Fri·Oct 17, 2025Friday·October 17, 2025

1. 01*

   Prospects for Exploring Non-Standard Neutrino Properties with Argon-Based CEvNS Experiments

   Sam Carey🇺🇸 · Vishvas Pandey🇺🇸

   Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) provides a powerful framework for testing the Standard Model (SM) and searching for new physics at low energies. In this work, we examine the prospects for argon-based CEvNS experiments at stopped-pion sources to perform precision measurements of weak interactions and probe non-standard neutrino properties. Our study focused on the CENNS-10 and CENNS-750 detectors at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Coherent Captain Mills (CCM) detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the proposed PIP2-BD detector at Fermilabs Facility for Dark Matter Discovery (F2D2). Using realistic neutrino fluxes and detector configurations corresponding to these facilities, we evaluate event rates and sensitivities to a range of observables. Within the SM, argon-based CEvNS detectors enable precision tests of electroweak parameters, including the weak mixing angle, at momentum transfers well below the electroweak scale. We also investigate the sensitivity of these experiments to neutrino electromagnetic properties, such as the magnetic moment and effective charge radius, as well as to possible non-standard neutrino interactions with quarks. Together, these studies highlight the potential of argon-based CEvNS experiments as a clean and versatile platform for precision exploration of non-standard neutrino properties.

   hep-phhep-exJHEP(2026)·2 citations
2. 02*

   Chiral spin symmetry

   L. Ya. Glozman🇦🇹

   We review the chiral spin symmetry, which is a symmetry of the color charge and of the confining electric part of QCD. Observation of this symmetry in the vacuum upon truncation of the near-zero modes of the Dirac operator implies that the hadron mass in the light quark sector is not due to the quark condensate of the vacuum and that confinement and chiral symmetry breaking are not directly related. Observation of this symmetry above the chiral symmetry restoration crossover suggests that QCD is still in the confining regime with chirally symmetric quarks bound into the color-singlets by the confining electric field. This regime of QCD was called a stringy fluid. At a temperature T_d that is essentially above T_ch the chiral spin symmetry smoothly disappears suggesting that the confining electric field gets screened and one observes a very smooth crossover to the quark-gluon plasma. The three-regimes picture has been further substantiated by the analysis of the N_c scaling of the energy density, the pressure and the entropy density. In the hadron gas they scale as N_c^0, in the stringy fluid as N_c^1 and in the quark-gluon plasma as N_c^2. We have analyzed the fluctuations of conserved charges that scale as N_c^1 above T_ch thus indicating a transition from the hadron gas to the stringy fluid. When N_c gets sufficiently large the three-regimes picture transforms into the three-phases phase diagram. Finally we discuss a confining and chirally symmetric model in 3+1 dimensions. This model demonstrates the chiral symmetry restoration in the confining regime and a delocalization of the color-singlet quark-antiquark systems that become very large at T > T_ch. Consequently the stringy fluid matter is a very dense highly collective system of the overlapping very large color-singlet quark-antiquark "mesons" with a very small mean free path.

   hep-phhep-lathep-thnucl-th5 citations
3. 03*

   The Good Qualities of the Weak Axion

   Giacomo Cacciapaglia🇫🇷 · Francesco Sannino🇩🇰 · Jessica Turner🇬🇧

   The presence of a topological susceptibility in the electroweak sector of the Standard Model motivates the existence of a good quality weak axion $a_W$, associated with the spontaneous breaking of $B+L$. Its anomalous couplings and tiny mass, generated from electroweak instantons, render $a_W$ photophobic. We find that the strongest bound on the associated decay constant, $f_W$, stems from a loop-induced coupling to electrons, leading to $f_W\gtrsim 1000$ TeV from stellar cooling. Spontaneous breaking of the abelian $B+L$ symmetry induces proton decay via higher dimensional operators controlled by a new physics scale, $\Lambda$. Existing Super-Kamiokande limits on these decay channels constrain the new physics scale to be $\Lambda \gtrsim 10^{12}$ GeV. The characteristic channel $p\to e^{+}{a}_W$ and other possible operators mediating interactions with the Standard Model fields yield signals which are not detectable within the allowed parameter space. Future proton decay searches at the next-generation of neutrino experiments offer the most promising avenues to test the good qualities of the weak axion paradigm.

   hep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·3 citations
4. 04*

   Production cross sections of charm-beauty mesons in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at LHC

