The decays of $$\bar{B}^0$$, $$\bar{B}^0_s$$B¯s0 and $$B^-$$B- into $$\eta _c$$ηc plus a scalar or vector meson

We investigate the decays of \(\bar{B}^0_s\), \(\bar{B}^0\) and \(B^-\) into \(\eta _c\) plus a scalar or vector meson in a theoretical framework by taking into account the dominant process for the weak decay of \(\bar{B}\) meson into \(\eta _c\) and a \(q\bar{q}\) pair. After hadronization of this \(q\bar{q}\) component into pairs of pseudoscalar mesons we obtain certain weights for the pseudoscalar meson-pseudoscalar meson components. In addition, the \(\bar{B}^0\) and \(\bar{B}^0_s\) decays into \(\eta _c\) and \(\rho ^0\), \(K^*\) are evaluated and compared to the \(\eta _c\) and \(\phi \) production. The calculation is based on the postulation that the scalar mesons \(f_0(500)\), \(f_0(980)\) and \(a_0(980)\) are dynamically generated states from the pseudoscalar meson-pseudoscalar meson interactions in S-wave. Up to a global normalization factor, the \(\pi \pi \), \(K \bar{K}\) and \(\pi \eta \) invariant mass distributions for the decays of \(\bar{B}^0_s \rightarrow \eta _c \pi ^+ \pi ^-\), \(\bar{B}^0_s \rightarrow \eta _c K^+ K^-\), \(\bar{B}^0 \rightarrow \eta _c \pi ^+ \pi ^-\), \(\bar{B}^0 \rightarrow \eta _c K^+ K^-\), \(\bar{B}^0 \rightarrow \eta _c \pi ^0 \eta \), \(B^- \rightarrow \eta _c K^0 K^-\) and \(B^- \rightarrow \eta _c \pi ^- \eta \) are predicted. Comparison is made with the limited experimental information available and other theoretical calcualtions. Further comparison of these results with coming LHCb measurements will be very valuable to make progress in our understanding of the nature of the low lying scalar mesons, \(f_0(500), f_0(980)\) and \(a_0(980)\).     

Uncertainties of the $$B\rightarrow D$$B→ D transition form factor from the D-meson leading-twist distribution amplitude

The \(B\rightarrow D\) transition form factor (TFF) \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(q^2)\) is determined mainly by the D-meson leading-twist distribution amplitude (DA) , \(\phi _{2;D}\), if the proper chiral current correlation function is adopted within the light-cone QCD sum rules. It is therefore significant to make a comprehensive study of DA \(\phi _{2;D}\) and its impact on \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(q^2)\). In this paper, we calculate the moments of \(\phi _{2;D}\) with the QCD sum rules under the framework of the background field theory. New sum rules for the leading-twist DA moments \(\left\langle \xi ^n\right\rangle _D\) up to fourth order and up to dimension-six condensates are presented. At the scale \(\mu = 2 \,\mathrm{GeV}\), the values of the first four moments are: \(\left\langle \xi ^1\right\rangle _D = -0.418^{+0.021}_{-0.022}\), \(\left\langle \xi ^2\right\rangle _D = 0.289^{+0.023}_{-0.022}\), \(\left\langle \xi ^3\right\rangle _D = -0.178 \pm 0.010\) and \(\left\langle \xi ^4\right\rangle _D = 0.142^{+0.013}_{-0.012}\). Basing on the values of \(\left\langle \xi ^n\right\rangle _D(n=1,2,3,4)\), a better model of \(\phi _{2;D}\) is constructed. Applying this model for the TFF \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(q^2)\) under the light cone sum rules, we obtain \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(0) = 0.673^{+0.038}_{-0.041}\) and \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(q^2_{\mathrm{max}}) = 1.117^{+0.051}_{-0.054}\). The uncertainty of \(f^{B\rightarrow D}_+(q^2)\) from \(\phi _{2;D}\) is estimated and we find its impact should be taken into account, especially in low and central energy region. The branching ratio \(\mathcal {B}(B\rightarrow Dl\bar{\nu }_l)\) is calculated, which is consistent with experimental data.     

