Wed·Sep 3, 2025Wednesday·September 3, 2025

1. 01*

   Towards a Unified Framework for Pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Dark Matter and Electroweak Baryogenesis

   Thomas Biekötter🇪🇸 · Pedro Gabriel🇩🇪 · Milada Margarete Mühlleitner🇩🇪 · Rui Santos🇵🇹

   We propose the complex singlet-extended 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (cS2HDM), a spin-0 Dark Matter (DM) model with a Higgs sector consisting of two Higgs doublets and a complex singlet, as a benchmark for LHC DM searches. The model predicts a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone DM candidate whose interactions with nuclei are naturally suppressed, while allowing for all sources of CP-violation under the assumption of flavour alignment in the Yukawa sector, which enables CP-violating interactions of the Higgs bosons even in the alignment limit. This feature makes the model attractive for studies of electroweak baryogenesis while accommodating a Higgs-portal DM candidate with standard thermal freeze-out. We confront the model with a comprehensive set of theoretical and experimental constraints, including Higgs-boson signal strength measurements, searches for additional Higgs bosons, DM relic abundance and direct detection, as well as electroweak precision observables and the electron EDM, with emphasis on the impact of the new CP-violating sources. For DM direct detection, we perform a one-loop computation of DM-nucleon scattering including CP-violating effects. We provide a public software package to facilitate future phenomenological studies of the cS2HDM.

   hep-phJHEP(2026)·3 citations
2. 02*

   The N${}^3$LO Twist-2 Matching of Linearly Polarized Gluon TMDs

   Yu Jiao Zhu🇩🇪

   We compute the twist-2 matching of the transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) linearly polarized gluon parton distribution and fragmentation functions at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N${}^3$LO) in QCD, supplemented by next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) small-$x$ resummation for the gluon TMD fragmentation functions. These results provide high-precision fixed-order and resummed inputs to TMD phenomenology, and constitute essential theoretical ingredients for future studies of the spin structure and three-dimensional tomography of hadrons at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).

   hep-phnucl-thJHEP(2026)·4 citations
3. 03*

   Multimodal Generative Flows for LHC Jets

   Darius A. Faroughy🇺🇸 · Manfred Opper · Cesar Ojeda

   Generative modeling of high-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) offers a data-driven route to simulations, anomaly detection, among other applications. A central challenge lies in the hybrid nature of particle-cloud data: each particle carries continuous kinematic features and discrete quantum numbers such as charge and flavor. We introduce a transformer-based multimodal flow that extends flow-matching with a continuous-time Markov jump bridge to jointly model LHC jets with both modalities. Trained on CMS Open Data, our model can generate high fidelity jets with realistic kinematics, jet substructure and flavor composition.

   hep-phcs.LG1 citation
4. 04*

   Blast-wave-Tsallis-power model for $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-spectra and elliptic flow $v_2$ of hadrons in collisions of identical nuclei at energies available at the Large Hadron Collider

   Smbat Grigoryan🇷🇺

   A generalization of the phenomenological blast-wave-Tsallis-power model, recently proposed by the author for the hadrons transverse momentum ($p_{\text{T}}$) spectra measured at the LHC, is developed to also describe the hadrons $p_{\text{T}}$-differential elliptic flow coefficients $v_2$ in identical nuclei collisions of different centralities. The model describes well the available data on $p_{\text{T}}$-spectra and $v_2$ for any $p_{\text{T}}$ of various particles, from pions to charmonia, in Pb--Pb at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 2.76 and 5.02~TeV, and in Xe--Xe at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.44~TeV. Also, predictions for OO collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.36~TeV are given. While the model is mainly targeting the LHC energies, it also works at much lower RHIC energies.

   hep-phPRC(2026)·1 citation
5. 05*

   The kaon off-shell generalized parton distributions and transverse momentum dependent parton distributions

   Jin-Li Zhang🇨🇳

   We investigate the off-shell generalized parton distributions (GPDs) {and transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs)} of kaons within the framework of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model, employing proper time regularization. {Compared to the pion case, the off-shell effects in kaons are of similar magnitude, modifying the GPDs by about $10\%$--$25\%$, which is notable. The absence of crossing symmetry leads to odd powers in the $x$-moments of the off-shell GPDs, giving rise to new off-shell form factors.} We analyze the relations among these kaon off-shell form factors by analogy with electromagnetic form factors. Our results extend the off-shell GPDs from pions to kaons and simultaneously address the associated off-shell form factors. We also compare the off-shell and on-shell gravitational form factors of the kaon. In addition, the off-shell kaon TMD shows a stronger dependence on the momentum fraction $x$ than its on-shell counterpart.

   hep-phParticles(2025)·4 citations
6. 06*

   Doubly charmed pentaquark states with strangeness $S=0,-1$

   Wei Chen🇨🇳 · Feng-Bo Duan🇨🇳 · Zi-Yan Yang · Qi-Nan Wang🇨🇳 · Xu-Liang Chen🇨🇳 · Qian Wang🇨🇳

   In this work, we have studied the mass spectra of doubly charmed pentaquark states with strangeness $S=0,-1$ by using the method of QCD sum rules. We use the parity projected sum rules to separate the contributions of negative and positive parities from the two-point correlation functions induced by the pentaquark interpolating currents. Our results predict the existence of some potential doubly charmed pentaquark bound states.

