Tue·Nov 18, 2025Tuesday·November 18, 2025

1. 01*

   Photon-induced jet production at future lepton colliders

   Thomas Gehrmann🇨🇭 · Peter Meinzinger🇨🇭

   The production of hadronic final states in electron-positron or electron-hadron collisions is induced predominantly by quasi-real photons that were emitted off incoming leptons. In these processes, the photon either enters directly or through its resolved parton content, which is at present only loosely constrained by experimental data. We perform a detailed phenomenological study of photon-induced jet production processes in high-energy $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ collisions, investigating in particular their potential to assess contributions from the resolved photon structure.

   hep-phEPJC(2026)·1 citation
2. 02*

   The weak decay constant of positronium

   Milena Piotrowska🇵🇱 · Francesco Giacosa🇵🇱

   The positronium, as the lightest purely leptonic bound state, provides an ideal testing ground for a quantum field--theoretical (QFT) description of composite systems. While its electromagnetic annihilation is well understood as the dominant decay channel, the weak interaction sector of positronium is strongly suppressed. In this work, we extend the composite QFT framework previously developed for the two--photon decay and introduce the concept of a weak decay constant for para--positronium. This constant, defined in analogy with those of pseudoscalar mesons, quantifies the coupling of the positronium field to the weak axial current and serves as a measure of its internal structure in the electroweak domain. Its numerical value $f_P\simeq \frac{m_e}{2\sqrt{\pi }}{\alpha }^{3/2}=89.8593\mathrm{eV}$ is, as expected, small. Nevertheless, the resulting expression and a related comparison to quarkonium systems allow us to determine the vertex function linking the positronium to its own constituents.

   hep-ph0 citations
3. 03*

   Improving Neutrino Oscillation Measurements through Event Classification

   Sebastian A. R. Ellis🇨🇭 · Daniel C. Hackett🇺🇸 · Shirley Weishi Li🇺🇸 · Pedro A. N. Machado🇺🇸 · Karla Tame-Narvaez🇺🇸

   Precise neutrino energy reconstruction is essential for next-generation long-baseline oscillation experiments, yet current methods remain limited by large uncertainties in neutrino-nucleus interaction modeling. Even so, it is well established that different interaction channels produce systematically varying amounts of missing energy and therefore yield different reconstruction performance--information that standard calorimetric approaches do not exploit. We introduce a strategy that incorporates this structure by classifying events according to their underlying interaction type prior to energy reconstruction. Using supervised machine-learning techniques trained on labeled generator events, we leverage intrinsic kinematic differences among quasi-elastic scattering, meson-exchange current, resonance production, and deep-inelastic scattering processes. A cross-generator testing framework demonstrates that this classification approach is robust to microphysics mismodeling and, when applied to a simulated DUNE ${\nu }_{\mu }$ disappearance analysis, yields improved accuracy and sensitivity at the 10-20% level. These results highlight a practical path toward reducing reconstruction-driven systematics in future oscillation measurements.

   hep-phcs.AIcs.LGhep-exPRD(2026)·0 citations
4. 04*

   Upper Bound on the Cosmic Baryon Chemical Potential from Lepton-Flavor Asymmetry

   Francesco Di Clemente🇺🇸 · Alessandro Drago🇮🇹 · Lorenzo Formaggio🇺🇸 · Claudia Ratti🇺🇸 · Volodymyr Vovchenko🇺🇸 · Geetika Yadav🇺🇸

   We study the early Universe trajectory around the QCD transition in lepton-flavor-asymmetric cases with small total lepton asymmetry ($|\ell |\lesssim 10^{-2}$), while allowing large individual lepton asymmetries. For each temperature, we find an upper bound on the baryon chemical potential ${\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}(T)$: $\tau$--$\mu$ asymmetric cases exhibit a local maximum, whereas $\mu$--$e$ cases approach a limiting curve. Thus, even extreme lepton-flavor asymmetry alone cannot reach a first-order region, unless the critical point is moved to a substantially lower ${\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/T$ because of the nonzero ${\mu }_{\mathrm{Q}}$. Therefore, we constrain the QCD-era relic to the standard scenario of a chiral crossover transition.

   hep-phastro-ph.COhep-th7 citations
5. 05*

   Tensor form factors of the ${\Delta }^{+}$ baryon induced by isovector and isoscalar currents in QCD

   Z. Asmaee🇮🇷 · N. Hajirasouliha🇮🇷 · K. Azizi🇮🇷

   The tensor form factors of the ${\Delta }^{+}$ baryon are defined through the matrix element of the tensor current and describe its internal structure and spin distribution. We present the full Lorentz decomposition for the ${\Delta }^{+}\to {\Delta }^{+}$ tensor current matrix element, including all independent structures consistent with Lorentz covariance, the Rarita-Schwinger constraints, and the discrete symmetries of Hermiticity, time-reversal, and parity invariance. By investigating the tensor form factors corresponding to both the isovector and isoscalar tensor currents, we observe differences that reflect the distinct contributions of up and down quark components in the ${\Delta }^{+}$ baryon.

   hep-phhep-exhep-latPRD(2026)·3 citations
6. 06*

   Normalization of partial wave CP asymmetries in three-body decays of heavy hadrons

   Jing-Juan Qi🇨🇳 · Zhen-Yang Wang🇨🇳 · Zhen-Hua Zhang🇨🇳 · Xin-Heng Guo🇨🇳

   CP violation in hadronic multi-body decays has been extensively studied, and the experimental breakthrough in the heayy baryon sector was made recently. Partial-Wave CP Asymmetries (PWCPAs) in multi-body decays of heavy hadrons, which although provide us with more interference information, suffer from the normalization problem, as is pointed out in this paper. We propose a novel solution to this problem. We introduce a set of extra factors to rescale the PWCPAs to the proper sizes. Instead of determining the set of factors according to the normalization requirement, we demand that all the PWCPAs have the same statistical errors. In this way, we obtain a set of quasi-normalized PWCPAs, in the sense that they are close to the ideal normalized ones. As an application, we perform an analysis of PWCPAs in the decay channel $B^{\pm }\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\pi }^{\pm }$. We focus on the phase space region where the invariant mass of the ${\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ pair varies around the vector resonance ${\rho }^0(1450)$. Based on the data of the LHCb collaboration, the interference patterns among the resonances ${\rho }^0(1450)$, $f_2(1270)$, and $f_0(1500)$ and their contributions to the quasi-normalized PWCPAs are analyzed. The analysis indicates that the quasi-normalized PWCPAs can avoid potential misleading or distorted results comparing with some other alternatively defined ones.

