Thu·Feb 19, 2026Thursday·February 19, 2026

1. 01*

   Statistics of Daily Modulation in Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments

   Carlos Blanco🇺🇸 · Joshua W. Foster🇺🇸 · Yonatan Kahn🇨🇦 · Benjamin Lillard🇺🇸

   The time-dependent modulation of the event rate in dark matter direct detection experiments, arising from the motion of the Earth with respect to the Galactic rest frame, is a distinctive signature whose observation is crucial for claiming a discovery of dark matter. While annual modulation has been well studied for decades, daily modulation due to the Earth's rotation has attracted increased attention recently due to the identification of anisotropic solid-state detector materials that yield a direction-dependent scattering rate without sacrificing the overall rate. We perform a statistical analysis of daily modulation in dark matter scattering experiments, with the goal of maximizing the statistical significance of a modulating signal in the presence of an unknown background rate, which may be either flat (non-modulating), or modulating over a 24-hour period with a known or unknown phase. In the background-dominated regime, we find that the discovery significance scales as $f_{\text{RMS}}\sqrt{T}$, where $T$ is the total exposure time and $f_{\text{RMS}}$ is the root-mean-square modulation amplitude; in particular, the significance continues to improve with exposure rather than saturating due to systematic uncertainties in the background rate. Using anisotropic trans-stilbene detectors for sub-GeV dark matter as a benchmark example, we provide prescriptions for optimizing the significance for a given total detector mass and location. In an example analysis using three detectors, optimizing the detector orientations can reduce the required exposure by a factor of $\sim 5$ for a desired discovery or exclusion significance, even after profiling over an unknown modulating background phase.

   hep-phastro-ph.IMhep-ex4 citations
2. 02*

   Novel Constraints on Spin-Dependent Light Dark Matter Scattering

   Alexander Clarke🇺🇸 · Maxim Pospelov🇺🇸

   We explore the sensitivity of the SNO experiment to light dark matter particles $\chi$ with spin-dependent interactions with nucleons. We show that the pair-production of MeV scale dark matter is possible in heavy water (CANDU) reactors via $\mathrm{D}(n,\chi \bar{\chi }{)}^3\mathrm{He}$, and calculate the expected rate within the simplest models of $\chi$-nucleon interactions. %Heavy water nuclear reactors serve as an excellent production method for spin-dependent dark matter. Owing to a sizable $Q$-value for this reaction, a large fraction of DM particles produced this way are above the threshold for deuteron disintegration, $\mathrm{D}(\chi ,\chi )np$, which adds to the SNO neutral current signal. Evaluating the CANDU-to-SNO scheme for the production and detection of DM, we derive novel constraints for the $\chi$-nucleon spin-dependent cross sections, showing that cross sections above ${\sigma }_{\chi p}\sim 10^{-33}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ are generally excluded if $m_{\chi }\le 1.5$\,MeV. An isospin-mirror reaction will occur in the Sun, and for the kinematically allowed region it excludes a portion of parameter space with cross sections on the order $10^{-37}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$. We also evaluate the potential sensitivity of small ``near" detectors placed in close proximity to a CANDU reactor to search for a coherent nuclear recoil, finding subdominant sensitivity.

   hep-phPRD(2026)·0 citations
3. 03*

   Towards the inclusion of NLO EW corrections in the MiNLO method in Drell-Yan processes

   Filippo Belloni🇮🇹 · Mauro Chiesa🇮🇹 · Carlo Oleari🇮🇹 · Emanuele Re🇮🇹

   In this paper we present the first application of the MiNLO method to the calculation of QED NLO corrections to the production of a neutral vector boson in Drell-Yan processes. We consider only the case of initial-state radiation, when the Z boson decays into neutrinos. We illustrate the abelianization procedure of the MiNLO formulae and discuss the impact that it has on the differential cross section. We then propose a variant of the MiNLO formulae in order to circumvent some of the problems that arise when dealing with QED emissions. Since this is a case study, we use ad-hoc parton distribution functions and a larger value of the electromagnetic coupling constant, in order to emphasize potential discrepancies with respect to the expected behavior of the MiNLO formulae. We quantify the uncertainties connected with the proposed method, also for a the physical value of the electromagnetic coupling. The study presented here is a necessary first step towards incorporating full electroweak effects into the MiNNLOPS framework.