   hep-phPoS(2025)·3 citations
7. 07*

   Alien operators for PDF evolution

   S. Van Thurenhout🇭🇺 · G. Falcioni🇮🇹 · F. Herzog🇬🇧 · S. Moch🇩🇪

   Understanding the scale dependence of parton distribution functions is vital for precision physics at hadron colliders. The well-known DGLAP evolution equation relates this scale dependence to the QCD splitting functions, which can be calculated perturbatively in terms of the anomalous dimensions of leading-twist gauge-invariant operators. The computation of the latter in general requires one to take into account contributions of gauge-variant (or alien) operators. In this talk, we discuss the systematic study of these alien operators at arbitrary spin. Specifically, using generalized BRST symmetry relations, we derive the one-loop couplings and Feynman rules of the aliens necessary to perform the operator renormalization up to four loops in QCD. This provides an important step towards the determination of the four-loop splitting functions which will be of significant phenomenological importance at future colliders.

   hep-phhep-thPoS(2026)·2 citations
8. 08*

   Constructing heavy-quark sum rule for $b\to c$ meson and baryon decays

   Motoi Endo🇯🇵 · Syuhei Iguro🇯🇵 · Satoshi Mishima🇯🇵 · Ryoutaro Watanabe🇨🇳

   We study heavy-hadron semileptonic decays proceeding via $b\to c$ transition, such as $B\to D^{(\ast )}\tau {\bar{\nu }}_{\tau }$ and ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c\tau {\bar{\nu }}_{\tau }$. In the heavy-quark limit, where the heavy-quark symmetry holds, we provide a fundamental framework for heavy-quark sum rules among these decays based on the spin decomposition picture. The relation holds directly for the squared amplitudes without requiring phase-space integration. We then apply this relation to reproduce the sum rule among $B\to D^{(\ast )}\tau {\bar{\nu }}_{\tau }$ and ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c\tau {\bar{\nu }}_{\tau }$. Furthermore, we derive new sum rules for ${\Omega }_b\to {\Omega }_c^{(\ast )}$ transitions and those involving excited states, such as $B\to \{D_0^{\ast },D_1^{\ast }\}$ and $B\to \{D_1,D_2^{\ast }\}$.

   hep-phPRD(2026)·7 citations
9. 09*

   Signature of Majorana neutrinos in equal-sign W-production by lepton scattering

   J.W. van Holten🇳🇱

   The question whether standard-model neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles is presently undecided. In principle it could be decided in favor of a Majorana signature if same-sign charged lepton scattering would be observed to produce $W$-boson pairs, which is a lepton-number violating process. The cross section of this scattering process is computed; depending on the initial state the result gives access to different components of the mass matrix. It could also shed light on physics beyond the standard model.

   hep-ph0 citations
10. 10*

    Doppler shifted Hawking radiation from acoustic black holes in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions

    Sanatan Digal🇮🇳 · Ajit M. Srivastava🇮🇳

    In a hydrodynamic flow, with flow becoming supersonic at some point, the subsonic-supersonic boundary behaves as the horizon of a black hole. Possibility of detecting Hawking radiation from such acoustic black holes has been investigated in a variety of laboratory systems, ranging from cold atom systems, to condensed matter systems with hydrodynamic flow of electrons, to relativistic heavy-ion collisions (at relatively lower collision energies). Ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, with boost-invariant longitudinal flow of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in a wide rapidity window has eluded this remarkable possibility because in this case the black hole horizon is dynamical, moving away from center with sound velocity, leading to infinite red shift of Hawking radiation. We show here that such a conclusion is premature. The QGP flow at very large rapidities, necessarily deviates from Bjroken boost invariant flow. Due to this, an observer close to that region sees black hole horizon with a finite redshift. It leads to non-trivial prediction of Hawking radiation affecting particle momentum distributions for a window of rapidities, leaving near central rapidity regions unaffected.

    hep-phgr-qchep-thnucl-ex+10 citations
11. 11*

    Probing nuclear structure with the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation in full impact-parameter dependence

    J. Cepila🇨🇿 · M. Matas🇨🇿 · M. Vaculciak🇨🇿

    Building on the newly available solution of the Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) equation with the full impact-parameter dependence, we extend the study of parton evolution from proton to nuclear targets. Since a key part of the scientific programme for future experimental facilities such as the EIC is to study gluon dynamics and shed new light on the phenomenon of parton saturation, we present predictions for key processes, such as deep-inelastic scattering or the diffractive production of vector mesons, on a variety of nuclear targets. Besides the standard BK equation, we employ its linearised version to identify a promising channel to search for gluon saturation in the nuclear collisions. Furthermore, we implement a tetrahedral model of oxygen to search for deviations from the standard, isotropic, Woods-Saxon approach. In addition to the future colliders, the presented results are also of interest for the current studies of nuclear vector meson production at the LHC.

    hep-phnucl-thPRC(2026)·2 citations
12. 12*

    Softening holographic nuclear matter

    Christian Ecker🇩🇪 · Nicolas Kovensky🇦🇷 · Orestis Papadopoulos🇬🇧 · Andreas Schmitt🇬🇧

    Baryons in the holographic Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model are described by instanton solutions on the flavor branes. A commonly used approximation for dense baryonic matter replaces the many-instanton solution by a simpler, spatially homogeneous, ansatz, which requires a discontinuity in the holographic direction of the non-abelian gauge field in order to account for topological baryon number. We point out that the simplest configuration with a single jump - often used in previous studies - results in matter at saturation density that is much stiffer than real-world nuclear matter. This is improved, although not completely remedied, by adding a second jump. We present a systematic discussion of all possible configurations up to four jumps, dynamically computing locations of and behavior at the discontinuities. We find solutions that continuously connect to those based on pointlike baryons, thus, for the first time, establishing a concrete link between the instantonic and homogeneous pictures. This is supported by translating the multi-jump profiles of the gauge field into gauge invariant multi-layer charge distributions. The most important of our novel configurations has a block-like structure in the bulk, becomes pointlike at low density and/or large coupling, and is energetically preferred over all previously studied configurations. Therefore, our work lays the ground for improved predictions from holography for dense nuclear matter in neutron stars.

