Search

This document presents the physics case and ancillary studies for the proposed CODEX-b long-lived particle (LLP) detector, as well as for a smaller proof-of-concept demonstrator detector, CODEX-β, to be operated during Run 3 of the LHC. Our development of the CODEX-b physics case synthesizes ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ theoretical approaches, providing a detailed survey of both minimal and complete models featuring LLPs. Several of these models have not been studied previously, and for some others we amend studies from previous literature: In particular, for gluon and fermion-coupled axion-like particles. We moreover present updated simulations of expected backgrounds in CODEX-b’s actively shielded environment, including the effects of shielding propagation uncertainties, high-energy tails and variation in the shielding design. Initial results are also included from a background measurement and calibration campaign. A design overview is presented for the CODEX-β demonstrator detector, which will enable background calibration and detector design studies. Finally, we lay out brief studies of various design drivers of the CODEX-b experiment and potential extensions of the baseline design, including the physics case for a calorimeter element, precision timing, event tagging within LHCb, and precision low-momentum tracking.

Precise measurements of b→ cτν¯ decays require large resource-intensive Monte Carlo (MC) samples, which incorporate detailed simulations of detector responses and physics backgrounds. Extracted parameters may be highly sensitive to the underlying theoretical models used in the MC generation. Because new physics (NP) can alter decay distributions and acceptances, the standard practice of fitting NP Wilson coefficients to SM-based measurements of the R(D(∗)) ratios can be biased. The newly developed Hammer software tool enables efficient reweighting of MC samples to arbitrary NP scenarios or to any hadronic matrix elements. We demonstrate how Hammer allows avoidance of biases through self-consistent fits directly to the NP Wilson coefficients. We also present example analyses that demonstrate the sizeable biases that can otherwise occur from naive NP interpretations of SM-based measurements. The Hammer library is presently interfaced with several existing experimental analysis frameworks and we provide an overview of its structure.

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,324 new measurements from 878 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 120 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on High Energy Soft QCD and Diffraction and one on the Determination of CKM Angles from B Hadrons. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 98 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 22 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print and as a web version optimized for use on phones as well as an Android app.

Ultraviolet completions for axionlike particles (ALPs) lighter than the neutral pion generically induce ALP-neutral pion mixing and are therefore sensitive to direct constraints on the mixing angle. For ALPs below the pion mass, we demonstrate that strong and novel bounds on the ALP-pion mixing angle can be extracted from existing rare pion decay data, measured by the PIENU and PIBETA experiments.

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,324 new measurements from 878 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 120 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on High Energy Soft QCD and Diffraction and one on the Determination of CKM Angles from B Hadrons. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 98 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 22 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print and as a web version optimized for use on phones as well as an Android app.

The Belle II detector will provide a major step forward in precision heavy flavor physics, quarkonium and exotic states, searches for dark sectors, and many other areas. The sensitivity to a large number of key observables can be improved by about an order of magnitude compared to the current measurements, and up to two orders in very clean search measurements. This increase in statistical precision arises not only due to the increased luminosity, but also from improved detector efficiency and precision for many channels. Many of the most interesting observables tend to have very small theoretical uncertainties that will therefore not limit the physics reach. This book has presented many new ideas for measurements, both to elucidate the nature of current anomalies seen in flavor, and to search for new phenomena in a plethora of observables that will become accessible with the Belle II dataset. The simulation used for the studiesinthis book was state ofthe artat the time, though weare learning a lot more about the experiment during the commissioning period. The detector is in operation, and working spectacularly well.

The Belle II detector will provide a major step forward in precision heavy flavor physics, quarkonium and exotic states, searches for dark sectors, and many other areas. The sensitivity to a large number of key observables can be improved by about an order of magnitude compared to the current measurements, and up to two orders in very clean search measurements. This increase in statistical precision arises not only due to the increased luminosity, but also from improved detector efficiency and precision for many channels. Many of the most interesting observables tend to have very small theoretical uncertainties that will therefore not limit the physics reach. This book has presented many new ideas for measurements, both to elucidate the nature of current anomalies seen in flavor, and to search for new phenomena in a plethora of observables that will become accessible with the Belle II dataset. The simulation used for the studiesinthis book was state ofthe artat the time, though weare learning a lot more about the experiment during the commissioning period. The detector is in operation, and working spectacularly well.

The determination of |Vcb| from exclusive semileptonic B→D∗ν decays is sensitive to the choice of form factor parametrization. Larger |Vcb| values are obtained by fitting the Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed (BGL) versus the Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert (CLN) parametrization to recent Belle measurements. For the BGL parametrization, published fits use different numbers of parameters. We propose a method based on nested hypothesis tests to determine the optimal number of BGL parameters to fit the data, and find that six parameters are optimal to fit the Belle tagged and unfolded measurement [1]. We further explore the differences between fits that use different numbers of parameters. The fits which yield |Vcb| values in better agreement with determinations from inclusive semileptonic decays tend to exhibit tensions with heavy quark symmetry expectations. These have to be resolved before the determinations of |Vcb| from exclusive and inclusive decays can be considered understood.