Coupled channels dynamics in the generation of the $$\Omega (2012)$$ resonance

We look into the newly observed \(\Omega (2012)\) state from the molecular perspective in which the resonance is generated from the \(\bar{K} \Xi ^*\), \(\eta \Omega \) and \(\bar{K} \Xi \) channels. We find that this picture provides a natural explanation of the properties of the \(\Omega (2012)\) state. We stress that the molecular nature of the resonance is revealed with a large coupling of the \(\Omega (2012)\) to the \(\bar{K} \Xi ^*\) channel, that can be observed in the \(\Omega (2012) \rightarrow \bar{K} \pi \Xi \) decay which is incorporated automatically in our chiral unitary approach via the use of the spectral function of \(\Xi ^*\) in the evaluation of the \(\bar{K} \Xi ^*\) loop function.     

$$\varvec{B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-}$$ decay in the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model

In the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model, we perform a complete one-loop computation of the short-distance Wilson coefficients \(C_{7,9,10}^{(\prime )}\), which are the most relevant ones for \(b\rightarrow s\ell ^+\ell ^-\) transitions. It is found that, when the model parameter \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \) is much smaller than \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \), the charged scalar contributes mainly to chirality-flipped \(C_{9,10}^\prime \), with the corresponding effects being proportional to \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| ^2\). Numerically, the charged-scalar effects fit into two categories: (A) \(C_{7,9,10}^\mathrm {H^\pm }\) are sizable, but \(C_{9,10}^{\prime \mathrm {H^\pm }}\simeq 0\), corresponding to the (large \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \), small \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \)) region; (B) \(C_7^\mathrm {H^\pm }\) and \(C_{9,10}^{\prime \mathrm {H^\pm }}\) are sizable, but \(C_{9,10}^\mathrm {H^\pm }\simeq 0\), corresponding to the (small \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \), large \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \)) region. Taking into account phenomenological constraints from the inclusive radiative decay \(B\rightarrow X_{s}{\gamma }\), as well as the latest model-independent global analysis of \(b\rightarrow s\ell ^+\ell ^-\) data, we obtain the much restricted parameter space of the model. We then study the impact of the allowed model parameters on the angular observables \(P_2\) and \(P_5'\) of \(B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-\) decay, and we find that \(P_5'\) could be increased significantly to be consistent with the experimental data in case B.     

Beyond antihydrogen: testing CPT with the molecular antihydrogen ion

Measurements of Zeeman, Zeeman-hyperfine and ro-vibrational transitions in \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}(\bar {p}e^{+}\bar {p})\) compared to \(H_{2}^{+}\) have the potential for more precise tests of CPT than can be obtained from antiprotons and antihydrogen. In particular, measurements of ro-vibrational transitions have a potential sensitivity to a difference between antiproton and proton mass three orders of magnitude higher than antihydrogen/hydrogen. Methods are outlined for precision measurements on a single \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}\) or \({H}_{2}^{+}\) ion in a cryogenic Penning trap, with non-destructive state identification using the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect or changes in mass. \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}\) can be produced using the \(\bar {H}^{+}+\bar {p} \rightarrow \bar {H}_{2}^{-} + e^{+}\) reaction.     

On Blow-up Profile of Ground States of Boson Stars with External Potential

We study minimizers of the pseudo-relativistic Hartree functional \({\mathcal {E}}_{a}(u):=\Vert (-\varDelta +m^{2})^{1/4}u\Vert _{L^{2}}^{2}+\int _{{\mathbb {R}}^{3}}V(x)|u(x)|^{2}\mathrm{d}x-\frac{a}{2}\int _{{\mathbb {R}}^{3}}(\left| \cdot \right| ^{-1}\star |u|^{2})(x)|u(x)|^{2}\mathrm{d}x\) under the mass constraint \(\int _{{\mathbb {R}}^3}|u(x)|^2\mathrm{d}x=1\). Here \(m>0\) is the mass of particles and \(V\ge 0\) is an external potential. We prove that minimizers exist if and only if a satisfies \(0\le a<a^{*}\), and there is no minimizer if \(a\ge a^*\), where \(a^*\) is called the Chandrasekhar limit. When a approaches \(a^*\) from below, the blow-up behavior of minimizers is derived under some general external potentials V. Here we consider three cases of V: trapping potential, i.e. \(V\in L_{\mathrm{loc}}^{\infty }({\mathbb {R}}^3)\) satisfies \(\lim _{|x|\rightarrow \infty }V(x)=\infty \); periodic potential, i.e. \(V\in C({\mathbb {R}}^3)\) satisfies \(V(x+z)=V(x)\) for all \(z\in \mathbb {Z}^3\); and ring-shaped potential, e.g. \( V(x)=||x|-1|^p\) for some \(p>0\).     

