Papers

We formulate the type-I seesaw as a relativistic fermionic proximity effect in the exact active-sector two-point kernel. Active neutrinos have no renormalizable gauge-invariant Majorana mass and couple by lepton-number-conserving Yukawa hybridization to a sterile Majorana pairing kernel. Integrating out the sterile fields gives a nonlocal Nambu-Gorkov embedding self-energy. In a sterile Takagi basis its anomalous and normal flavor responses are $\mathcal{A}(Q^2)=\sum_i M_i y_i y_i^T/(Q^2+M_i^2)$ and $\mathcal{B}(Q^2)=\sum_i y_i y_i^\dagger/(Q^2+M_i^2)$, respectively. Their low-energy expansions generate correlated lepton-number-violating and lepton-number-conserving moment towers. The leading moments reproduce the Weinberg coefficient and the dimension-six kinetic operator. Both towers share one sterile mass set; its positive normal support supplies a common annihilator, although anomalous residues can cancel at exact degeneracy. We prove normal block-Hankel positivity and positivity of a dimensionally rescaled mixed Nambu-Hankel sequence. The latter gives matrix Cauchy-Schwarz inequalities between lepton-number-conserving and lepton-number-violating data and can reveal paired directions hidden by a degenerate normal residue. Isolated nondegenerate pole residues satisfy an additional nonlinear compatibility identity. These results yield tree-level EFT consistency tests and a matrix-pencil reconstruction of visible pole and aggregate-residue data; selecting a unique ultraviolet Lagrangian requires additional information about sterile-basis multiplicities. An exact one-generation example distinguishes the static Schur-complement kernel from the physical Takagi pole mass. The proximity structure applies without a Fermi surface or condensate, and Nambu doubling introduces no new physical degrees of freedom.

One of the main advantages of the Loop-Tree Duality representation of scattering amplitudes is that it makes the origin of infrared and threshold singularities particularly transparent. This talk reviews recent progress in describing how singularities emerge and cancel at the level of scattering and vacuum amplitudes, discusses a novel strategy to efficiently construct finite integrals, and presents a complementary perspective based on encoding the underlying causal and singular structure in terms of qubits and quantum circuits.

We study flavor-violating decays of the SM-like Higgs boson and rare top decays in the Type 1B realization of the flavorful two-Higgs-doublet model with a twist, focusing on $h\to sb$, $h\to db$, $h\to uc$, $h\to\mu\tau$, $h\to e\tau$, $h\to e\mu$, $t\to ch$, and $t\to uh$. We present the relevant amplitude and branching-ratio formulae, include one-loop vertex corrections, and impose constraints from Higgs signal-strength measurements, electroweak precision tests, meson mixing, $B\to X_s\gamma$, direct HFV searches and CLFV constraints, including $\mu-e$ conversion. The surviving parameter space favors $\mathrm{BR}(h\to sb)\gg\mathrm{BR}(h\to db)$, $\mathrm{BR}(t\to ch)\gg\mathrm{BR}(t\to uh)$, and $\mathrm{BR}(h\to\mu\tau)\gg\mathrm{BR}(h\to e\tau)\sim\mathrm{BR}(h\to e\mu)$ in the lepton sector. One-loop effects usually preserve these hierarchies, but can modify individual channels through different mechanisms: sizable destructive tree–loop interference can reduce $h\to sb$ enough to yield rare $\mathrm{BR}_{\mathrm{1L}}(h\to db)>\mathrm{BR}_{\mathrm{1L}}(h\to sb)$ points, whereas the large relative corrections found in rare top decays mainly reflect strong SM-like alignment suppressing the tree-level amplitudes.