   hep-phhep-exPRD(2026)·3 citations
7. 07*

   Vortex states and entanglement properties in multiphoton pair production

   Hong-Hao Fan🇨🇳 · Lie-Juan Li🇨🇳 · Zhi-Hang Yao🇨🇳 · Orkash Amat🇨🇳 · Suo Tang🇨🇳 · Bai-Song Xie🇨🇳

   We investigate the multiphoton pair production in circularly polarized field via two level model. There appears obvious discrete ring structures in the momentum distribution of the created particles, in which the ring radius is mainly controlled by the number of the photons absorbed in the creation with the energy conservation and could also be modulated by the spin of the created pair. These multiphoton rings become narrower when both of the pair particles' spin are aligned with the direction of the field rotation, and become broader if both spin are antiparallel to that direction. This spin-modulation can be simply understood with the angular momentum conservation, as less orbital angular momentum from the absorbed photons would be transferred to the created particles if their spins are aligned with the field rotation. The orbital angular momentum of the created particles is manifested as the vortex structure in the phase of the momentum distribution, and valued as the topological charge of this phase vortex. We also study the spin entanglement between the created particles, and reveal that the entanglement becomes stronger with the increase of the particles' transverse momentum, and gets sharp peak in the transition between different multiphoton rings, where the topological charge of the phase vortex is changed.

   hep-phquant-ph1 citation
8. 08*

   Tomography of high-twist proton structure through $ep$ elastic scattering

   Ji-Xin Yu🇨🇳 · Shan Cheng🇨🇳 · Jia-Jie Han🇨🇳 · Hsiang-nan Li🇹🇼 · Fu-Sheng Yu

   We present the first high-twist study of the proton form factors $F_{1,2}(Q^2)$ in $ep$ elastic scattering based on the perturbative QCD $k_T$ factorization, $Q^2$ being momentum transfer squared. It is motivated by unexpectedly large higher-power contributions from subleading-twist light-cone distribution amplitudes (LCDAs), which are attributed to the enhancement in endpoint regions of parton momentum fractions. We highlight that the endpoint enhancement, tamed by the $k_T$ resummation effect, is crucial for accommodating the approximate scaling behavior of the $Q^4{F}_1(Q^2)$ data at intermediate $Q^2\sim \mathcal{O}(10)$ GeV${}^2$. The proton LCDAs up to twist 6 are then extracted, and verified by the charge-parity asymmetries observed in hadronic heavy baryon decays. Our work provides new insights into the proton three-dimensional structure and manifests the precision requirement for reliable perturbative analyses of baryonic exclusive processes.

   hep-phhep-exEPJC(2026)·2 citations
9. 09*

   Resurrecting the Standard Model Effective Field Theory interferences at colliders

   Matteo Maltoni🇧🇪

   Even if some experimental evidence suggests the existence of physics beyond the SM, no clues of new resonances can be found in the data. In the case their masses are much larger than the energies of current experiments, the SMEFT formalism can be used to introduce new operators that parametrise small deviations from the SM predictions at the LHC, induced by interactions between the known and new states. This thesis focuses on some operators and processes for which the leading correction to the SM, namely its interference with dimension-6 operators, is suppressed, either because it is small all over the phase space as a result of a helicity mismatch in the SM and SMEFT amplitudes, or because a cancellation between large cross-section contributions with opposite sign occurs. Several useful quantities are introduced to distinguish among these two cases, and a phenomenological strategy to revive the interferences is developed. They are applied to the cases of the $O_G$ and $O_W$ operators, respectively in three-jet production and EW processes like VBF $Zjj$, $WZ$ and $W\gamma$. The comparison among them highlights how different procedures can be followed to restore the interference. The quantities introduced in this thesis can be used to find simple kinematic observables that are sensitive to the suppression and can yield competitive bounds on the coefficients of the operators, even outside the SMEFT validity region. In the last chapter, a study of ten four-light quark operators is presented at LO matched to parton shower. Individual and marginalised limits on them are obtained through multijet production and processes where the jets are generated together with EW bosons, like $Z,W,\gamma$+jets. Almost no interference suppression happens for these operators, but they can virtually affect any process at NLO.

   hep-ph0 citations
10. 10*

    HadroTOPS: A Monte Carlo Event Generator For Hadron Production In Two-Photon Scattering In Electron Positron Collisions

    Max Lellmann🇩🇪 · Igor Danilkin🇩🇪 · Achim Denig🇮🇹 · Jan Muskalla🇩🇪 · Christoph F. Redmer🇩🇪 · Xiu-Lei Ren🇩🇪 · Marc Vanderhaeghen🇩🇪

    We present a Monte Carlo event generator specifically developed for the study of hadronic two-photon fusion events in two-photon scattering at electron-positron colliders. The code enables the generation of events with exact leading-order QED coupling and a flat phase space decay of the hadronic state into an arbitrary number of final state particles as selected by the user. Thus, this generator is well-suited for the use of partial wave analyses tools to study the two-photon production of higher-multiplicity final states across a wide range of energies and photon virtualities. Furthermore, the code integrates both experimental and theoretical inputs on the two-photon couplings of hadrons to simulate two-photon production processes. Motivated by the investigations of the BESIII collaboration, the final states ${\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$, ${\pi }^0{\pi }^0$, ${\pi }^0\eta$, $K^{+}{K}^{-}$, $K_S^0{K}_S^0$, $\eta \eta$, and $f_1(1285)\to \eta {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ via $a_0^{\pm }(980){\pi }^{\mp }$ and $f_0(500)\eta$ are currently included. The code is sufficiently flexible to easily add additional final states as well as quickly change the already included channels.

    hep-phhep-exComput.Phys.Commun.(2026)·1 citation
11. 11*

    Digit anomalies in the hadronic mass spectrum, classical and quantum information entropies, and the dynamical QCD scale

    R. da Rocha🇧🇷 · R. D. Vilela🇧🇷

    Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) has an emergent dynamical energy scale ${\Lambda }_{\mathrm{QCD}}$ which sets the threshold between perturbative and nonperturbative regimes. This characteristic scale causes hadronic masses to cluster within certain mass ranges, instead of following a uniform distribution. Analyzing the Shannon information entropy underlying the hadronic mass spectrum, and also other classical information entropies, provides novel insight into this phenomenon, revealing a pronounced deviation from the law of anomalous numbers. This deviation quantifies the emergence of the dynamical scale in strongly interacting systems, also encoding the information-entropy cost associated with the breaking of scale invariance in QCD. Quantum entanglement entropy also reveals correlations across energy scales through the Shannon entropy of the bipartitioned probability distribution, reflecting how the emergence of ${\Lambda }_{\text{textsc}QCD}$ shapes the hierarchical structure of the hadronic mass spectrum.

