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.     

Scaling Limit of Symmetric Random Walk in High-Contrast Periodic Environment

It is shown that the deterministic infinite trigonometric products

$$\begin{aligned} \prod _{n\in \mathbb {N}}\left[ 1- p +p\cos \left( \textstyle n^{-s}_{_{}}t\right) \right] =: {\text{ Cl }_{p;s}^{}}(t) \end{aligned}$$

with parameters \( p\in (0,1]\ \& \ s>\frac{1}{2}\), and variable \(t\in \mathbb {R}\), are inverse Fourier transforms of the probability distributions for certain random series \(\Omega _{p}^\zeta (s)\) taking values in the real \(\omega \) line; i.e. the \({\text{ Cl }_{p;s}^{}}(t)\) are characteristic functions of the \(\Omega _{p}^\zeta (s)\). The special case \(p=1=s\) yields the familiar random harmonic series, while in general \(\Omega _{p}^\zeta (s)\) is a “random Riemann-\(\zeta \) function,” a notion which will be explained and illustrated—and connected to the Riemann hypothesis. It will be shown that \(\Omega _{p}^\zeta (s)\) is a very regular random variable, having a probability density function (PDF) on the \(\omega \) line which is a Schwartz function. More precisely, an elementary proof is given that there exists some \(K_{p;s}^{}>0\), and a function \(F_{p;s}^{}(|t|)\) bounded by \(|F_{p;s}^{}(|t|)|\!\le \! \exp \big (K_{p;s}^{} |t|^{1/(s+1)})\), and \(C_{p;s}^{}\!:=\!-\frac{1}{s}\int _0^\infty \ln |{1-p+p\cos \xi }|\frac{1}{\xi ^{1+1/s}}\mathrm{{d}}\xi \), such that

$$\begin{aligned} \forall \,t\in \mathbb {R}:\quad {\text{ Cl }_{p;s}^{}}(t) = \exp \bigl ({- C_{p;s}^{} \,|t|^{1/s}\bigr )F_{p;s}^{}(|t|)}; \end{aligned}$$

the regularity of \(\Omega _{p}^\zeta (s)\) follows. Incidentally, this theorem confirms a surmise by Benoit Cloitre, that \(\ln {\text{ Cl }_{{{1}/{3}};2}^{}}(t) \sim -C\sqrt{t}\; \left( t\rightarrow \infty \right) \) for some \(C>0\). Graphical evidence suggests that \({\text{ Cl }_{{{1}/{3}};2}^{}}(t)\) is an empirically unpredictable (chaotic) function of t. This is reflected in the rich structure of the pertinent PDF (the Fourier transform of \({\text{ Cl }_{{{1}/{3}};2}^{}}\)), and illustrated by random sampling of the Riemann-\(\zeta \) walks, whose branching rules allow the build-up of fractal-like structures.

     

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.     

$$\varvec{B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-}$$ 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.     

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 \(p>0\).     

Spin density matrix of the $$\omega $$ in the reaction $${\bar{p}p}\,\rightarrow \,\omega \pi ^0$$p¯p→π0

The spin density matrix of the \(\omega \) has been determined for the reaction \({\bar{p}p}\,\rightarrow \,\omega \pi ^0\) with unpolarized in-flight data measured by the Crystal Barrel LEAR experiment at CERN. The two main decay modes of the \(\omega \) into \(\pi ^0 \gamma \) and \(\pi ^+ \pi ^- \pi ^0\) have been separately analyzed for various \({\bar{p}}\)momenta between 600 and 1940 MeV/c. The results obtained with the usual method by extracting the matrix elements via the \(\omega \) decay angular distributions and with the more sophisticated method via a full partial wave analysis are in good agreement. A strong spin alignment of the \(\omega \) is clearly visible in this energy regime and all individual spin density matrix elements exhibit an oscillatory dependence on the production angle. In addition, the largest contributing orbital angular momentum of the \({\bar{p}p~}\)system has been identified for the different beam momenta. It increases from \(L^{max}_{{\bar{p}p~}}\) \(=\) 2 at 600 MeV/c to \(L^{max}_{{\bar{p}p~}}\) \(=\) 5 at 1940 MeV/c.     

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.     

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.