We derive the background equations and complete odd- and even-parity quadratic actions for static, spherically symmetric black holes with radial scalar hair in general quartic-quintic Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi (GLPV) theories, including Horndeski. On regular, nondegenerate branches, the formulation applies across Killing horizons and yields local no-ghost conditions and radial and angular eikonal characteristics. Tensor modes in both parity sectors share the same squared radial speed. When the radial coordinate is timelike, generic antisymmetric mixing induces nonstandard large-multipole scaling for both even-parity angular branches. Requiring both branches to have finite, nonzero eikonal phase speeds selects the Horndeski-related compatibility condition between the quartic and quintic beyond-Horndeski functions. This condition aligns the covariant degeneracy directions and permits a local disformal map to Horndeski when regular and invertible. For a finite, nonzero scalar kinetic term at the horizon, every nontrivial branch of the exact quadratic GLPV black hole is locally unstable or has a degenerate tensor cone near a simple outer horizon. Apart from identified exceptions, this obstruction extends to general shift- and reflection-symmetric quadratic GLPV theories and the regular Horndeski-related branch of the quartic-quintic class. Finally, for scalar-Gauss-Bonnet black holes with a vanishing horizon scalar kinetic term, we construct analytic power-law quartic beyond-Horndeski deformations whose associated quintic function is fixed by the same condition. At sufficiently small coupling, all local no-ghost and high-frequency gradient-stability conditions hold throughout the exterior. For a linear Gauss-Bonnet coupling, we estimate an interior scale below which the background and stability expansions lose perturbative control; this does not imply a physical instability.

We study the inclusive lifetimes of $\Xi_{bc}^{+}$, $\Xi_{bc}^{0}$, and $\Omega_{bc}^{0}$, with emphasis on the mixing between the spin-zero and spin-one $bc$-diquark configurations. The relevant hadronic matrix elements are evaluated in both the homogeneous bag model (HBM) and the nonrelativistic quark model (NRQM). At the benchmark mixing angles of $-23.0^\circ$ for $\Xi_{bc}$ and $-23.5^\circ$ for $\Omega_{bc}$, the corresponding lifetime triplets are $\left(\tau_{\Xi_{bc}^{+}},\tau_{\Xi_{bc}^{0}},\tau_{\Omega_{bc}^{0}}\right)=\left(0.421^{+0.093}_{-0.093},0.075^{+0.035}_{-0.010},0.223^{+0.074}_{-0.043}\right)\,\mathrm{ps}$ in the HBM and $\left(\tau_{\Xi_{bc}^{+}},\tau_{\Xi_{bc}^{0}},\tau_{\Omega_{bc}^{0}}\right)=\left(0.367^{+0.076}_{-0.070},0.100^{+0.032}_{-0.014},0.229^{+0.066}_{-0.042}\right)\,\mathrm{ps}$ in the NRQM. Relative to the unmixed spin-one reference points, the $\Xi_{bc}^{0}$ and $\Omega_{bc}^{0}$ lifetimes decrease by approximately $17\%$-$19\%$. Neither the minimum nor the maximum of the central lifetime curves occurs at a pure $S_{bc}=0$ or $S_{bc}=1$ configuration; the extrema instead lie at mixed angles with $\left|\phi_{\mathcal{B}}\right|\simeq27^\circ$-$63^\circ$. The two pure-spin limits alone are therefore insufficient to characterize the full mixing-angle dependence.

In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) QCD corrections to the exclusive processes $e^{+}e^{-}\to J/\psi+\eta_{c}$, $e^{+}e^{-}\to J/\psi+\chi_{cJ}$, $e^{+}e^{-}\to \eta_{c}+\gamma$, and $e^{+}e^{-}\to \chi_{cJ}+\gamma$ $(J=0,1,2)$ at the $B$ factories, comparing perturbative expansions truncated at the amplitude level and squared-amplitude level. Our results show that the amplitude-level prescription improves the perturbative convergence, with the NNLO/LO ratios lying closer to the corresponding NLO/LO ratios than those in the squared-amplitude-level prescription. This improvement is particularly pronounced for $e^{+}e^{-}\to\chi_{c2}+\gamma$, where the NNLO prediction is about 27% of the LO result in the amplitude-level prescription, compared with only 12% in the squared-amplitude-level prescription. The amplitude-level prescription also reduces the residual renormalization scale dependence, particularly for the $P$-wave channels. Finally, the NNLO predictions are generally in good agreement with the available Belle and BaBar measurements and have central values closer to the data than those obtained with the squared-amplitude-level prescription. For channels with only upper limits, the predictions from both prescriptions are consistent with the experimental constraints, except for $e^{+}e^{-}\to\eta_c+\gamma$, where both NNLO predictions remain above the current upper limit.