   Madeeha Nazish🇵🇰 · Faisal Akram🇵🇰

   In this work, we calculate the production cross sections of the 1S and 1P states of the $B_c$ meson for proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus colliding beam experiments at LHC and RHIC. We provide estimates for the Au nucleus at RHIC energies and for the Pb and Xe nuclei at LHC energies. Previous estimates of these cross sections have ignored quark anti-quark annihilation diagrams and are confined to S states for Pb and Au nuclei. The cross sections of the P states are also equally important as these states lie below the BD threshold and cascade into $B_c$ ground states with 100\% probability. In addition to calculating the $p_T$, rapidity, and pseudo-rapidity distributions of the cross sections, we also determine the nuclear modification factors $R_{pA}$ and $R_{AA}$ for $A=\text{Pb}$, $\text{Xe}$, and $\text{Au}$. The results provide a baseline for the upcoming experimental studies of $B_c$ mesons in pp, pA, and AA collisions in RUN III of LHC and could help develop experimental strategies for identification of hitherto undiscovered states of the $B_c$ meson.

   hep-phPRD(2025)·0 citations
5. 05*

   Hybrid Renormalization with Gradient Flow for Baryon Quasi-Distribution Amplitudes

   Jia-lu Zhang🇨🇳 · Mu-Hua Zhang🇨🇳

   We establish a factorization relation between baryon quasi-distribution amplitudes (quasi-DAs) defined with gradient flow and their counterparts renormalized in the $\overline{MS}$ scheme. Working beyond the small flow-time limit, we perform a complete one-loop calculation that yields the full matching kernel and the associated Wilson-line linear divergence for flowed quasi-DAs. Building on this relation, we formulate a hybrid renormalization scheme that combines ratio scheme with gradient-flow matching. The framework enables a systematic connection between lattice QCD matrix elements and continuum baryon quasi-DAs, with reduced renormalization uncertainties and clear guidance for practical lattice analyses.

   hep-phPRD(2026)·6 citations
6. 06*

   One loop corrections to the trilinear self coupling of the Higgs boson in the standard model with inclusion of singlet vector-like top quark

   Jin Zhang🇨🇳

   The complete one loop corrections to the trilinear self coupling of the Higgs boson is firstly evaluated in the Standard Model (SM) by the effective potential approach. Then we extend the SM by including a singlet vector-like top partner and assume that the top partner only mixes with the top quark, the effects of the mass of the top partner and the mixing parameter on the modification $\Delta {\Gamma }_{HHH}$ are systematically analyzed. Numerical results indicate that $\Delta {\Gamma }_{HHH}$ deviates the one loop SM value substantially in the selected parameter space formed by the mass of the top partner and its mixing angle with the top partner.

   hep-ph2 citations
7. 07*

   ALP couplings to muons and electrons: a comprehensive analysis of supernova bounds

   Ricardo Z. Ferreira🇵🇹 · M.C. David Marsh🇸🇪 · Eike Ravensburg🇸🇪

   We provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenology of axion-like particles (ALPs) produced in core-collapse supernovae (ccSNe) through interactions with electrons and muons, both of which have a non-negligible abundance in the SN plasma. We identify and calculate six significant ALP-production channels, two of which are loop-level processes involving photons. We then examine several observational constraints on the ALP-electron and ALP-muon parameter spaces. Those include the bounds on anomalous cooling, energy deposition, decay into photons, diffuse gamma rays, and the 511 keV line. Our results provide updated and robust constraints on ALP couplings to electrons and muons from an improved treatment of production and absorption processes. Furthermore, we quantify the uncertainties of the results by using three state-of-the-art supernova models based on two independent simulation codes, finding that constraints vary by factors of O(2-10).

   hep-phastro-ph.HEPhys.Dark Univ.(2026)·10 citations
8. 08*

   Kinematic power corrections for TMD factorization theorem of semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering

   Sara Piloneta🇪🇸 · Alexey Vladimirov🇪🇸

   We evaluate the complete set of kinematic power corrections (KPCs) to the leading power (LP) term of the transverse momentum dependent (TMD) factorization theorem for semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) with a polarized target. This formulation restores the contributions of twist-two TMD distributions to all structure functions, including those that vanish at leading power, such as contributions of longitudinal photons. The resulting expressions are explicitly gauge- and frame-invariant, and inherit all key features of the standard TMD factorization framework, including the coefficient functions and the evolution equations. Numerical estimations show that KPCs contribute only a few percent at $Q\sim 10$GeV, but can reach several tens of percents when $Q\sim 2$GeV. Consequently, accounting for kinematic power corrections can be vital for an accurate theoretical description of current SIDIS measurements.