    hep-phhep-thEPJA(2026)·0 citations
12. 12*

    Axial charges and magnetic moments of the decuplet pentaquark family

    Hao-Song Li🇨🇳

    We present a systematic calculation of the axial charges and magnetic moments for the decuplet of hidden-charm molecular pentaquarks within the framework of the constituent quark model. Our findings reveal that the axial charges of these states are comparable in magnitude to that of the nucleon. Furthermore, we find that their magnetic moments obey a set of sum rules (denoted the Hao-Song sum rules) which hold for states sharing the same spin-flavor configuration, even in the presence of SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking. These results provide crucial insights into the internal structure and dynamics of multiquark hadrons, offering valuable guidance for future experimental and theoretical investigations.${\mu }_{P_{\psi }^{\Delta +}}-{\mu }_{P_{\psi }^{\Delta 0}}+{\mu }_{P_{\psi s}^{\Sigma -}}-{\mu }_{P_{\psi s}^{\Sigma +}}+{\mu }_{P_{\psi ss}^{N0}}-{\mu }_{P_{\psi ss}^{N-}}=0$, ${\mu }_{P_{\psi }^{\Delta ++}}+{\mu }_{P_{\psi }^{\Delta -}}+{\mu }_{P_{\psi sss}^{\Lambda -}}=3{\mu }_{P_{\psi s}^{\Sigma 0}}$.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·4 citations
13. 13*

    Redshifting the Cosmological Constant in Unimodular Gravity via Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics

    David E. Kaplan🇺🇸 · Surjeet Rajendran🇺🇸

    The cosmological constant problem represents a profound conflict between quantum field theory and general relativity. Unimodular gravity offers a compelling starting point by de-gravitating the vacuum energy of the Standard Model, but this framework traditionally trades the problem of vacuum energy for a fine-tuning of initial conditions, which manifest as a ``shadow" cosmological constant. In this paper, we resolve this initial conditions problem by proposing a novel modification to gravity based on nonlinear quantum mechanics. We introduce specific state-dependent terms to the Hamiltonian, constructed from expectation values of the metric such as the average Ricci scalar. These terms alter the dynamical equations of gravity such that the shadow energy density associated with unconstrained initial conditions redshifts away with cosmic expansion, rendering it negligible at late times. The resulting cosmology is naturally dominated by matter and radiation without fine-tuning. We demonstrate that this significant infrared modification of gravity is consistent with local and cosmological tests of gravity. We comment on the possibility of testing this solution in cosmological measurements of Newton's constant.

    hep-phgr-qchep-th1 citation
14. 14*

    Quantum decoherence signatures in charmless non-leptonic $B$ decays

    Dhiren Panda🇮🇳 · Manas Kumar Mohapatra🇮🇳 · Rukmani Mohanta🇮🇳

    Quantum coherence plays a crucial role in the dynamics of neutral meson systems, aiding in the extraction of various Standard Model parameters. However, real physical systems always interact with their surroundings, which causes decoherence. In case of time dependent analysis of non-leptonic neutral $B$ meson decays, this decoherence can be modeled using a single parameter, $\lambda$. Since decoherence can affect the observed dynamics of flavor oscillations and CP violation, it becomes essential to revisit the key SM parameters such as the CKM angles $(\alpha ,\beta ,\gamma )$ and the mass differences of neutral $B$ mesons ($\Delta m_{d,s}$). In this work, we study the CKM phase $\beta$ as well as the penguin contributions in the $B_d^0\to J/\psi K_S$ decay mode in the presence of decoherence. We employ the pseudo-experiment (Toy Monte-Carlo) technique and perform an $SU(3{)}_F$ analysis using the $B_d^0\to J/\psi {\pi }^0$ process. Furthermore, we investigate the $B_d^0\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ decay mode to understand how the decoherence influences the CP violating observables. Our findings reveal that the presence of decoherence can affect crucially the measured values of the observables.

    hep-ph2 citations
15. 15*

    Radiative Decays of Vector Mesons with Light-Cone Sum Rules

    Zhi Jun Wang🇩🇪 · Di Gao🇩🇪 · Kai Kai Zhang🇩🇪 · Yuan Yuan Ma🇩🇪 · Yan Jun Sun🇨🇳

    Hadronic electromagnetic form factors and radiative decay properties offer a crucial window into the nonperturbative dynamics of Quantum chromodynamics (QCD). In this work, we employ the light-cone sum rules (LCSR) method to systematically investigate the M1 radiative decay of vector mesons. Our study covers processes including $K^{\ast -}\to K^{-}\gamma$, $D^{\ast }\to D\gamma$, $B^{\ast }\to B\gamma$, $D_s^{\ast +}\to D_s^{+}\gamma$, and $B_s^{\ast }\to B_s\gamma$, and further extends to the excited charmonium state $\psi (2S)$. Our calculations yield decay widths for $K^{\ast }$ and $\psi (2S)$ that are in excellent agreement with experimental data. For the charm and bottom meson decays, where precise measurements are lacking, we provide theoretical predictions and compare them with other theoretical approaches. Most notably, our analysis reveals a universal linear dependence of the decay width on a function A(x) in the logarithmic coordinate system, which originates from the two-body decay dynamics and the ratio of the initial and final state decay constants. This relationship holds for the ground state $V\to P\gamma$ processes here and suggests a broader applicability to radiative decays of ground-state vector mesons.

    hep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·0 citations
16. 16*

    A Study of $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ Nature : Compact v.s. Molecule

    Shota Ampuku · Yasuhiro Yamaguchi🇯🇵 · Masayasu Harada🇯🇵

    A central question in exotic-hadron physics is their internal structure whether these states are loosely bound hadronic molecules or compact multiquark configurations. To shed light on this issue, we develop a model that incorporates mixing between hadronic-molecular and compact multiquark components. We then apply this framework to the specific case of the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ and analyze the peak structure in the $D^0{D}^0{\pi }^{+}$ invariant-mass spectrum reported by LHCb. We find that a scenario based on a predominantly compact tetraquark provides the best fitted solution which can explain the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$. We also find that the model admits two more solutions of comparable quality, both of which imply that the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ is a molecular state: (1) the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ is a $D^{\ast +}{D}^0$ molecule and there is a $D^{\ast 0}{D}^{+}$ molecular state in addition; (2) the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ is a $D^{\ast 0}{D}^{+}$ molecule and an aditional $D^{\ast +}{D}^0$ molecular state is found below $D^0{D}^0{\pi }^{+}$ threshold. These molecular states are not simple $I=0$ states, but mixtures of $I=0$ and $I=1$ states. We show that all three scenarios are also consistent with the experimentally observed near-threshold $D^0{D}^0$ and $D^0{D}^{+}$ invariant-mass distributions.

