Mon·Feb 23, 2026Monday·February 23, 2026

1. 01*

   Next-to-Leading Order QCD Corrections to ${\Lambda }_b\to p$ Form Factors from Light-Cone Sum Rules

   Jiang-Lin Zhou🇨🇳 · Yong-Kang Huang🇨🇳

   In this study, we compute the radiative corrections to the ${\Lambda }_b\to p$ transition form factors at next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, employing the framework of QCD light-cone sum rules with the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the ${\Lambda }_b$ baryon. The factorization formulae of the vacuum-to-${\Lambda }_b$ correlation function, constructed from the interpolating current for the proton, are derived at leading power in $m_p/m_{{\Lambda }_b}$, using the method of regions. With our specific choice of interpolating current, only the twist-4 distribution amplitude of the ${\Lambda }_b$ baryon contributes to the form factors. Numerically, we find that the next-to-leading order QCD perturbative corrections reduce the tree-level form factors to approximately 65$\%$ of their original value, with the next-to-leading-order jet function providing the dominant contribution. In the large-energy limit ($E_p\to \infty$), the form factors exhibit a clear $1/E_p^3$ scaling, consistent with the expected power-counting behavior. By applying the $z$-series parameterization to perform a combined fit of the form factors from our results and available lattice QCD simulations, we further investigate the decay rate of ${\Lambda }_b\to p{\ell }^{-}{\bar{\nu }}_{\ell }$ and extract the CKM matrix element $|V_{ub}|=(3.33\pm 0.43)\times 10^{-3}$.

   hep-phEPJC(2026)·2 citations
2. 02*

   Dark Photon mediated Inelastic Dark Matter in Cosmology, Astrophysics and Colliders

   Abhishek Roy🇰🇷 · Prasenjit Sanyal🇰🇷 · Stefano Scopel (CQUeST, Seoul and Sogang U.)🇰🇷

   We explore the phenomenology of Dark Photon iDM (A${}^{\prime }$iDM) where the Standard Model (SM) is extended by a dark sector containing an additional $U(1{)}_D$ gauge symmetry under which all SM particles are neutral, and that couples to the SM hypercharge gauge boson through a kinetic mixing parameter $ϵ$. The model contains two Majorana states ${\chi }_1$ and ${\chi }_2$ with $\delta =M_{{\chi }_2}-M_{{\chi }_1}>0$ and ${\chi }_1$ the dark matter candidate, and a dark photon $A^{\prime }$ with mass $M_{A^{\prime }}$. Our analysis represents an integration of existing ones, where only specific benchmarks of the A${}^{\prime }$iDM scenario have been discussed. In particular, we fix the $U(1{)}_D$ coupling ${\alpha }_D$ equal to the electromagnetic one ${\alpha }_{EM}$ and $ϵ$ to its experimental upper bound, and perform a complete scan of the remaining parameters $(M_{{\chi }_1},\delta ,M_{A^{\prime }})$, discussing the ${\chi }_1$ relic abundance, its direct and indirect searches, as well as potential signals from astrophysics and accelerators. Our scan shows that ${\alpha }_D$ = ${\alpha }_{EM}$ is not disfavored, as some previous analyses, limited to specific benchmarks, may suggest. We also find that when the ${\chi }_1$ relic density matches observation direct and indirect searches are not kinematically accessible. On the other hand we find that the projected luminosity of FASER, a detector searching for Long Lived Particles (LLP) decay at the LHC, can probe or rule out the parameters space of the model for $M_{{\chi }_1}\lesssim$ 7 GeV, 100 MeV $\lesssim \delta \lesssim$ 300 MeV and $M_{A^{\prime }}\lesssim$ 25 GeV. This range of parameter could be significantly extended by the FASER 2 upgrade proposed for the High-Luminosity phase at the LHC. The parameter space probed by LLP seaches partially overlaps with that probed by ${\chi }_1$ capture in neutron stars.

   hep-phastro-ph.COhep-ex3 citations
3. 03*

   Signs of universality in the behavior of elastic $\text{pp}$ scattering cross-sections at high energies