   hep-phJHEP(2026)·7 citations
9. 09*

   High-energy ${\eta }^{(\prime )}\pi$ photoproduction and the nature of exotic waves

   Gloria Montaña🇺🇸 · Vincent Mathieu🇪🇸 · Vanamali Shastry🇺🇸 · Łukasz Bibrzycki🇵🇱 · César Fernández-Ramírez🇪🇸 · Nadine Hammoud🇪🇸 · Robert J. Perry🇺🇸 · Alessandro Pilloni🇮🇹 · Arkaitz Rodas🇺🇸 · Wyatt A. Smith🇺🇸 · Adam P. Szczepaniak🇺🇸 · Daniel Winney🇩🇪

   The observation of hybrid mesons in photoproduction experiments can provide essential insight into the inner workings of quantum chromodynamics in the strong coupling regime. In particular, the study of final ${\eta }^{(\prime )}\pi$ states is of great interest due to the presence of the lowest lying hybrid candidate with manifestly exotic quantum numbers, the ${\pi }_1(1600)$. In this work, a double-vector exchange model with Reggeized $\rho$ and $\omega$ trajectories is developed to describe the photoproduction of ${\eta }^{(\prime )}\pi$ in the high-mass region. Results are presented for the differential cross sections and forward-backward asymmetries in the energy region of interest to the GlueX experiment. The model contains no free parameters, and reproduces the magnitude and $t$-dependence of existing CLAS data at $E_{\gamma }=5$\gev. The model predicts a stronger asymmetry in the ${\eta }^{\prime }\pi$ channel than in the $\eta \pi$ channel, consistent with what has previously been observed in pion beam experiments. This suggests that the sizeable production of exotic odd waves in ${\eta }^{\prime }\pi$ is not necessarily related to the presence of gluon-rich environments. Confirmation of these predicted asymmetries from forthcoming GlueX data would enable further predictions of the low-energy spectrum.

   hep-phnucl-thPLB(2026)·2 citations
10. 10*

    Exclusive $J/\Psi$ Production and Gluon GPDs Effects

    S.V. Goloskokov🇷🇺 · Ya-Ping Xie🇨🇳

    Study of exclusive photoproduction of $J/\Psi$ mesons was carried out in a factorization approach. Generalized parton distributions (GPDs) for gluons, which play an important role here, are constructed using the double distribution representation. The obtained cross sections of $J/\Psi$ production in a wide energy range are in good agreement with the experiment. The spin asymmetries in the $J/\Psi$ production were estimated. These calculations were extended to the of $J/\Psi$ mesons production in ultraperipherical $pp$ collisions. It was shown a good agreement of our results with the LHCb data. Predictions have been made for the NICA energy range. The model results can be used to study the gluon GPDs in future colliders.

    hep-ph1 citation
11. 11*

    An insight into the rare $Z\to b\bar{b}\gamma$ at the HL-LHC

    T. Thallapalli🇮🇳 · A. Alpana🇮🇳 · A.M. Iyer🇮🇳 · S. Sharma🇮🇳

    Studies at the $Z$-pole have played an important role in developing our understanding of the Standard Model (SM). Continuing the explorations in this regime, we consider the possibility of the production of two $b$-quarks and a photon in proton-proton collisions at the HL-LHC. While such a final state is possible in the SM by means of the process $Z\to b\bar{b}$ decay with a radiated photon, the focus is on extracting its possible origins due to beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics. The signal topology can be broadly identified as $Z\to \Phi \gamma \to b\bar{b}\gamma$, where $\Phi$ can either be a spin-0 or spin-2 state with a mass less than that of the $Z$ boson.The analysis is characterised by two relatively low $p_T$ jets that are required to be $b$-tagged jets and an isolated photon. The study provides a quantitative framework for their identification and highlights the potential challenges associated with this final state. A range of machine learning architectures is employed to demonstrate the stability and reliability of the discriminating variables. This study highlights the importance of the low-$p_T$ objects in searches at the HL-LHC, hence the need to pay special attention to their identification and efficiencies.

    hep-ph0 citations
12. 12*

    Transverse momentum dependent gluon density in a proton at low $x$ in the Laplace transform method

    G.R. Boroun🇮🇷 · Phuoc Ha🇺🇸 · A.V. Kotikov🇷🇺 · A.V. Lipatov🇷🇺

    We investigate the gluon distribution in a proton at very low $x$, both integrated and transverse momentum dependent, using the Laplace transform technique. By accounting for leading and main next-to-leading contributions, we derive compact analytical expressions for the gluon densities valid in the asymptotic limit $x\to 0$. Our results closely match those from other analytical and numerical approaches, with the main advantage being the simplicity of the expressions, which capture the essential features of more complex calculations.