    hep-phhep-thnucl-thJHEP(2026)·2 citations
13. 13*

    Polarized tau decay and CP violation in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions

    Amaresh Jaiswal🇮🇳

    We investigate the role of $\tau$-lepton polarization in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions (UPCs) as a novel application of the intense electromagnetic fields generated in such processes. In particular, we analyze the decay distributions of polarized $\tau$-leptons produced via photon-photon fusion, focusing on both leptonic and semi-leptonic channels. We show that the external magnetic field present in UPCs induces a preferred spin quantization axis, which modifies the angular and energy distributions of $\tau$ decay products relative to the standard helicity frame. By formulating the spin polarization along the magnetic field direction, we derive modified polarization-sensitive observables and demonstrate how kinematic selections can retain nonvanishing polarization signals even after ensemble averaging. Furthermore, we propose that the relative polarization of ${\tau }^{-}$ and ${\tau }^{+}$, accessible through complementary angular ranges of their decay products, serves as a sensitive observable for potential CP-violating effects. This framework provides a pathway for future experimental studies at the LHC and future colliders to exploit polarized $\tau$ decays in UPCs as an application of the strong electromagnetic fields to probe new sources of CP violation.

    hep-phhep-thnucl-thPLB(2026)·0 citations
14. 14*

    Investigation of ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c{\ell }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\ell }$ Decays in Perturbative QCD Approach

    Ying Li🇨🇳 · Jie Chen🇨🇳 · Ya-Xin Wang🇨🇳 · Zhi-Tian Zou🇨🇳

    We investigate the semileptonic decays ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c{\ell }^{-}{\bar{\nu }}_{\ell }$ (with $\ell =e,\mu ,\tau$) within the framework of perturbative QCD (pQCD). The six independent ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c$ transition form factors are first calculated in the low-$q^2$ region using the $k_T$ factorization approach. These are then extrapolated to the full physical $q^2$ range via the model-independent $z$-expansion, incorporating recent lattice QCD results at high $q^2$. Based on the obtained form factors, we compute the branching fractions of ${\Lambda }_b\to {\Lambda }_c{\ell }^{-}{\bar{\nu }}_{\ell }$ decays. Our prediction for the lepton flavor universality ratio, ${\mathcal{R}}_{{\Lambda }_c}=0.29_{-0.11}^{+0.12}$, is slightly larger than the latest experimental measurement. In addition, we analyze several angular observables, including forward-backward asymmetries, lepton-side convexity parameters, and polarization asymmetries. These results offer valuable theoretical input for current and future experimental investigations of semileptonic heavy-to-heavy baryon transitions.

    hep-phhep-exPRD(2026)·6 citations
15. 15*

    A congruous approach with realistic cross section towards limiting sub-GeV dark matter from LUX-ZEPLIN

    Atanu Guha🇰🇷 · Jong-Chul Park🇰🇷

    We present constraints on sub-GeV dark matter (DM) through the mechanism of being boosted by cosmic rays (CRs). We utilize the nuclear recoil data from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment for this purpose. Without the mechanism of boosted dark matter (BDM), sub-GeV DM particles are cold enough to produce detectable nuclear recoil in the LZ experiment above the detector threshold. We choose to work with the leading components of cosmic rays to take into account the boost due to them towards the cold DM. In the present discussion we worked on models consisting of a Dirac fermion $\chi$ with a new $U(1{)}^{\prime }$ gauge symmetry and DM particles have non-zero coupling to the nucleons as per the model parameters. Specific examples of the energy dependence of the scattering cross section have been invoked through the secluded dark photon model and $U(1{)}_{B-L}$ model. Additionally, we present the upper bound on the interaction cross section due to the Earth shielding effect in the light of a systematic analysis of the energy loss by the BDM while traveling to the underground detector through the Earth's crust.

    hep-phastro-ph.HE3 citations
16. 16*

    Neutrino phenomenology in a Standard Model extension with ${\mathbf{T}}^{\prime }\times {\mathbf{Z}}_{10}\times {\mathbf{Z}}_2$ symmetry

