We consider generic neutrino dipole portals between left-handed neutrinos, photons, and right-handed heavy neutral leptons (HNL) with Dirac masses. The dominance of this portal significantly alters ...the conventional phenomenology of HNLs. We derive a comprehensive set of constraints on the dipole portal to HNLs by utilizing data from LEP, LHC, MiniBooNE, LSND as well as observations of Supernova 1987A and consistency of the standard big bang nucleosynthesis. We calculate projected sensitivities from the proposed high-intensity SHiP beam dump experiment, and the ongoing experiments at the Short-Baseline Neutrino facility at Fermilab. Dipole mediated Primakoff neutrino upscattering and Dalitz-like meson decays are found to be the main production mechanisms in most of the parametric regime under consideration. Proposed explanations of LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies based on HNLs with dipole-induced decays are found to be severely constrained, or to be tested in the future experiments.
Bringing an external radioactive source close to a large underground detector can significantly advance sensitivity not only to sterile neutrinos but also to “dark” gauge bosons and scalars. Here we ...address in detail the sensitivity reach of the Borexino-SOX configuration, which will see a powerful (a few PBq) 144Ce–144Pr source installed next to the Borexino detector, to light scalar particles coupled to the SM fermions. The mass reach of this configuration is limited by the energy release in the radioactive γ-cascade, which in this particular case is 2.2 MeV. Within that reach one year of operations will achieve an unprecedented sensitivity to coupling constants of such scalars, reaching down to g∼10−7 levels and probing significant parts of parameter space not excluded by either beam dump constraints or astrophysical bounds. Should the current proton charge radius discrepancy be caused by the exchange of a MeV-mass scalar, then the simplest models will be decisively probed in this setup. We also update the beam dump constraints on light scalars and vectors, and in particular rule out dark photons with masses below 1 MeV, and couplings ϵ≥10−5.
We present new models utilizing QCD-like dark sectors to resolve small-scale structure problems. These models of resonant self-interacting dark matter in a dark sector with QCD are based on analogies ...to the meson spectra in standard model QCD. We introduce a simple model that realizes resonant self-interaction (analogous to the ϕ-K-K system) and thermal freeze-out, in which dark mesons are made of two light quarks. We also consider asymmetric dark matter composed of heavy and light dark quarks to realize a resonant self-interaction (analogous to the ϒ(4S)-B-B system) and discuss the experimental probes of both setups. Finally, we comment on the possible resonant self-interactions already built into SIMP and ELDER mechanisms while using lattice results to determine feasibility.
The huge land areas in China provide highly diverse habitats for macrofungi. Of these macrofungi, many are directly related to people’s daily life and have been utilized by ancient Chinese for at ...least 6800 years. In this study, we evaluate the current known resource diversity of Chinese macrofungi. A total of 1662 taxa are summarized, and all species names and their authorities have been checked and corrected according to authentic mycological databases. Among the 1662 taxa, 1020, 692, and 480 are considered to be edible, medicinal and poisonous mushrooms, respectively. A few of edible macrofungi in China are commonly used for commercial production. All known medicinal functions are labeled for medicinal species. The most common medicinal functions possessed by Chinese macrofungi are antitumor or anticancer, followed by antioxidant and antimicrobial. A total of 277 Chinese macrofungi are edible simultaneously with certain medicinal functions and without known toxicity. These species could be treated as “Gold Mushrooms”. Contrarily, 193 edible and/or medicinal species are also recognized as poisonous mushrooms. To avoid poisoning caused by these species, ingestion either in a proper way or in small amounts is important. However, the mycotoxins metabolized by these poisonous species could be a huge wealth of natural products yet to be explored. How to utilize these Chinese macrofungal resources is a critical to benefit humans worldwide.