    hep-phPLB(2026)·3 citations
13. 13*

    Complete two-loop Yukawa-induced running of the Higgs-gluon coupling in SMEFT

    Stefano Di Noi🇩🇪 · Barbara Anna Erdelyi🇮🇹 · Ramona Gröber🇮🇹

    We compute the two-loop renormalisation group equation for the effective Higgs to gluon coupling in Standard Model Effective Field Theory. Concretely, we present the contributions generated by the operators belonging to class 3 and 7 in the Warsaw basis, completing the two-loop renormalization program of the Higgs-gluon coupling proportional to the top Yukawa coupling for potentially tree-level generated operators. We investigate the phenomenological impact of the contributions in fits to Higgs data both in a bottom-up approach and a top-down approach in terms of UV models with vector-like quarks.

    hep-phJHEP(2026)·16 citations
14. 14*

    The exclusive photoproduction of ${\chi }_c\gamma$ pairs in the small-$x$ kinematics

    M. Siddikov🇨🇱 · I. Zemlyakov🇨🇱 · M. Roa🇨🇱

    In this manuscript we analyze the exclusive photoproduction of the ${\chi }_c\gamma$ pairs. We focus on the small-$x$ kinematics and evaluate the cross-sections in the Color Glass Condensate framework. We found that in the leading order in the strong coupling ${\alpha }_s$, this process is sensitive only to the forward color dipole scattering amplitude. We estimated numerically the cross-sections for different polarizations of ${\chi }_c$ mesons in the kinematics of the ultraperipheral collisions at LHC and the future Electron Ion Collider. We also analyzed the role of this process as a potential background to exclusive ${\chi }_c$ photoproduction, which has been recently suggested as an alternative channel for studies of odderons. According to our estimates, the cross-section of ${\chi }_c\gamma$ with undetected photons is comparable to that of odderons at small momentum transfer $|t|\lesssim 1$ GeV${}^2$, but becomes less relevant at larger $|t|$. We also found that a dominant background to odderon-mediated production of ${\chi }_c$ comes from the radiative decays of $\psi (2S)$ mesons, which potentially can present a challenge for odderon studies via ${\chi }_c$ photoproduction.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·2 citations
15. 15*

    Nucleon Electric Dipole Moments in Paramagnetic Molecules through Effective Field Theory

    Wouter Dekens🇺🇸 · Jordy de Vries🇳🇱 · Lemonia Gialidi🇳🇱 · Javier Menéndez🇪🇸 · Heleen Mulder🇳🇱 · Beatriz Romeo🇺🇸

    Electric dipole moment (EDM) measurements using paramagnetic molecules have significantly advanced over the last decade. Traditionally, these experiments have been analyzed in terms of the electron EDM. However, paramagnetic molecules are also sensitive to hadronic sources of charge-parity (CP) violation, highlighting the need for a new framework to interpret the experimental results. In this Letter, we introduce an effective field theory framework to relate molecular EDMs to the EDMs of neutrons and protons. We identify the dominant contributions through power counting and pinpoint the necessary nuclear matrix elements. As a practical application, we employ the nuclear shell model to calculate these nuclear matrix elements for the polar molecule BaF. Finally, we estimate the limits on the nucleon EDMs set by current molecular EDM experiments.

    hep-phnucl-thphysics.atom-phPRL(2026)·4 citations
16. 16*

    Invisible neutron decay and light BSM particles

    J.C. Helo🇨🇱 · M. Hirsch🇪🇸 · T. Ota🇨🇱

    In Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), invisible neutron decay arises from d = 12 operators. Adding new light particles to the field content of the SM, such as right-handed neutrinos, allows one to construct operators for invisible neutron decay at much lower dimensions. Observing invisible neutron decay, if nucleon decays with charged leptons remain absent, would therefore point towards the existence of new neutral degrees of freedom. Here we discuss four cases: (i) adding right-handed neutrinos to the SM; (ii) a right-handed neutrino and an axion-like particle; (iii) a right-handed neutrino and a nearly massless singlet scalar; and (iv) a right-handed neutrino and a light Z'. We give the general tree-level decomposition for the resulting d = 7-9 operators for invisible neutron decay and briefly discuss LHC searches related to the exotic states found in these UV completions.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·5 citations
17. 17*

    Adiabatic hydrodynamization and quasinormal modes of nonthermal attractors

    Matisse De Lescluze🇧🇪 · Michal P. Heller🇧🇪 · Aleksas Mazeliauskas🇩🇪 · Bruno Scheihing-Hitschfeld🇺🇸 · Clemens Werthmann🇧🇪