    V. V. Vien🇻🇳 · T. Phong Nguyen🇻🇳 · T. D. Tham🇻🇳

    We construct a Standard Model (SM) extension with $T^{\prime }\times Z_{10}\times Z_2$ symmetry for generating the expected neutrino mass matrix with the relation $(M_{\nu }{)}_{13}=(M_{\nu }{)}_{31}=-\frac{1}{2}(M_{\nu }{)}_{22}$ via the contributions of the Type-I seesaw and Weinberg-type operators. The proposed model possesses viable parameters capable of predicting the neutrino oscillation parameters being in good agreement with recent constraints. Our analysis reveals the predicted regions for the physical quantities, given as follows. The two mass squared splittings are $\delta m^2\in (69.360,79.220){\mathrm{meV}}^2$ and $\Delta m^2\in (2.484,2.490)10^3{\mathrm{meV}}^2$ for normal ordering (NO) while $\delta m^2\in (69.450,79.160){\mathrm{meV}}^2$ and $\Delta m^2\in (-2.464,-2.456)10^3{\mathrm{meV}}^2$ for inverted ordering (IO). The lightest neutrino mass is $m_{\ell }\in (36.720,36.780)$ meV for NO and $m_{\ell }\in (62.220,62.310)$ meV for IO. The sum of neutrino mass is $\sum m_{\nu }\in (136.700,136.800)$ meV for NO and $\sum m_{\nu }\in (221.400,221.600)$ meV for IO. Two Majorana phases are predicted to be $\alpha \in (6.367,6.380{)}^{\circ }$ and $\beta \in (6.936,6.946{)}^{\circ }$ for NO while $\alpha \simeq 358.800^{\circ }$ and $\beta \simeq 0.600^{\circ }$ for IO. Finally, the effective neutrino mass is $m_{\mathrm{ee}}\in (36.940,36.980)$ meV for NO and $m_{\mathrm{ee}}\in (76.290,76.360)$ meV for IO. Based on these results, the Yukawa-like couplings are estimated, which can naturally explain the charged - lepton as well as neutrino mass hierarchies.

    hep-ph0 citations
17. 17*

    Role of density profile of sub-GeV dark matter in the properties of dark matter admixed quark stars with Bayesian analysis of dark-NJL model

    Debashree Sen🇰🇷 · Atanu Guha🇰🇷 · Jong-Chul Park🇰🇷

    We investigate the structural and oscillation properties of dark matter (DM) admixed strange quark stars (DMSQSs). The strange quark matter (SQM) is described with the well-known Nambu-Jona-Lasino (NJL) model and the self-interacting fermionic DM is included in a systematic manner. The self-interaction of DM is of four-Fermi type and the overall DM density is considered as a function of the baryon density of SQM with two free parameters ($\alpha$, ${\rho }_{sc}$). This work is the first to consider four-Fermi interactions between fermionic DM and SQM in DMSQSs. Certain experiments like LZ, XENON, DarkSide, CRESST, and LHC have almost ruled out the possibility of contact interaction between SQM and massive DM (in GeV order). Recently, the quest for sub-GeV DM has garnered significant attention. We show that recent astrophysical constraints on the structural properties of compact stars also do not support the presence of massive DM in DMSQSs. On the other hand, we find sub-GeV DM to successfully concur with such observational constraints. We also calculate the fundamental $f$-mode frequency ($f_f$) of the DMSQSs, which shows universality with compactness, mean density, and tidal deformability. Further, we investigate the prospect of detection of $f_f$ with respect to the projected sensitivity of upcoming gravitational wave detectors like aLIGO, A+, Cosmic Explorer, and Einstein Telescope. In our DMSQS model, the three free parameters are $\alpha$, ${\rho }_{sc}$, and the ratio of repulsive to attractive interaction in SQM ($G_V/G_S$), which are optimized by Bayesian analysis in light of various recent astrophysical data.

    hep-phastro-ph.HEnucl-th3 citations
18. 18*

    Herwig 7 with the Lund String Model: Tuning and Comparative Hadronization Studies

    Michaela Divisova🇨🇿 · Miroslav Myska🇨🇿 · Pratixan Sarmah🇵🇱 · Andrzej Siódmok🇵🇱

    The modelling of the formation of colour-singlet hadrons from coloured partons, known as Hadronization, is crucial for generating realistic events in Monte Carlo Event Generators. Due to limited understanding of the non-perturbative regime, physically motivated phenomenological hadronization models with tunable parameters are used and later tuned to the experimental data. Modern Monte Carlo generators primarily employ one of two hadronization models: the Lund string model, which is the default in Pythia, and the cluster model, which is the default in Herwig and Sherpa. In this work, we combine the Lund string hadronization model, as implemented in Pythia 8, with Herwig 7 using TheP8I interface. We tune the string model with Herwig 7's Angular Ordered Parton Shower (AOPS) to lepton and hadron collision data, resulting in the Les Houches Tune (LH Tune), which shows good performance across a wide range of observables. The LH Tune will be included in the Herwig 7.4 release. This development enables a direct comparative study of the two hadronization models within Herwig, both interfaced with the Angular Ordered Parton Shower, which serves as the main motivation behind this work.

    hep-phhep-exEPJC(2026)·3 citations
19. 19*

    Baryons in the Nambu Jona-Lasinio models

    Eric Blanquier🇫🇷

    The octet and decuplet SU(3)f baryons are studied with the Polyakov, Nambu and Jona-Lasinio model, in a diquark-quark approach, via the resolution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. This work includes estimations of their masses according to the temperature and the baryonic density, with or without the isospin symmetry. Several improvements of this modeling are proposed and tested: the treatment of the baryons unstable regime, the inclusion of the diquark momentum dependence, the possibility to model baryons without the static approximation, the description of the octet baryons via scalar and axial flavor components, the use of a Nambu and Jona-Lasinio diquark propagator instead of a structureless one. The effects of the color superconductivity on the nucleon mass are also investigated. Certain of the mentioned improvements can be applied simultaneously. The advantages and limitations of each of them are underlined.

    hep-phPRC(2026)·1 citation
20. 20*

    Massive Dirac neutrinos from a new extension of the Standard Model

    M.A. De Andrade · C. Neves · E.V. Corrêa Silva

    A new approach for deriving neutrino masses from the known masses of quarks, charged leptons, and the parameters of the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) matrix is proposed. This framework is based on the simultaneous diagonalization of the kinetic and mass terms in an extension of the Standard Model (SM) with massive Dirac neutrinos. Numerical results for the neutrino masses are obtained, which are consistent with experimental data through a new scaling parameter, $\text{anu}$, introduced to adjust the mass splittings $\Delta m_{21}^2$ and $\Delta m_{31}^2$ in order to reach their precise experimental values, thereby reducing the number of flavor parameters in this SM extension. The proposed framework connects neutrino mass generation to the known masses of quarks and charged leptons, offering a unified perspective on the matter sector of the SM.