   A.P. Samokhin🇷🇺

   We give a phenomenological analysis of the behavior of inelastic, elastic and total cross-sections of the high energy $\text{pp}$ interaction. In particular, we argue that the universal picture of behavior of cross-sections and their ratios is a consequence of the rapid increase of inelastic cross-section with energy and its large value compared to ${\sigma }_{\mathrm{el}}(s)$. We observed that the value of the fundamental ratio $(m_{{\pi }^0}/m_p)$, the minimum value of the ratio $({\sigma }_{\mathrm{el}}/{\sigma }_{\mathrm{tot}})$, and some other quantities are determined by the roots of the equation $(9x^2+4\sqrt{2}x-1)=0$.

   hep-phPLB(2026)·0 citations
4. 04*

   Hidden-charm $udsc\bar{c}$ pentaquarks as flavor eigenstates in a constituent quark model

   M.C. Gordillo🇪🇸 · J.M. Alcaraz-Pelegrina🇪🇸 · J. Segovia🇪🇸

   We use a diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) algorithm to solve the Schrödinger equation that describes $udsc\bar{c}$ pentaquarks within the framework of a non-relativistic constituent quark model. We considered only multiquark states with defined values of parity, color, spin and isospin, selected to be compatible with the experimentally favored assignment $J^P=1/2^{-}$ for one of the candidates, and assumed $I=0$. However, we found that, to explain the existence of the $P_{cs}(4338)$ and $P_{cs}(4459)$ pentaquarks, we need the total wavefunction to be also an eigenvector of the SU(3) {\em flavor} operator. When we impose that condition, we obtain two structures compatible with the masses extracted from the $J/\psi \Lambda$ spectrum. In addition, two states are predicted below the $J/\psi \Lambda$ threshold but above the ${\eta }_c\Lambda$ one that would not appear in that channel. If we only impose the $I=0$ condition, we obtain a {\em single} (not two) structure compatible with the experimental quantum numbers, with a mass below the $J/\psi \Lambda$ threshold.

   hep-ph1 citation
5. 05*

   MC@NLO event generation by reweighting unweighted Born events

   Saad El Farkh🇲🇦 · Rikkert Frederix🇸🇪 · Mohamed Gouighri🇲🇦

   We propose a computational strategy for NLO+PS simulations in the MC@NLO framework that starts from Born-accurate (LO) events and reweights them to the full MC@NLO S-event weight, while generating H-events separately. We validate the approach on two representative LHC processes and compare to direct NLO event generation for both standard MC@NLO and MC@NLO-Delta matching. Employing large folding values in the radiative variables stabilizes the S-event integral, reduces weight variance, and significantly lowers the fraction of negative weights compared to S-event generation without folding. At fixed precision, this pipeline has comparable wall-clock times relative to standard S-event generation and unweighting, with room for further optimisation.

   hep-phEPJC(2026)·3 citations
6. 06*

   The Four-Jet Rate in Electron-Positron Annihilation at Order ${\alpha }_s^4$

   Xuan Chen🇨🇳 · Dmitry Chicherin🇫🇷 · Elliot Fox🇬🇧 · Nigel Glover🇬🇧 · Matteo Marcoli🇬🇧 · Vasily Sotnikov🇨🇭 · Huiting Sun🇨🇳 · Hantian Zhang🇨🇭 · Simone Zoia🇨🇭

   We compute for the first time the production rate for four jets in electron-positron annihilation at next-to-next-to-leading order. Our calculation exhibits the highest final-state jet multiplicity considered at this perturbative accuracy to date. The cancellation of infrared singularities is achieved in the antenna subtraction scheme, relying particularly on generalized antenna functions. The evaluation of the two-loop virtual corrections is enabled by the construction of a new basis of transcendental special functions tailored to four-particle decay kinematics. Our results are compared with LEP data, finding improved agreement with respect to the next-to-leading order calculation. In the region where perturbative predictions are most reliable, we observe a significant reduction of theory uncertainties, which now fall below the experimental ones.

   hep-phPRL(2026)·3 citations
7. 07*

   Constraints on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings via $\gamma \gamma$ and $Z\gamma$ Vector Boson Scattering at Muon Colliders