    Nonthermal attractors govern the emergent self-similar dynamics of far-from-equilibrium quantum systems, from ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions to cold-atom experiments. Within the framework of adiabatic hydrodynamization, the approach to a nonthermal attractor is described by the decay of excited states of an effective Hamiltonian. Using an exactly solvable kinetic theory -- the longitudinally expanding, overoccupied gluon plasma dominated by small-angle elastic scattering -- we establish a direct correspondence between the eigenmodes of adiabatic hydrodynamization and the quasinormal mode spectrum of the nonthermal attractor. This equivalence suggests a general framework for identifying universal dynamical structures in nonequilibrium systems. As a byproduct, we derive analytic prescaling solutions for strongly longitudinally expanding systems.

    hep-phcond-mat.quant-gashep-thnucl-thPRL(2026)·4 citations
18. 18*

    Radiative Correction from Secret Neutrino Interactions and Implications for Neutrino-Scattering Experiments

    Saeid Foroughi-Abari🇨🇦 · Kevin J. Kelly🇺🇸 · Yue Zhang🇨🇦

    New, neutrinophilic mediators are one potential extension beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Often, studies of neutrinophilic mediator consist of searching for direct evidence of its production and/or its tree-level virtual effect for generating strong neutrino self-interaction. In this work, we focus instead on the fact that such new mediators \textit{also} lead to deviations in neutrino-matter scattering via radiative corrections. With a mediator mass well below the electroweak scale, these effects are potentially observable in a variety of contexts, including coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS), neutrino deeply-inelastic scattering ($\nu$DIS), and neutrino-electron scattering (e.g., at Borexino). Additionally, such effects lead to new contributions to the $Z$-boson decay width and to non-standard neutrino interactions relevant for long-baseline oscillation experiments. We explore all of these scenarios in some depth, building on the rich phenomenology associated with neutrinophilic mediators.

    hep-phastro-ph.COastro-ph.SRhep-exPRD(2026)·6 citations
19. 19*

    Atomic Quantum Sensors for High-Frequency Gravitational Wave Searches

    Yi-fu Cai🇨🇳 · Luca Visinelli🇮🇹 · Sheng-Feng Yan🇨🇳

    High-frequency gravitational waves (GWs), spanning frequencies from the microwave to the optical band, remain experimentally unexplored despite strong motivation from early-Universe dynamics, high-energy cosmology, and exotic compact objects. We propose a detection framework in which an incident GW excites an eigenmode of a high-$Q$ resonator in the presence of a static magnetic field through GW-induced electromagnetic mode conversion; the resulting cavity field is then read out using atomic sensors placed outside the magnetized volume. We analyze two concrete architectures: microwave detection based on Rydberg transitions and optical/near-infrared Raman schemes. For each, we derive projected strain sensitivities achievable with realistic, though ambitious, magnetic fields, cavity parameters, and atomic ensembles. Under optimistic assumptions on cavity performance, signal coherence, and technical noise, optical Raman implementations could approach benchmark narrowband coherent strain sensitivities relevant for speculative high frequency GW scenarios, while microwave systems may probe benchmark sensitivities in an otherwise unexplored frequency range. These setups motivate advances in high-$Q$ cavities, strong-field magnets, and quantum-limited atomic sensors, with broader implications for quantum instrumentation and fundamental physics.

    hep-phastro-ph.COgr-qchep-exPhys.Dark Univ.(2026)·8 citations
20. 20*

    Continuous-variable photonic quantum extreme learning machines for fast collider-data selection

    Benedikt Maier🇬🇧 · Michael Spannowsky🇬🇧 · Simon Williams🇬🇧

    We study continuous-variable photonic quantum extreme learning machines as fast, low-overhead front-ends for collider data processing. Data is encoded in photonic modes through quadrature displacements and propagated through a fixed-time Gaussian quantum substrate. The final readout occurs through Gaussian-compatible measurements to produce a high-dimensional random feature map. Only a linear classifier is trained, using a single logistic regression, so retraining is fast, and the optical path and detector response set the analytical and inference latency. We evaluate this architecture on two representative classification tasks, top-jet tagging and Higgs-boson identification, with parameter-matched multi-layer perceptron (MLP) baselines. Using standard public datasets and identical train, validation, and test splits, the photonic Quantum Extreme Learning Machine (QELM) outperforms an MLP with two hidden units for all considered training sizes, and matches or exceeds an MLP with ten hidden units at large sample sizes, while training only the linear readout. These results indicate that Gaussian photonic extreme-learning machines can provide compact and expressive random features at fixed latency. The combination of deterministic timing, rapid retraining, low optical power, and room temperature operation makes photonic QELMs a credible building block for online data selection and even first-stage trigger integration at future collider experiments.