    hep-ph0 citations
21. 21*

    Flow between extremal one-point energy correlators in QCD

    Marc Riembau🇨🇭 · Minho Son🇰🇷

    The energy density generated by a vector current is characterized by a single parameter $a_{\mathcal{E}}$ bounded by unitarity to $-1/2\le a_{\mathcal{E}}\le 1$, with extremal values saturated by free theories of different matter content. Through confinement, QCD transmutes fermionic matter into scalars, revealing a nontrivial flow between extremal correlators. We reconstruct this flow using perturbative QCD and chiral perturbation theory. The observable is accessible with currently available experimental data.

    hep-phhep-thPRL(2026)·5 citations
22. 22*

    Resonant Scattering of Boosted Dark Matter

    Joshua Berger🇺🇸 · Zach Orr🇺🇸

    We develop a simulation within GENIE of the excitation of baryonic resonances by boosted dark matter. This work completes the simulation of all scattering modes for dark matter entering a detector at relativistic speeds. At some boosts, resonant scattering can contribute over 30% to the scattering rate. This channel offers a potentially powerful probe of the isospin structure of dark matter interactions via the relative prominence of the isospin-changing $\Delta$ resonance. We study the estimated sensitivity of large volume detectors such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO to all dark matter scattering modes and demonstrate the expected improvement in sensitivity when resonant scattering is included.

    hep-phhep-exJHEP(2025)·1 citation
23. 23*

    Multi-Higgs Amplitudes Bootstrapped: Dissecting SMEFT and HEFT

    Ramona Gröber🇮🇹 · Alejo N. Rossia🇮🇹 · Michał Ryczkowski🇮🇹

    The precise measurement of the Higgs boson properties requires a robust framework to parametrize possible deviations from Standard Model (SM) predictions in the most model-independent way possible. The Effective Field Theory (EFT) framework has become the most widely used since it offers a broad scope and a consistent path to increase the precision of the computations. Two prominent EFTs are the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) and the Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT). While similar in many aspects, their phenomenological differences are nowhere more pronounced than in multi-Higgs production. To precisely chart the separation between both EFTs, we study gluon-fusion double and triple Higgs production using bootstrapped on-shell amplitudes. This allows us to get the kinematic dependence of the gauge-invariant amplitude without field-redefinition ambiguities. As part of our study, we develop a technique that allows to build tree-level five-point on-shell amplitudes from lower-point on-shell amplitudes and bootstrapped contact terms. We then match the bootstrapped on-shell scattering amplitudes to the amplitudes computed in SMEFT (up to order $1/{\Lambda }^4$) and HEFT (at NNLO) and analyze the EFT order at which each kinematic structure appears. We also show how certain structures in $gg\to hhh$ appear only at dimension-12 in SMEFT or N${}^3$LO in HEFT.

    hep-phJHEP(2026)·9 citations
24. 24*

    Does the high-energy AMS-02 positron flux originate from the dark matter density spikes around nearby black holes?

    Man Ho Chan🇨🇳 · Chak Man Lee🇨🇳

    Recent measurements made by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) have detected accurate positron flux for energy range 1-1000 GeV. The energy spectrum can be best described by two source terms: the low-energy background diffusion term and an unknown high-energy source term. In this article, we discuss the possibility of the emission of positrons originating from dark matter annihilation in two nearby black hole X-ray binaries A0620-00 and XTE J1118+480. We show that the dark matter density spikes around these two black holes can best produce the observed AMS-02 high-energy positron flux due to dark matter annihilation with rest mass $m_{\mathrm{DM}}\approx 8000$ GeV via the $W^{+}{W}^{-}$ annihilation channel. This initiates a new proposal to account for the unknown high-energy source term in the AMS-02 positron spectrum.

    ↳ astro-ph.HEhep-phPRD(2025)·1 citation
25. 25*

    Gravitational waves induced by matter isocurvature in general cosmologies

    Guillem Domènech🇩🇪 · Jan Tränkle🇩🇪

    The expansion history and content of the Universe between the end of inflation and the onset of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is mostly unknown. In this paper, we study gravitational waves (GWs) induced by matter isocurvature fluctuations in a generic perfect fluid background as a novel probe of the physics of the very early Universe. We analytically compute the induced GW kernel and analyze the spectral GW energy density for a sharply peaked isocurvature power spectrum. We show that the spectral shape of the GW signal is sensitive to the equation of state parameter $w$ of the perfect fluid dominating the early Universe after inflation. We find that the GW amplitude is enhanced for a soft equation of state. Our framework can be applied to dark matter isocurvature and models leading to early matter-dominated eras, such as primordial black holes and cosmological solitons.

