Fri·Mar 27, 2026Friday·March 27, 2026

1. 01*

   UV-complete and stable Quintom Dark Energy models in the light of DESI DR2

   Fotis Koutroulis🇨🇳

   We propose that Quintom dark energy, the simplest framework allowing crossing of the cosmological-constant boundary, admits a natural UV completion in a 5D anisotropic orbifold lattice: the Non-Perturbative Gauge-Higgs Unification (NPGHU) model. In this setup, a bulk 5D SU(2) gauge field projects on the 4D boundary to a complex scalar and a U(1) gauge field, identified with the dynamical dark-energy sector, while the Standard Model and dark matter remain localized in four dimensions. At late times, bulk-induced dimension-6 higher-derivative operators generate both physical and phantom scalar and gauge degrees of freedom. We show that the resulting 4D effective action is a modified Quintom model whose background equation of state can naturally realize Quintom-B behavior. A crucial contribution arises from the massive gauge ghost, allowing an excellent fit to DESI data with negligible fine-tuning, unlike standard Quintom scenarios. We further show that the inherited properties of the NPGHU construction e.g. absence of fundamental ghost instabilities, absence of potential terms and a finite low-energy cutoff $\Lambda$ associated with approximate Lorentz invariance, play a central role in the consistency of the effective theory under linear perturbations and vacuum decay. For the most natural regime, $\Lambda \approx \mathcal{O}(10)H_0$, the model remains robust despite the presence of IR phantom modes. Our results provide a natural and predictive framework in which Quintom dark energy can be consistently embedded in a fundamental theory.

   hep-phastro-ph.COhep-thPhys.Dark Univ.(2026)·3 citations
2. 02*

   Cogenesis of visible and dark matter in type-I Dirac seesaw

   Debasish Borah🇮🇳 · Partha Kumar Paul🇮🇳 · Narendra Sahu🇮🇳

   We propose a novel cogenesis framework based on the type-I Dirac seesaw mechanism. The minimal type-I Dirac seesaw with three heavy vector-like fermions $(N)$, one singlet scalar $(\eta )$, and the right-handed counterparts $({\nu }_R)$ of the Standard Model (SM) neutrinos is extended to include a Dirac fermion dark matter (DM) $(\chi )$ and its heavier scalar companion ($\varphi$). The out-of-equilibrium decays of the vector-like fermion generate asymmetries simultaneously in the visible sector, through decay channels involving $({\nu }_R,\eta )$ or lepton, Higgs doublets in the SM, and in the dark sector via decaying into $(\chi ,\varphi )$. The resulting lepton asymmetry is partially converted into the observed baryon asymmetry by electroweak sphaleron processes, while the dark-sector asymmetry survives to constitute the present-day asymmetric DM relic. The generation of asymmetries in multiple sectors and their mutual washouts provide rich dynamics while also keeping the model testable at different observations involving DM, neutrinos, cosmic microwave background (CMB), as well as gravitational waves (GW). We find that successful cogenesis can be realized for DM masses in the range $100\mathrm{MeV}\lesssim m_{\chi }\lesssim 39\mathrm{TeV}$. The lower bound arises from the requirement that the symmetric component of DM annihilates efficiently before the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch, while the upper bound is set by unitarity constraints on the asymmetric DM.

   hep-phastro-ph.COhep-exhep-thJCAP(2026)·0 citations
3. 03*

   Gluon Wigner Distributions in boost-invariant longitudinal position space

   Sonia🇮🇳 · Tanmay Maji🇮🇳 · Hemant Kumar🇮🇳

   The Wigner distributions (WDs) in boost-invariant longitudinal space for unpolarized, longitudinally polarized and linearly polarized gluons in a proton are presented in the framework of the light-front gluon spectator model inspired by AdS/QCD. The boost-invariant longitudinal space defined by the coordinate $\sigma =\frac{1}{2}{b}^{-}{P}^{+}$, can be accessed through the Fourier transformation over skewness $\xi$ to the gluon-gluon correlator of generalized transverse momentum dependent distributions (GTMDs). The model results for gluon WDs in $\sigma$-space show an oscillatory behavior analogous to the diffraction scattering of a wave in optics. The diffraction pattern is more sensitive to the momentum fraction $x$ and passively varies with the total energy transfer to the electron-proton scattering $-t$, both of which are analogous to an effective slit-width. The leading-twist gluon WDs in the impact-parameter space and their skewness sensitivity are investigated extensively for unpolarized, longitudinally polarized, and transversely polarized protons. The gluon spin-OAM correlation is also reported and compared with existing models and lattice results.

   hep-phPRD(2026)·0 citations
4. 04*

   Photon production from gluon splitting and fusion induced by a magnetic field in heavy-ion collisions

   Alejandro Ayala🇲🇽 · Santiago Bernal-Langarica🇲🇽 · José Jorge Medina-Serna🇲🇽 · Ana Julia Mizher🇧🇷

