Quantum field theory exhibits rich spatial correlation structures even in the vacuum, where entanglement entropy between regions scales with the area of their shared boundary. While this vacuum structure has been extensively studied, far less is understood about how localized wave packets influence correlations between field values in different spatial regions. In this work, we use the Schrödinger representation to study the Rényi mutual information between complementary spatial regions for a localized wave packet of a free massless scalar field in (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>d</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math>) dimensions. We find that the mutual information in this excited state includes both a vacuum term and an excitation-induced contribution. To obtain quantitative results, we specialize to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math> dimensions and evaluate the Rényi-2 mutual information between the negative and positive halves of the real line. We find that the excitation generates finite, positive correlations that are maximized when the wave packet sits at the boundary and decreases with its distance from it, at a rate determined by the wave packet’s width. Our findings constitute a contribution toward a more comprehensive understanding of quantum correlations in multiparticle states with nontrivial spatial localization, analyzed within a quantum field-theoretical framework.

Brazil

Willy A. Izquierdo

Germany

David R. Junior

Gastão Krein

Geometric Rényi mutual information induced by localized particle excitations in quantum field theory

We investigate dilepton production in a thermalized quark-gluon plasma subject to global rotation, in the rigid rotating approximation. We consider a generic process involving quark-antiquark annihilation followed by the emission of a highly energetic virtual photon decaying into a dilepton pair. For this process, we compute the dilepton emission rate from the imaginary part of the photon polarization tensor, at finite temperature and vorticity. Our results show that vorticity induces characteristic modifications in the light dilepton channel, namely, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>+</mo></msup></math> production, where the emission spectrum exhibits a suppression at low transverse mass together with a mild shift of the production threshold. This behavior originates from the role of vorticity as an effective spin-dependent chemical potential that alters the available phase-space distribution for the emission process. In contrast, the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>μ</mi><mo>−</mo></msup><msup><mi>μ</mi><mo>+</mo></msup></math> channel is more weakly affected by the rotational background, thus remaining dominated by its intrinsic mass threshold. The resulting channel dependence highlights a potential phenomenological handle for disentangling rotational effects in heavy-ion collisions: while light dilepton spectra encode the imprints of vorticity in the infrared sector, the muon channel provides a comparatively robust baseline.

Colombia

Jorge David Castaño-Yepes

Chile

Enrique Muñoz

Dilepton production in a rotating thermal medium: The rigid rotation approximation

Experimental searches for neutron-antineutron (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mover accent="true"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math>) transitions can be considered via two approaches: conversion in free-neutron beams and intranuclear transformation leading to matter instability in large-mass detectors. Plans for next-generation searches make it timely to highlight the complementarity, necessity, and limitations of each method. Converting the bound neutron limit into one for free neutrons traditionally utilizes nucleus-specific estimates of the in-medium suppression of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mover accent="true"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math>, obtained within mean-field theory under a single-operator assumption. This paper highlights how this suppression can be scenario-dependent, which can lead to deviations from the standard approach that can span several orders of magnitude. A further goal of the paper is to point out the need for a broader phenomenology program for <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mover accent="true"><mi>n</mi><mo stretchy="false">¯</mo></mover></math> that is akin to those developed for electric dipole moments and other systems for which short-distance new physics must be studied in medium. We find that moderate deviations from the standard suppression factor arise generically via multioperator interference effects with the largest enhancements corresponding to regions of parameter space with partial phase alignment between operator contributions.

United States

Joshua L. Barrow

Peter Fierlinger

Yuri Kamyshkov

Sweden

Bernhard Meirose

David Milstead

Rabindra N. Mohapatra

Valentina Santoro

Avoiding blindness in baryon number violating processes: Free-beam and intranuclear paths to neutron-antineutron transitions

We present a family of exact neutral hairy black-hole solutions with spherical horizon topology in extended supergravity with Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. We consider a consistent dilaton truncation and analyze in detail a sector where the magnetic part of the FI terms vanishes. Using appropriate dilaton counterterms, we compute the thermodynamic quantities and show the existence of Hawking-Page phase transitions. As a holographic application, we derive the thermal superpotential in closed form and use it as a counterterm, explicitly demonstrating that no additional finite counterterms are required to regularize the Euclidean action and the quasi-local stress tensor. The dual stress tensor matches that of a thermal gas of massless particles and is consistent with mixed dilaton boundary conditions that preserve conformal symmetry.