The strong $CP$ problem remains one of the major open questions in the Standard Model of particle physics. Its best-known solution is the Peccei–Quinn mechanism, which predicts a new pseudoscalar boson, the QCD axion. In recent years, alternative solutions and new perspectives on the foundations of the strong $CP$ problem have also received renewed attention. In this review, we provide a pedagogical account of the underlying physics and summarise the current theoretical and phenomenological status of the problem.

Kaniadakis, or $\kappa$-generalized, statistical mechanics provides a flexible framework for describing complex systems in the relativistic regime and predicts a richer phenomenology compared to its standard Maxwell-Boltzmann counterpart. In the present work, we extend the investigation of photon gas thermodynamics at the Planck scale within doubly special relativity to the framework of $\kappa$-generalized statistical mechanics. By adopting the $\kappa$-generalized statistical approach, we derive the principal thermodynamic quantities of a photon gas at the Planck scale, including the internal energy $U$, Helmholtz free energy $F$, pressure $P$, entropy $S$, and heat capacity $C_{\rm V}$. We find that these $\kappa$-deformed thermodynamic quantities exhibit nontrivial dependence on the deformation parameter $\kappa$. We then numerically evaluate these quantities as functions of temperature $T$, and reveal that, as $T$ approaches the Planck scale, the $\kappa$-deformed thermodynamic quantities are significantly suppressed relative to those in special relativity, while in the low-temperature regime they are enhanced and exceed their counterparts in special relativity, as a consequence of the $\kappa$-generalized statistics.

The spin density matrix (SDM) characterizes the spin state of a particle, which provides important information for understanding its production mechanism. A general discussion of the SDM under parity conservation, and specific SDM parameterizations for spin-1 and spin-2 particles are provided, which respect all the expected constraints. The imaginary (real) part of SDM is related to the degree of odd-rank (even-rank) polarization, with specific expressions given for spin-1 and spin-2 cases. Examples of applications of the SDM to angular analyses of several decay processes with different spin-parity hypotheses are also provided, which could be helpful in experimental data analyses.

Using the elemental abundances in 68 metal-poor (MP) stars, we present a data-driven model for $r$-process production patterns covering Sr to U. We show that essentially all the $r$-process patterns in those and other test stars can be adequately explained as mixtures of Patterns 1 and 2, which provides theoretical insights into the empirical categories of limited-$r$, $r$-I, and $r$-II stars. We carry out an extensive survey of the yield templates produced by parametric $r$-process calculations. We propose that Pattern 2 may be dominated by a single template and points to regularity in $r$-process production by a subset of neutron star mergers (NSMs), while Pattern 1 is the average superposition of multiple templates and reflects production by other NSMs and perhaps also some magneto-rotational supernovae. We raise possible systematic issues with abundance ratios for elements measured in different ionization states, and highlight the need for examining the Os, Ir, and Pt measurements for HD~122563, which is dominated by Pattern 1 with a prominent Pt peak in our model. If this result is confirmed, the meaning of the limited-$r$ category requires drastic revision. Further measurements of a wider range of $r$-process elements in a larger sample of MP stars are critical to test and improve our model.

We present a machine learning framework for the characterization of leptoquark (LQ) signals at the Large Hadron Collider, focusing on the discrimination between scalar (SLQ) and vector (VLQ) hypotheses. The method is based on a two-stage inference pipeline that combines a classifier trained to separate Standard Model backgrounds from a mixed LQ signal with a second classifier designed to distinguish between SLQ and VLQ scenarios, using the signal yield inferred from the first-stage classifier to guide the corresponding scalar and vector mass hypotheses. A test statistic is constructed from the classifier outputs and interpreted using reference probability density functions. The approach is applied to realistic LHC final states with hadronically decaying tau leptons, multiple jets, and missing transverse momentum, and its performance is assessed using simulated pseudo-experiments. We show that the proposed strategy provides a robust and statistically consistent procedure to discriminate between SLQ and VLQ signals across a wide range of masses and signal stregths. We find that the spin identification power closely follows the discovery potential, demonstrating that determining the spin nature of a newly discovered LQ does not require substantially larger datasets than those needed for discovery itself.