   In heavy-ion collisions, an excess in photon production, together with a larger than expected positive elliptic flow, has been observed, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the direct photon puzzle. In this work we study the mechanism of photon production arising from gluon splitting and fusion during the pre-equilibrium stage in the presence of magnetic fields in peripheral heavy-ion collisions. We begin by analyzing the general tensor structure of the two-gluon one-photon vertex, computing it at the one-loop level for magnetic fields of arbitrary strength without resorting to additional approximations. Using these expressions, we calculate the contribution of gluon fusion and splitting to the photon yield, revealing that splitting dominates over fusion at low photon energies. Our results are compared with experimental data from the PHENIX collaboration. Finally, we incorporate a longitudinal anisotropy into the initial gluon distribution and find that it does not significantly alter the photon yield compared to an isotropic distribution.

   hep-phnucl-th1 citation
5. 05*

   $D{D}^{\ast }$ correlation functions in deciphering the nature of $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$

   Duo-Lun Ge🇨🇳 · Zhi-Wei Liu🇨🇳 · Li-Sheng Geng🇨🇳

   Understanding near-threshold strong interactions is essential for disentangling hadronic molecules and compact multiquark states in heavy-flavor spectroscopy. In this context, the doubly charmed tetraquark candidate $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$ serves as a critical benchmark because it lies very close to the $D^{\ast }$-$D$ thresholds. Motivated by the interaction ambiguity reported recently [\href{https://doi.org/10.1103/kd4s-9rzr}{Phys.Rev.D 113, L031505 (2026)}], we evaluate the $D^{\ast }$-$D$ scattering lengths and femtoscopic correlation functions for the molecular and molecule-compact admixture assignments of the $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$. We show that, although these scenarios yield similar invariant-mass line shapes, their corresponding femtoscopic correlation functions differ markedly and remain clearly distinguishable for typical particle-emitting sources created at the LHC. Our results indicate that femtoscopy can serve as a sensitive and complementary probe of the near-threshold dynamics of $T_{cc}(3875{)}^{+}$, providing vital theoretical references for future LHC femtoscopy measurements.

   hep-phhep-exPRD(2026)·2 citations
6. 06*

   Exploring two-body strong decay properties for possible single charm molecular pentaquarks with strangeness $|S|=1,2$

   Xiao-Mei Tang🇨🇳 · Jin-Yu Huo🇨🇳 · Qi Huang🇨🇳 · Rui Chen🇨🇳

   The exploration of exotic hadrons provides a crucial testing ground for quantum chromodynamics in its non-perturbative regime. In this work, we perform a systematic study of the two-body strong decay properties of single-charm molecular pentaquarks in the $Y_c{\bar{K}}^{(\ast )}$ systems, where $Y_c={\Lambda }_c$, ${\Sigma }_c$, ${\Xi }_c$, and ${\Xi }_c^{\prime }$. Employing an effective Lagrangian approach combined with hadronic molecular wave functions derived from the one-boson-exchange model, we compute the decay widths and branching ratios for a series of predicted states with strangeness $|S|=1$ and $|S|=2$. Our calculations reveal distinctive decay patterns that serve as fingerprints for molecular identification. The total decay widths vary dramatically, from less than 1 MeV for the narrow ${\Sigma }_c\bar{K}$ $(I(J^P)=1/2(1/2^{-}))$ state to several tens of MeV for broader coupled-channel molecules like ${\Lambda }_c{\bar{K}}^{\ast }/{\Sigma }_c{\bar{K}}^{\ast }$. A key finding is the stability of the predicted branching ratios against variations in the binding energy. The decay dynamics are dominated by light meson (particularly pion) exchange, leading to a strong preference for final states containing a charmed baryon and a strange meson. Furthermore, coupled-channel effects and isospin-related interference play essential roles in both the formation and decay mechanisms of specific candidates. The results provide concrete, testable predictions for future experimental searches at facilities such as LHCb and Belle II.

   hep-phPRD(2026)·0 citations
7. 07*

   $2^{++}$ Light Tensor Hybrid Meson from QCD Laplace Sum Rules

   Jason Ho🇺🇸 · Robin Kleiv🇨🇦 · Siyuan Li🇩🇪 · Stephan Narison🇫🇷 · Tom Steele🇨🇦 · Davidson Rabetiarivony🇲🇬

   We present an analysis of the light tensor ($J^{PC}=2^{++}$) hybrid meson mass and coupling from QCD Laplace Sum Rules where the next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative (PT) corrections and the contributions of the non-perturbative (NP) condensates up to dimension-six ($D=6$) are included. NLO leading-logarithms corrections due to the condensates which contribute in the chiral limit are considered. We obtain the mass $M_{2^{+}}=(2038\pm 190)$ MeV and a relatively small coupling $f_{2^{+}}=(10.5\pm 2.9)$ MeV normalized as $f_{\pi }=93$ MeV. Our results suggest that the $f_2(1950)$ or/and the $f_2^{\prime }(2010)$ may have a sizeable $\bar{q}qg$ hybrid component. We also compute the tensor hybrid topological charge (value of the two-point function at zero momentum) and find (for the first time) at NLO: ${\Pi }_{qg}(0)=(2.41\pm 0.43)\times 10^{-4}{\mathrm{GeV}}^6$ which could be checked from some lattice QCD or/and low energy theorems (LET).