Study of the weak annihilation contributions in charmless $$\varvec{B_s\rightarrow VV}$$ decays

In this paper, in order to probe the spectator-scattering and weak annihilation contributions in charmless \(B_s\rightarrow VV\) (where V stands for a light vector meson) decays, we perform the \(\chi ^2\)-analyses for the endpoint parameters within the QCD factorization framework, under the constraints from the measured \(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow \) \(\rho ^0\phi \), \(\phi K^{*0}\), \(\phi \phi \) and \(K^{*0}\bar{K}^{*0}\) decays. The fitted results indicate that the endpoint parameters in the factorizable and nonfactorizable annihilation topologies are non-universal, which is also favored by the charmless \(B\rightarrow PP\) and PV (where P stands for a light pseudo-scalar meson) decays observed in previous work. Moreover, the abnormal polarization fractions \(f_{L,\bot }(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow K^{*0}\bar{K}^{*0})=(20.1\pm 7.0)\%,(58.4\pm 8.5)\%\) measured by the LHCb collaboration can be reconciled through the weak annihilation corrections. However, the branching ratio of \(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow \phi K^{*0}\) decay exhibits a tension between the data and theoretical result, which dominates the contributions to \(\chi _\mathrm{min}^2\) in the fits. Using the fitted endpoint parameters, we update the theoretical results for the charmless \(B_s\rightarrow VV\) decays, which will be further tested by the LHCb and Belle-II experiments in the near future.     

The open-charm radiative and pionic decays of molecular charmonium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Y</Emphasis>(4274)

In this work, we investigate the decay widths and the line shapes of the open-charm radiative and pionic decays of Y(4274) with the \(D_{s}\bar{D}_{s0}(2317)\) molecular charmonium assignment. Our calculation indicates that the decay widths of \(Y(4274)\to D^{+}_{s}D^{*-}_{s}\gamma\) and \(Y(4274)\to D^{+}_{s}D^{-}_{s}\pi^{0}\) can reach up to 0.05 keV and 0.75 keV, respectively. In addition, the result of the line shape of the photon spectrum of \(Y(4274)\to D_{s}^{+} {D}_{s}^{*-} \gamma\) shows that there exists a very sharp peak near the large end point of photon energy. The line shape of the pion spectrum of \(Y(4274)\to D_{s}^{+} {D}_{s}^{*-} \pi^{0}\) is similar to that of the pion spectrum of \(Y(4274)\to D_{s}^{+} {D}_{s}^{*-} \gamma\), where we also find a very sharp peak near the large end point of pion energy. According to our calculation, we suggest further experiments to carry out the search for the open-charm radiative and pionic decays of Y(4274).     

$\mathcal {}$-Matrix-valued Wave Packet Frames in L2(ℝd,ℂs×r)$L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{d}, \mathbb {C}^{s\times r})$

We study frame properties of a matrix-valued wave packet system in the matrix-valued function space \(L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{d}, \mathbb {C}^{s\times r})\), where the lower frame condition is controlled by a bounded linear operator \(\mathcal {K}\) on \(L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{d}, \mathbb {C}^{s\times r})\) (lower \(\mathcal {K}\)-frame condition, in short). There are many differences between ordinary frames and \(\mathcal {K}\)-frames. The lower \(\mathcal {K}\)-frame condition for matrix-valued wave packet Bessel sequences in \(L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{d},\mathbb {C}^{s\times r})\) in terms of operators; a trace functional associated with a bounded linear operator on \(L^{2}(\mathbb {R}^{d}, \mathbb {C}^{s\times r})\); and a series associated with a matrix-valued Bessel sequence is presented. It is shown that matrix-valued wave packet frames are stable under small perturbation with respect to wave packet window functions.     