     

Search of the neutrino-less double beta decay of $$^{}$$Se into the excited states of $$^{}$$Kr with CUPID-0

The CUPID-0 experiment searches for double beta decay using cryogenic calorimeters with double (heat and light) read-out. The detector, consisting of 24 ZnSe crystals 95\(\%\) enriched in \(^{82}\)Se and two natural ZnSe crystals, started data-taking in 2017 at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. We present the search for the neutrino-less double beta decay of \(^{82}\)Se into the 0\(_1^+\), 2\(_1^+\) and 2\(_2^+\) excited states of \(^{82}\)Kr with an exposure of 5.74 kg\(\cdot \)yr (2.24\(\times \)10\(^{25}\) emitters\(\cdot \)yr). We found no evidence of the decays and set the most stringent limits on the widths of these processes: \(\varGamma \)(\(^{82}\)Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\)Kr\(_{0_1^+}\))8.55\(\times \)10\(^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\), \(\varGamma \) (\(^{82}\) Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\) Kr \(_{2_1^+}\))\(\,{<}\,6.25 \,{\times }\,10^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\), \(\varGamma \)(\(^{82}\)Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\)Kr\(_{2_2^+}\))8.25\(\times \)10\(^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\) (90\(\%\) credible interval).     

Isospin analysis of charmless <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis>-meson decays

We discuss the determination of the CKM angle \(\alpha \) using the non-leptonic two-body decays \(B\rightarrow \pi \pi \), \(B\rightarrow \rho \rho \) and \(B\rightarrow \rho \pi \) using the latest data available. We illustrate the methods used in each case and extract the corresponding value of \(\alpha \). Combining all these elements, we obtain the determination \(\alpha _\mathrm{dir}={({86.2}_{-4.0}^{+4.4} \cup {178.4}_{-5.1}^{+3.9})}^{\circ }\). We assess the uncertainties associated to the breakdown of the isospin hypothesis and the choice of the statistical framework in detail. We also determine the hadronic amplitudes (tree and penguin) describing the QCD dynamics involved in these decays, briefly comparing our results with theoretical expectations. For each observable of interest in the \(B\rightarrow \pi \pi \), \(B\rightarrow \rho \rho \) and \(B\rightarrow \rho \pi \) systems, we perform an indirect determination based on the constraints from all the other observables available and we discuss the compatibility between indirect and direct determinations. Finally, we review the impact of future improved measurements on the determination of \(\alpha \).     

Method of uniform effective field in structure-dynamic approach of nanoionics

In the structure-dynamic approach of nanoionics, the method of a uniform effective field \( {F}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{j,k} \) of a crystallographic planeX ^j has been substantiated for solid electrolyte nanostructures. The \( {F}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{j,k} \)is defined as an approximation of a non-uniform field \( {F}_{\mathrm{dis}}^j \)of X ^j with a discrete- random distribution of excess point charges. The parameters of \( {F}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{j,k} \)are calculated by correction of the uniform Gauss field \( {F}_{\mathrm{G}}^j \) of X ^j . The change in an average frequency of ionic jumps X ^k ?→?X ^k?+?1 between adjacent planes of nanostructure is determined by the sum of field additives to the barrier heights η _k , _k?+?1, and for \( {F}_{\mathrm{G}}^j \) and \( {F}_{\mathrm{dis}}^j \), these sums are the same decimal order of magnitude. For nanostructures with length ~4 nm, the application of \( {F}_{\mathrm{G}}^j \) (as \( {F}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{j,k} \)) gives the accuracy ~20 % in calculations of ion transport characteristics. The computer explorations of the “universal” dynamic response (Reσ ^??∝?ω ⁿ ) show an approximately the same power n < ≈1 for\( {F}_{\mathrm{G}}^j \) and \( {F}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{j,k} \).     

Chargino and neutralino production at $$e^+e^-$$ colliders in the complex MSSM: a full one-loop analysis

For the search for charginos and neutralinos in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as well as for future precision analyses of these particles an accurate knowledge of their production and decay properties is mandatory. We evaluate the cross sections for the chargino and neutralino production at \(e^+e^-\) colliders in the MSSM with complex parameters (cMSSM). The evaluation is based on a full one-loop calculation of the production mechanisms \(e^+e^- \rightarrow {\tilde{\chi }}_{c}^\pm {\tilde{\chi }}_{c^\prime }^\mp \) and \(e^+e^- \rightarrow {\tilde{\chi }}_{n}^0 {\tilde{\chi }}_{n^\prime }^0\)  including soft and hard photon radiation. We mostly restricted ourselves to a version of our renormalization scheme which is valid for \(|M_1| < |M_2|, |\mu |\) and \(M_2 \ne \mu \) to simplify the analysis, even though we are able to switch to other parameter regions and correspondingly different renormalization schemes. The dependence of the chargino/neutralino cross sections on the relevant cMSSM parameters is analyzed numerically. We find sizable contributions to many production cross sections. They amount to roughly \({\pm }15\%\) of the tree-level results but can go up to \({\pm }40\%\) or higher in extreme cases. Also the complex phase dependence of the one-loop corrections was found non-negligible. The full one-loop contributions are thus crucial for physics analyses at a future linear \(e^+e^-\) collider such as the ILC or CLIC.     