   hep-phhep-exhep-latPLB(2026)·1 citation
8. 08*

   $B_{(s)}$ to Light Axial Vector Meson Form Factors via LCSR in HQEFT with Applications to Semileptonic Decays

   Ya-Bing Zuo🇨🇳 · Ming-Ge Li🇨🇳 · Shi-Yu Liang🇨🇳 · Wan-Ting Liu🇨🇳 · Xin-Su Liu🇨🇳

   In the present work, the form factors of $B_{(s)}$ to light P-wave axial vector mesons are calculated via the light cone sum rules (LCSR) in the framework of heavy quark effective field theory (HQEFT). Firstly, the expressions of form factors in terms of the light cone distribution amplitudes (DAs) of axial vector mesons are derived via the LCSR at the leading order of heavy quark expansion. It is found that the penguin type form factors can be obtained directly from the corresponding semileptonic ones, which is similar to the case of S-wave mesons. Considering the light axial vector meson DAs to twist-3, we give the numerical results of form factors systematically. As applications, we investigate the branching ratios, longitudinal polarization fractions and forward-backward asymmetries of relevant semileptonic decays induced by charged current. Our results may be tested by more precise experiments in the future.

   hep-ph0 citations
9. 09*

   Quantum field-theoretic framework for neutrino decoherence from scattering in a medium

   Konstantin Stankevich🇷🇺 · Alexander Studenikin🇷🇺 · Maksim Vyalkov🇷🇺

   We develop a theoretical framework for quantum field description of neutrino evolution in a medium, with a focus on quantum decoherence induced by neutrino scattering on fermions. By deriving a generalized Lindblad master equation that accounts for neutrino momentum-changing transitions, we go beyond the standard treatment that assumes fixed neutrino momentum. Our model explicitly connects decoherence parameters to scattering cross sections, offering a bridge between theoretical predictions and experimental constraints on neutrino quantum decoherence. We apply the developed formalism to several scenarios: 1) neutrino scattering on electrons, 2) neutrino scattering on protons and neutrons through non-standard interactions (NSI), 3) neutrino scattering on dark matter fermions. The obtained results demonstrate that decoherence effects can significantly alter neutrino oscillation patterns and provide a new probe for physics beyond the Standard Model.

   hep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·0 citations
10. 10*

    Deeply virtual meson production at HERA and at the EIC within the Color Glass Condensate EFT

    Renaud Boussarie🇫🇷 · Luigi Delle Rose🇮🇹 · Michael Fucilla🇵🇱 · Alessandro Papa🇮🇹 · Lech Szymanowski🇵🇱 · Samuel Wallon🇫🇷

    Continuing our previous study of Deeply Virtual Meson Production (DVMP) at twist-3 accuracy, we derive compact expressions for all helicity amplitudes. We perform a phenomenological analysis of the helicity-amplitude ratio ${\mathcal{A}}^{11}/{\mathcal{A}}^{00}$ and of the spin-density matrix element $r_{00}^{04}$ within the Color Glass Condensate framework. Small-$x$ evolution is incorporated by numerically solving the running-coupling-and-collinearly-improved Balitsky-Kovchegov and Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov equations with the McLerran-Venugopalan model as the initial condition. By capturing a relevant subset of next-to-leading order corrections, we provide the most theoretically accurate description of these observables to date. Our results are compared to HERA data, and predictions are presented for electron-lead collisions at the future Electron-Ion Collider. We discuss the impact of non-linear effects at low photon virtuality and the role of genuine higher-twist contributions associated with light vector meson distribution amplitudes, corresponding to higher-Fock-state components of the projectile.

    hep-phhep-ex0 citations
11. 11*

    Three-zero textures of neutrino mass matrix and leptogenesis in the left-right symmetric model

    Ding-Hui Xu🇨🇳 · Zhen-hua Zhao🇨🇳 · Tian-Rui Wang

    Within the framework of the left-right symmetric model (LRSM) and under the assumption of a diagonal Dirac neutrino mass matrix $M_{\mathrm{D}}$, this paper systematically investigates 20 types of three-zero textures in the Majorana neutrino mass matrix $M_{\mathrm{R}}$. The study reveals that only five three-zero textures of $M_{\mathrm{R}}$ satisfy the constraints of the latest NuFit 6.0 global fit results. Furthermore, we phenomenologically explore the correlations between Majorana phases $\rho$ and $\sigma$, as well as the relationships between the heavy neutrino mass spectrum $M_I(I=1,2,3)$, ratio of Dirac matrix elements $y_2$, $y_3$ and the scale factor $r$. The results indicate strong correlations among the model parameters. In particular, the allowed regions for the Majorana CP phases are significantly restricted and depend on the specific texture of $M_{\mathrm{R}}$. On this basis, leptogenesis originating from heavy right-handed neutrino decays is investigated. Numerical results demonstrate that the $M_{\nu 3}$ pattern can achieve successful leptogenesis within specific $r$ intervals for both the normal ordering (NO) and the inverted ordering (IO) of the light neutrino masses, while the $M_{\nu 4}$ and $M_{\nu 5}$ patterns possess viable parameter space for successful leptogenesis only in the NO case.