    ↳ gr-qcastro-ph.COhep-phJCAP(2025)·10 citations
26. 26*

    Time Series Analysis of DECAL Sensor Noise for the Generation of Truly Random Numbers

    Dimos Aslanis🇬🇷 · Alex Kehagias🇬🇷 · Ioannis Kopsalis🇬🇷 · Ioannis Theodonis🇬🇷

    We explore here the stochastic behavior of the DECAL sensor's noise output, and we evaluate its potential application as a true random number generator (TRNG) using time series analysis. The main objectives are twofold: first, to characterize the intrinsic noise properties of the DECAL sensor in the absence of external stimuli, and second, to determine the feasibility of employing the sensor as a source of randomness. The collected sensor data are examined through statistical and time series methodologies, and subsequently modeled using an auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) process. This modeling approach enables the transformation of the sensor's raw noise into a Gaussian white noise sequence, which serves as the basis for generating random bits. The resulting random numbers are subjected to a series of statistical tests for randomness, including the NIST test suite. Our findings indicate that the method produces statistically sound random numbers. However, the rate of bit generation is relatively low, limiting its practicality for real-time TRNG applications under the current configuration. Despite this limitation, the results suggest that time series modeling presents a promising framework for extracting randomness from the DECAL sensor, and that with further optimization, the sensor could serve as a reliable and effective TRNG.

    ↳ hep-exhep-lathep-phphysics.ins-det0 citations
27. 27*

    Gradient flow for parton distribution functions: first application to the pion

    Anthony Francis🇹🇼 · Patrick Fritzsch🇮🇪 · Robert V. Harlander🇩🇪 · Rohith Karur🇺🇸 · Jangho Kim🇰🇷 · Jonas T. Kohnen🇩🇪 · Giovanni Pederiva🇩🇪 · Dimitra A. Pefkou🇺🇸 · Antonio Rago🇩🇰 · Andrea Shindler🇩🇪 · André Walker-Loud🇺🇸 · Savvas Zafeiropoulos🇫🇷

    Parton distribution functions (PDFs) are central to precision QCD phenomenology. Their Mellin moments can be computed on the lattice, but direct determinations using local operators, besides $⟨x⟩$, face severe challenges from reduced hypercubic symmetry, limiting results to the lowest moments. A recently proposed method resolves these issues using gradient flow. We demonstrate the efficacy of this method by computing ratios of flavor non-singlet pion PDF moments up to $⟨x^5⟩$, on four lattice spacings at $m_{\pi }\simeq 411$ MeV. The moments and reconstructed PDF agree quantitatively with recent phenomenological extractions.

    ↳ hep-lathep-exhep-phPRL(2026)·26 citations
28. 28*

    Bayesian inference favors quark matter in neutron star interiors

    Alexander Ayriyan🇵🇱 · Oleksii Ivanytskyi🇵🇱 · David Blaschke🇵🇱

    We perform a physics-informed Bayesian analyses of the equation of state of hybrid neutron stars that incorporates color-flavor-locked quark matter modeled by a three-flavor non-local Nambu-Jona-Lasinio framework with vector repulsion and diquark pairing. Contrary to the model-agnostic Bayesian analyses our scheme allows for distinguishing between the scenarios of neutron stars with quark cores and without them. The used quark model realizes asymptotic conformality at high densities in accordance with perturbative QCD. The hadronic sector is described by the density-dependent relativistic functional DD2Y-T, which satisfies chiral effective field theory constraints and includes hyperonic degrees of freedom. We construct a large set of candidate hybrid EOSs by varying the vector and diquark couplings and apply a Maxwell construction for the quark-hadron phase transition. Observational constraints from recent NICER pulsar mass-radius measurements and tidal deformability from GW170817 are incorporated into the likelihood. Depending on whether the observational data from the black widow pulsar PSR J0952-0607 and the HESS J1731-347 object are included to the analysis or not, the posterior distribution favors vector and diquark couplings around $({\eta }_V,{\eta }_D)\simeq (0.82,0.40)$ or $({\eta }_V,{\eta }_D)\simeq (0.64,0.36)$, respectively. This corresponds to equations of state that support two-solar-mass neutron stars with superconformal speed of sound and relatively low onset densities for deconfinement. Our findings indicate that the most probable hybrid EOSs are statistically preferred over the purely hadronic baseline. The corresponding probabilities of agreeing with the observational data differ by one or two orders of magnitude depending on the data set used. This suggests that quark cores may exist in all observed neutron stars.

    ↳ nucl-thastro-ph.HEhep-phPRD(2026)·13 citations
29. 29*

    Dark scalar reinterpretation of searches for Higgs boson decays into long-lived particles at the LHC

    Alberto Escalante del Valle🇪🇸

    We present a reinterpretation of selected ATLAS and CMS searches for Higgs boson decays into long-lived particles (LLPs) within the scalar portal framework, where the standard model is extended by a light scalar that mixes with the Higgs boson. Using public HEPData results, we evaluate the sensitivity of several experimental strategies targeting different final states. The analysis shows how published searches probe complementary regions of the model parameter space, and it provides a comparative assessment of their coverage. The study also identifies the existing gaps in phase space coverage and highlights key areas for future improvement in LLP searches, which will be crucial to maximize the discovery potential for exotic decays of the Higgs boson into LLPs. Finally, we extrapolate the constraints to the integrated luminosity of the High-Luminosity LHC under different assumptions and compare them with the projected sensitivities of proposed dedicated LLP experiments at CERN, showing that these experiments will further extend the experimental reach independently of the assumed extrapolation.