   hep-phEPJC(2026)·2 citations
4. 04*

   Electromagnetic Production of Kaons on the Nucleon

   Terry Mart🇮🇩 · Jovan Alfian Djaja🇮🇩 · Daniel S. Carman🇺🇸

   Studies of the electromagnetic production of strange quarks began in the 1950s as something of a curiosity that puzzled experimentalists and theorists alike. As the datasets increased, concomitant advances in theoretical models were realized. A paradigm shift occurred in the 1990s with the development of second-generation facilities at ELSA, MAMI, SPring-8, and JLab, which brought nuclear physics experiments forward by orders of magnitude in counting statistics compared to the first-generation efforts. This was an utter boon to strangeness physics investigations, and to date, more than 50 dedicated experiments in kaon photo- and electroproduction have been completed at facilities around the world, leading to a host of experimental observables that have enabled significant advances in the exploration of strongly interacting systems that decay via $s\bar{s}$ quark pair creation. This review was designed to provide the first-ever in-depth overview of both the experimental and theoretical progress in the field of the electromagnetic production of strangeness. This work looks back over 70 years of past developments, discusses ongoing work and near-term plans, and details future possibilities being considered for third-generation facilities. Throughout this work, the primary impacts of these explorations are highlighted, along with connections to a wide range of related phenomenological applications. An important goal of this review is to provide a complete, self-contained guide into this field prepared at a level that is relevant for both new and seasoned scientists, whether experimentalists, phenomenologists, or theorists, to better understand what has been accomplished by so many dedicated folks-each building on what has come before-and to appreciate the exciting future potential for continued studies in this area. A more complete abstract is provided in the paper.

   hep-phhep-exnucl-exnucl-thPPNP(2026)·3 citations
5. 05*

   Is the Standard Model Effective Field Theory Enough for Higgs Pair Production?

   Íñigo Asiáin🇪🇸 · Ramona Gröber🇮🇹 · Lorenzo Tiberi🇮🇹

   We study Higgs-boson pair production in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) up to dimension six and in the Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT) at leading order in the effective theory expansion, and assess which description is appropriate in concrete UV scenarios. Motivated by "Loryon"-inspired models, we compare the Higgs pair production cross sections predicted by the full models to their SMEFT and HEFT counterparts. We identify regimes in which the two EFTs provide comparable descriptions, and clarify the limits required for their couplings to match. We also find that, for parts of parameter space in some of these models, HEFT can reproduce Higgs pair production more accurately than SMEFT, highlighting di-Higgs measurements as a potential probe of non-linear electroweak dynamics.

   hep-phhep-ex4 citations
6. 06*

   Quasi-two-body decays $B^{+}\to D_s^{+}(R\to )K^{+}{K}^{-}$ in the perturbative QCD approach

   Zhi-Tian Zou🇨🇳 · Jun-Peng Wang🇨🇳 · Zhou Rui🇨🇳 · Ying Li🇨🇳

   A search for the decay $B^{+}\to D_s^{+}{K}^{+}{K}^{-}$ has been reported by the LHCb Collaboration using $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $4.8{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13~TeV, in which no amplitude analysis of the $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ subsystem was performed. In this work, we study the resonant contributions to the decay $B^{+}\to D_s^{+}{K}^{+}{K}^{-}$ within the perturbative QCD (PQCD) factorization framework. Contributions from the $S$-wave resonances $f_0(980)$, $f_0(1370)$, and $f_0(1500)$, the $P$-wave resonance $\varphi (1020)$, and the $D$-wave resonances $f_2(1270)$ and $f_2(1525)$ are taken into account. By introducing the corresponding two-meson distribution amplitudes for the $K^{+}{K}^{-}$ system, we perform a complete perturbative analysis of the quasi-two-body decays $B^{+}\to D_s^{+}(R\to )K^{+}{K}^{-}$, where $R$ denotes an intermediate resonance, and present the first PQCD predictions for the associated branching fractions. Using the narrow-width approximation, we further extract the branching fractions of the corresponding two-body decays $B^{+}\to D_s^{+}R$. Our results are consistent with the available experimental measurements and previous theoretical studies. Finally, we find that direct CP asymmetries vanish for these quasi-two-body decays within the Standard Model, so that any experimentally observed nonzero CP asymmetry would constitute a clear signal of physics beyond the Standard Model.