    hep-ph1 citation
12. 12*

    QED cross sections in strong magnetic fields

    Olavi Kiuru🇫🇮 · Joonas Nättilä🇫🇮 · Risto Paatelainen🇫🇮 · Aleksi Vuorinen🇫🇮

    The magnetospheres of magnetars, a class of highly magnetized neutron stars, host magnetic fields exceeding the Schwinger limit, where Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) becomes nonlinear. In such environments, QED scattering processes are strongly modified, which may affect plasma dynamics. In this work, we apply a formalism originally developed for the study of magnetic-field effects in hot quark-gluon plasma to strong-field QED. The method resums interactions between virtual electrons and the external magnetic field, consistently incorporating the finite decay widths of excited Landau levels derived from the fermion self-energy. Using this framework, we perform the first systematic analysis of tree-level QED scattering processes in strong magnetic fields, concentrating on the processes of highest relevance for the plasma dynamics of magnetars. All resulting cross sections are provided in an open-source Python package.

    hep-phastro-ph.HEphysics.plasm-ph2 citations
13. 13*

    Angular momentum transfer in multiphoton pair production

    R. Z. Jiang🇨🇳 · Z. L. Li🇨🇳 · Y. J. Li🇨🇳

    We propose a method to accurately calculate the momentum distributions and the phase distributions of the probability amplitude for both boson and fermion pair production in a spatially homogeneous and time-dependent electric field. Applying this method to multiphoton pair production in a circularly polarized electric field rotating around the $z$-axis, we clarify that the topological charge appearing in the phase distribution of the probability amplitude for pair production reflects the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of the produced pairs rather than that of individual particles. On this basis, we demonstrate that, within the semiclassical framework, the $z$-component of the total angular momentum of the field and the particles is conserved, whereas the conservation of total angular momentum cannot be verified. The results also reveal that the pair production is also constrained by $C$-parity conservation, and that pairs with smaller OAM are produced more favorably. These findings provide deeper insight into angular momentum transfer in pair production.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·1 citation
14. 14*

    Transverse force tomography inside a proton from Basis Light-front Quantization

    Ziqi Zhang🇨🇳 · Chandan Mondal🇨🇳 · Siqi Xu🇨🇳 · Xingbo Zhao🇨🇳 · James P. Vary🇺🇸

    The twist-3 transverse spin--dependent nucleon structure function $g_2$ arises in high-energy processes involving a transversely polarized nucleon. Its connection to quark--gluon correlations allows for an interpretation in terms of the average transverse color Lorentz force acting on unpolarized quarks inside a transversely polarized nucleon. In this work, we investigate this force using light-front wave functions obtained by diagonalizing the light-front Hamiltonian with quantum chromodynamics inputs within the Basis Light-front Quantization approach. We evolve our results to a common scale of $5{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$ and present the corresponding form factors in momentum space as well as the transverse force components in impact-parameter space. These distributions provide a complementary perspective on the Sivers asymmetry in transversely polarized deep-inelastic scattering. In the forward limit, we extract the twist-3 reduced matrix element $d_2$, and our results are found to be comparable with those from other theoretical calculations and experimental determinations.

    hep-phhep-thPRD(2026)·2 citations
15. 15*

    Neural-Network Holographic Model of the QCD Phase Transition under Lattice and HRG Constraints

    De-Xing Zhu🇨🇳 · Li-Qiang Zhu🇨🇳 · Xun Chen🇨🇳 · De-Fu Hou🇨🇳 · Kai Zhou🇨🇳

    Within a neural-network-based holographic framework, we incorporate lattice QCD (LQCD) and Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) data to train the model and predict the location of the QCD critical endpoint (CEP). The training dataset consists of the entropy density, baryon number susceptibility, and baryon density. The metric warp factor $A(z)$ and the gauge kinetic function $f(z)$ are parameterized by neural networks and determined through the training procedure. The resulting model reproduces the equation of state at vanishing chemical potential in good agreement with both LQCD and HRG data. Extending the analysis to finite chemical potential, we solve the equations of motion and obtain thermodynamic observables consistent with LQCD results at finite density. After incorporating the HRG constraints, the predicted position of the CEP shifts toward larger chemical potentials compared to recent studies. We further employ symbolic regression to derive analytic expressions for $A(z)$ and $f(z)$, providing convenient functional forms for future phenomenological applications. Finally, we perform a data-driven validation using synthetic thermodynamic data generated from an existing analytical holographic model. The neural-network framework reproduces the corresponding CEP location with good accuracy, showing close agreement within numerical uncertainties.