    ↳ quant-phhep-exhep-phEPJ Quant.Technol.(2026)·6 citations
21. 21*

    Quantum Damping of Cosmological Shear: A New Prediction from Loop Quantum Cosmologies

    Wen-Cong Gan🇨🇳 · Leila L. Graef🇧🇷 · Rudnei O. Ramos🇧🇷 · Gustavo S. Vicente🇧🇷 · Anzhong Wang🇺🇸

    We study the dynamics of the Bianchi I universe in modified loop quantum cosmology (mLQC-I) and uncover a robust mechanism for isotropization: the shear is dynamically suppressed after the bounce and decays rapidly in the quantum post-bounce regime, independently of the equation of state of standard matter sources. This naturally drives the Universe toward a homogeneous and isotropic expanding phase without fine-tuning. Our results show that mLQC-I provides a new quantum-gravitational mechanism for suppressing anisotropies, absent in other bounce models.

    ↳ gr-qcastro-ph.COhep-phhep-thPRL(2026)·4 citations
22. 22*

    FeynCraft: A Game of Feynman Diagrams

    Jonathan R. Gaunt🇬🇧 · Adam Owen🇬🇧

    FeynCraft is a browser-based game that is designed to teach players the particle interactions of the Standard Model of particle physics, and how to link these interactions together to produce valid Feynman diagrams. It is primarily targeted at undergraduates and lecturers in introductory courses in particle physics, but we anticipate that it should also be useful for school pupils and teachers studying the basics of particle physics, and perhaps also current researchers. Users may draw particle lines and link them together to form vertices and complete diagrams, and FeynCraft determines invalid vertices using a sequence of simple rules, showing users which vertices are invalid and why. Diagrams may be drawn that involve both fundamental Standard Model particles and hadrons (where hadrons are represented by their constituent quark content). Users can also be presented with a process for which they must draw valid Feynman diagrams -- FeynCraft is able to generate such 'problems' at random, but there is also the facility to create, share, import and solve curated sets of problems. Alternatively, one is able to specify the process, and ask FeynCraft itself to generate the Feynman diagrams. Finally, we include several overlay options that give more information on a Feynman diagram (e.g. QCD colour flow, interaction strengths), and the option to export a drawn diagram as LaTeX code.

    ↳ physics.ed-phhep-exhep-ph2 citations
23. 23*

    Tracking discontinuities in parameter space

    Ruth Britto🇮🇪 · Holmfridur S. Hannesdottir🇺🇸

    We develop a geometric framework in Feynman-parameter space to determine constraints on the sequential discontinuities of Feynman integrals. Our method is based on tracking the deformation of the integration contour as external kinematics are analytically continued. This procedure imposes powerful constraints on the analytic structure of Feynman integrals, providing crucial inputs for their bootstrap. We demonstrate the usefulness of this framework by applying it to integrals in dimensional regularization, with higher propagator powers, and to examples with non-uniform transcendental weight. The method is illustrated with several one- and two-loop calculations.

    ↳ hep-thhep-phJHEP(2026)·3 citations
24. 24*

    Effects of Subnucleonic Fluctuations on the Longitudinal Dynamics of Heavy-Ion Collisions

    Oscar Garcia-Montero🇩🇪 · Sören Schlichting🇩🇪 · Jie Zhu🇩🇪

    It is well understood that subnuclear fluctuations in the initial state of heavy-ion collisions have an important impact on the creation of long-range correlations in the transverse plane. This is also true for the creation of particle correlations along the beam direction, which can be measured in particle detectors, e.g. through longitudinal decorrelation observables. In this work, we study the emergence of long-range rapidity structures in Pb+Pb collisions using a hybrid model connecting the 3D resolved {\Dipper} initial state model to a (3+1)D viscous hydrodynamics framework CLVisc. We include different sources of fluctuations at the (sub-)nucleon level and present the effects of their inclusion on the longitudinal structure of relevant observables, focusing in this proceedings paper on charged hadron multiplicities, baryon stopping, directed flow and flow decorrelation. We find remarkable agreement to the experimental data regarding directed flow and the rapidity resolved charge particle multiplicity.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phEPJ Web Conf.(2026)·0 citations
25. 25*