Andrés Anabalón

Dumitru Astefanesei

Peru

David Choque

Italy

Antonio Gallerati

Thermal superpotential and thermodynamics of neutral hairy black holes in extended SUGRA

A search for dark matter particles produced in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair in proton-proton collisions at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msqrt><mrow><mi>s</mi></mrow></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></mrow></math> is presented. The data, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>101</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mrow><mi>fb</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>. The analysis is performed in exclusive categories targeting both Lorentz-boosted (merged) and resolved <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi></math> jet pair topologies, covering a wide range of Higgs boson transverse momentum. A statistical combination is made with a previous search using data collected in 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>35.9</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mrow><mi>fb</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>. The observed data agree with the standard model background predictions. Constraints are placed on models predicting new particles or interactions, such as those in the simplified frameworks of baryonic-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>Z</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>′</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>2</mn><mi>HDM</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>a</mi></mrow></math>, where the latter is a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model featuring a heavy pseudoscalar with an additional light pseudoscalar. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for these models. For the baryonic-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>Z</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>′</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math> model, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>Z</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>′</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math> boson masses below 2.25 TeV are excluded for a dark matter particle candidate mass of 1 GeV. In the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>2</mn><mi>HDM</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>a</mi></mrow></math> model, heavy pseudoscalar masses between 850 and 1300 GeV are excluded for a light pseudoscalar mass of 350 GeV.

Armenia

A. Hayrapetyan

V. Makarenko

A. Tumasyan

Austria

W. Adam

L. Benato

T. Bergauer

M. Dragicevic

C. Giordano

P.S. Hussain

M. Jeitler

N. Krammer

A. Li

D. Liko

M. Matthewman

J. Schieck

R. Schöfbeck

D. Schwarz

M. Shooshtari

M. Sonawane

W. Waltenberger

C.E. Wulz

Belgium

T. Janssen

H. Kwon

D. Ocampo Henao

T. Van Laer

P. Van Mechelen

J. Bierkens

N. Breugelmans

J. D’Hondt

S. Dansana

A. De Moor

M. Delcourt

F. Heyen

Y. Hong

P. Kashko

S. Lowette

I. Makarenko

D. Müller

J. Song

S. Tavernier

M. Tytgat

G.P. Van Onsem

S. Van Putte

D. Vannerom

B. Bilin

B. Clerbaux

A.K. Das

I. De Bruyn

G. De Lentdecker

H. Evard

L. Favart

P. Gianneios

A. Khalilzadeh

F.A. Khan

A. Malara

M.A. Shahzad

A. Sharma

L. Thomas

M. Vanden Bemden

C. Vander Velde

P. Vanlaer

F. Zhang

M. De Coen

D. Dobur

G. Gokbulut

D. Marckx

K. Skovpen

A.M. Tomaru

N. Van Den Bossche

J. van der Linden

J. Vandenbroeck

L. Wezenbeek

H. Aarup Petersen

S. Bein

A. Benecke

A. Bethani

G. Bruno

A. Cappati

J. De Favereau De Jeneret

C. Delaere

F. Gameiro Casalinho

A. Giammanco

A.O. Guzel

V. Lemaitre

J. Lidrych

P. Malek

P. Mastrapasqua

S. Turkcapar

G.A. Alves

M. Barroso Ferreira Filho

E. Coelho

C. Hensel

D. Matos Figueiredo

T. Menezes De Oliveira

C. Mora Herrera

P. Rebello Teles

M. Soeiro

E.J. Tonelli Manganote

A. Vilela Pereira

W.L. Aldá Júnior

Search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson decaying to bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math>

The Higgs boson (H) decay width is determined from the ratio of off- and on-shell production of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>H</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>W</mi><mi>W</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>ν</mi><mi>μ</mi><mi>ν</mi></math> using proton–proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>138</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><msup><mi>fb</mi><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></msup></math> collected at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math> by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The off-shell signal strength is measured as <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>μ</mi><mrow><mi>off</mi><mtext>−</mtext><mi>shell</mi></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><msubsup><mn>1.2</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>0.7</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>0.8</mn></mrow></msubsup></math>. The Higgs boson total decay width is <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mi><mi>H</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><msubsup><mn>3.9</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2.2</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>2.7</mn></mrow></msubsup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math>, in agreement with the standard model prediction. The uncertainty in this result represents a factor of 3 improvement over the previous CMS result in this decay channel.