We calculate the Λb→Λc?ν form factors and decay rates for all possible b→c?ν four-Fermi interactions beyond the Standard Model, including nonzero charged lepton masses and terms up to order αsΛQCD/mc,b and ΛQCD2/mc2 in the heavy quark effective theory. At this order, we obtain model independent predictions for semileptonic Λb→Λc decays in terms of only two unknown sub-subleading Isgur-Wise functions, which can be determined from fitting LHCb and lattice QCD data. We thus obtain model independent results for Λb→Λc?ν decays, including predictions for the ratio R(Λc)=B(Λb→Λcτν)/B(Λb→Λcμν) in the presence of new physics, that are more precise than prior results in the literature, and systematically improvable with better data on the decays with μ (or e) in the final state. We also explore tests of factorization in Λb→Λcπ decays, and we emphasize the importance of measuring at LHCb the double differential rate d2Γ(Λb→Λc?ν)/(dq2dcosθ), in addition to the q2 spectrum.

We explore semileptonic B decays to the four lightest excited charm mesons, D∗∗={D0∗,D1∗,D1,D2∗}, for nonzero charged lepton mass and for all b→cν four-Fermi interactions, including calculation of the O(ΛQCD/mc,b) and O(αs) corrections to the heavy quark limit for all form factors. In the heavy quark limit, some form factors are suppressed at zero recoil; therefore, the O(ΛQCD/mc,b) corrections can be very important. The D∗∗ rates exhibit sensitivities to new physics in b→cτν mediated decays complementary to the D and D∗ modes. Since they are also important backgrounds to B→D(∗)τν, the correct interpretation of future semitauonic B→D(∗) rate measurements requires consistent treatment of both the D∗∗ backgrounds and the signals. Our results allow more precise and more reliable calculations of these B→D∗∗ν decays and are systematically improvable by better data on the e and μ modes. As an example, we show that the D∗∗ rates are more sensitive to a new cσμνb tensor interaction than the D(∗) rates.

We advocate for the construction of a new detector element at the LHCb experiment, designed to search for displaced decays of beyond Standard Model long-lived particles, taking advantage of a large shielded space in the LHCb cavern that is expected to soon become available. We discuss the general features and putative capabilities of such an experiment, as well as its various advantages and complementarities with respect to the existing LHC experiments and proposals such as SHiP and MATHUSLA. For two well-motivated beyond Standard Model benchmark scenarios - Higgs decay to dark photons and B meson decays via a Higgs mixing portal - the reach either complements or exceeds that predicted for other LHC experiments.

Very high multiplicity, spherically-symmetric distributions of soft particles, with pT ∼ few×100 MeV, may be a signature of strongly-coupled hidden valleys that exhibit long, efficient showering windows. With traditional triggers, such ‘soft bomb’ events closely resemble pile-up and are therefore only recorded with minimum bias triggers at a very low efficiency. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept for a high-level triggering strategy that efficiently separates soft bombs from pile-up by searching for a ‘belt of fire’: a high density band of hits on the innermost layer of the tracker. Seeding our proposed high-level trigger with existing jet, missing transverse energy or lepton hardware-level triggers, we show that net trigger efficiencies of order 10% are possible for bombs of mass several × 100 GeV. We also consider the special case that soft bombs are the result of an exotic decay of the 125 GeV Higgs. The fiducial rate for ‘Higgs bombs’ triggered in this manner is marginally higher than the rate achievable by triggering directly on a hard muon from associated Higgs production.

We present a comprehensive review of keV-scale sterile neutrino Dark Matter, collecting views and insights from all disciplines involved - cosmology, astrophysics, nuclear, and particle physics - in each case viewed from both theoretical and experimental/observational perspectives. After reviewing the role of active neutrinos in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, we focus on sterile neutrinos in the context of the Dark Matter puzzle. Here, we first review the physics motivation for sterile neutrino Dark Matter, based on challenges and tensions in purely cold Dark Matter scenarios. We then round out the discussion by critically summarizing all known constraints on sterile neutrino Dark Matter arising from astrophysical observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical considerations. In this context, we provide a balanced discourse on the possibly positive signal from X-ray observations. Another focus of the paper concerns the construction of particle physics models, aiming to explain how sterile neutrinos of keV-scale masses could arise in concrete settings beyond the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. The paper ends with an extensive review of current and future astrophysical and laboratory searches, highlighting new ideas and their experimental challenges, as well as future perspectives for the discovery of sterile neutrinos.