   M. Tekin🇹🇷 · A. Senol🇹🇷 · H. Denizli🇹🇷

   In the Standard Model, the couplings between gauge bosons are tightly constrained by the principles of gauge symmetry and renormalizability. However, the presence of anomalous couplings suggests the possibility of new physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). In this study, we focus on the sensitivities of anomalous quartic gauge couplings (aQGCs), specially the dimension-8 operators associated with field-strength tensor structures within the effective field theory (EFT) framework, at future Muon Colliders. Our analysis targets the neutral aQGC-sensitive processes ${\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}\to {\mu }^{+}\gamma \gamma {\mu }^{-}$ and ${\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}\to {\mu }^{+}Z\gamma {\mu }^{-}$, simulated at center-of-mass energies of 3 TeV and 10 TeV. Signal and background events are generated using {\sc MadGraph5\_aMC@NLO}, interfaced with Pythia8 for parton showering and hadronization, and Delphes for fast detector simulation. A multivariate analysis based on Boosted Decision Trees (BDTs) is employed to enhance signal-to-background discrimination, utilizing a comprehensive set of kinematic and reconstructed observables from the final-state particles. Unitarity is preserved through the application of an energy-dependent clipping procedure within the EFT validity regime. Our findings indicate that future muon colliders offer significant sensitivity improvements over current experimental constraints on aQGCs. Furthermore, a comparison with other future collider scenarios shows that the 10 TeV Muon Collider, even with a 10\% systematic uncertainty, provides substantially stronger projected limits at 95\% confidence level than those currently reported by the ATLAS collaboration at the LHC as well as projected limits by future hadron colliders. These results underscore the enhanced potential of high-energy muon collider to probe new physics in the electroweak sector through precision measurements of aQGCs.

   hep-phhep-exJHEP(2026)·0 citations
8. 08*

   A quantitative study of two-loop splitting in double parton distributions

   Markus Diehl🇩🇪 · Peter Ploessl🇩🇪

   Double parton distributions at small distances between the two partons are dominated by a mechanism in which the two observed partons originate from the splitting of a single parton. This contribution can be computed in terms of single-parton distributions and perturbative splitting kernels. We demonstrate that two-loop corrections to these kernels can have a substantial quantitative impact and considerably improve the stability of predictions for double parton scattering. We also consider the impact of heavy quark masses in the two-loop splitting kernels in an approximate manner.

   hep-phJHEP(2026)·1 citation
9. 09*

   Quark-meson diquark model and color superconductivity in dense quark matter

   Jens O. Andersen🇳🇴 · Mathias P. Nødtvedt🇳🇴

   We consider the two- and three-flavor QMD models as renormalizable low-energy models for QCD at finite quark chemical potentials with quarks, mesons, and diquarks as effective degrees of freedom. Using the on-shell scheme the parameters in the scalar sector can be fixed and expressed in terms of observed meson masses and decay constants. The remaining parameters can be varied. In the QMD models, all the symmetries are global, including the $SU(N_c)$ symmetry. The breaking of the global symmetries gives rise to a number of Goldstone bosons depending on the symmetry-breaking pattern, i.e. whether the system is in the 2SC phase or the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase. This is in contrast to perturbative QCD, where some of the gauge bosons become massive via the Higgs mechanism. We classify the Goldstone bosons and show that their type and number are in accordance with general counting rules. The thermodynamic potential $\Omega$ is calculated in the mean-field approximation, where we include quark loops, while mesons and diquarks are treated at tree level. As important applications, we study the properties of the pion-condensed phase at finite isospin chemical potential, and the 2SC and CFL phases at finite baryon chemical potential. We present a few numerical results focusing on the speed of sound, gaps, and condensates. It is shown that the BCS gaps approaches a constant for large isospin and baryon chemical potentials and that the speed of sound approaches the conformal value from above in the same limit.