    hep-phnucl-th0 citations
17. 17*

    Chiral Magnetic Effect induced Spectator Process for Leptogenesis

    Wei Chao🇨🇳

    Conventional Leptogenesis mechanism, which provides compelling explanation to the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the universe (BAU), assumes the absence of hypermagnetic field in the early universe, thereby disregard the implications of hyper gauge field helicity, that have been thoroughly studied in the magnetogenesis mechanism. In this paper, we address impacts of a general U(1) gauge field on Leptogenesis by deriving equation of motions for the helicity and the energy density of a general magnetic field, to which the chiral magnetic effect (CME) is identified as essential, and studying their effects on the evolution chiral asymmetries. Notably, CME in the $U(1{)}_{{\mathbf{L}}_i-{\mathbf{L}}_j}$ framework, where ${\mathbf{L}}_{i,j}$ means specific lepton flavor, explicitly breaks the total lepton number and provides an efficient spectator process, that can wash out pre-existing lepton asymmetries. This establishes a natural connection to the wash-in Leptogenesis paradigm. We demonstrate that this spectator effect enables the generation of the BAU, eliminating the need for both an initial $\mathbf{B}-\mathbf{L}$ charge and primordial helicity.

    hep-phastro-ph.CO1 citation
18. 18*

    Analysis of the hidden-charm pentaquark candidates in the $J/\psi \Xi$ mass spectrum via the QCD sum rules

    Zhi-Gang Wang🇨🇳 · Yang Liu🇨🇳

    In this work, we construct the color $\bar{3}\bar{3}\bar{3}$ type local five-quark currents with the light quarks $qss$ in the flavor octet, and study the $qssc\bar{c}$ pentaquark states via the QCD sum rules in a comprehensive way, and we emphasize that we achieve two light-flavor octets. We obtain the mass spectrum of the hidden-charm-doubly-strange pentaquark states with the isospin-spin-parity $I{J}^P=\frac{1}{2}{\frac{1}{2}}^{-}$, $\frac{1}{2}{\frac{3}{2}}^{-}$ and $\frac{1}{2}{\frac{5}{2}}^{-}$, which can be confronted to the experimental data in the future, especially in the process ${\Xi }_b^{-}\to P_{css}^{-}\varphi \to J/\psi {\Xi }^{-}\varphi$. As a byproduct, we observe that the lowest hidden-charm pentaquark states are not of the scalar-diquark-scalar-diquark-antiquark type, it is not suitable to refer to the scalar and axialvector diquarks as the "good" and "bad" diquarks, respectively.

    hep-phNPB(2026)·11 citations
19. 19*

    On the Charm Contribution to the Muon $g-2$ Light-by-Light

    Johan Bijnens (Lund)🇸🇪 · Nils Hermansson-Truedsson (Edinburgh)🇬🇧 · Antonio Rodríguez-Sánchez (Toledo)🇪🇸

    We combine existing perturbative results to show that a precise analytic determination of the charm-quark contribution to the hadronic light-by-light (HLbL) part of the muon anomalous magnetic moment is possible. Working in the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme, we include the NLO $\mathcal{O}({\alpha }_s)$ correction, which significantly reduces the residual renormalization-scale dependence and the perturbative uncertainty. Our final result is $a_{\mu }^{\mathrm{HLbLc}}=3.65(25)\times 10^{-11}$, in good agreement with recent lattice determinations.

    hep-phPLB(2026)·2 citations
20. 20*

    Roles of $\Lambda$ resonances in the $K^{-}p\to \gamma \Sigma$ reaction

    Yi Pan🇨🇳 · Bo-Chao Liu🇨🇳

    We investigate the $K^{-}p\to \gamma \Sigma$ reaction using an effective Lagrangian approach within an isobar model framework. The model includes contributions from $s$-channel hyperon and hyperon resonance, $t$-channel $K$ and $K^{\ast }$, $u$-channel proton and $\Delta (1232)$ exchanges, and a phenomenological contact term. Our analysis focuses on the roles of various $\Lambda$ resonances. The results indicate that the $\Lambda (1600)$ resonance is crucial for describing the experimental data at lower energies. At higher energies, the inclusion of either the $\Lambda (1670)$ or the $\Lambda (1690)$ resonance significantly improves the agreement with data. However, the current data are insufficient to distinguish between these two scenarios. We suggest that future measurements at higher beam energies and the measurement of the $\Sigma$ polarization are needed to identify the roles of the $\Lambda (1670)$ and $\Lambda (1690)$ resonances.

    hep-phPRD(2025)·0 citations
21. 21*

    Anomalous Higgs Couplings as a Window to New Physics

    I. Asiáin🇪🇸

    Throughout this thesis, we investigate how effective field theories, combined with unitarization techniques, can be used to explore physics beyond the Standard Model, with particular emphasis on the dynamical origin of electroweak symmetry breaking. Since effective theories often produce amplitudes that violate unitarity at high energies, restoring unitarity is essential before comparing predictions with data. The first part of the work focuses on longitudinal $WW$ scattering, a process that, despite being subdominant at the LHC, provides a sensitive probe of Higgs dynamics. We perform a full one-loop computation within the HEFT framework, determine the required counterterms in the on-shell scheme, and analyze for the first time how the inclusion of transverse gauge bosons modifies the masses and widths of the dynamical resonances obtained through unitarization in the vector--isovector and scalar--isoscalar channels. This provides the technical foundation for studying HEFT low-energy couplings subject to unitarity and causality. While vector resonances are relatively well characterized through Weinberg sum rules and unitarization, scalar resonances remain more elusive and depend on HEFT parameters that are experimentally difficult to constrain. We show that unitarization, together with causality, imposes nontrivial bounds on Higgs self-interactions. In the scalar channel, the necessity of treating coupled processes becomes a key ingredient, enabling us to extract information about the Higgs sector from elastic $WW\to WW$ scattering without requiring double-Higgs production. Finally, we apply the formalism developed throughout the thesis to unitarize the amplitudes of a quantum theory of gravity treated as an effective field theory, illustrating the broader applicability of these methods.