The dipole model provides a powerful framework for describing high-energy nuclear interactions, particularly in the regime of dense gluonic matter. However, accurately evolving the dipole–nucleus scattering amplitude remains a major computational challenge because it is governed by nonlinear QCD evolution equations. To address this, we investigate a machine learning (ML) model as an efficient surrogate for the conventional numerical evolution. These ML-based approximations dramatically reduce the computational cost of global analyses while maintaining the accuracy required to describe a broad range of experimental data. We systematically evaluate the ML results for accuracy, computational efficiency, and ability to capture essential features of dipole evolution in nuclear environments. These computational advancements will enable global analyses of diverse datasets within both the dipole and parton model frameworks, providing a more rigorous probe of nuclear structure in the dense regime. Comparing both descriptions within a common fitting framework can provide precise constraints on the gluon distributions and advance our understanding of the quark and gluon structure of nuclei, particularly in the small-x region.

We consider the effects of radiative corrections in Starobinsky-like models of inflation, concentrating on models of inflation formulated in N=1 no-scale supergravity. Inflaton couplings to matter fields are necessary for reheating and these have an impact on loop corrections to the inflaton potential. Whilst corrections due to the supergravity couplings of the inflaton to Standard Model (MSSM) fields are negligible, we use Planck data to obtain interesting constraints on GUT bilinear couplings, vevs, and gauge boson masses that could be sharpened by future CMB measurements.

Using first-principles field-theoretic methods, we investigate neutrino emission from strongly magnetized dense quark matter under conditions relevant to compact stars. We account for Landau-level quantization of both electron and quark states and show that it strongly modifies the kinematics of Urca processes. In particular, quark quantization restricts the available phase space in which both quark and electron energies can simultaneously lie near their respective Fermi surfaces. At moderately strong magnetic fields, before pronounced quark quantization sets in, the emission rate tends to increase on average with increasing field strength. In the regime of very strong fields, however, the increasingly restricted phase space first gives rise to Shubnikov–de Haas-type oscillations and then to resonance-like spikes near a discrete sequence of Urca-resonant magnetic field values, separated by regions of strong suppression. Finally, the emission rate becomes nearly completely quenched once $|eB| \gtrsim 6\mu_{e}\mu_{u}$, corresponding to approximately $B\gtrsim 1.5\times 10^{19}~\mbox{G}$ for the representative set of model parameters considered. We also find significant anisotropy in the longitudinal momentum emission near the Urca-resonant magnetic field values.

We show that the subleading collinear sector of Yang-Mills (YM) amplitudes is controlled by ordinary Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) amplitudes and their higher-derivative corrections. The complete set of strict subleading collinear limits associated with an equal-helicity collinear pair can be extracted from open-closed string disk amplitudes. The latter generate $\frac12 (n-3)!$ BCJ-like relations with non-linear kinematic coefficients, reducing the $(n-3)!$ collinear data to a basis of dimension $\frac12 (n-3)!$. This reduced basis can be represented by gravitational amplitudes in EYM theories and by their higher-derivative open-string corrections. At multiplicity $n$ this gravitational basis consists of the $(n-4)!$ independent EYM subamplitudes together with $\frac12 (n-5)(n-4)!$ higher-order corrections involving one graviton and $n-2$ gluons. The resulting decomposition is governed by unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind: the ordinary EYM amplitudes correspond to the sector $\left[{n-3\atop 1}\right]$, the higher-order BCJ-like relations to even sectors $\left[{n-3\atop 2j}\right]$, and the higher-derivative EYM corrections to odd sectors $\left[{n-3\atop 2j+1}\right]$ with $j\geq 1$.

Signals of physics beyond the Standard Model continue to resist discovery at the LHC. Recent years have seen the proliferation of new anomaly detection techniques, promising discovery with significantly fewer model assumptions than traditional approaches. Strategies based on weak supervision have been especially successful, but so far were largely limited in scope by their reliance on a resonance manifesting a decay into a pair of jets. In this work, we demonstrate that a well-established idea from jet substructure physics - recursive soft drop - in combination with the CATHODE technique for anomaly detection can be used to simultaneously perform anomaly detection for signals with an arbitrary number of jets in the final state, greatly increasing the scope of such searches.

