 1000% SU(3)$_F$ breaking, significantly larger than the $\sim$ 30% breaking expected in the SM. This study has been extended to include final states with $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons. The resulting global fit, once again under the assumption of SU(3)$_F$ symmetry, is worse, with a 4.1$\sigma$ deviation from the SM. When theoretical constraints $|\widetilde C/\widetilde T| = 0.2$ or $\widetilde A = 0$ are imposed, the fits worsen, with the discrepancy approaching 5$\sigma$. These results hint at new-physics contributions to these decays.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from astro-ph.IM

Full-Covariance Bayesian Inference of Stochastic Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with Time-Domain Simulations for Taiji-like Missions

For Taiji-like missions, we implement a Bayesian spectral inference framework that combines second-generation time-domain (TD) simulations of time-delay interferometry (TDI) with a frequency-domain (FD) spectral likelihood for stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) analyses. The \(X,Y,Z\) Michelson streams generated with \trianglesim{} are divided into finite segments, Fourier transformed, and modeled with a segment-dependent complex \(3\times3\) covariance matrix. For each segment we evaluate the orbit-dependent response functions and noise transfer functions, allowing unequal-arm and time-evolving effects to enter through the full \(XYZ\) covariance. Controlled simulations performed with \trianglesim{} show that the calculated functions reproduce the realization-averaged spectra at the few-percent level over the retained frequency band away from TDI nulls. We then compare parameter-estimation results for static equal-arm FD, equal-arm TD, and unequal-arm TD configurations, using in each case a full \(XYZ\)-covariance likelihood matched to the corresponding detector configuration. All three yield consistent uncertainty trends and Bayesian-evidence diagnostics for astrophysical-background recovery after marginalizing over instrumental noise and an effective Galactic double-white-dwarf foreground. Finally, in a ten-parameter model containing instrumental noise, an effective Galactic double-white-dwarf foreground, a stochastic astrophysical background, and a sound-wave spectrum from a cosmological first-order phase transition, we recover its peak amplitude and frequency and find Bayesian evidence favoring its inclusion in all three matched configurations.
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All authors Qingyuan Liang, Ju Chen, Minghui Du, Huai-Ke Guo

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

$|\Delta I|=3/2$ non-leptonic hyperon decays in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory

Inspired by the recent BESIII measurements of non-leptonic hyperon decays, we reexamine their $|\Delta I|=3/2$ amplitudes in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory with the extended-on-mass-shell renormalization scheme. Using the same restricted set of diagrammatic topologies as in the early analyses in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory, we assess the effects of relativistic corrections, explicit decuplet baryons, different spin-$3/2$ coupling schemes, and pion-loop contributions. Our results show that relativistic effects alone lead to only mild changes, while decuplet contributions, especially in the consistent-coupling scheme, significantly improve the fit quality. Pion-loop contributions further reduce the $\chi^2$ values. We highlight the importance of the consistent coupling scheme in the decuplet sector for describing the selected $|\Delta I|=3/2$ amplitudes.
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All authors Jie Xu, Jun-Xu Lu, Rui-Xiang Shi, Li-Sheng Geng

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

QCD Vacuum in an Inhomogeneous Magnetic Field

The effect of an inhomogeneous magnetic field on the QCD vacuum is addressed using the framework of chiral perturbation theory. The magnetic field is chosen to be localized along one spatial direction, with a profile for which the underlying quantum mechanical problem is exactly solvable. Particular attention is paid to regularization and renormalization using dimensional regularization. While the non-vanishing gradient of the magnetic field requires additional operators in chiral perturbation theory, their effect occurs at next-to-next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion. Consequently, the magnetic field dependence of equilibrium vacuum observables can be determined at next-to-leading order without undetermined parameters. We compute the zero-temperature free energy and chiral condensate for the inhomogeneous background, both as integrated quantities as well as spatially resolved local observables. Comparison with locally constant approximations enables a direct probe of the spatial response and nonlocal structure of the magnetized QCD vacuum. We additionally derive the induced vacuum current associated with the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Hilbert Series of Pseudoscalar Mesons: Operators and Sum Rules