    hep-phhep-ex0 citations
22. 22*

    Describing UPC Data with the Sar$t$re Event Generator

    Vaidehi Nattoja🇮🇳 · Tobias Toll🇮🇳

    Ultra-peripheral heavy-ion collisions (UPCs) provide a distinct environment for high-energy QCD research, focusing on the production of vector mesons. This proceeding details recent advancements in the Sar$t$re Monte Carlo event generator, a dipole model-based tool, to better describe UPC data. We present the incorporation of the full photon flux, accounting for interference effects and photon transverse momentum ($k_T$), and the integration of an $n_0^{0}n$ afterburner for neutron-tagged event classification. These extensions significantly improve Sar$t$re's ability to reproduce experimental data from STAR and LHCb, particularly at small $p_T^2$ and for various neutron event classes.

    hep-ph1 citation
23. 23*

    Complex Scalar Singlet Model: Electroweak Phase Transition and Gravitational Waves

    Dilip Kumar Ghosh🇮🇳 · Debadrita Mukherjee🇮🇳 · Koustav Mukherjee🇮🇳 · Rohan Pramanick🇮🇳

    The Standard Model (SM) cannot explain the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU), thus driving the need for physics beyond the SM, which can generate electroweak baryogenesis through a strong first-order electroweak phase transition (SFOPT). We extend the SM with a complex singlet scalar (cxSM) and examine the phase transition behavior using a fully general renormalizable scalar potential that permits a complex vacuum expectation value for the singlet and coupled dynamics among multiple scalar fields. Employing the one-loop thermal effective potential with daisy resummation and appropriate counter terms, we conduct an extensive scan of the parameter space, enforcing both theoretical and experimental limits on the scalar sector. This analysis reveals viable domains yielding SFOPT. From these regions, we select representative benchmark scenarios demonstrating multi-stage transitions, producing stochastic gravitational wave signals via bubble nucleation dynamics. The resulting spectra lie within the projected sensitivity of next-generation observatories, including LISA, BBO, DECIGO, and U-DECIGO. Thus, the cxSM offers a compelling setting for electroweak baryogenesis, enriched by correlated gravitational-wave and collider phenomenology.

    hep-ph6 citations
24. 24*

    $D_{(s)}(2S)$ and $D_{(s)}^{\ast }(2S)$ production in nonleptonic $B_{(s)}$ weak decays

    Zhi-Jie Sun🇮🇷 · Yong-Jin Sun🇮🇷 · Zhi-Qing Zhang🇨🇳 · You-Ya Yang🇨🇳 · Si-Yang Wang🇨🇳

    Recently, many new excited states of heavy mesons have been discovered in recent experiments, including radially excited states. The production processes of these states from the $B_{(s)}$ meson have drawn significant interest. In this paper, we use the covariant light-front approach to study the nonleptonic $B_{(s)}$ meson decays to the first radially excited states $D_{(s)}(2S)$ and $D_{(s)}^{\ast }(2S)$. Our results reveal that many channels exhibit large branching ratios in the range $10^{-5}\sim 10^{-4}$, even up to $10^{-3}$ for individual channels, which are detectable by current experiments. Our predictions for the decays $B_{(s)}\to D_{(s)}^{(\ast )}(2S)(\pi ,\rho ,K^{(\ast )})$ are larger than those given by the Bethe-Salpeter (BS) equation method, but agree well with the relativistic quark mode (RQM) and the relativistic independent quark model (RIQM) calculations. For comparison, we also present the branching ratios of the decays $B_{(s)}\to D_{(s)}^{(\ast )}(1S)(\pi ,\rho ,K^{(\ast )})$, which are comparable with other theoretical results and the data. Although the branching ratios of the decays $B_{(s)}\to D_{(s)}^{\ast }(1S)(\rho ,K^{\ast })$ are much larger than those of the decays $B_{(s)}\to D_{(s)}^{\ast }(2S)(\rho ,K^{\ast })$, the polarization properties between them are similar, that is, the longitudinal polarization fractions are dominant and can amount roughly to $90\%$.

    hep-phhep-exPRD(2026)·2 citations
25. 25*

    Probing Dark Sector Particles Coupling to Neutrinos with Double Beta Decay

    Noor-Ines Boudjema🇬🇧 · Frank F. Deppisch🇬🇧 · Antonio Herrero-Brocal🇪🇸 · Chayan Majumdar🇬🇧 · Supriya Senapati🇺🇸

    Motivated by the observation of non-zero neutrino masses and the potential for discovering physics beyond the Standard Model, numerous experiments are actively searching for neutrinoless double beta $(0\nu \beta \beta )$ decay. In all of these searches, a substantial amount of data on two-neutrino double beta $(2\nu \beta \beta )$ decay has been collected. In this work, we explore the sensitivity of current and future double beta decay experiments to a massive Majoron-like scalar particle coupled to neutrinos and potentially dark sector fermions, and compare their reach to the relevant cosmological constraints. On- and off-shell production of such a scalar leads to characteristic distortions in the emitted electron spectrum. We investigate how these distortions manifest in current and future double beta decay experiments, deriving the sensitivity to such a scenario. We project the reach of future experiments which can probe scalar-neutrino couplings of $|a_{\nu }|\approx 2\times 10^{-6}$ for sub-MeV scalar particles and remain sensitive to off-shell production above the Q-value of double beta isotopes.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·7 citations
26. 26*

    Identifying Charged Lepton-like Portal Matter at Future Colliders

    Thomas G. Rizzo🇺🇸

    In the Kinetic Mixing (KM) portal scenario, the interaction of dark matter (DM) with the particles of the Standard Model (SM) is generated by diagrams connecting the familiar photon with its dark sector analog, the dark photon (DP), via loops of particles carrying both dark and SM quantum numbers, \ie, Portal Matter (PM). For the case of sub-GeV DM and DP, these PM states may lie in the $\sim 1-10$ TeV range and be potentially accessible at the HL-LHC as well as at other future lepton and hadron colliders. In perhaps the simplest scenario of this kind, PM consists of just a pair of electrically charged, iso- and color-singlet, vector-like (VL) fermions having opposite dark charges, with an $O(1)$ mass splitting, yielding a finite value for the strength of the KM, \ie, $ϵ\sim afew\times 10^{-4}$. The dark Higgs induced mixing of PM states with their SM analogs allows for their decay but can also lead to significant distortions in the expected production properties for the PM at future lepton colliders due to $t$-channel dark Higgs exchange, potentially confusing PM identification. We show that the large set of clean observables available at lepton colliders is more that sufficient to resolve any of these ambiguities. The possibility of the production of like-sign PM fields via $t/u$-channel exchange of the same dark Higgs is also briefly explored.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·2 citations
27. 27*