    hep-ph4 citations
16. 16*

    Constraining the heavy leptophilic neutral gauge bosons through the $Z\to {\ell }^{+}{\ell }^{-}$, $W^{\pm }\to {\ell }^{\pm }{\nu }_{\ell }$, and $h\to {\ell }^{+}{\ell }^{-}$ decays

    Bibhabasu De🇮🇳 · Amitabha Dey🇮🇳

    We consider the hypothetical possibility of neutral gauge bosons ($Z^{\prime }$) with flavor-specific leptophilic couplings. For such New Physics (NP) interactions, the current experimental constraints are much relaxed in the heavy mass regime, particularly for masses $\ge \mathcal{O}(1)$ TeV. However, in the presence of a leptophilic $Z^{\prime }$, leptonic decay modes of the electroweak gauge bosons and Higgs can be corrected at the loop level. Using the existing upper bounds on the corresponding decay widths, we find that one can impose stronger exclusion limits on the interactions of a heavy $Z^{\prime }$. Future updates on the aforesaid decay channels can be used in complementarity with the proposed lepton colliders to probe even weaker leptophilic NP interactions at the TeV scale and beyond.

    hep-phhep-exPRD(2026)·1 citation
17. 17*

    Dark Transition Magnetic Moments of Majorana Neutrinos Mediated by a Dark Photon

    Haohao Zhang🇨🇳

    Standard Model predictions for Majorana neutrino transition magnetic moments (TMMs) are subject to severe chiral and GIM-like suppressions, rendering them vanishingly small. To dynamically generate a macroscopic TMM, we propose a dark sector framework featuring a $U(1{)}_D$ gauge symmetry, a vector-like lepton doublet, and two complex dark scalars. We demonstrate that while fermion-radiated loop amplitudes identically cancel due to Majorana self-conjugacy, a chirally enhanced dark TMM is successfully generated exclusively through scalar-radiated loops. This mechanism safely shifts the required chirality flip onto the heavy internal fermion line and utilizes a misaligned double-scalar mixing in flavor space to evade the Majorana antisymmetry prohibition. We systematically confront this tensor portal framework with multi-frontier experimental constraints. Since the dark TMM generation is inextricably linked to charged lepton flavor violation, the internal Yukawa couplings are stringently capped by the latest $\mu \to e\gamma$ limits from MEG II. Concurrently, the visible-dark kinetic mixing portal is heavily bottlenecked by missing energy and mono-photon searches at NA64 and BaBar. Our global phenomenological analysis reveals that the synergistic theoretical upper bound dictated by these indirect high-energy probes completely eclipses the direct scattering constraints from Borexino. This establishes a strict phenomenological hierarchy: high-intensity cLFV probes and accelerator-based dark sector searches jointly possess the overwhelmingly dominant exclusionary power over direct solar neutrino limits for such microscopic magnetic moment models.

    hep-ph0 citations
18. 18*

    Nonlocal Portal to the Dark Sector

    Sergey Kovalenko🇨🇱 · Sergey Kuleshov🇨🇱 · Valery E. Lyubovitskij🇨🇱 · Alexey S. Zhevlakov🇷🇺

    We propose a nonlocal realization of the Stueckelberg portal between the Standard Model and Dark Sector, which decouple in the local limit. This implies that the mediator, $U(1{)}_D$ Dark Photon $A^{\prime }$ with a Stueckelberg mass, interacts nonlocally with the Standard Model quarks and leptons. We study phenomenological implications of this scenario for the meson decays into semi-invisible and invisible channels. We discuss the experimental limitations on the model parameters, including the nonlocality scale.

    hep-phPRD(2026)·0 citations
19. 19*

    $\theta$ Angle and Axial Anomaly in Holographic QCD

    Csaba Csáki🇺🇸 · Eric Kuflik🇮🇱 · Wei Xue🇺🇸 · Taewook Youn🇺🇸

    We present a bottom-up holographic description of the QCD $\theta$-vacuum and the $U(1{)}_A$ anomaly in five dimensions. The multi-branched $\theta$-vacuum structure emerges geometrically from a higher-dimensional gauge field, while the axial anomaly is realized through a Stückelberg coupling that is dual to a Chern-Simons term. In this framework, the ${\eta }^{\prime }$ meson appears as a zero mode of bulk fluctuations, and its mass arises from the anomaly-induced Stückelberg term. The construction provides a transparent holographic derivation of the anomaly contribution to the ${\eta }^{\prime }$ mass and naturally reproduces the Witten-Veneziano relation between the ${\eta }^{\prime }$ mass and the Yang-Mills topological susceptibility.

    hep-phhep-thJHEP(2026)·3 citations
20. 20*

    Mapping quark-level kinematics to hadrons in a new hybrid model of semileptonic $B$ meson decays