Determinations of $$|V_{cb}|$$ and $$|V_{ub}|$$|Vub| from baryonic $$\Lambda _b$$Λb decays

We present the first attempt to extract \(|V_{cb}|\) from the \(\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda _c^+\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decay without relying on \(|V_{ub}|\) inputs from the B meson decays. Meanwhile, the hadronic \(\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda _c M_{(c)}\) decays with \(M=(\pi ^-,K^-)\) and \(M_c=(D^-,D^-_s)\) measured with high precisions are involved in the extraction. Explicitly, we find that \(|V_{cb}|=(44.6\pm 3.2)\times 10^{-3}\), agreeing with the value of \((42.11\pm 0.74)\times 10^{-3}\) from the inclusive \(B\rightarrow X_c\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decays. Furthermore, based on the most recent ratio of \(|V_{ub}|/|V_{cb}|\) from the exclusive modes, we obtain \(|V_{ub}|=(4.3\pm 0.4)\times 10^{-3}\), which is close to the value of \((4.49\pm 0.24)\times 10^{-3}\) from the inclusive \(B\rightarrow X_u\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decays. We conclude that our determinations of \(|V_{cb}|\) and \(|V_{ub}|\) favor the corresponding inclusive extractions in the B decays.     

Scattering of kinks of the sinh-deformed $$\varphi ^4$$ model

We consider the scattering of kinks of the sinh-deformed \(\varphi ^4\) model, which is obtained from the well-known \(\varphi ^4\) model by means of the deformation procedure. Depending on the initial velocity \(v_\mathrm {in}\) of the colliding kinks, different collision scenarios are realized. There is a critical value \(v_\mathrm {cr}\) of the initial velocity, which separates the regime of reflection (at \(v_\mathrm {in}>v_\mathrm {cr}\)) and that of a complicated interaction (at \(v_\mathrm {in}<v_\mathrm {cr}\)) with kinks’ capture and escape windows. Besides that, at \(v_\mathrm {in}\) below \(v_\mathrm {cr}\) we observe the formation of a bound state of two oscillons, as well as their escape at some values of \(v_\mathrm {in}\).     

CP violations in predictive neutrino mass structures

We study the CP-violation effects from two types of neutrino mass matrices with (i) \((M_\nu )_{ee}=0\), and (ii) \((M_\nu )_{ee}=(M_\nu )_{e\mu }=0\), which can be realized by the high-dimensional lepton number violating operators \(\bar{\ell }_R^c\gamma ^\mu L_L (D_\mu \Phi )\Phi ^2\) and \(\bar{\ell }_R^c l_R (D_\mu {\Phi })^2\Phi ^2\), respectively. In (i), the neutrino mass spectrum is in the normal ordering with the lightest neutrino mass within the range \(0.002\,\mathrm{eV}\lesssim m_0\lesssim 0.007\,\mathrm{eV}\). Furthermore, for a given value of \(m_0\), there are two solutions for the two Majorana phases \(\alpha _{21}\) and \(\alpha _{31}\), whereas the Dirac phase \(\delta \) is arbitrary. For (ii), the parameters of \(m_0\), \(\delta \), \(\alpha _{21}\), and \(\alpha _{31}\) can be completely determined. We calculate the CP-violating asymmetries in neutrino–antineutrino oscillations for both mass textures of (i) and (ii), which are closely related to the CP-violating Majorana phases.     

Spin-label Order Parameter Calibrations for Slow Motion

Calibrations are given to extract orientation order parameters from pseudo-powder electron paramagnetic resonance line shapes of ¹⁴N-nitroxide spin labels undergoing slow rotational diffusion. The nitroxide z-axis is assumed parallel to the long molecular axis. Stochastic-Liouville simulations of slow-motion 9.4-GHz spectra for molecular ordering with a Maier–Saupe orientation potential reveal a linear dependence of the splittings, \(2A_{\hbox{max} }\) and \(2A_{\hbox{min} }\), of the outer and inner peaks on order parameter \(S_{zz}\) that depends on the diffusion coefficient \(D_{{{\text{R}} \bot }}\) which characterizes fluctuations of the long molecular axis. This results in empirical expressions for order parameter and isotropic hyperfine coupling: \(S_{zz} = s_{1} \times \left( {A_{\hbox{max} } - A_{\hbox{min} } } \right) - s_{o}\) and \(a_{o}^{{}} = \tfrac{1}{3}\left( {f_{\hbox{max} } A_{\hbox{max} } + f_{\hbox{min} } A_{\hbox{min} } } \right) + \delta a_{o}\), respectively. Values of the calibration constants \(s_{1}\), \(s_{\text{o}}\), \(f_{\hbox{max} }\), \(f_{\hbox{min} }\) and \(\delta a_{o}\) are given for different values of \(D_{{{\text{R}} \bot }}\) in fast and slow motional regimes. The calibrations are relatively insensitive to anisotropy of rotational diffusion \((D_{{{\text{R}}//}} \ge D_{{{\text{R}} \bot }} )\), and corrections are less significant for the isotropic hyperfine coupling than for the order parameter.     