Vanillic aldehydes for the one-pot synthesis of novel 2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidines

A small library of novel 2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidines was synthesized via a one-pot multicomponent Biginelli reaction. Copper complex \((\hbox {PhNH}_{3})_{2}\hbox {CuCl}_{4,}\) which was used for the first time as a homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst, makes this a facile and efficient reaction at room temperature. All the obtained products fall out of the solution in pure form and are easily isolated via filtration in good-to-excellent yields. The molecular structure of one of the products, ethyl 6-methyl-2-oxo-4-(4\(^\prime \)-isopropoxy-3\(^\prime \)-methoxyphenyl) - 1,2,3,4 - tetrahydropyrimidine-5- carboxylate, has been determined by X-ray crystallography. All non-hydrogen atoms in the heterocyclic, six-membered ring are determined to be approximately coplanar.     

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.     

Likelihood analysis of the minimal AMSB model

We perform a likelihood analysis of the minimal anomaly-mediated supersymmetry-breaking (mAMSB) model using constraints from cosmology and accelerator experiments. We find that either a wino-like or a Higgsino-like neutralino LSP, \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\), may provide the cold dark matter (DM), both with similar likelihoods. The upper limit on the DM density from Planck and other experiments enforces \(m_{\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}} \lesssim 3 \,\, \mathrm {TeV}\) after the inclusion of Sommerfeld enhancement in its annihilations. If most of the cold DM density is provided by the \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\), the measured value of the Higgs mass favours a limited range of \(\tan \beta \sim 5\) (and also for \(\tan \beta \sim 45\) if \(\mu > 0\)) but the scalar mass \(m_0\) is poorly constrained. In the wino-LSP case, \(m_{3/2}\) is constrained to about \(900\,\, \mathrm {TeV}\) and \(m_{\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}}\) to \(2.9\pm 0.1\,\, \mathrm {TeV}\), whereas in the Higgsino-LSP case \(m_{3/2}\) has just a lower limit \(\gtrsim 650\,\, \mathrm {TeV}\) (\(\gtrsim 480\,\, \mathrm {TeV}\)) and \(m_{\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}}\) is constrained to \(1.12 ~(1.13) \pm 0.02\,\, \mathrm {TeV}\) in the \(\mu >0\) (\(\mu <0\)) scenario. In neither case can the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, \((g-2)_\mu \), be improved significantly relative to its Standard Model (SM) value, nor do flavour measurements constrain the model significantly, and there are poor prospects for discovering supersymmetric particles at the LHC, though there are some prospects for direct DM detection. On the other hand, if the \(\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}\) contributes only a fraction of the cold DM density, future LHC Open image in new window -based searches for gluinos, squarks and heavier chargino and neutralino states as well as disappearing track searches in the wino-like LSP region will be relevant, and interference effects enable \(\mathrm{BR}(B_{s, d} \rightarrow \mu ^+\mu ^-)\) to agree with the data better than in the SM in the case of wino-like DM with \(\mu > 0\).     

Decay widths of the spin-2 partners of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>(3872)

We consider the X(3872) resonance as a \(J^\mathrm{{PC}}=1^{++}\) \(D\bar{D}^*\) hadronic molecule. According to heavy quark spin symmetry, there will exist a partner with quantum numbers \(2^{++}\), \(X_{2}\), which would be a \(D^*\bar{D}^*\) loosely bound state. The \(X_{2}\) is expected to decay dominantly into \(D\bar{D}\), \(D\bar{D}^*\) and \(\bar{D} D^*\) in d-wave. In this work, we calculate the decay widths of the \(X_{2}\) resonance into the above channels, as well as those of its bottom partner, \(X_{b2}\), the mass of which comes from assuming heavy flavor symmetry for the contact terms. We find partial widths of the \(X_{2}\) and \(X_{b2}\) of the order of a few MeV. Finally, we also study the radiative \(X_2\rightarrow D\bar{D}^{*}\gamma \) and \(X_{b2} \rightarrow \bar{B} B^{*}\gamma \) decays. These decay modes are more sensitive to the long-distance structure of the resonances and to the \(D\bar{D}^{*}\) or \(B\bar{B}^{*}\) final state interaction.     