    Bounds on Exotic Couplings from a New $\nu$-Background

    Indra Kumar Banerjee🇮🇳 · Ujjal Kumar Dey🇮🇳 · Anna John🇮🇳

    We propose a hitherto unexplored neutrino background emerging from the mechanism of quenched superradiance of rotating primordial black holes. The quenching of the phenomenon happens through fermionic production, in our case neutrino production, from the boson cloud formed due to superradiance. The couplings involved in these interactions are bounded from above through several studies. In this work we put lower bounds on such scalar and vector couplings.

    hep-phgr-qc2 citations
28. 28*

    Effects of Lighter-than-QCD Axions on Neutron Star Tidal Deformability

    Yonatan Kahn🇨🇦 · Michael Wentzel🇺🇸 · Nicolás Yunes🇺🇸

    Finite density corrections to the lighter-than-QCD axion can invert the effective axion potential, sourcing a non-trivial axion field inside dense objects. We perform the first numerical study of the complete dynamics of the lighter-than-QCD axion in a neutron star in 1+1 general relativity, extending the region of analysis to low-mass axions with kilometer-scale Compton wavelengths. We calculate gravitational effects of the axion field on the neutron star and show that for a broad range of axion masses and decay constants, neutron star properties, such as the mass, radius, and compactness, are affected at the order-1 level. This result indicates that approximate universal tidal deformability-compactness relation for neutron stars is non-trivially broken and can serve as a probe of lighter-than-QCD axions, independent of the unknown nuclear equation of state. We comment on the potential for axion studies with future gravitational-wave observations of neutron stars and applications of this work to other new physics signatures.

    hep-phastro-ph.HEgr-qc1 citation
29. 29*

    Stripped-Envelope Supernovae for QCD Axion Detection

    Francisco R. Candón🇩🇪 · Damiano F. G. Fiorillo🇩🇪 · Ángel Gil Muyor🇮🇹 · Hans-Thomas Janka🇩🇪 · Georg G. Raffelt🇩🇪 · Edoardo Vitagliano🇮🇹

    QCD axions would be copiously produced in the proto-neutron star formed in a core-collapse supernova (SN). After escaping, they would convert into gamma rays in the Galactic magnetic field and, as recently shown, in that of the progenitor star itself. Here, we show that Type Ibc SNe -- whose progenitors have lost their hydrogen or even helium envelopes -- are the optimal targets for this search. The stripped progenitors are much more compact, and they show larger magnetic fields than both red and blue supergiants, the progenitors of Type IIP/L SNe. If the next galactic SN is of Type Ibc, Fermi-LAT or a similar gamma-ray satellite might be able to discover the QCD axion down to masses as small as $m_a\simeq 10^{-4}\mathrm{eV}$ (Peccei-Quinn scale $f_a\simeq 10^{11}\mathrm{GeV}$).

    hep-phastro-ph.COastro-ph.HEPRL(2026)·13 citations
30. 30*

    Background Field Effects on Quasi-Real Photon Emission and Lepton-Pair Production at EIC and EicC

    Cong Li🇨🇳

    We study how background electromagnetic fields modify quasi-real photon emission at the EIC and EicC through an effective coupling correction, thereby altering the photon flux spectrum. The resulting change in lepton-pair production via photon-photon fusion, where one photon arises from the electron and the other from the nuclear Coulomb field-serves as a clean QED probe of such background effects. In our formulation, the correction originates from a non-perturbative modification of the photon propagator induced by the background field. Because this process shares the same initial-state photon dynamics as photon-gluon fusion, any background-induced alteration of the photon propagator directly impacts the extraction of small-$x$ gluon distributions. Numerical estimates at realistic collider energies indicate that these corrections should be non-negligible in certain kinematic regions.

    hep-ph0 citations
31. 31*

    Through the Heliospheric Lens: Directional Deflection of High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Electrons and Positrons

    Stefano Profumo🇺🇸 · Aria Koul🇺🇸 · Anika Malladi🇺🇸 · Ben Schmitt🇺🇸

    We investigate how the large-scale heliosphere alters the arrival directions of high-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons and ask if and when this "heliospheric lens" can be ignored for anisotropy and source-association studies - an especially timely topic given, for instance, the persistent cosmic-ray positron fraction and its unknown origin. Using a modular back-tracing framework, we explore a set of widely used magnetic-field descriptions-from a Parker spiral baseline to more structured configurations that include latitudinal wind contrasts, Smith-Bieber-type azimuthal strengthening, and tilted or wavy heliospheric current sheets. We model the deterministic deflections of high-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs) induced by large-scale heliospheric magnetic-field structures using a back-tracing approach. Our results apply to CREs above tens of GeV, where diffusion, convection, and adiabatic energy losses play a subdominant role; these processes are neglected in the present study and will be addressed in future work. Across these models the picture is consistent: most bending is accumulated within the inner tens of astronomical units and decreases rapidly with energy. Field choices and solar-cycle geometry set the overall normalization, with stronger spiral winding or a more highly tilted current sheet producing larger deflections at the same energy. Differences between electrons and positrons are most apparent at lower energies, where drift histories and current-sheet encounters diverge, and become increasingly small at multi-TeV energies. [...]

    ↳ astro-ph.HEhep-phAstropart.Phys.(2026)·0 citations
32. 32*

    Gravitational wave standard sirens from GWTC-3 combined with DESI DR2 and DESY5: A late-universe probe of the Hubble constant and dark energy

    Ji-Yu Song🇺🇸 · Guo-Hong Du🇺🇸 · Tian-Nuo Li🇺🇸 · Ling-Feng Wang🇨🇳 · Jing-Zhao Qi🇺🇸 · Jing-Fei Zhang🇺🇸 · Xin Zhang🇺🇸

    Recently, the combination of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 2 (DR2) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data and the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements has shown a $\sim$3$\sigma$ preference for a dynamical dark energy model with a phantom-crossing behavior. However, such a phantom-crossing dark energy evolution further exacerbates the already severe Hubble tension in the $\Lambda$CDM model. Moreover, there exists a $\sim 2\sigma$ tension between the DESI DR2 BAO and CMB datasets. Therefore, it is essential to measure the Hubble constant and dark-energy equation-of-state (EoS) parameters using only late-universe observations. In this work, we investigate a novel late-universe data combination: gravitational-wave (GW) standard sirens, BAO, and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). This combination provides a fully distance-ladder- and CMB-independent determination of the Hubble constant and the dark-energy EoS. Using 47 GW standard sirens from the third Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, the DESI DR2 BAO data, and DESY5 SNe Ia data, in the $w_0{w}_a$CDM model, we obtain $H_0=74.8_{-8.9}^{+6.3}$ km s${}^{-1}$ Mpc${}^{-1}$, ${\Omega }_{\mathrm{m}}=0.320_{-0.012}^{+0.015}$, $w_0=-0.775_{-0.074}^{+0.072}$, and $w_a=-0.80\pm 0.47$, indicating a mild phantom-crossing behavior within the $1\sigma$ credible interval with an $H_0$ value consistent with the distance ladder measurements. Our analysis demonstrates the power of GW standard sirens in breaking parameter degeneracies, and this novel data combination provides joint constraints on the Hubble constant and the dark-energy EoS parameters.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phhep-thSCPMA(2026)·23 citations
33. 33*