We identify new astrophysical signatures of dark matter that implodes neutron stars (NSs), which could decisively test whether NS-imploding dark matter is responsible for missing pulsars in the Milky ...Way galactic center, the source of some r-process elements, and the origin of fast-radio bursts. First, NS-imploding dark matter forms ∼10−10 solar mass or smaller black holes inside neutron stars, which proceed to convert neutron stars into ∼1.5 solar mass black holes (BHs). This decreases the number of neutron star mergers seen by LIGO/Virgo (LV) and associated merger kilonovae seen by telescopes like DES, BlackGEM, and ZTF, instead producing a population of “black mergers” containing ∼1.5 solar mass black holes. Second, dark matter-induced neutron star implosions may create a new kind of kilonovae that lacks a detectable, accompanying gravitational signal, which we call “quiet kilonovae.” Using DES data and the Milky Way’s r-process abundance, we constrain quiet kilonovae. Third, the spatial distribution of neutron star merger kilonovae and quiet kilonovae in galaxies can be used to detect dark matter. NS-imploding dark matter destroys most neutron stars at the centers of disc galaxies, so that neutron star merger kilonovae would appear mostly in a donut at large radii. We find that as few as ten neutron star merger kilonova events, located to ∼1 kpc precision could validate or exclude dark matter-induced neutron star implosions at 2σ confidence, exploring dark matter-nucleon cross-sections 4–10 orders of magnitude below current direct detection experimental limits. Similarly, NS-imploding dark matter as the source of fast radio bursts can be tested at 2σ confidence once 20 bursts are located in host galaxies by radio arrays like CHIME and HIRAX.
We identify what may be the world's most sensitive location to search for millicharged particles in the 10 MeV to 100 GeV mass range: the forward region at the LHC. We propose constructing a ...scintillator-based experiment, FORward MicrOcharge SeArch (FORMOSA) in this location. FORMOSA can discover millicharged particles in a large and unexplored region of parameter space, including millicharged strongly interacting dark matter (mSIDM) candidates that cannot be probed by ground-based direct-detection experiments. The newly proposed LHC Forward Physics Facility (FPF) provides an ideal structure to host the full FORMOSA experiment.
Heavy neutrinos with additional interactions have recently been proposed as an explanation to the MiniBooNE excess. These scenarios often rely on marginally boosted particles to explain the excess ...angular spectrum, thus predicting large rates at higher-energy neutrino-electron scattering experiments. We place new constraints on this class of models based on neutrino-electron scattering sideband measurements performed at MINERνA and CHARM-II. A simultaneous explanation of the angular and energy distributions of the MiniBooNE excess in terms of heavy neutrinos with light mediators is severely constrained by our analysis. In general, high-energy neutrino-electron scattering experiments provide strong constraints on explanations of the MiniBooNE observation involving light mediators.
We set constraints and future sensitivity projections on millicharged particles (MCPs) based on electron scattering data in numerous neutrino experiments, starting with MiniBooNE and the Liquid ...Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND). Both experiments are found to provide new (and leading) constraints in certain MCP mass windows: 5-35 MeV for LSND and 100-180 MeV for MiniBooNE. Furthermore, we provide projections for the ongoing Fermilab SBN program, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and the proposed Search for Hidden Particles (SHIP) experiment. In the SBN program, SBND and MicroBooNE have the capacity to provide the leading bounds in the 100-300 MeV mass regime. DUNE and SHIP are capable of probing parameter space for MCP masses in the range of 5 MeV-5 GeV that is significantly beyond the reach of existing bounds, including those from collider searches and, in the case of DUNE, the SLAC mQ experiment.
We propose a low-cost and movable setup to probe minicharged particles using high-intensity proton fixed-target facilities. This proposal, FerMINI, consists of a scintillator-based detector, ...requiring multicoincident scintillation signatures within a small time window, located downstream of the proton target of a neutrino experiment. During the collisions of a large number of protons on the target, intense minicharged particle beams may be produced via meson photo-decays and Drell-Yan production. We take advantage of the high statistics, shielding, and potential neutrino-detector-related background reduction to search for minicharged particles in two potential sites: the MINOS near detector hall and the proposed DUNE near detector hall, both at Fermilab. We also explore several alternative designs, including modifications to increase signal yield, and combining this detector technology with existing and planned neutrino detectors to better search for minicharged particles. FerMINI can achieve unprecedented sensitivity for minicharged particles in the MeV to few GeV regime with fractional charge ϵ = Qχ/e as low as 10−4.
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