   hep-phhep-exCPC(2026)·0 citations
7. 07*

   Momentum Broadening in the Opacity Expansion: All-Path-Length Corrections and Improved Regge Kinematics

   Dario van den Berg🇿🇦 · Isobel Kolbé🇿🇦

   We present a detailed study of momentum broadening and the jet transport coefficient $\hat{q}$ for high-energy partons traversing the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), extending the Gyulassy-Levai-Vitev (GLV) formalism to include both all-path-length (APL) and sub-Regge kinematical corrections. Traditional GLV calculations rely on the large separation distance and large formation time approximations, which are valid for large systems but whose applicability to small systems, such as $pp$ and $p/d$A collisions, may fail. We derive analytic expressions for the momentum broadening distributions and $\hat{q}$ to first order in the opacity expansion, and perform a detailed numerical investigation to quantify their impact. The APL correction suppresses momentum broadening at low $p_{\perp }$, with a correction scaling as $\propto 1/(L{p}_{\perp })$ that dominates for small systems, while converging to the standard GLV result at large $L$. The sub-Regge kinematical correction enhances momentum broadening at high $p_{\perp }$, becoming significant when the transverse momentum transfer approaches the magnitude of the parton's large light-cone momentum component, and vanishing in the Regge limit where this ratio is small. When both corrections are combined, the sub-Regge kinematical correction partially mitigates the suppression induced by the APL term; in the case of $\hat{q}$, this mitigation is essentially complete, with ${\hat{q}}_{(\mathrm{APL}+\mathrm{SUB})}$ found to coincide closely with the standard GLV result. These findings demonstrate that sub-Regge kinematical corrections can resolve the long-standing problem of large negative energy-loss contributions at high energies identified in earlier studies.

   hep-phnucl-th1 citation
8. 08*

   High Energy Nuclear Optics of polarized nucleons and nuclei: research at complex Nuclotron M- NICA

   Vladimir Baryshevsky

   Refracton of particles (nucleons, nuclei, $\gamma$-quanta) in matter with polarized protons (nuclei) results in revealing coherent quasi-optical phenomenon of nuclear spin precession of particles (nuclei) in the pseudomagnetic field of matter with polarized spins and the phenomenon of birefringence of particles (nuclei) with spin $S\ge 1$. These phenomena can be observed and studied at complex NuclotronM-NICA. The similar effects for $\gamma$-quanta could be observed at LINAC accelerator. Quasi-optical coherent phenomena of spin rotation and dichroism are not caused by strong interactions only, the T-odd P-odd, T-odd P-even, T-even P-odd interactions also contribute. Limits for the value of these contributions at energies available at complex NuclotronM-NICA can be obtained by investigating all these phenomena. When studying polarized particles collisions, it is necessary to consider possible influences of quasi-optical phenomena of spin rotation and spin dichroism caused by nuclear precession and birefringence.

   hep-phNatural Sci.Rev.(2026)·1 citation
9. 09*

   Atmospheric Neutrino Charged-Current Interactions at Large Liquid-Scintillator Detectors: I. Physics of Neutrino-Antineutrino Discrimination