Likelihood analysis of the sub-GUT MSSM in light of LHC 13-TeV data

We describe a likelihood analysis using MasterCode of variants of the MSSM in which the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are assumed to have universal values at some scale \(M_\mathrm{in}\) below the supersymmetric grand unification scale \(M_\mathrm{GUT}\), as can occur in mirage mediation and other models. In addition to \(M_\mathrm{in}\), such ‘sub-GUT’ models have the 4 parameters of the CMSSM, namely a common gaugino mass \(m_{1/2}\), a common soft supersymmetry-breaking scalar mass \(m_0\), a common trilinear mixing parameter A and the ratio of MSSM Higgs vevs \(\tan \beta \), assuming that the Higgs mixing parameter \(\mu > 0\). We take into account constraints on strongly- and electroweakly-interacting sparticles from \(\sim 36\)/fb of LHC data at 13 TeV and the LUX and 2017 PICO, XENON1T and PandaX-II searches for dark matter scattering, in addition to the previous LHC and dark matter constraints as well as full sets of flavour and electroweak constraints. We find a preference for \(M_\mathrm{in}\sim 10^5\) to \(10^9 \,\, \mathrm {GeV}\), with \(M_\mathrm{in}\sim M_\mathrm{GUT}\) disfavoured by \(\Delta \chi ^2 \sim 3\) due to the \(\mathrm{BR}(B_{s, d} \rightarrow \mu ^+\mu ^-)\) constraint. The lower limits on strongly-interacting sparticles are largely determined by LHC searches, and similar to those in the CMSSM. We find a preference for the LSP to be a Bino or Higgsino with \(m_{\tilde{\chi }^0_{1}} \sim 1 \,\, \mathrm {TeV}\), with annihilation via heavy Higgs bosons H / A and stop coannihilation, or chargino coannihilation, bringing the cold dark matter density into the cosmological range. We find that spin-independent dark matter scattering is likely to be within reach of the planned LUX-Zeplin and XENONnT experiments. We probe the impact of the \((g-2)_\mu \) constraint, finding similar results whether or not it is included.     

Leptoquark mechanism of neutrino masses within the grand unification framework

We demonstrate the viability of the one-loop neutrino mass mechanism within the framework of grand unification when the loop particles comprise scalar leptoquarks (LQs) and quarks of the matching electric charge. This mechanism can be implemented in both supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric models and requires the presence of at least one LQ pair. The appropriate pairs for the neutrino mass generation via the up-type and down-type quark loops are \(S_3\)–\(R_2\) and \(S_{1,\,3}\)–\(\tilde{R}_2\), respectively. We consider two distinct regimes for the LQ masses in our analysis. The first regime calls for very heavy LQs in the loop. It can be naturally realized with the \(S_{1,\,3}\)–\(\tilde{R}_2\) scenarios when the LQ masses are roughly between \(10^{12}\) and \(5 \times 10^{13}\) GeV. These lower and upper bounds originate from experimental limits on partial proton decay lifetimes and perturbativity constraints, respectively. Second regime corresponds to the collider accessible LQs in the neutrino mass loop. That option is viable for the \(S_3\)–\(\tilde{R}_2\) scenario in the models of unification that we discuss. If one furthermore assumes the presence of the type II see-saw mechanism there is an additional contribution from the \(S_3\)–\(R_2\) scenario that needs to be taken into account beside the type II see-saw contribution itself. We provide a complete list of renormalizable operators that yield necessary mixing of all aforementioned LQ pairs using the language of SU(5). We furthermore discuss several possible embeddings of this mechanism in SU(5) and SO(10) gauge groups.     

Photoreflectance spectroscopy of the chalcopyrite semiconductor <Emphasis Type="Bold">AgInS</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript> for ordinary and extraordinary rays

Photoreflectance spectra have been measured on the chalcopyrite semiconductor silver indium disulfide (\(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\)) for light polarization \({\varvec{E}}\) perpendicular (\({\varvec{E}} \bot {c}\)) and parallel to the c-axis (\({\varvec{E}} \vert \vert {c}\)) at temperature between 10 and 300 K. The measured photoreflectance spectra revealed distinct structures at 1.8–2.1 eV. The lowest bandgap energies \(E_{0A}\), \(E_{0B}\), and \(E_{0C}\) of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) show unusual temperature dependence at low temperatures (\(\le\)140 K). The \(E_{0\alpha }\) (\(\alpha =A, B, C\)) is found to increase with increasing temperature from 10 to \(\sim\)140 K and decreases with a further increase in temperature. This result has been successfully explained by taking into account the effects of thermal expansion and electron–phonon interaction. The spin–orbit and crystal-field splitting parameters of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) are determined to be \(\Delta _{{\mathrm{so}}}=38\) meV and \(\Delta _{{\mathrm{cr}}}=-168\) meV at T = 10 K, respectively, and are discussed from an aspect of the electronic energy band structure consequences. The temperature dependence of spin–orbit and crystal-field splitting parameters of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) was also presented.