We present a comprehensive review of keV-scale sterile neutrino Dark Matter, collecting views and insights from all disciplines involved - cosmology, astrophysics, nuclear, and particle physics - in each case viewed from both theoretical and experimental/observational perspectives. After reviewing the role of active neutrinos in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, we focus on sterile neutrinos in the context of the Dark Matter puzzle. Here, we first review the physics motivation for sterile neutrino Dark Matter, based on challenges and tensions in purely cold Dark Matter scenarios. We then round out the discussion by critically summarizing all known constraints on sterile neutrino Dark Matter arising from astrophysical observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical considerations. In this context, we provide a balanced discourse on the possibly positive signal from X-ray observations. Another focus of the paper concerns the construction of particle physics models, aiming to explain how sterile neutrinos of keV-scale masses could arise in concrete settings beyond the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. The paper ends with an extensive review of current and future astrophysical and laboratory searches, highlighting new ideas and their experimental challenges, as well as future perspectives for the discovery of sterile neutrinos.

We derive compact expressions for the helicity amplitudes of the many-body B → D(∗)(→ DY)τ(→ Xν)ν decays, specifically for X = ℓν or π and Y = π or γ. We include contributions from all ten possible new physics four-Fermi operators with arbitrary couplings. Our results capture interference effects in the full phase space of the visible τ and D∗ decay products which are missed in analyses that treat the τ or D∗ or both as stable. The τ interference effects are sizable, formally of order mτ/mB for the standard model, and may be of order unity in the presence of new physics. Treating interference correctly is essential when considering kinematic distributions of the τ or D∗ decay products, and when including experimentally unavoidable phase space cuts. Our amplitude-level results also allow for efficient exploration of new physics effects in the fully differential phase space, by enabling experiments to perform such studies on fully simulated Monte Carlo datasets via efficient event reweighing. As an example, we explore a class of new physics interactions that can fit the observed R(D(∗)) ratios, and show that analyses including more differential kinematic information can provide greater discriminating power for new physics, than single kinematic variables alone.

The neutral component of a real pseudoscalar electroweak (EW) triplet can produce a diphoton excess at 750 GeV, if it is somewhat mixed with an EW singlet pseudoscalar. This triplet-singlet mixing allows for greater freedom in the diboson branching ratios than the singlet-only case, but it is still possible to probe the parameter space extensively with 300 fb-1. The charged component of the triplet is pair produced at the LHC, which results in a striking signal in the form of a pair of Wγ resonances with an irreducible rate of 0.27 fb. Other signatures include multiboson final states from cascade decays of the triplet-singlet neutral states. A large class of composite models feature both EW singlet and triplet pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons in their spectrum, with the diboson couplings generated by axial anomalies.

Abstract: We consider a twin WIMP scenario whose twin sector contains a full dark copy of the SM hadrons, where the lightest twin particles are twin pions. By analogy to the standard WIMP paradigm, the dark matter (DM) freezes out through twin electroweak interactions, and annihilates into a dark shower of light twin hadrons. These are either stable or decay predominantly to standard model (SM) photons. We show that this ‘hadrosymmetric’ scenario can be consistent with all applicable astrophysical, cosmological and collider constraints. In order to decay the twin hadrons before the big-bang nucleosynthesis epoch, an additional portal between the SM and twin sector is required. In most cases we find this additional mediator is within reach of either the LHC or future intensity frontier experiments. Furthermore, we conduct simulations of the dark shower and consequent photon spectra. We find that fits of these spectra to the claimed galactic center gamma-ray excess seen by Fermi -LAT non-trivially coincide with regions of parameter space that both successfully generate the observed DM abundance and exhibit minimal fine-tuning.

While histopathology of excised tissue remains the gold standard for diagnosis, several new, non-invasive diagnostic techniques are being developed. They rely on physical and biochemical changes that precede and mirror malignant change within tissue. The basic principle involves simple optical techniques of tissue interrogation. Their accuracy, expressed as sensitivity and specificity, are reported in a number of studies suggests that they have a potential for cost effective, real-time, in situ diagnosis. We review the Third Scientific Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society held in Congress Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria on the 11th May 2011. For the first time the HNODS Annual Scientific Meeting was held in association with the International Photodynamic Association (IPA) and the European Platform for Photodynamic Medicine (EPPM). The aim was to enhance the interdisciplinary aspects of optical diagnostics and other photodynamic applications. The meeting included 2 sections: oral communication sessions running in parallel to the IPA programme and poster presentation sessions combined with the IPA and EPPM posters sessions. © 2011 Jerjes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The complete surgical removal of disease is a desirable outcome particularly in oncology. Unfortunately much disease is microscopic and difficult to detect causing a liability to recurrence and worsened overall prognosis with attendant costs in terms of morbidity and mortality. It is hoped that by advances in optical diagnostic technology we could better define our surgical margin and so increase the rate of truly negative margins on the one hand and on the other hand to take out only the necessary amount of tissue and leave more unaffected non-diseased areas so preserving function of vital structures. The task has not been easy but progress is being made as exemplified by the presentations at the 2nd Scientific Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society (HNODS) in San Francisco in January 2010. We review the salient advances in the field and propose further directions of investigation. © 2011 Upile et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.