   Xinhai He🇨🇳 · Gao-song Li🇨🇳 · Yu-Feng Li🇨🇳 · Wuming Luo🇨🇳 · Liang-jian Wen🇨🇳

   In this work, we present a systematic study of the event characteristics and physics of neutrino-antineutrino discrimination associated with atmospheric neutrino charged-current interactions in large liquid scintillator detectors. This study encompasses the primary neutrino interactions, the sequential second interactions of final-state particles, and the final neutron captures. We carefully investigate the properties of final-state charged leptons and hadrons, providing distinct distributions of inelasticity and captured neutron multiplicity for both neutrino and antineutrino interactions. These distributions are employed to assess the quantitative performance of neutrino-antineutrino discrimination. Our findings lay the groundwork for atmospheric neutrino oscillation studies in large liquid scintillator detectors, particularly in the determination of neutrino mass ordering.

   hep-phhep-exCPC(2026)·1 citation
10. 10*

    Quantum Estimation Theory Limits in Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

    Claudia Frugiuele🇮🇹 · Marco G. Genoni🇮🇹 · Michela Ignoti🇮🇹 · Matteo G. A. Paris🇮🇹

    Measurements of the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) neutrino mixing parameters have entered a precision era, enabling increasingly stringent tests of neutrino oscillations. Within the framework of quantum estimation theory, we investigate whether flavor measurements, the only observables currently accessible experimentally, are optimal for extracting the oscillation parameters. We compute the Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) and the classical Fisher Information (FI) associated with ideal flavor projections for all oscillation parameters, considering accelerator muon (anti)neutrino and reactor electron antineutrino beams propagating in vacuum. Two main results emerge. First, flavor measurements saturate the QFI at the first oscillation maximum for ${\theta }_{13}$, ${\theta }_{23}$, and ${\theta }_{12}$, demonstrating their information-theoretic optimality for these parameters. In contrast, they are far from optimal for ${\delta }_{CP}$. In particular, only a small fraction of the available information on ${\delta }_{CP}$ is extracted at the first maximum; the sensitivity improves at the second maximum, in line with the strategy of ESS$\nu$SB, a planned facility. Second, the QFI associated with ${\delta }_{CP}$ is approximately one order of magnitude smaller than that of the mixing angles, indicating that the neutrino state intrinsically encodes less information about CP violation. Nevertheless, this quantum bound lies well below current experimental uncertainties, implying that the present precision on ${\delta }_{CP}$ is not fundamentally limited. Our results provide a quantitative framework to disentangle fundamental from practical limitations and establish a benchmark for optimizing future neutrino facilities.

    hep-phhep-exquant-phJHEP(2026)·9 citations
11. 11*

    Isospin dependence of nuclear EMC effect from global QCD analysis

    C. Cocuzza🇺🇸 · T. J. Hague🇺🇸 · W. Melnitchouk🇺🇸 · N. Sato🇺🇸 · A.W. Thomas🇦🇺

    We perform a new global QCD analysis of unpolarized parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the nucleon from proton, deuteron and $A=3$ data, including recent measurements of ${}^3$He/$D$ and ${}^3$H/$D$ cross section ratios from the MARATHON experiment at Jefferson Lab. Simultaneously inferring the PDFs and nucleon off-shell corrections allows both to be determined consistently, without theoretical assumptions about the isospin dependence of nuclear effects. The analysis provides strong evidence for the need of nucleon off-shell corrections to describe the $A=3$ data, with large isoscalar and a suggestion of nonzero isovector contributions in $A\le 3$ nuclei. We find that the extracted EMC ratios of nuclear to nucleon structure functions for $A=2$ and 3 differ from those naively extrapolated from heavy nuclei down to low $A$.

    hep-phhep-exnucl-thPRD(2026)·5 citations
12. 12*

    The spatial Wilson loops, string breaking, and AdS/QCD

    Oleg Andreev🇩🇪

    We consider the phenomenon of string breaking in the context of the spatial Wilson loops using the gauge/string duality. In particular, we discuss the impact of light flavors on the pseudopotential. We also introduce the notion of the spatial string breaking distance and estimate it for $SU(3)$ gauge theory in the temperature range $0\text{-}3T_c$.