The effective neutrino mass of neutrinoless double-beta decays: how possible to fall into a well

The neutrinoless double-beta (\(0\nu 2\beta \)) decay is currently the only feasible process in particle and nuclear physics to probe whether massive neutrinos are the Majorana fermions. If they are of a Majorana nature and have a normal mass ordering, the effective neutrino mass term \(\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}\) of a \(0\nu 2\beta \) decay may suffer significant cancellations among its three components and thus sink into a decline, resulting in a “well” in the three-dimensional graph of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\) against the smallest neutrino mass \(m^{}_1\) and the relevant Majorana phase \(\rho \). We present a new and complete analytical understanding of the fine issues inside such a well, and identify a novel threshold of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\) in terms of the neutrino masses and flavor mixing angles: \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|^{}_* = m^{}_3 \sin ^2\theta ^{}_{13}\) in connection with \(\tan \theta ^{}_{12} = \sqrt{m^{}_1/m^{}_2}\) and \(\rho =\pi \). This threshold point, which links the local minimum and maximum of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\), can be used to signify observability or sensitivity of the future \(0\nu 2\beta \)-decay experiments. Given current neutrino oscillation data, the possibility of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}| < |\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|^{}_*\) is found to be very small.     

Likelihood analysis of the pMSSM11 in light of LHC 13-TeV data

We use MasterCode to perform a frequentist analysis of the constraints on a phenomenological MSSM model with 11 parameters, the pMSSM11, including constraints from \(\sim 36\)/fb of LHC data at 13 TeV and PICO, XENON1T and PandaX-II searches for dark matter scattering, as well as previous accelerator and astrophysical measurements, presenting fits both with and without the \((g-2)_\mu \) constraint. The pMSSM11 is specified by the following parameters: 3 gaugino masses \(M_{1,2,3}\), a common mass for the first-and second-generation squarks \(m_{\tilde{q}}\) and a distinct third-generation squark mass \(m_{\tilde{q}_3}\), a common mass for the first-and second-generation sleptons \(m_{\tilde{\ell }}\) and a distinct third-generation slepton mass \(m_{\tilde{\tau }}\), a common trilinear mixing parameter A, the Higgs mixing parameter \(\mu \), the pseudoscalar Higgs mass \(M_A\) and \(\tan \beta \). In the fit including \((g-2)_\mu \), a Bino-like \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\) is preferred, whereas a Higgsino-like \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\) is mildly favoured when the \((g-2)_\mu \) constraint is dropped. We identify the mechanisms that operate in different regions of the pMSSM11 parameter space to bring the relic density of the lightest neutralino, \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\), into the range indicated by cosmological data. In the fit including \((g-2)_\mu \), coannihilations with \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{2}\) and the Wino-like \(\tilde{\chi }^\pm _{1}\) or with nearly-degenerate first- and second-generation sleptons are active, whereas coannihilations with the \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{2}\) and the Higgsino-like \(\tilde{\chi }^\pm _{1}\) or with first- and second-generation squarks may be important when the \((g-2)_\mu \) constraint is dropped. In the two cases, we present \(\chi ^2\) functions in two-dimensional mass planes as well as their one-dimensional profile projections and best-fit spectra. Prospects remain for discovering strongly-interacting sparticles at the LHC, in both the scenarios with and without the \((g-2)_\mu \) constraint, as well as for discovering electroweakly-interacting sparticles at a future linear \(e^+ e^-\) collider such as the ILC or CLIC.     