    ↳ hep-exhep-phJHEP(2025)·4 citations
30. 30*

    Hitchhiker's Guide to the Swampland: The Cosmologist's Handbook to the string-theoretical Swampland Programme

    Kay Lehnert (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)🇮🇪

    String theory has strong implications for cosmology: it tells us that we cannot have a cosmological constant, that single-field slow-roll inflation is ruled out, and that black holes decay. We elucidate the origin of these statements within the string-theoretical swampland programme. The swampland programme is generating a growing body of insights that have yet to be incorporated into cosmological models. Taking a cosmologist's perspective, we highlight the relevance of swampland conjectures to black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and inflation, including their implications for scalar fields such as quintessence and axions. Our goal is to inspire cosmological model builders to examine the compatibility of effective field theories with quantum gravitational UV completions and to address outstanding cosmological tensions such as the Hubble tension. This comprehensive literature review presents clear definitions, cosmological implications, and the current status - including evidence and counterexamples - of the following swampland conjectures: the anti-de Sitter distance conjecture (AdSDC), the completeness conjecture (CC), the cobordism conjecture, the de Sitter conjecture (dSC), the swampland distance conjecture (SDC), the emergence proposal (EP), the Festina Lente Bound (FLB), the finite number of massless fields conjecture (or finite flux vacua conjecture (FFV)), the no global symmetries conjecture, the no non-supersymmetric theories conjecture, the non-negative null energy condition conjecture, the positive Gauss-Bonnet term conjecture, the species scale conjecture, the gravitino swampland conjecture (GSC), the tadpole conjecture, the tameness conjecture, the trans-Planckian censorship conjecture (tPCC/TCC), the unique geodesic conjecture, and the weak gravity conjecture (WGC), including the repulsive force conjecture (RFC).

    ↳ hep-thastro-ph.COgr-qchep-phFortsch.Phys.(2026)·18 citations
31. 31*

    Quantum Vacuum energy as the origin of Gravity

    André LeClair🇺🇸

    We explore the idea that quantum vacuum energy ${\rho }_{\mathrm{vac}}$ is at the origin of Gravity. We formulate a gravitational version of the electromagnetic Casimir effect, and provide an argument for how gravity can arise from ${\rho }_{\mathrm{vac}}$ by showing how Einstein's field equations emerge in the form of Friedmann's equations. This leads to the idea that Newton's constant $G_N$ is environmental, namely it depends on the total mass-energy of the Universe $M_{\infty }$ and its size $R_{\infty }$, with $G_N=c^2{R}_{\infty }/2M_{\infty }$. This leads to a new interpretation of the Gibbons-Hawking entropy of de Sitter space, and also the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for black holes, wherein the quantum information bits are quantized massless particles at the horizon with wavelength $\lambda =2\pi R_{\infty }$. We assume a recently proposed formula for ${\rho }_{\mathrm{vac}}\sim m_z^4/\mathfrak{g}$, where $m_z$ is the mass of the lightest particle, and $\mathfrak{g}$ is a marginally irrelevant coupling. This leads to an effective, induced RG flow for Newton's constant $G_N$ as a function of an energy scale, which indicates that $G_N$ decreases at higher energies until it reaches a Landau pole at a minimal value of the cosmological scale factor $a(t)>a_{\min }$, thus avoiding the usual geometric singularity at $a=0$. The solution to the scale factor satisfies an interesting symmetry between the far past and far future due to $a(t)=a(-t+2t_{\min })$, where $a(t_{\min })=a_{\min }$. We propose that this energy scale dependent $G_N$ can explain the Hubble tension and we thereby constrain the coupling constant $\mathfrak{g}$ and its renormalization group parameters. For the $\Lambda \mathrm{CDM}$ model we estimate $a_{\min }\approx e^{-1/\hat{b}}$ where $\hat{b}\approx 0.02$ based on the Hubble tension data.

    ↳ hep-thgr-qchep-phJHEAp(2026)·5 citations
32. 32*

    Overdamped quasibound states inside a Schwarzschild black hole

    Jeff Steinhauer🇮🇱 · Kyriakos Destounis🇵🇹 · Richard Brito🇵🇹

    Schwarzschild black-hole interiors, bounded by event horizons and terminated by spacelike singularities, are regions where all physical observers are inevitably destroyed. In the geometric optics approximation, waves follow null geodesics to the singularity. However, outside the geometric optics regime, the behavior of wave propagation can be rich and nuanced, even in such extreme habitats. In this work, we show that axial gravitational perturbations in the interior of a Schwarzschild black hole can form overdamped (non-oscillatory) quasibound states that decay before reaching the singularity. Using Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates to avoid coordinate ambiguities, we identify these modes and analyze their eigenfunctions. Contrary to earlier claims, we find that the Regge-Wheeler master function of these modes have non-zero amplitude at the future event horizon but decay before interacting with the singularity. We consider observations of the modes along timelike geodesics. This work suggests that certain gravitational fluctuations can hover transiently within the black-hole interior, challenging common assumptions about wave behavior in uncharted and extreme regions of spacetime.

    ↳ gr-qchep-phhep-thmath-ph+1PRD(2025)·5 citations
33. 33*

    Anatomy of Family Trees in Cosmological Correlators

    Bingchu Fan🇨🇳 · Zhong-Zhi Xianyu🇨🇳

    The time-ordered multilayer integrals have long been cited as major challenges in the analytical study of cosmological correlators and wavefunction coefficients. The recently proposed family tree decomposition technique solved these time integrals in terms of canonical objects called family trees, which are multivariate hypergeometric functions with energies as variables and twists as parameters. In this work, we provide a systematic study of the analytical properties of family trees. By exploiting the great flexibility of Mellin representations of family trees, we identify and characterize all their singularities in both variables and parameters and find their exact series representations around all singularities with finite convergent domains. These series automatically generate analytical continuation of arbitrary family trees over many distinct regions in the energy space. As a corollary, we show the factorization of family trees at zero partial-energy singularities to all orders. Our findings offer essential analytical data for further understanding and computing cosmological correlators.