    Model Independence of Effective Field Theory

    Anthony W. Thomas🇦🇺

    The use of effective field theory offers a systematic way to improve calculations of nuclear reactions and the properties of atomic nuclei. Its successes have led to the widespread belief that the predictions of this approach are model independent. We explain why this is definitely not the case.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phEPJ Web Conf.(2026)·0 citations
26. 26*

    The Stochastic Schwinger Effect

    Lucas Vicente García-Consuegra🇬🇧 · Azadeh Maleknejad🇬🇧

    We formulate a stochastic generalisation of the Schwinger effect, extending pair production to statistically fluctuating gauge-field backgrounds. Our approach captures realistic field configurations that are transient, inhomogeneous, and stochastic, as commonly encountered in cosmological and high-energy astrophysical settings. Using the effective action formalism, we compute the vacuum decay rate and number density of charged particles, obtaining closed-form analytical expressions for both scalar and fermionic cases. To isolate the essential physics, the analysis is performed in flat spacetime and at zero temperature, providing a controlled setting in which curvature and thermal effects can be neglected. As a proof of concept, we present representative phenomenological examples relevant to astrophysical plasmas and early-Universe-motivated scenarios.

    ↳ hep-thastro-ph.HEgr-qchep-phJHEP(2026)·6 citations
27. 27*

    Black Holes in Asymptotic Safety: A Review of Solutions and Phenomenology

    Andrea Spina🇮🇹

    Asymptotic Safety offers a conservative and predictive framework for quantum gravity, based on the existence of a renormalization group fixed point that ensures ultraviolet completeness without introducing new degrees of freedom. Black holes provide a natural arena in which to explore the implications of this scenario, as they probe the strongest gravitational fields and highlight the shortcomings of classical general relativity. In recent years, a variety of quantum-corrected black-hole solutions have been constructed within the Asymptotic Safety approach, either by renormalization-group improvement of classical metrics or through effective actions inspired by the flow of couplings. This review summarizes the current status of these developments. We discuss the structure and properties of the proposed solutions, their thermodynamics and evaporation, and their dynamical aspects such as quasinormal modes and shadows.

    ↳ gr-qchep-phhep-thTheor.Phys.(2025)·19 citations
28. 28*

    On the internal inconsistency of the Wess-Zumino model

    N.V.Krasnikov🇷🇺

    We prove the internal inconsistency of the supersymmetric Wess-Zumino model. Our proof is based on three assumptions. The first assumption is that in the full theory the structure of counter temcs coincides with the structure of the counter terms in the perturbation theory. The second assumption is the positivity of norm states - no ghosts in the spectrum of the model. The third assumption is that the canonical commutation relations among generalized coordinates and momenta are valid in renormalized theory. The obtained results mean that there are negative norm states in the spectrum of the WZ model.

    ↳ hep-thhep-phTheor.Math.Phys.(2026)·2 citations
29. 29*

    Effect of Isolation Criteria on Prompt Photon Production in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions

    Sinjini Chandra🇮🇳 · Rupa Chatterjee🇮🇳 · Zubayer Ahammed🇮🇳

    Prompt photon measurements in relativistic nuclear collisions serve as an essential comparative basis for heavy ion studies enabling the separation of medium induced effects. However, the identification of prompt photons is experimentally challenging due to substantial backgrounds from photons produced in hadron decays and jet fragmentation. Appropriate isolation criteria are applied to suppress these background contributions. We analyze prompt photon spectra using the JETPHOX framework to quantify the relative contributions of fragmentation and direct production mechanisms to the total photon yield. We perform a systematic study of the impact of isolation criteria on prompt photon production in relativistic nuclear collisions with emphasis on their dependence on beam energy and photon transverse momentum. The fragmentation contribution is found to be substantially large particularly for $p_T<15$ GeV and the isolation criterion plays a crucial role in the analysis of prompt photons in that $p_T$ region. A dynamical isolation criterion suppresses the fragmentation component more effectively than a fixed one in this region. Furthermore, the isolation criterion shows a stronger dependence on beam energy and photon $p_T$ than on system size. These observations emphasize the importance of employing carefully selected and consistent isolation criteria when comparing experimental data with theoretical calculations especially for observables sensitive to fragmentation.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phPRC(2025)·0 citations
30. 30*

    Magnetic D-brane solitons: skyrmion strings ending on a Néel wall in chiral magnets

    Sven Bjarke Gudnason🇨🇳 · Muneto Nitta🇯🇵

    Magnetic skyrmions extended to three dimensions form string-like objects whose fundamental role remains largely unexplored. We show that skyrmion strings can terminate on a Néel-type domain wall (DW), realizing a magnetic analogue of a Dirichlet(D)-brane soliton. While an isolated Néel DW tends to rotate into a Bloch DW, the Néel DW is stabilized when a skyrmion string ends on it, by being transformed into a trumpet. Unlike field-theory D-branes, the Bloch-type DMI produces linear rather than logarithmic DW bending, and the strings retain finite width far from the DW, circumventing singular behavior. Furthermore, the repulsive interaction between strings allows periodic multi-junction solutions, yielding a square lattice of alternating strings and local DW deformations as well as separating Bloch points. These results establish magnetic skyrmion strings as fundamental strings that can end on a D-brane.