Rapid communication: $$K_{S}^{0}$$ Production from beryllium target using 120 $$\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}$$GeV/c protons beam interactions at the MIPP experiment

We have measured the cross-section for the \(K_{S}^{0}\) production from beryllium target using 120 \(\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\) protons beam interactions at the main injector particle production (MIPP) experiment at Fermilab. The data were collected with target having a thickness of 0.94% of the nuclear interaction length. The \(K_{S}^{0}\) inclusive differential cross-section in bins of momenta is presented covering momentum range from \(0.4\,\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\) to \(30\,\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\). The measured inclusive \(K_{S}^{0}\) production cross-section amounts to \(39.54\pm 1.46\delta _{\mathrm {stat}}\pm 6.97\delta _{\mathrm {syst}}\) mb and the value is compared with the prediction of FLUKA hadron production model.     

Exotic tetraquark states with the $$qq\bar{Q}\bar{Q}$$ configuration

In this work, we study systematically the mass splittings of the \(qq\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) (\(q=u\), d, s and \(Q=c\), b) tetraquark states with the color-magnetic interaction by considering color mixing effects and estimate roughly their masses. We find that the color mixing effect is relatively important for the \(J^P=0^+\) states and possible stable tetraquarks exist in the \(nn\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) (\(n=u\), d) and \(ns\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) systems either with \(J=0\) or with \(J=1\). Possible decay patterns of the tetraquarks are briefly discussed.     

Heuristic Relative Entropy Principles with Complex Measures: Large-Degree Asymptotics of a Family of Multi-variate Normal Random Polynomials

Let \(z\in \mathbb {C}\), let \(\sigma ^2>0\) be a variance, and for \(N\in \mathbb {N}\) define the integrals

$$\begin{aligned} E_N^{}(z;\sigma ) := \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} {\frac{1}{\sigma }} \!\!\!\displaystyle \int _{\mathbb {R}}\! (x^2+z^2) \frac{e^{-\frac{1}{2\sigma ^2} x^2}}{\sqrt{2\pi }}dx&{}\quad \text{ if }\, N=1,\\ {\frac{1}{\sigma }} \!\!\!\displaystyle \int _{\mathbb {R}^N}\! \prod \prod \limits _{1\le k<l\le N}\!\! e^{-\frac{1}{2N}(1-\sigma ^{-2}) (x_k-x_l)^2} \prod _{1\le n\le N}\!\!\!\!(x_n^2+z^2) \frac{e^{-\frac{1}{2\sigma ^2} x_n^2}}{\sqrt{2\pi }}dx_n &{}\quad \text{ if }\, N>1. \end{array}\right. \!\!\! \end{aligned}$$

These are expected values of the polynomials \(P_N^{}(z)=\prod _{1\le n\le N}(X_n^2+z^2)\) whose 2N zeros \(\{\pm i X_k\}^{}_{k=1,\ldots ,N}\) are generated by N identically distributed multi-variate mean-zero normal random variables \(\{X_k\}^{N}_{k=1}\) with co-variance \(\mathrm{{Cov}}_N^{}(X_k,X_l)=(1+\frac{\sigma ^2-1}{N})\delta _{k,l}+\frac{\sigma ^2-1}{N}(1-\delta _{k,l})\). The \(E_N^{}(z;\sigma )\) are polynomials in \(z^2\), explicitly computable for arbitrary N, yet a list of the first three \(E_N^{}(z;\sigma )\) shows that the expressions become unwieldy already for moderate N—unless \(\sigma = 1\), in which case \(E_N^{}(z;1) = (1+z^2)^N\) for all \(z\in \mathbb {C}\) and \(N\in \mathbb {N}\). (Incidentally, commonly available computer algebra evaluates the integrals \(E_N^{}(z;\sigma )\) only for N up to a dozen, due to memory constraints). Asymptotic evaluations are needed for the large-N regime. For general complex z these have traditionally been limited to analytic expansion techniques; several rigorous results are proved for complex z near 0. Yet if \(z\in \mathbb {R}\) one can also compute this “infinite-degree” limit with the help of the familiar relative entropy principle for probability measures; a rigorous proof of this fact is supplied. Computer algebra-generated evidence is presented in support of a conjecture that a generalization of the relative entropy principle to signed or complex measures governs the \(N\rightarrow \infty \) asymptotics of the regime \(iz\in \mathbb {R}\). Potential generalizations, in particular to point vortex ensembles and the prescribed Gauss curvature problem, and to random matrix ensembles, are emphasized.