    Philipp Horak🇨🇦 · Robert Kowalewski🇨🇦 · Tommy Martinov🇮🇹

    The need to map parton-level processes to color-neutral hadrons in a way that respects quark-hadron duality arises in several areas of physics, including in the semileptonic decays of $B$ mesons. Integrated over large regions of phase space, the quark-level and hadron-level quantities are expected to be equal. However, the breakdown of duality is manifest at low hadron-system invariant masses, where discrete resonances dominate. In practice, this means independent simulations of decays to low-lying resonances and to higher-mass hadronic systems must be merged into a coherent model. We present a novel method to combine these resonant and non-resonant components in simulations of inclusive $b\to u\ell \nu$ decays that uses an optimal transport algorithm. The method currently used in measurements of inclusive semileptonic $B$ decay branching fractions introduces unphysical features in kinematic spectra such as large discontinuities and negative yields. The optimal transport method solves both of these issues and can be easily implemented in experimental studies of $B\to X_u\ell \nu$ decays.

    hep-phhep-ex0 citations
21. 21*

    A New Method to Simulate Dark Matter-Baryon Interactions and Application to an Isolated Disk Galaxy

    Connor Hainje🇺🇸 · Glennys R. Farrar🇺🇸

    We report on a new method for incorporating interactions between dark matter (DM) and baryons in cosmological simulations, capable of handling the challenging regime in which the dark matter particle mass is comparable to or lighter than the baryon mass. The method hybridizes two distinct approaches: gas particles receive momentum and energy transfer according to a mean-field calculation while DM particles undergo Monte Carlo scatterings. These approaches are derived from the Boltzmann equation and shown to be statistically equivalent. We present an open-source implementation of this method in the simulation code GIZMO. As a first application, we investigate the effects of DM-baryon interactions on an isolated Milky Way-like disk galaxy for dark matter having twice the proton mass, which roughly maximizes the average energy transfer per collision. For cross sections of order 1 barn ($10^{-24}$ cm${}^2$), these interactions cause strong changes to the mass distribution in the center of the galaxy in less than 1 Gyr, even when bar formation is suppressed by hand. For cross sections typical of hadronic interactions ($\lesssim 30$ mb), high-fidelity galaxy formation simulations will be needed to assess the effects on observable features of galaxies.

    ↳ astro-ph.COastro-ph.GAhep-phApJ(2026)·1 citation
22. 22*

    String-breaking statics and dynamics in a (1+1)D SU(2) lattice gauge theory

    Navya Gupta🇺🇸 · Emil Mathew🇮🇳 · Saurabh V. Kadam🇺🇸 · Jesse R. Stryker🇺🇸 · Aniruddha Bapat🇺🇸 · Niklas Mueller🇺🇸 · Zohreh Davoudi🇺🇸 · Indrakshi Raychowdhury🇮🇳

    String breaking is at the core of hadronization models of relevance to particle colliders. Yet, studies of string-breaking dynamics rooted in quantum chromodynamics remain fundamentally challenging. Tensor networks enable sign-problem-free studies of static and dynamical properties of lattice gauge theories. In this work, we develop and apply a tensor-network toolkit based on the loop-string-hadron formulation of an SU(2) lattice gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions with dynamical fermions. We apply this toolkit to study static and dynamical aspects of strings and their breaking in this theory. The simple, gauge-invariant, and local structure of the loop-string-hadron states and constraints removes the need to impose non-Abelian constraints in the algorithm, and allows for a systematic computation of observables at increasingly large bosonic cutoffs, and toward the infinite-volume and continuum limits. Our study of static strings yields a determination of the string tension in the continuum and thermodynamic limits. Our study of dynamical string breaking, performed at a fixed lattice spacing and system size, illuminates underlying processes at play during the quench dynamics of a string. The loop, string, and hadron description offers a systematic and intuitive way to diagnose these processes, including string expansion and contraction, endpoint splitting and particle shower, chain scattering events, and inelastic processes resulting from string dissociation and recombination, and particle production. We relate these processes to several features of the dynamics, such as energy transport, entanglement-entropy production, and correlation spreading. This work opens the way to future tensor-network studies of string breaking and particle production in increasingly complex lattice gauge theories.

    ↳ hep-lathep-phnucl-thquant-ph11 citations
23. 23*

    Confinement in Holographic Theories at Finite Theta

    Rashmish K. Mishra🇺🇸

    A strongly coupled confining gauge theory with a non-zero vacuum angle undergoing a deconfinement to confinement phase transition is studied in the holographic gravitational description. A simplified five-dimensional setup is constructed where a bulk scalar models the effect of the vacuum angle, and the suitable boundary conditions on the ultra-violet (UV) and the infra-red (IR) boundaries are identified. The IR boundary condition is motivated by higher dimensional examples where the bulk scalar comes from a Wilson loop on a shrinking cycle. In this five-dimensional dual geometry, and in the limit of small backreaction in the infra-red, the critical temperature for the phase transition is shown to reduce quadratically with the vacuum angle, matching lattice results. The topological susceptibility has a sharp reduction across the critical temperature, also matching lattice results. The rate for the phase transition is estimated as a function of the vacuum angle, and is seen to be enhanced (reduced) when the field theory has a relevant (irrelevant) deformation at high energies. Crucially, for the irrelevant case, the confined phase can get destabilized for a range of parameters. In the context of early universe dynamics, if the vacuum angle is time-dependent, the transition history changes strongly: the deconfined phase can last till much lower temperatures than naively expected, and one can trigger a transition to the confined phase by a change in the vacuum angle, thus providing a controlled way to generate supercooling. As a phenomenological application, the peak frequency and the power of resulting gravitational wave signal from bubble collisions change, affecting their visibility in detectors. Possible generalizations of the scenario are discussed.