Axion fields can form exponentially growing gravitational clouds around compact objects through self-interaction-driven relaxation of ambient axion waves. As the field amplitude approaches the axion decay constant, nonlinear effects become important. We identify two distinct regimes of late-time evolution, determined by the gravitational fine-structure constant and the cloud growth rate: a Bosenova regime, characterized by collapse accompanied by explosive axion bursts, and a saturation regime, in which self-interaction-induced axion emission balances accretion. In the latter regime, the emitted axion radiation exhibits stable discrete spectral lines at odd multiples of the bound-state energy, directly probing the global structure of the axion potential beyond its quadratic minimum. We show that single-cosine potentials and QCD axion-like potentials predict distinct emission spectra, enabling probes of the underlying axion self-interaction structure and its ultraviolet completion through terrestrial detection of relativistic axion fluxes from compact objects.

We present a comprehensive recasting study of pair production of vector-like quarks. We consider decays of vector-like quarks into third generation quarks and Standard Model bosons or exotic top-philic scalars. We derive recasting bounds on all 43 combinations of decay channels. Using the efficiencies of each channel, we obtain combined limits across decay channels by adding up the contributions to each signal region. A data base of recasting results along with example codes is published, allowing for application to different models without the need for rerunning recasting tools. We demonstrate the utility of the data base by setting bounds on several sample models.

We propose a new laboratory strategy to generate and detect axion-like particles via third-harmonic generation induced by two non-collinear, polarised high-intensity laser beams of peak intensity of the order of $10^{24}\,\mathrm{W/cm^2}$, where the third-harmonic signal is generated by the axion field. Starting from the axion-modified Maxwell equations, we analytically derive the axion-induced third-harmonic field, and show that by using state-of-the-art petawatt laser facilities, a detectable signal can be obtained over a broad range of axion masses and couplings. A key feature of the setup is that the axion-photon conversion rate can be resonantly enhanced by tuning the angle between the two beams through a mechanism that does not depend on the physical volume of the apparatus. The proposed configuration may therefore probe an unexplored region of axion parameter space and pave the way for next-generation high-power laser-based axion searches.

The mono-photon process $e^+e^- \to \gamma+\mathrm{invisible}$ at Belle II probes both invisible new states and the electroweak couplings of neutrinos. In this work, we study the process $e^+e^- \to \gamma\nu\bar{\nu}$, finding that Belle II with the full expected dataset can determine the neutrino-sensitive effective weak mixing angle to a 3.6$\%$ relative statistical precision, competitive with existing neutrino probes at other energy scales. Polarized beams, as proposed for the Chiral Belle upgrade, separate the neutral- and charged-current contributions and provide independent access to each, giving a handle on the chiral structure of the neutrino gauge interactions. The same process is an irreducible background to dark boson searches, producing a neutrino fog once the luminosity exceeds 1 ab$^{-1}$.

The Sun has long served as a natural dark matter detector, capturing halo particles that scatter with solar nuclei and electrons and subsequently produce indirect signals from dark matter annihilation that can be probed by either neutrino or $\gamma$-ray instruments. Previous efforts have computed cross-section constraints for dark matter scattering with electrons, as well as spin-independent and spin-dependent dark matter-proton scattering. However, the spin-dependent dark matter-neutron scattering scenario has been neglected, despite its importance in direct detection. For the first time, we compute the capture and evaporation rates for spin-dependent dark matter-neutron scattering in the Sun, including odd-neutron isotope targets in the current standard solar model. Comparing the predicted annihilation signals against current neutrino and $\gamma$-ray observations, and projecting the reach of upcoming detectors, we find that solar constraints exceed direct detection limits for several annihilation channels. For models in which the dark matter annihilates into long-lived mediators, these constraints can extend below the neutrino fog.

Agentic systems now address tasks across theoretical, phenomenological, and experimental high energy physics (HEP), but their scientific capabilities remain difficult to reuse across different large language models, providers, and harnesses. We argue that stable parts of these workflows should be promoted into versioned scientific operations and exposed through common protocols. Existing general-purpose harnesses can then be specialized for HEP through task-specific sets of tools and skills, while community-maintained registries would make these capabilities discoverable and citable. We identify mismatches in conventions, assumptions, and domains of validity among independently developed operations as a potential obstacle to their composition, and discuss machine-readable scientific contracts as one possible solution. These design principles and evaluation guidelines provide a near-term path toward a portable and community-maintained agentic harness for HEP.