    ↳ cond-mat.mes-hallhep-phhep-thPRB(2026)·2 citations
31. 31*

    Astrophysical uncertainties challenge 21-cm forecasts: A primordial black hole case study

    Dominic Agius🇪🇸 · Rouven Essig🇺🇸 · Daniele Gaggero🇮🇹 · Sergio Palomares-Ruiz🇪🇸 · Gregory Suczewski🇺🇸 · Mauro Valli🇮🇹

    The 21-cm signal is a powerful probe of the early Universe's thermal history and could provide a unique avenue for constraining exotic physics. Previous studies have forecasted stringent constraints on energy injections from exotic sources that heat, excite, and ionize the background gas and thereby modify the 21-cm signal. In this work, we quantify the substantial impact that astrophysical uncertainties have on the projected sensitivity to exotic energy injection. In particular, there are significant uncertainties in the minimum star-forming dark matter halo mass, the Lyman-$\alpha$ emission, and the X-ray emission, whose values characterize the fiducial astrophysical model when projecting bounds. As a case study, we investigate the energy injection of accreting primordial black holes of mass $\sim 1M_{\odot }-10^3{M}_{\odot }$, also taking into account uncertainties in the accretion model. We show that, depending on the chosen fiducial model and accretion uncertainties, the sensitivity of future 21-cm data could constrain the abundance of primordial black holes to be either slightly stronger, or significantly weaker, than current limits from the Cosmic Microwave Background.

    ↳ astro-ph.COhep-phJCAP(2026)·11 citations
32. 32*

    Non-Minimally Coupled Quintessence in Light of DESI

    Samuel Sánchez López🇮🇳 · Alexandros Karam🇪🇪 · Dhiraj Kumar Hazra🇮🇳

    We analyze a model of quintessence governed by an exponential potential and non-minimally coupled to gravity, in light of recent datasets, including cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, and supernovae distance moduli observations. Mainly focusing on the Palatini formulation of gravity, a phase space analysis reveals the existence of a late-time stable de Sitter attractor as long as the non-minimal coupling constant is negative, regardless of the value of the slope of the exponential. Fitting to CMB+DESI+DESY5 data, we find strong evidence for our model over $\Lambda$CDM, with a Bayes factor $\log B=5.52$. Furthermore, the data seem to prefer dynamical dark energy at $>3\sigma$ C.L. and a phantom crossing in the barotropic parameter of dark energy at $2-3\sigma$ C.L.. We find that the scalar field dynamics in the Palatini formalism provides marginally better agreement to the data compared to the metric formalism.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phhep-th37 citations
33. 33*

    Phantom Mirage from Axion Dark Energy

    Rayne Liu🇺🇸 · Yijie Zhu🇺🇸 · Wayne Hu🇺🇸 · Vivian Miranda🇺🇸

    Supernova (SN) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) distance measures have recently provided hints that the dark energy is not only dynamical but apparently evolves from normal to phantom dark energy between redshifts $0<z<1$. A normal axion dark energy component in the mass range just below the Hubble scale can mimic a phantom component by appearing as dark energy at $z=1$ and dark matter at $z=0$, raising the possibility of a phantom mirage. We show that there is a wide range of axion dark energy contributions that can resolve the SN-BAO tension as well as thawing quintessence does, leaving BAO tension with the cosmic microwave background (CMB) for the distance measures from $z\sim 1$ to recombination to be resolved at high redshifts. With axions, raising the optical depth to reionization to $\tau \approx 0.1$ works essentially as well as $w_0-w_a$ phantom dark energy for all but the lowE CMB data, with a remaining $\Delta {\chi }^2\sim -16$ compared with $\Lambda$CDM, whereas a small spatial curvature of ${\Omega }_K\sim 0.003$ can largely relax the full SN-BAO-CMB tension with a total $\Delta {\chi }^2\sim -12$.

    ↳ astro-ph.COhep-phPRD(2026)·26 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.