We construct the complete non-redundant basis of operators built from pseudoscalar mesons using the Hilbert series method, subject to the global flavor symmetry $SU(3)_L \times SU(3)_R \times SU(2)_{L_H} \times SU(2)_{R_H}$, together with the underlying shift symmetry. The SM weak interactions are incorporated systematically by promoting the CKM matrix elements to spurion fields transforming under the global symmetry. The resulting operator basis provides a model-independent parametrization of two- and three-body weak decay amplitudes of heavy mesons, with the corresponding Wilson coefficients serving as reduced hadronic amplitudes. We demonstrate that all amplitude sum rules follow directly from the structure of the operator basis and propose an unfolding procedure that connects the effective operators to their possible ultraviolet origins. Our framework reproduces the known flavor relations while predicting additional identities arising from the symmetry-constrained operator basis.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Tricritical dynamics in $\mathrm{^3He}$-$\mathrm{^4He}$ mixtures and QCD

In this paper we study the universal critical dynamics near the tricritical points in $\mathrm{^3He}$-$\mathrm{^4He}$ mixtures and QCD with two massless quark flavors. In particular, we use the real-time formulation of the functional renormalization group to understand how the tricritical region connects the $O(4)$ Model G dynamics of the two-flavor chiral phase transition to that of Model H for the QCD critical point with explicitly broken chiral symmetry. We show that in presence of an additional subdiffusive energy-like density, the tricritical dynamics inherits the strong dynamic scaling of Model G, where the critical fluctuations of order parameter and conserved $O(N)$ charges relax at identical rates. The strong scaling in the planar $O(2)$ case relevant for the $\lambda$-line and the tricritical point in the liquid $\mathrm{^3He}$-$\mathrm{^4He}$ mixtures arises as an interesting limiting case. Including the explicit symmetry breaking by the finite light-quark masses in QCD, the energy-like density of the tricritical dynamics mixes linearly with the $Z_2$ order parameter to eventually produce the characteristic slow fluctuations of the entropy per baryon near the QCD critical point.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Multi-Channel Di-Higgs Production in the scNMSSM: From Exotic 8b to Boosted 8tau Signatures at the HL-LHC

We study the signal topologies of Higgs-pair production in the semi-constrained NMSSM at large lambda and low tan(beta) at the HL-LHC (sqrt(s) = 13.6 TeV, L = 3000 fb^-1), using four benchmark points drawn from a parameter scan in which the LHC Higgs-sector constraints were not applied. The benchmarks cover exotic h1h1 -> 4a1 -> 8b (BP1, BP3), boosted h1h1 -> 4a1 -> 8tau (BP2) and SM-like (BP4) final states. Signals are simulated with MadGraph5_aMC@NLO, Pythia 8.316 and Delphes 3, with 10^5 events per benchmark. Background yields are taken from published analyses and serve only as illustrative estimates. In this revised version (v2) we add an a posteriori check with NMSSMTools. All four benchmark points are flagged: BP1-BP3 have BR(h1 -> a1a1) > 99%, in conflict with the limits on undetected Higgs decays and with CMS searches for h -> aa -> 4tau and 4b, and BP4 deviates from the measured b- and tau-couplings by more than 2 sigma. The benchmarks therefore do not represent experimentally allowed parameter points, the signal yields apply to the stated branching fractions only, and the earlier statement of 5 sigma sensitivity is withdrawn. The signal rate scales as BR(h -> aa)^2, so a branching fraction compatible with current limits would reduce the yields by one to two orders of magnitude. The detector-level characterisation of the topologies remains of methodological interest. For BP2 (m_a1 = 8.2 GeV), 82.4% of same-a1 tau pairs satisfy Delta R(tau,tau) < 0.4 owing to the boost gamma ~ 7.5, which motivates dedicated boosted-a1 tagging.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