We present a quantum computing framework for simulating open-quantum-system approaches based on Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, which is relevant to heavy-ion collisions. To simulate the non-Markovian evolution on quantum computers, we introduce an auxiliary two-level pseudomode that carries the memory forward and couples to both the subsystem and the residual Markovian bath. We explicitly show that tracing out the pseudomode reproduces the non-Markovian evolution with the exact memory kernel. Moreover, in the relevant time scale hierarchy, the quantum circuit construction of the pseudomode smoothly converges to the Markovian limit. For a given bath memory kernel, our results demonstrate the feasibility of quantum simulations of both Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, establishing a framework for future studies of hard probes such as jets, heavy quarks, and quarkonia in heavy-ion collisions.

Nambu-Goto cosmic string loops generically develop cusps, points where the string momentarily reaches the speed of light. These cusps produce strong gravitational wave bursts with a characteristic strain spectrum $\tilde{h}(\omega)\propto (G\mu)\,\omega^{-4/3}$, making them prime targets for gravitational wave searches, where $\mu$ is the string mass per unit length. However, this picture is modified when one accounts for gravitational backreaction. Using a convenient gauge, we reformulate the Nambu-Goto equations of motion for a loop moving in its own dynamically sourced gravitational field, enabling the first continuous numerical evolution of loops under this backreaction. A key finding is that locally cusps survive backreaction. Nevertheless, the gravitational waveform calculated in this formalism is significantly modified, weakening the cusp burst and introducing a high-frequency cutoff at $f_c\propto(G\mu)^{-3/2}$. This suppression above $f_c$ reduces the expected signal-to-noise ratio in current and near-future detectors relative to unperturbed waveform predictions.

We investigate the dissociation of the neutral pion in hot magnetized quark matter within the two-flavor Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model. At zero magnetic field, the Mott temperature is conventionally determined by $m_{\pi^0}(T_{\rm Mott})=2M(T_{\rm Mott})$, above which a real pole ceases to exist. At finite magnetic field, Landau quantization replaces this single threshold by a hierarchy of quark–antiquark continua and generates multiple solutions of the pion pole equation, rendering a direct threshold-crossing criterion ambiguous since a real pion solution below the lowest nominal threshold always exists. We therefore propose to define the magnetic Mott temperature through the inflection point of the pion wave-function renormalization factor $Z_{\pi^0}(T,eB)$ of that lowest pole, corresponding to the fastest loss of its spectral function strength. The prescription reproduces the conventional Mott temperature as $eB\to 0$ and tracks the chiral pseudocritical temperature for both constant and magnetic-field-dependent couplings. Our results characterize pion dissociation in a magnetic field as a spectral crossover rather than a simple threshold crossing.

We present an independent recasting of light vector gauge boson ($Z'$) searches at the LHC within the leptophilic $U(1)_{L_\mu - L_\tau}$ framework. A simplified Standard Model extension is implemented in FeynRules, enforcing symmetric chiral leptonic currents while suppressing hadronic couplings. Signal generation for the four-muon ($4\mu$) final state is performed using MadGraph5_aMC@NLO, Pythia8, and a tuned Delphes3 detector emulation, covering the mass range 5-62 GeV under a reference coupling g=0.01. The analysis employs a vectorized columnar pipeline in Coffea with Awkward Array masks, enabling parallelized kinematic selections and the recovery of boosted muon topologies. Signal yields are statistically extracted via pyhf against digitized CMS Run 2 backgrounds (77.3 fb$^{-1}$). The resulting expected median limit profile tracks the absolute experimental sensitivity morphology within a factor of $\approx 2.5$, a discrepancy successfully quantified as a systematic consequence of fast-simulation detector limitations and the mass-window binned counting strategy relative to experimental unbinned multivariate profiling, thereby establishing a rigorous and conservative baseline sensitivity floor. Furthermore, we project the discovery potential for the future High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) phase at $\mathcal{L}_{\text{int}} = 3000$ fb$^{-1}$ under the official CERN Scenario II recommendations. We demonstrate quantitatively that the HL-LHC will achieve exceptional expected local statistical discovery significances between 10.22$\sigma$ and 16.61$\sigma$ within the 5-28 GeV mass window, comfortably clearing the discovery threshold and establishing the multi-muon channel as a primary probe for lightweight vector portals in upcoming collider phases.