    hep-phhep-lathep-thnucl-thPLB(2026)·0 citations
13. 13*

    Scattering data and correlation function for the $K{f}_1(1285)$ interaction

    Wen-Hao Jia🇨🇳 · Jing Song🇨🇳 · Wei-Hong Liang🇨🇳 · Eulogio Oset🇪🇸

    We study the interaction of a kaon with the $f_1(1285)$ resonance, assuming that the $f_1(1285)$ is a molecular state generated by the $K{\bar{K}}^{\ast },\bar{K}{K}^{\ast }$ interaction, evaluating the scattering amplitude, the scattering length and effective range of the $K{f}_1$ system. The scattering amplitude develops a resonant structure approximately \R{$56$ MeV} below the $K{f}_1$ threshold, with a width of around \R{$123$ MeV} MeV. The corresponding correlation function has the distinctive shape of a system with a bound state close to threshold. We also show that the interaction of the $K{f}_1$ system differs significantly from the one obtained assuming that the $f_1(1285)$ is an \R{ordinary, non-molecular,} particle. This provides motivation to continue the search for these observables, already initiated by the measurement of the $p{f}_1(1285)$ correlation function by the ALICE collaboration.

    hep-phEPJC(2026)·5 citations
14. 14*

    On the Run from the Dark Side of the Muon

    Pouya Asadi🇺🇸 · Austin Batz🇺🇸 · Samuel Homiller🇺🇸 · Tien-Tien Yu🇺🇸

    We present an analysis strategy for probing physics beyond the Standard Model via modifications to the parton distribution functions (PDFs) in a muon beam, which measurably alter the kinematics of all hard processes at a future muon collider. High-energy muon colliders represent an opportunity to probe new physics using precision measurements and novel search strategies. At sufficiently high energies, light particles act as ``constituents'' of the muon described by PDFs. As a concrete case study, we apply this framework to an $L_{\mu }-L_{\tau }$ gauge boson and demonstrate that, for masses in the range of approximately 50--100 GeV, this indirect PDF-based approach outperforms traditional searches relying on direct gauge boson production. These results highlight muon PDF probes as a powerful and promising avenue for beyond the Standard Model physics searches at a future muon collider.

    hep-ph3 citations
15. 15*

    Tensor Polarizability of the Nucleus and Angular Mixing in Muonic Deuterium

    G. S. Adkins🇺🇸 · U. D. Jentschura🇺🇸

    We investigate the effects of the tensor polarizability of a nucleus on the bound-state energy levels, and obtain a general formula for the contribution of the tensor polarizability to the energy levels in two-body bound systems. In particular, it is demonstrated that the tensor polarizability leads to mixing between states with different orbital angular momenta. The effect of tensor polarizability is evaluated for the hyperfine-structure components of P states and for the mixing of S and D states in muonic deuterium.

    ↳ physics.atom-phhep-phnucl-thPRA(2026)·0 citations
16. 16*

    Gravitational Waves from Primordial Black Holes formed by Null Energy Condition Violation during Inflation

    Dong-Hui Yu🇨🇳 · Jia-Zuo Zhang🇨🇳 · Yong Cai🇨🇳

    A transient violation of the null energy condition (NEC) during inflation provides a novel mechanism for producing primordial black holes (PBHs) and stochastic gravitational wave (GW) backgrounds. In this work, we extend previous studies by computing the GW contributions from both the ringdown phase of PBH formation and subsequent binary mergers. Our results show that this scenario produces a rich, multi-component GW spectrum consisting of primordial GWs, scalar-induced GWs, and GW emissions from PBH ringdown and binary mergers. We demonstrate that these correlated signatures across different frequency bands provide a novel and powerful avenue to probe or constrain NEC violation during inflation through future multi-band GW observations.