    Simplification of chiral nuclear forces near the unitarity limit

    Songlin Lyu🇮🇹 · Lin Zuo🇨🇳 · Rui Peng🇨🇳 · Sebastian König🇺🇸 · Bingwei Long🇨🇳

    Modern theory approaches for describing atomic nuclei often make use of on an effective theory that constructs the interaction between nucleons systematically based on Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), exploiting constraints arising from the approximate chiral symmetry of QCD. The tensor nuclear force produced by one-pion exchange is an important feature that arises naturally in this framework. In this work we show that, however, the tensor force is suppressed by the large nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths in combination with the smallness of the pion mass. Based on this observation, we propose a new scheme for a chiral nuclear force that is able to describe $NN$ phase shifts up to the center-of-mass momenta $k\simeq 300$ MeV while treating pion exchange as a perturbation. Our much simplified leading-order force provides a microscopic explanation for the recent success of various short-range nuclear forces from the perspective of chiral effective field theory, and it shares with those approaches an approximate Wigner SU(4) symmetry, as well as the closeness to the unitarity limit (infinite nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths), as guiding principles. Compared to previous approaches to perturbative-pion interactions, our force also adjusts the ordering of short-range contact interactions, by means of which we overcome convergence problems of the expansion that were previously assumed to severely limit its usefulness. We demonstrate the performance of our approach with numerical calculations of $NN$ scattering up to fourth order, in addition to studies of $3N$ and $4N$ bound-state properties.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-ph3 citations
34. 34*

    Low-energy interactions between doubly charmed baryons and Goldstone bosons from lattice QCD

    Jing-Yu Yi🇨🇳 · Ze-Rui Liang🇨🇳 · Liuming Liu🇨🇳 · De-Liang Yao🇨🇳

    We perform a lattice QCD calculation of the $S$-wave interactions between the ground-state spin-$1/2$ doubly charmed baryons and Goldstone bosons. The lattice QCD simulations are carried out on four $2+1$ flavor Wilson-Clover ensembles generated by the CLQCD collaboration, with a lattice spacing $a=0.07746$ fm and two different pion masses, $M_{\pi }\sim 210$ and $\sim 300\mathrm{MeV}$. Energy levels are extracted for four single channels, ${\Omega }_{cc}{\bar{K}}^{(-2,1/2)}$, ${\Xi }_{cc}{K}^{(1,1)}$, ${\Xi }_{cc}{K}^{(1,0)}$, and ${\Xi }_{cc}{\pi }^{(0,3/2)}$, where the superscripts $(S,I)$ denote strangeness $S$ and isospin $I$. Our results indicate that the ${\Xi }_{cc}{K}^{(1,0)}$ channel is attractive, exhibiting negative energy shifts relative to the non-interacting two-hadron thresholds, while the other three channels are repulsive. Using Lüscher's finite-volume formula, we extract the near-threshold phase shifts and determine the $S$-wave scattering lengths. Furthermore, a virtual state pole is found in the ${\Xi }_{cc}{K}^{(1,0)}$ scattering amplitude. These results provide {\it ab initio} input to enable high-precision studies of the properties and spectroscopy of doubly heavy baryons.

    ↳ hep-lathep-phJHEP(2026)·2 citations
35. 35*

    Thermal Quarkyonic Matter and Its Implications for Neutron Star Structure

    K. Folias🇬🇷 · Ch.C. Moustakidis🇬🇷

    The structure and basic properties of dense nuclear matter still remain one of the open problems of Physics. In particular, the composition of the matter that composes neutron stars is under theoretical and experimental investigation. Among the theories that have been proposed, apart from the classical one where the composition is dominated by hadrons, the existence or coexistence of deconfined quark matter is a dominant guess. An approach towards this solution is the phenomenological view according to which the existence of quarkyonic matter plays a dominant role in the construction of the equation of state (EOS). According to it the structure of the EOS is based on the existence of the quarkyonic particle which is a hybrid state of a particle that combines properties of hadronic and quark matter with a corresponding representation in momentum space. In this paper we propose a phenomenological model for hot quarkyonic matter, borrowed from corresponding applications in hadronic models, where the interaction in the quarkyonic matter depends not only on the position but also on the momentum of the quarkyonic particles. This consideration, as we demonstrate, can have a remarkable consequence on the shape of the EOS and thus on the properties of neutron stars, especially in those for which the effect of temperature is significant, offering a sufficiently flexible model. Comparison with recent observational data can place constraints on the parameterization of the particular model and help improve its reliability.

    ↳ nucl-thastro-ph.HEastro-ph.SRhep-ph3 citations
36. 36*

    Sensitivity to low-mass WIMPs with an improved liquid argon ionization response model within the DarkSide programme

    F. Acerbi · P. Adhikari · P. Agnes · I. Ahmad · S. Albergo · I. F. Albuquerque · T. Alexander · A. K. Alton · P. Amaudruz · M. Angiolilli · E. Aprile · M. Atzori Corona and 285 other authors

    Dark matter detection experiments using liquid argon rely on a precise characterization of the ionization response to nuclear recoils, especially in the keV energy range relevant for light dark matter interactions. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis that combines new measurements from the ReD setup, part of the DarkSide experimental program, with calibration data from DarkSide-50, as well as results from the ARIS and SCENE experiments. These combined datasets enable improved constraints on atomic screening effects in the modeling of the ionization response of liquid argon to nuclear recoils. The analysis is performed within the Thomas-Imel recombination framework adopted in previous DarkSide studies, and is here further constrained by the inclusion of ReD data, which allow the screening function to be determined from calibration measurements. By including the updated ionization model into the DarkSide-50 analysis framework, we obtain stronger exclusion limits on low-mass WIMP interactions, setting new world-leading constraints in the 1-3 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass range. Finally, we recast the sensitivity projections for the upcoming DarkSide-20k detector, demonstrating a significantly enhanced discovery potential for low-mass dark matter candidates.