The two-photon decay of the neutral pion is fixed in the chiral limit by the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly, while nonzero quark masses induce few-percent corrections that must be determined for precision tests of QCD beyond the chiral limit. Using the anomalous PCAC relation, we compute them in lattice QCD as deviations from the exact anomaly condition at $q^2=0$, thereby avoiding both four-point functions and the cancellation of chiral logarithms that limits conventional approaches. Because the correction is proportional to the light-quark masses, both statistical and systematic uncertainties are correspondingly suppressed, making a precision calculation feasible. On two nearly-physical domain-wall ensembles we achieve $\sim1\%$ statistical precision each for the decay width, obtaining $\Gamma(\pi^0\to\gamma\gamma)=8.09(22) eV$ after continuum extrapolation. The $2.3(1.4)\%$ mass correction to the decay amplitude, positive and isospin-breaking dominated, provides the first ab initio confirmation of the $\pi^0$-$\eta$-$\eta'$ mixing enhancement.

In this work, we investigate the resonant interaction between stochastic gravitational waves (GWs) and chiral Alfvén waves in a magnetized chiral plasma in the early Universe. Starting from covariant chiral magnetohydrodynamics coupled to linearized gravity, we derive a closed system of equations for the coupled chiral-Alfvén velocity and magnetic-field perturbations. Both analytics and numerics show a parametric resonance at the sum frequency of the two CVE-split branches, with an instability band that widens as the GW strain grows. This CVE-to-Alfvén ratio is not a free parameter. In the early Universe, it is fixed by the Standard Model's relativistic degrees of freedom. Including the plasma's backreaction on the GW makes the energy exchange nonlinear, breaking the usual single-frequency Manley-Rowe picture. For a self-consistent choice of parameters, where backreaction is only a small correction, the unsuppressed resonance still drives the system to a finite-time blow-up within a few Hubble times. We then work out the resonant frequencies and growth rates involved, mapping out what current and future gravitational-wave detectors could observe.

The chiral symmetry is a property of the fundamental theory of the strong interaction that is relevant for the hadronic physics. It is expected that at sufficiently high temperature and matter density, this symmetry becomes manifest. Within the Chiral Dual Partner Model the chiral transformation is implemented in such a way that a fermion mass term is allowed if the parity partner of each baryon is included in the framework. This model is used here to study possible manifestations of the chiral symmetry in dense nuclear matter, assuming constant isospin fraction. It is found that the onset of the odd parity baryons is associated with two branches of thermodynamical instabilities, one of them leads to a first order phase transition for temperatures below $T_c\simeq 11$ MeV. An analysis of these instabilities in the phase space is given, and neutron star matter is considered as a special case.

Understanding the spin alignment of vector mesons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions requires a nonperturbative description of their spin-dependent in-medium properties. We investigate this problem within a unified four-flavor soft-wall holographic framework that combines an anisotropic Einstein–Maxwell–dilaton background at finite temperature, baryon chemical potential, and angular velocity. Spin alignment is determined from the medium-induced splitting of the spin-resolved vector-current spectral functions through an instantaneous freeze-out prescription. We systematically study the strange and charm vector mesons $K^{*}$, $\phi$, $D^{*}$, $D_s^{*}$, and $J/\psi$ and the dependence of their spin alignment on transverse momentum, rapidity, temperature, baryon chemical potential, and angular velocity. We find that the heavy charm vector mesons $D^{*}$, $D_s^{*}$, and $J/\psi$ mesons exhibit $\rho_{00}>1/3$ at low transverse momentum, whereas the light strange vector mesons $K^{*}$ and $\phi$ exhibit the opposite low-momentum behavior and angular distributions with $\rho_{00}<1/3$. We trace this flavor-dependent separation to the different locations of the vacuum mass shell relative to the thermally shifted longitudinal and transverse spectral peaks. The results qualitatively reproduce several trends observed at low and intermediate transverse momentum. Spin alignment is insensitive to baryon chemical potential and only weakly affected by angular velocity. These results establish an equilibrium holographic baseline for vector-meson spin alignment across flavor sectors and help delineate the regimes in which additional mechanisms, such as nonequilibrium evolution, fluctuations, and hard production, become important.