    ↳ hep-thhep-lathep-ph6 citations
24. 24*

    Diffractive and photon-induced processes at the LHC: from the odderon discovery, the evidence for saturation to the search for axion-like particles

    C. Royon🇺🇸

    We discuss first the discovery of the odderon by the TOTEM and D0 collaborations. We then describe the gap between jets measurements sensitive to the high gluon density regime and the possible observation of saturation phenomenon in Pb Pb interactions. We also mention the sensitivity to beyond standard model physics and to the production of axion-like particles via photon photon interactions.

    ↳ hep-exhep-phnucl-exnucl-thActa Phys.Polon.B(2026)·1 citation
25. 25*

    The Pareto Frontiers of Magic and Entanglement: The Case of Two Qubits

    Alexander Roman🇺🇸 · Marco Knipfer🇺🇸 · Jogi Suda Neto🇨🇭 · Konstantin T. Matchev🇺🇸 · Katia Matcheva🇺🇸 · Sergei Gleyzer🇺🇸

    Magic and entanglement are two measures that are widely used to characterize quantum resources. We study the interplay between magic and entanglement in two-qubit systems, focusing on the two extremes: maximal magic and minimal magic for a given level of entanglement. We quantify magic by the Rényi entropy of order 2, $M_2$, and entanglement by the concurrence $\Delta$. We find that the Pareto frontier of maximal magic $M_2^{(max)}(\Delta )$ is composed of three separate segments, while the boundary of minimal magic $M_2^{(min)}(\Delta )$ is a single continuous line. We derive simple analytical formulas for all these four cases, and explicitly parametrize all distinct quantum states of maximal or minimal magic at a given level of entanglement.

    ↳ quant-phcs.EThep-lathep-ph+13 citations
26. 26*

    Curvature Corrections to the Yukawa Potential in Tolman Metrics

    J. V. Zamperlini🇧🇷 · C. C. Barros Jr🇧🇷

    This work investigates curvature-induced modifications to the Yukawa potential in static, spherically symmetric spacetimes described by Tolman metrics, focusing on their implications for compact stellar objects, with particular application to solutions IV and VI. Motivated by the interplay of quantum interactions and strong gravitational fields in systems like neutron stars, we derive explicit corrections to the Yukawa potential for these metrics. Contrary to previous findings suggesting that curvature corrections break the radial symmetry of the interacting potential near a highly charged black hole, we demonstrate that Tolman metric corrections preserve this symmetry in the local inertial frame. Numerical estimates for astrophysical objects reveal energy shifts of the order of $10^{-34}$ MeV for solution IV. The Tolman VI solution, while singular at the center, yields comparable corrections for most of the fluid sphere radius. A detailed analysis of the repulsive or attractive nature of these curvature corrections for a local observer is provided for each scenario. These results highlight the role of spacetime geometry in shaping quantum interactions and provide a foundation for future studies of nuclear interactions within the context of relativistic stars.

    ↳ gr-qchep-phmath-phmath.MP+1Class.Quant.Grav.(2026)·0 citations
27. 27*

    Bayesian analysis of proton-proton fusion in chiral effective field theory

    Vittorio Barlucchi🇩🇪 · Alex Gnech🇺🇸 · Scilla Degl'Innocenti🇮🇹 · Laura Elisa Marcucci🇮🇹

    The astrophysical $S$-factor for the proton-proton fusion is calculated in the low-energy regime for a variety of nuclear interactions and consistent nuclear currents, derived within chiral effective field theory. We estimate, for the first time, the theoretical uncertainty on the $S$-factor due to the truncation of the chiral expansion of the currents using a Bayesian analysis. In order to reach an accuracy at the percent level in the calculation, the electromagnetic potential includes contributions beyond the leading Coulomb interaction, such as two-photon exchange and vacuum polarization. The initial proton-proton state is expanded in partial waves and only the ${}^1{S}_0$ contribution is included, as it is known that the other partial-waves effects are negligible. The low-energy constant entering the contact term in the weak axial current operator is calibrated to reproduce the Gamow-Teller matrix element in Tritium $\beta$-decay. The value $S(0)$ is found to be $S(0)=(4.068\pm 0.025)\times 10^{-25}\text{MeV}\text{b}$.