   hep-phhep-latnucl-th4 citations
10. 10*

    On the simulated kinematic distributions of heavy meson decays

    Florian Herren🇨🇭 · Raynette van Tonder🇩🇪

    Modern measurements in flavour physics rely on accurate simulations of signal and background processes, provided by a wide range of general-purpose and specialised Monte-Carlo event generators. Due to the inclusion of a larger amount of specialised decays of heavy hadrons, EvtGen is often the tool of choice for many scenarios. We investigate the phase-space sampling algorithm of EvtGen and demonstrate that it generates unphysical features in kinematic distributions of semileptonic $B$ decays involving resonances, originating from neglected phase-space factors. We provide a short-term solution to correct the affected simulated samples through reweighting of the hadronic invariant mass distribution.

    hep-phhep-exSciPost Phys.(2026)·2 citations
11. 11*

    Two-over-Two Lattice Flavor from a Single Flavon with Three Messenger Chains

    Vernon Barger🇺🇸

    Flavor hierarchies are organized by a single parameter $B\simeq 5.357$ in a single-flavon Froggatt--Nielsen (FN) framework, in which each effective Yukawa entry arises from the sum of \emph{three} unit-magnitude messenger chains. We present benchmark complex $O(1)$ Yukawa matrices that reproduce quark and charged-lepton masses at $M_Z$ as powers of $ϵ\equiv 1/B$. The organizing principle is a two-over-two (2/2) lattice of quadrilateral mass ratios, which maps directly to a rational lattice of FN exponents. Sequential dominance preserves the leading-power exponent matrices, while subleading messenger chains generate entry-dependent complex $O(1)$ coefficients and provide a UV-friendly origin for CP violation. Neutrino masses are discussed at the level of eigenvalues within the same $B^n$ counting.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·6 citations
12. 12*

    Cartography of LNV dim-9 SMEFT: Implications for Radiative Neutrino Masses and $0\nu \beta \beta$

    Fabian Esser🇨🇿 · Lukáš Gráf🇨🇿 · Chandan Hati🇪🇸

    We perform a systematic study of lepton-number-violating (LNV) dimension-9 operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) that can mediate neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu \beta \beta$) at tree level, and map them to their possible tree-level ultraviolet completions. Using a diagram-based classification, we enumerate all such completions and isolate minimal two-particle models that avoid generating the dimension-5 Weinberg operator or dimension-7 LNV operators at tree level. We then chart how these minimal models populate the operator landscape and organise them by the loop order at which they radiatively induce lower-dimensional LNV operators, highlighting scenarios in which the tree-level dimension-9 contribution can compete with or dominate loop-suppressed neutrino-mass (dimension-5) effects. Representative one-loop and two-loop classes are matched onto the SMEFT, and their implications for neutrino masses, charged-lepton flavour violation, and the relative size of dimension-9 versus dimension-5 contributions to $0\nu \beta \beta$ are analysed, delineating regions of parameter space where upcoming experiments can be sensitive to genuinely short-range LNV dynamics.

    hep-phJHEP(2026)·2 citations
13. 13*

    Baryon Junction and String Interactions: Part II

    Xuzixiang Lou🇺🇸 · Siwei Zhong🇺🇸

    We study junctions between confining strings. These junctions arise in Yang-Mills theories, and we focus on their universal low-energy dynamics. Using open-closed duality, we map junctions with nonlinear corrections to the $s$-wave scattering amplitudes between confining string loops. In $(3+1)$ dimensions, we uncover an accidental ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ symmetry. This symmetry implies novel selection rules for loop scattering amplitudes and is broken by the junction mass at subleading order. We determine the total mass of baryons up to order $(\text{baryon size}{)}^{-3}$, providing new, testable predictions for lattice simulations.

    ↳ hep-thhep-phJHEP(2026)·3 citations
14. 14*

    Ly{\alpha} forest bounds on sterile neutrino production via neutrino self-interactions

    Priyank Parashari🇺🇸 · Vera Gluscevic🇺🇸 · Yue Zhang🇨🇦 · Simeon Bird🇺🇸 · Mikhail M. Ivanov🇺🇸 · Adam He🇺🇸

    Sterile neutrinos in the keV mass range have long been considered a well-motivated dark matter (DM) candidate. In this work, we explore a sterile neutrino production mechanism through active neutrino self-interactions in the early universe, assuming that they constitute the full DM abundance. We implement a self-consistent treatment of the sterile-neutrino free streaming and the active-neutrino self-interactions on structure formation, which yield a unique scale-dependent modification to the linear matter power spectrum. We then set bounds on this scenario using a combination of the cosmic microwave background and Ly$\alpha$ forest constraints. Specifically, we utilize the two recent likelihoods derived from eBOSS data: (i) an effective field theory (EFT) based full-shape likelihood and (ii) a compressed likelihood obtained from the PRIYA-simulation emulator. We produce some of the most stringent observational constraints to date on sterile neutrino DM, comparable to the bounds from the most stringent laboratory constraints.