    ↳ hep-thastro-ph.COhep-phJHEP(2025)·9 citations
34. 34*

    Primordial Physics in the Nonlinear Universe: mapping cosmological collider models to weak-lensing observables

    Dhayaa Anbajagane🇺🇸 · Hayden Lee🇺🇸

    Primordial non-Gaussianities (PNGs) are features in the initial density field that provide a window into the nonlinear dynamics of particles during the inflationary epoch. Among them, a distinctive set of signatures from "cosmological collider physics" originates through interactions of the inflaton with heavy particles active at high energies. The amplitude and form of these signatures depend on the strength and nature of the interactions. The corresponding features in large-scale structure have been studied predominantly through the use of perturbation theory, restricted to the linear regime of the density field. In this work, we implement a method for running cosmological simulations with arbitrary bispectra signals in their initial density field, and produce a simulation suite of over thirty PNG-generating templates, resolving the corresponding collider signatures in the strongly nonlinear regime of the density field. We detail the signals in a variety of late-time measurements -- the matter power spectra, matter bispectra, the halo abundance, and halo bias. We then forecast the potential constraints on the signal amplitudes using weak lensing measurements from the Year-10 dataset of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The second and third moments of the lensing convergence field produce constraints that are competitive and complementary to those from the Cosmic Microwave Background. The data products are publicly released as part of the Ulagam simulation suite. Our initial conditions generator is also publicly available at https://github.com/DhayaaAnbajagane/Aarambam.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phJCAP(2026)·17 citations
35. 35*

    Self-similar kinetics for gravitational Bose-Einstein condensation

    A.S. Dmitriev🇷🇺 · D.G. Levkov🇷🇺 · A.G. Panin🇷🇺 · I.I. Tkachev🇷🇺

    We study an overpopulated gas of gravitationally interacting bosons surrounding a droplet of Bose-Einstein condensate - Bose star. We argue that kinetic evolution of this gas approaches with time a self-similar attractor solution to the kinetic equation. If the scale symmetry of the equation is broken by external conditions, the attractor solution exists, remains approximately self-similar, but has slowly drifting scaling dimension. The latter new regime of adiabatic self-similarity can determine growth of dark matter Bose stars in cosmological models.

    ↳ astro-ph.COcond-mat.quant-gascond-mat.stat-mechhep-phPRD(2025)·1 citation
36. 36*

    Primordial Physics in the Nonlinear Universe: signatures of inflationary resonances, excitations, and scale dependence

    Dhayaa Anbajagane🇺🇸 · Hayden Lee🇺🇸

    Primordial non-Gaussianities (PNGs) are imprints in the initial density field sourced by the dynamics of inflation. These dynamics can induce scale dependence, oscillations, and other features in the primordial bispectrum. We analyze a suite of over thirty PNG templates, including those used in the _Planck_ analyses of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and resolve their signatures in the deeply nonlinear regime of the late-time density field. Using simulations, we forecast results from a lensing analysis of the Year-10 data from the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We find that lensing achieves sensitivity comparable to the CMB for many models, and even surpasses it for templates whose features peak on smaller scales, $k\gtrsim 0.2h/\mathrm{Mpc}$. Many templates generate non-monotonic behaviors in mass and length scales, providing a distinct phenomenology in the resulting late-time structure. We simulate, for the first time, resonant signatures consistently in both the primordial power spectrum and bispectrum. The constraints on their amplitudes $(A_{\mathrm{pk}},f_{\mathrm{NL}})$ are essentially independent, as each affects structure formation in distinct ways. Overall, we find that lensing data can provide competitive and complementary constraints on these models, and can deliver leading constraints when the primordial features are predominantly on smaller scales. The data products are publicly released as part of the Ulagam simulation suite. Our initial conditions generator is publicly available at https://github.com/DhayaaAnbajagane/Aarambam.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phJCAP(2026)·10 citations
37. 37*

    Unitary and Analytic Renormalisation of Cosmological Correlators

    Diksha Jain🇬🇧 · Enrico Pajer🇬🇧 · Xi Tong🇬🇧

    Loop contributions to cosmological correlators and to the associated wavefunction are of key theoretical and phenomenological interest. Here, we investigate and compare different renormalisation schemes proposed in the literature to handle ultraviolet divergences and develop new schemes adapting $\eta$ regulators to de Sitter spacetime. We focus on one-loop contributions to the quadratic wavefunction coefficient of a shift-symmetric massless scalar in de Sitter spacetime, which is a good toy model of primordial curvature perturbations. We show that different implementations of dimensional regularisation agree with each other and with unitarity and scale invariance in the final renormalised result. Imposing unitarity in the form of the cosmological optical theorem, we define a class of unitary and analytic $\eta$ regulators that agree with dim reg but feature considerable technical and conceptual simplifications. We show that the imaginary part of all one-loop wavefunction coefficients is universally fixed in terms of the logarithmic running of the real part, under the assumptions of scale invariance, Bunch-Davies vacuum and light bulk fields. Our work resolves discrepancies in the literature, establishes regulator-independent predictions for the imaginary part at one loop, and provides a practical framework for computing quantum contributions to cosmological correlators.

    ↳ hep-thastro-ph.COgr-qchep-phJHEP(2026)·15 citations

* Reconstructed cohort: no mailing for this day survives in the archive. Papers are grouped by their submission times and arXiv's announcement cut-off, assuming announcement without delay; positions follow identifier order. Validated at ~91% exact-day agreement against the archived era.