    ↳ hep-exhep-phPRD(2026)·9 citations
37. 37*

    Coupling between gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations on Kerr Spacetime

    Fawzi Aly🇺🇸 · Dejan Stojkovic🇺🇸

    We extend our previous Schwarzschild metric-based studies of gravitational--electromagnetic (GEM) coupling to rotating black holes by working directly in a curvature-based Newman--Penrose/Teukolsky framework on Kerr spacetime. Within a minimally coupled Einstein--Maxwell system, we derive explicit quadratic electromagnetic source terms for the spin-$-2$ Teukolsky equation, providing a foundation for future numerical studies of GEM interactions in the framework of black-hole spectroscopy. Moreover, we give order-of-magnitude arguments showing that GEM quadratic quasinormal modes (QQNMs) can become relevant in a range of charged and magnetized astrophysical scenarios. Finally, we show through a brief dilaton-theory example that the GEM QQNM spectrum is sensitive to how gravity couples to electromagnetism, thereby providing a model-based way to test minimal coupling and to constrain hidden $U(1)$ sectors with gravitational-wave observations.

    ↳ gr-qcastro-ph.HEhep-phPRD(2026)·2 citations
38. 38*

    A model-independent assessment of the late-time dark energy density evolution

    Rayff de Souza🇧🇷 · Agripino Sousa-Neto🇧🇷 · Javier E. González🇧🇷 · Jailson Alcaniz🇧🇷

    Combined measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Survey (DESI), the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Type Ia Supernovae (SN Ia), have recently challenged the $\Lambda$-Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) paradigm, indicating potential evidence for a dynamical dark energy component. These results are usually obtained in the context of the dark energy equation-of-state (EoS) parameterizations, generally implying in phantom-crossing at intermediate redshifts. However, a general mapping between these parameterizations that yields approximately the same background observables clouds the inference of the true nature of dark energy in the context of these parametric methods. In this work, we propose a model-independent reconstruction of the dark energy density, which is more directly constrained than its EoS, based on the Gaussian Process (GP) regression method with the use of DESI DR2 BAO data and the Pantheon+, Union3 and DESY5 SN Ia samples. In addition, we perform a statistical comparison between the energy densities of $\Lambda$, a non-phantom thawing quintessence-type dark energy, and the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parameterization with the reconstructed function. We find that all models agree with the GP reconstruction at 95\% C.L., with the largest discrepancy coming from $\Lambda$CDM with DESY5 at low redshifts. Even in this case, our findings suggest that it may be premature to claim statistically significant evidence for evolving or phantom dark energy with current DESI and SN Ia measurements.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·3 citations
39. 39*

    Statistics Meet Systematics: Resolution of the Massive Early JWST Galaxy Tension

    Jay R. Krishnan · Kevork N. Abazajian🇺🇸

    The discovery of massive, high redshift galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been argued to challenge $\Lambda$CDM (cold dark matter): such systems would require extremely rare halos and baryon-to-stellar-mass conversion efficiencies unphysically approaching -- or exceeding -- $100\%$. If confirmed at galaxy-formation--forbidden efficiencies, these galaxies could signal new physics beyond standard cosmological structure formation. We develop a galaxy model framework that ties the linear power spectrum to the inferred efficiencies of galaxy growth while incorporating multiple sources of uncertainties in order to test the structure formation models. The sources of error include (i) observational sample variance, (ii) asymmetric scatter induced by the steepness of the high-mass halo tail, and (iii) systematic uncertainties in stellar mass estimates. We find that the inferred star-formation efficiency is largely controlled by systematic uncertainties in the stellar mass estimates derived from spectral energy distribution modeling of JWST-detected galaxies. Because of the inherent Eddington-like bias, systematic uncertainties amplify the asymmetry of the scatter, in some cases by orders of magnitude, thereby bringing the inferred efficiencies into closer agreement with expectations from early galaxy formation models. We also present how these uncertainties can be applied to the inferred UV luminosity function. Our framework can be used to test $\Lambda$CDM as errors are reduced and further detections are made.

    ↳ astro-ph.GAastro-ph.COhep-phPRD(2026)·1 citation
40. 40*

    Quantum Error Correction Codes for Truncated SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theories

    Xiaojun Yao🇺🇸

    We construct two quantum error correction codes for pure SU(2) lattice gauge theory in the electric basis truncated at the electric flux $j_{\max }=1/2$, which are applicable on quasi-1D plaquette chains, 2D honeycomb and 3D triamond and hyperhoneycomb lattices. The first code converts Gauss's law at each vertex into a stabilizer while the second only uses half of the vertices and is locally the carbon code. Both codes are able to correct single-qubit errors. The electric and magnetic terms in the SU(2) Hamiltonian are expressed in terms of logical gates in both codes. The logical-gate Hamiltonian in the first code exactly matches the spin Hamiltonian for gauge singlet states found in previous work.

    ↳ quant-phhep-lathep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·18 citations
41. 41*

    The Cosmic Star Formation History: Insights from Kilonova-Associated Gamma-Ray Bursts

    Qin-Mei Li🇨🇳 · Qi-Bin Sun🇨🇳 · Sheng-Bang Qian🇨🇳 · Si-Yuan Zhu🇨🇳 · Fu-Xing Li🇨🇳

    The origin of the Universe and its material content remains one of the most fundamental questions in science. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), with their extreme luminosities and high-redshift detectability, provide a unique window into the history of cosmic formation and chemical evolution. Consequently, the GRB formation rate (FR) has been employed to trace the star formation rate (SFR) across cosmic time. GRBs are conventionally classified into long and short categories (lGRBs and sGRBs) based on their $T_{90}$ duration. sGRBs are widely employed as tracers of the delayed SFR, owing to their origin linked to the inspiral timescales of compact binary systems. However, some studies suggest that the detection of supernova-associated sGRBs may indicate potential contamination by core-collapse events. In this work, we move beyond the $T_{90}$ classification and focus exclusively on GRBs with confirmed kilonova signatures, which provide unambiguous evidence of binary compact star mergers, to reassess their connection with the delayed SFR. Through analysis of a kilonova-associated GRB (KN/GRBs) sample, we find that even within this robust subset, the KN/GRB FR displays a trend contrary to that of the delayed SFR at low redshifts ($z<1$). This result challenges the conventional theory by indicating that low-redshift KN/GRBs may not accurately trace the delayed SFR, independent of core-collapse contamination, while further validation with larger KN/GRB samples is essential to determine the reliability of compact binary mergers as probes of delayed SFR.

    ↳ astro-ph.HEhep-phApJ(2026)·2 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.