    ↳ astro-ph.COhep-phPRD(2026)·7 citations
15. 15*

    Producing and Studying Rare Isotopes in $e+A$ Collisions at the Electron-Ion Collider

    Mark Ddamulira🇺🇸 · Abhay Deshpande🇺🇸 · Mark C. Harvey🇺🇸 · Wenliang Li🇺🇸 · Niseem Magdy🇺🇸 · Brynna Moran🇺🇸 · Pawel Nadel-Turonski🇺🇸 · Charles Joseph Naim🇺🇸 · Stacyann Nelson🇺🇸 · Isaiah Richardson🇺🇸 · Barak A. Schmookler🇺🇸 · Oleg B. Tarasov🇺🇸

    The Electron--Ion Collider (EIC) offers a unique environment to study kinematically controlled lepton--nucleus ($e+A$) reactions, where a primary hard scattering is followed by an intranuclear cascade and the subsequent statistical de-excitation of the nuclear remnant. Utilizing the \soft{BeAGLE} model, we demonstrate that event-by-event fluctuations in nucleon removal and energy deposition populate a diverse ensemble of excited remnants. Furthermore, we show that varying the target mass systematically shifts the distribution of these remnants across the $(N,Z)$ plane. Although this excited prefragment remnant is not directly observable, its properties are shown to be strongly correlated with final-state fragments; specifically, the largest nuclear residue and the intensity of evaporation yield serve as effective experimental proxies for event-level remnant characterization. We also evaluate photon observables essential for nuclear spectroscopy. While various photon sources overlap significantly in pseudorapidity, we find that in the nucleus-rest frame, the low-energy spectrum is dominated by de-excitation $\gamma$ rays and exhibits distinct discrete structures. These findings motivate an EIC research program that correlates rare-isotope production and de-excitation radiation with well-defined initial conditions, providing a collider-based approach to nuclear spectroscopy that is complementary to existing fixed-target facilities.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phnucl-exJ.Phys.G(2026)·0 citations
16. 16*

    Higher order quantization conditions for two-body scattering with spin

    Lucas Chandler🇺🇸 · Frank X. Lee🇺🇸 · Andrei Alexandru🇺🇸

    We examine the Lüscher quantization condition to high order for the scattering of a spinless particle and a spin-1/2 particle in a periodic box. First, we derive the quantization conditions in a non-relativistic framework up to total angular momentum $J=11/2$ in both cubic and elongated geometries, and for both rest and moving frames. Then, we introduce a method to transparently cross-check their convergence, using both quantized energy levels in the box and infinite-volume phase shifts for the same potential. We clarify how to incorporate spin-orbit coupling into the formalism and show in detail how the quantization conditions converge order by order in the various irreducible representations. In all, we validated 19 quantization conditions (12 in cubic box, 7 in elongated box). This is a necessary step in applying the method in precision studies of systems in finite volume with half-integer spin, such as meson-baryon scattering.