    ↳ nucl-thastro-ph.SRhep-ph0 citations
28. 28*

    When identical particles cease to be indistinguishable: violation of statistics in quantum spacetime

    Nicola Bortolotti🇮🇹 · Catalina Curceanu🇮🇹 · Antonino Marciano🇨🇳 · Kristian Piscicchia🇮🇹

    Quantum gravity may modify the fundamental symmetries that govern identical particles. In particular, noncommutative spacetime frameworks predict deformations of Bose and Fermi statistics. Here we develop a relativistic quantum field theory based on the most general oscillator algebra compatible with $\theta$-deformed Poincaré symmetry. This construction generalizes twisted statistics to a class of quon-like deformations allowing non-involutive particle exchange. We show that the resulting theory is consistent at both the free and interacting levels and derive its implications for atomic systems. Purely twisted statistics predicts Pauli-forbidden atomic transitions at rates incompatible with experiments. By contrast, a class of quon deformations suppresses such processes by powers of the noncommutativity scale, but only if superselection rules between permutation-symmetry sectors are violated. This implies an effective breakdown of particle indistinguishability and provides theoretical motivation for high-precision experimental tests of the Pauli exclusion principle.

    ↳ hep-thhep-ph1 citation
29. 29*

    Particle Physics and Gravitational Waves as complementary windows on the Universe

    Steven D. Bass🇵🇱 · Laura Baudis🇨🇭 · Gianfranco Bertone🇳🇱 · Oliver Buchmueller🇬🇧 · Babette Döbrich🇩🇪 · Reinhard Genzel🇩🇪 · Anne M. Green🇬🇧 · Klaus Helbing🇩🇪 · Michèle Heurs🇩🇪 · Karl Jakobs🇩🇪 · Markus Klute🇩🇪 · Samaya Nissanke🇳🇱 and 7 other authors

    Particle physics and gravitational waves provide complementary probes of the deep structure of the Universe. Gravitational waves from the mergers of neutron stars and black holes are sensitive to the structure of dense quark matter and to different dark matter scenarios. Measurements of stochastic gravitational waves backgrounds can teach us about possible first order phase transitions in the early Universe, including providing sensitivity to the TeV scale which is of key interest to future particle collider experiments. Gravitational waves measurements will also give new probes of the evolution and expansion of the Universe, complementary to measurements with electromagnetic radiation. This Perspectives article explores the physics synergies between the science opportunities provided by next generation gravitational waves measurements and particle physics experiments. Gravitational waves can also probe deep into the early Universe reaching physics much above possible collider energies if the signals can be detected.

    ↳ astro-ph.COgr-qchep-exhep-ph+11 citation
30. 30*

    CMB constraints on dark matter-proton scattering: investigating prior-volume effects using profile likelihoods

    Maria C. Straight🇺🇸 · Tanvi Karwal🇺🇸 · José Luis Bernal🇪🇸 · Kimberly K. Boddy🇺🇸

    We present profile-likelihood constraints on velocity-independent dark matter-proton scattering, including cases in which only a fraction of dark matter has such non-gravitational interactions. Frequentist profile-likelihood techniques provide prior-independent constraints, circumventing prior-volume effects that we show arise in Bayesian constraints on this model. In the limit where the scattering cross section or the fraction of interacting dark matter approaches zero, the other interacting dark matter model parameters become unconstrained, causing the posterior distribution to favor that region of parameter space. Using Planck 2018 cosmic microwave background anisotropy data, we find a clear impact of prior-volume effects on the posteriors used to place constraints on dark matter scattering. Compared to the frequentist analysis, the Bayesian method consistently overestimates the constraints on the cross section. Given the potentially biased upper limits on models subject to prior-volume effects, such as this one, we recommend supplementing Bayesian constraints with frequentist statistics to better assess the impact of priors.

    ↳ astro-ph.COhep-ph5 citations
31. 31*

    Set the Night on FIRE: Building an Empirical Local Dark Matter Velocity Distribution

    Xiuyuan Zhang🇺🇸 · Andreas Thoyas🇺🇸 · Lina Necib🇺🇸 · Andrew Wetzel🇺🇸 · Arpit Arora🇺🇸

    The majority of terrestrial direct detection experiments for Dark Matter (DM) rely on the Standard Halo Model (SHM), which assumes the local DM velocity distribution follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. However, galaxy mergers can deposit DM that remains kinematically clustered today, inducing deviations from the smooth SHM prediction. Previous studies have suggested that the local stellar velocity distribution may serve as a tracer for DM populations originating from the same progenitor systems. In this work, we systematically investigate how merger mass and accretion time affect the correlation between local stellar and DM velocity distributions in Milky Way-like galaxies from the FIRE-2 simulations. We find a strong correlation between traceable DM components and their stellar counterparts, with the tightest correspondence arising from lower-mass mergers accreted at earlier cosmic times. For the remaining DM that lacks an identifiable stellar counterpart, which dominate the full DM fraction, we find that its velocity distribution is well described by a component-wise generalized Gaussian. Combining these two ingredients, we reconstruct the full local DM velocity distribution. This framework captures merger-induced features-such as co-rotation of accreted material with the galactic disk-that are entirely absent in the SHM. Finally, we propagate uncertainties through the reconstruction and show that they are dominated by the stellar mass-halo mass relation, which is unlikely to improve substantially in the near term. We therefore argue that this framework approaches the current limit of our ability to characterize the local DM velocity distribution.

    ↳ astro-ph.GAastro-ph.COhep-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.