TauPolaris: reconstructing tau lepton polarimetric vectors with conditional normalizing flows

The kinematics of tau lepton decay products depend on the tau spin, giving access to the spin correlations and CP structure of the process that produced them. The optimal spin observable is the polarimetric vector, which points along the most likely direction of the tau spin. Determining it requires the momenta of the neutrinos produced in the tau decays, which escape detection and must therefore be inferred. We present TauPolaris, a tool for reconstructing tau polarimetric vectors by estimating the undetected neutrino momenta with a conditional normalizing flow. Rather than performing a point regression, the method models the full conditional density of the neutrino kinematics, providing both the most likely configuration for each event and an estimate of its uncertainty. The resolution of the reconstructed spin observables improves on that obtained from networks trained with a mean-squared-error loss. Using simulated LHC proton-proton collisions, including detector resolution effects, we demonstrate the method in three applications. For tau leptons produced in Higgs boson decays, we show that the presence of quantum entanglement can be distinguished from its absence with a significance of at least $4.3\sigma$ at the High-Luminosity LHC. We demonstrate an 18% improvement in the sensitivity to CP violation in $H\rightarrow\tau\tau$ decays. Finally, we introduce new variables for suppressing the $Z\rightarrow\tau\tau$ background in Higgs boson searches.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Gluonic nucleon energy correlators and fracture functions for Color Glass Condensate

Nucleon energy correlators (NECs) and fracture functions provide novel tools for probing nucleon and nuclear structure at small $x$ through measurements in the target fragmentation region (TFR) of deep inelastic scattering (DIS). We investigate gluonic NECs and fracture functions using the Color Glass Condensate effective theory at eikonal accuracy. We find that only the unpolarized and linearly polarized gluon components in an unpolarized target are nonvanishing at this order, and that both are determined by the adjoint dipole $S$-matrix. Furthermore, we show that the linearly polarized gluonic NEC $h_{1}^{t,g}$ generates a characteristic $\cos 2\phi$ azimuthal asymmetry in the DIS energy pattern in the TFR. Unlike analogous observables in the current fragmentation region, this asymmetry is governed by the ratio of the linearly polarized gluon NEC $h_{1}^{t,g}$ to the unpolarized quark NEC $f_{1}^{q}$, making it particularly sensitive to the saturation scale. Our numerical analysis shows that this asymmetry exhibits substantial nuclear suppression, providing a novel window into the onset of gluon saturation at the future Electron-Ion Collider.
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All authors Heikki Mäntysaari, Yu Shi, Yossathorn Tawabutr, Xuan-Bo Tong

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology) · Cross-listed from nucl-th

Nucleon electromagnetic form-factors in a minimal Gari-Krümpelmann model including two-meson continua

The Gari–Krümpelmann (GK) model provided one of the first semiphenomenological descriptions of the electromagnetic nucleon form-factors over a wide range of momentum transfer. It combined vector-meson dominance at low and intermediate momentum transfer with perturbative-QCD constraints at large momentum transfer. The present work extends this framework by including the dispersive two-pion continuum explicitly in the isovector channel. The two-pion contribution is taken from modern dispersive analyses and embedded into the intrinsic high-$Q^2$ structure of the GK ansatz. The physical $\rho$ dynamics is then interpreted as part of the correlated two-pion spectral function. Similarly, we include in the isoscalar spectral function the correlated $K\bar K$ and $\rho\pi$ continua, where the former also includes the $\phi$-meson pole. The direct coupling terms remain essential for the transition to the asymptotic regime. This gives a cleaner separation between long-range continuum dynamics, coherent vector-meson contributions, and direct quark-current dynamics. With just 7 parameters, we can describe the large body on form-factor data and differential cross sections from electron-proton scattering in the space-like region.
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