    ↳ hep-lathep-phnucl-thPRD(2026)·0 citations
17. 17*

    CMB anisotropies from cosmic (super)strings in light of ACT DR6

    Juhan Raidal🇬🇧 · Anastasios Avgoustidis🇬🇧 · Edmund Copeland🇬🇧 · Adam Moss🇬🇧

    We present updated constraints on cosmic string and superstring parameters derived from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. The constraints are obtained via Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analyses of the full \textit{Planck} temperature and polarization data combined with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Data Release 6 (DR6). For ordinary cosmic strings, we constrain the string tension $G\mu$, the string wiggliness parameter $\alpha$, and the self-chopping efficiency $\tilde{c}$. For cosmic superstrings, we constrain the fundamental string tension $G{\mu }_F$, the string coupling $g_s$, and a parameter $w$ describing the volume of the compact extra dimensions. In both cases, we find significantly tighter bounds on the string tension compared to previous analyses, obtaining $2\sigma$ upper limits of $G\mu <3.66\times 10^{-8}$ and $G{\mu }_F<1.38\times 10^{-8}$. We also discuss the significant prior-dependence of these results. The computational pipeline used in this work, including a modified version of \texttt{CAMB} capable of computing CMB anisotropies sourced by any active network described via unequal-time correlators, is released publicly as \texttt{CAMBactive} \cite{Raidal_CAMBactive_CAMB_extension_2026}.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-phhep-th9 citations
18. 18*

    Quantum stress and torsion distributions in the deuteron

    Wim Cosyn🇺🇸 · Adam Freese🇺🇸 · Alan Sosa🇺🇸

    Stress distributions in the deuteron are related to form factors of the asymmetric energy-momentum tensor through three-dimensional Fourier transforms. There are eleven such form factors, which we calculate in an impulse approximation. We compare the obtained form factors to prior results for the six form factors that have been previously calculated. We then elaborate on the formalism for relating the form factors to internal distributions of mass, mass flux, momentum, stresses, and forces, and obtain results for all of these distributions. We obtain the principal stresses for the symmetric part of the stress tensor, and show that the antisymmetric part describes reorientation of fermion spin by torsion stress when the nucleon moves between the S- and D-waves. Force distributions in the nucleons depend on the so-called non-conserved form factors through the Cauchy momentum equation, and are non-radial owing to the presence of tensor forces and spin-orbit coupling.

    ↳ nucl-thhep-phquant-phPRC(2026)·2 citations
19. 19*

    Cosmological Constraints on Temperature-Dependent Interaction between Dark Matter and Neutrinos

    Ren-Peng Zhou🇨🇳 · Da Huang🇨🇳

    We study the influence of the temperature-dependent interaction between dark matter (DM) and neutrinos on the measurement of cosmological parameters. We pay attention to the neutrino mass effects, so that the derivation of Boltzmann equations needs to specify the concrete form of interaction. We work in a model in which the DM-neutrino scatterings are induced by a dimension-six operator, and present the details for deriving the full Boltzmann hierarchy for DM and neutrinos, including a novel method to obtain the fluid approximation for modes entering the horizon. It is shown that our interaction can induce the dark acoustic oscillation in the DM-neutrino fluid, leaving distinct signatures on the CMB and matter power spectra. By using the latest CMB and BAO datasets from Planck, DESI and ACT, the constraint on today's DM-neutrino interaction parameter for the normal neutrino mass ordering reaches $u_{\chi -\nu }^0\lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-13})$, nearly nine orders stronger than that for temperature-independent case in the literature. This can be understood by noting that the scattering cross section increases nearly quadratically with cosmological temperature in the early universe, leading to enhanced effects. We have investigated alternative scenarios with different neutrino mass assumptions. In particular, models with degenerate neutrino masses give rise to weaker constraint of $u_{\chi -\nu }^0\lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-11})$, showing the importance to incorporate the realistic neutrino mass ordering in the fits. Finally, when employing the logarithmic flat prior for $u_{\chi -\nu }^0$, we have shown hints to a nonzero interaction at $95\%$ CL by combining Planck, DESI and ACT data.

    ↳ astro-ph.COhep-phJCAP(2026)·1 citation
20. 20*

    RadioAxion results on the search for axion dark matter under Gran Sasso

    Carlo Broggini🇮🇹 · Giuseppe Di Carlo🇮🇹 · Luca Di Luzio🇮🇹 · Denise Piatti🇮🇹 · Claudio Toni🇫🇷

    We report first results from RadioAxion, an underground experiment searching for axion dark matter through periodic modulations of radioisotope decays. We monitor the $\alpha$ decay of ${}^{241}$Am via its $59.5$ keV $\gamma$ line using a NaI detector installed at the Gran Sasso Laboratory, where cosmic-ray-induced systematics are strongly suppressed. We present the measured spectra and the corresponding time-series analysis. No evidence for a periodic modulation is observed. From these data we derive constraints on the axion decay constant in the axion mass range from $10^{-21}$ to $10^{-9}$ eV.