    ↳ gr-qcastro-ph.COhep-phhep-thEPJC(2026)·2 citations
17. 17*

    Rapidity dependence of mean transverse momentum fluctuation and decorrelation in baryon-dense medium

    Tribhuban Parida🇵🇱

    I study the event-by-event fluctuation and rapidity decorrelation of the mean transverse momentum $\text{spt}$, which has recently been proposed as a sensitive probe of the equation of state at finite baryon density. The investigation reveals that, in a baryon-rich medium, the event-by-event fluctuation of the mean transverse momentum is driven by the combined effects of energy-density and net-baryon-density fluctuations. Consequently, the rapidity dependence of this observable provides a promising handle to probe the three-dimensional structure of both energy and baryon density profiles. Previous studies have shown that $\text{spt}$ decorrelation along rapidity is largely insensitive to shear and bulk viscosity; however, its dependence on baryon diffusion, another key transport coefficient in baryonic matter, has not been explored. I find that baryon diffusion has a negligible impact, establishing this observable as a robust probe of the equation of state. Furthermore, I present predictions for identified hadrons and observe a pronounced splitting in the rapidity decorrelation of mean transverse momentum between protons and antiprotons, indicating different transverse flow dynamics for baryons and antibaryons.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phnucl-exPRC(2026)·1 citation
18. 18*

    Dynamical generation of fermion mass in a scalar-fermion theory with $\lambda {\varphi }^4$ interaction

    Somnath Majumder🇮🇳 · Krishnendu Mukherjee🇮🇳

    The effective potential for a scalar theory with $\lambda {\varphi }^4$ interaction, coupled to a massless fermion through Yukawa interaction is calculated by summing over infinite number of two particle irreducible (2PI) diagrams of two different types and a 2PI diagram of a third type using Cornwall, Jackiw and Tomboulis (CJT) method. There is an inversion symmetry present in the effective potential under $\varphi \to -\varphi$. When the value of coupling constant falls beyond an open set of positive real numbers, the effective potential exhibits both maxima and minima above and below the zero potential line respectively on either side of its minimum at $\varphi =0$. The fermion acquires a mass in this region of coupling constant when the system settles into the minimum at positive, non-zero $\varphi$ breaking the inversion symmetry of the vacuum. However, the effective potential exhibits a minimum only at $\varphi =0$ and also the fermion remains massless when the coupling constant assumes any value from this open set.

    ↳ hep-thhep-ph0 citations
19. 19*

    Recent results on the $\Lambda \to p\ell {\bar{\nu }}_{\ell }$ semileptonic decay

    Simone Bacchio🇨🇾 · Andreas Konstantinou🇨🇾

    We present a lattice-QCD determination of the $\Lambda \to p$ vector and axial-vector form factors, providing theoretical input for studies of the semileptonic decay $\Lambda \to p\ell {\bar{\nu }}_{\ell }$. The calculation is carried out on a single gauge ensemble with physical light, strange, and charm quark masses and delivers a precise determination of the complete set of transition form factors, including second-class contributions. Using these form factors, we compute decay rates for both the electronic and muonic channels, as well as their ratio, which offers a sensitive test of lepton-flavor universality and possible non-standard scalar or tensor interactions. This decay mode provides a theoretically well-controlled avenue for extracting the CKM matrix element $|V_{us}|$ from the baryon sector. Our estimate of $|V_{us}|$ is obtained by combining our recent lattice-QCD results with recent measurements of the relevant branching fraction reported by BESIII and LHCb.

    ↳ hep-lathep-phPoS(2026)·0 citations
20. 20*

    Yang-Mills Flux Tube in AdS II: Effective String Theory

    Barak Gabai🇨🇭 · Victor Gorbenko🇨🇭 · Bendeguz Offertaler🇨🇭

    We continue the study of flux tubes in confining gauge theories placed in a rigid AdS background, focusing on the three-dimensional case. Our analysis is performed in the large-radius regime, where effective string theory provides a good approximation of the dynamics. Using a combination of techniques, primarily the analytic transcendentality ansatz bootstrap, we compute observables up to two-loop order in the expansion in powers of the string length over the AdS radius, which constitutes the main result of this work. Finally, we employ Padé resummations to explore the possible compatibility of our results with a smooth interpolation of observables between large-radius AdS and small-radius AdS, in which gauge theory is weakly coupled.

    ↳ hep-thhep-ph7 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.