K. Kaspar

D. Kavtaradze

H. Brandao Malbouisson

Measurement of the Higgs boson total decay width using the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>H</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>W</mi><mi>W</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>e</mi><mi>ν</mi><mi>μ</mi><mi>ν</mi></mrow></math> decay channel in proton-proton collisions at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math>

We extend the previously developed generally covariant formalism to include diffusion of conserved charges. We construct a partition function with chemical potential, and calculate the dynamics of the diffusion matrix in terms of the Ward identity enforcing charge conservation and linear response. We comment on the differences between diffusion of conserved scalar charges and full viscous hydrodynamics, and outline possible physical applications.

Giorgio Torrieri

David Montenegro

Gaussian fluctuating generally covariant diffusion

We introduce a lattice QCD mixed action approach that employs Wilson-type quarks in the sea and valence sectors. The sea sector is based on gauge ensembles with $$N_\mathrm {\scriptstyle f}=2+1$$ flavours of non-perturbatively O($\textit{a}$)-improved Wilson fermions generated by the Coordinated Lattice Simulations (CLS) initiative. The parameter space of the considered ensembles encompasses five values of the lattice spacing, a range of pion masses extending down to the physical point, and large physical volumes. In the valence sector, we employ Wilson twisted-mass fermions at maximal twist, using the same massless Wilson-Dirac operator in both the sea and valence sectors. We describe the strategy applied for the required matching of the sea and valence quark masses along the target renormalised chiral trajectory. A precise universality test is then conducted by comparing the continuum-limit results of the mixed-action approach and of the unitary setup, in which the same Wilson fermion regularisation is employed in the sea and in the valence. As a key application, we conduct a scale setting procedure based on lattice determinations of the masses and decay constants of the pion and kaon, as well as the gradient flow scale $$t_0$$ . The scale setting can consequently be performed in three distinct ways, utilising the unitary setup, the mixed action approach, and their combination. We observe that the latter combination results in enhanced control of the systematic uncertainties, thereby yielding a precise determination of the physical value of $$t_0$$ .

Andrea Bussone

Alessandro Conigli

Julien Frison

Spain

Gregorio Herdoíza

Carlos Pena

David Preti

José Romero

Alejandro Sáez

Javier Ugarrio

Hadronic physics from a Wilson fermion mixed-action approach: setup and scale setting

We develop new methods for approximating conformal blocks as positive functions times polynomials, with applications to the numerical bootstrap. We argue that to obtain accurate bootstrap bounds, conformal block approximations should minimize a certain error norm related to the asymptotics of dispersive functionals. This error norm can be made small using interpolation nodes with an appropriate optimal density. The optimal density turns out to satisfy a kind of force-balance equation for charges in 1-dimension, which can be solved using standard techniques from large-$\textit{N}$ matrix models. We also describe how to use optimal density interpolation nodes to improve condition numbers inside the semidefinite program solver SDPB. Altogether, our new approximation scheme and improvements to condition numbers lead to more accurate bootstrap bounds with fewer computational resources. They were crucial in the recent bootstrap study of stress tensors in the 3d Ising CFT.

Cyuan-Han Chang

Vasiliy Dommes

United Kingdom

Petr Kravchuk

David Poland

David Simmons-Duffin

Accurate bootstrap bounds from optimal interpolation

Mixed oriented and nonoriented center vortices are known to generate nontrivial topological charge. However, most previous analyses have been restricted to Abelian-projected thin configurations. Studies of thick vortices have so far focused on the <italic>SU</italic>(2) case and on the intersection of a single pair of oriented objects. In this work, we construct mixed oriented and nonoriented thick center-vortex gauge fields in <italic>SU</italic>( <italic>N</italic>) with smooth profiles and explicit non-Abelian phases. These phases ensure a smooth interpolation between different Cartan fluxes at monopole junctions. We analyze the resulting topological charge density and visualize its morphology, elucidating the color structures responsible for fractional lumps that together yield a nonvanishing global charge.

Luis E. Oxman

Gustavo M. Simões

Thick oriented and nonoriented center-vortex <italic>SU</italic>( <italic>N</italic>) configurations with fractional topological charge lumps