    ↳ hep-exhep-phnucl-exPRD(2026)·2 citations
21. 21*

    Reanalyzing DESI DR1: 5. Cosmological Constraints with Simulation-Based Priors

    Anton Chudaykin🇨🇭 · Mikhail M. Ivanov🇺🇸 · Oliver H. E. Philcox🇺🇸

    We analyze the public DESI full-shape clustering data using simulation-based priors (SBPs). Our priors are obtained by fitting normalizing flows to the distribution of EFT parameters measured from field-level simulations, themselves generated using tailored halo occupation distribution (HOD) models for each tracer. Incorporating SBPs in a power spectrum analysis significantly enhances $\Lambda$CDM cosmological parameter constraints; in combination with BAO information from DESI DR2 and a BBN prior on the baryon density, we find the matter density parameter ${\Omega }_m=0.2987\pm 0.0066$, the Hubble constant $H_0=68.80\pm 0.35\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{-1}$, and the mass fluctuation amplitude ${\sigma }_8=0.766\pm 0.015$ (or the lensing parameter $S_8=0.764\pm 0.018$), which are $1\%$, $40\%$ and $50\%$ stronger than the baseline results, though with a notable downwards shift in ${\sigma }_8$, driven by the quasar HOD assumptions. The SBPs also have a significant impact in extended models, with the dark energy figure-of-merit improving by $70\%$ ($20\%$) in a $w_0{w}_a$CDM analysis when combining with the CMB (and supernovae). In the SBP analysis, we do not find statistically significant evidence for dynamical dark energy: the equation of state parameters are consistent with a cosmological constant within $2.2\sigma$ ($1.4\sigma$) in analyses without (with) supernovae. The neutrino mass constraints are also enhanced, with the $95\%$ limits $M_{\nu }<0.073\mathrm{eV}$ and $M_{\nu }<0.090\mathrm{eV}$ in $\Lambda$CDM and $w_0{w}_a$CDM respectively. The latter is the strongest constraint obtained to date and reinforces the preference for the normal neutrino mass hierarchy, regardless of the background dynamics. While our results are sensitive to HOD modeling assumptions, they clearly demonstrate that the inclusion of small-scale information can significantly sharpen cosmological parameter constraints.

    ↳ astro-ph.COastro-ph.GAgr-qchep-ph+111 citations
22. 22*

    Detector-level assessment of alternative target nuclei for CEvNS experiments under realistic experimental conditions

    Yusuf Havvat🇹🇷

    Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CEvNS) provides a sensitive probe of neutrino interactions at low momentum transfer, but its experimental observation is strongly constrained by detector-related effects such as energy threshold, resolution, noise, and event-selection criteria. In this work, we perform a detector-level assessment of CEvNS nuclear recoil observability under realistic experimental conditions, with particular emphasis on the role of detector response in shaping measurable recoil spectra. Using detailed Geant4-based simulations, CEvNS interactions are modeled for a set of alternative target nuclei spanning light to intermediate mass ranges. The true nuclear recoil energy distributions are propagated through a simplified yet realistic detector-response chain incorporating energy smearing, noise-induced fluctuations, threshold cuts, and veto-based event selection. We present a systematic analysis of recoil energy spectra before and after detector effects, response matrices linking true and reconstructed energies, and energy-dependent selection efficiencies. The results demonstrate that detector response effects significantly modify the observable CEvNS signal, particularly in the near-threshold region where most recoil events are concentrated. Differences in efficiency turn-on behavior and reconstructed energy distributions highlight the target-nucleus dependence of CEvNS observability under identical detector conditions. Rather than focusing on absolute event-rate predictions, this study emphasizes the relative impact of detector effects on signal accessibility and target performance. The presented framework provides a consistent methodology for evaluating and comparing prospective CEvNS target materials at the detector level, offering practical guidance for future low-threshold CEvNS experiments and detector design optimization.

    ↳ physics.ins-dethep-exhep-ph0 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.