This article provides an overview of the state-of-the-art and future trends of the application of LC-high resolution mass spectrometry to the environmental analysis of polar micropollutants. Highly ...resolved and accurate hybrid tandem mass spectrometry such as quadrupole/time-of-flight and linear ion trap/orbitrap technology allows for a more reliable target analysis with reference standards, a screening for suspected analytes without reference standards, and a screening for unknowns. A reliable identification requires both high resolving power and high mass spectral accuracy to increase selectivity against the matrix background and for a correct molecular formula assignment to unknown compounds. For the identification and structure elucidation of unknown compounds within a reasonable time frame and with a reasonable soundness, advanced automated software solutions as well as improved prediction systems for theoretical fragmentation patterns, retention times, and ionization behavior are needed. graphic removed
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bstract
We investigate the non-relativistic reduction of simplified models for spin 1 dark matter (DM) with the aim of identifying features in the phenomenology of DM-quark interactions which are ...specific to vector DM. In the case of DM-quark interactions mediated by a spin 1 particle, we find two DM-nucleon interaction operators arising from the non-relativistic reduction of simplified models for spin 1 DM that are specific to spin 1 DM, and which were not considered in previous studies. They are quadratic in the momentum transfer, linear in a symmetric combination of polarisation vectors for the DM particle, and arise from simplified models which do not generate momentum transfer independent operators as leading interactions in the non-relativistic expansion of DM-nucleon scattering amplitudes. Within these simplified models, the new operators cannot be neglected when computing DM signals at direct detection experiments. For example, we find that nuclear recoil energy spectra computed by including or neglecting the new operators can differ by up to one order of magnitude for nuclear recoil energies larger than about 20 keV and DM masses below 50 GeV. Furthermore, the shape of the expected nuclear recoil spectra depends significantly on whether the new operators are taken into account or not. Finally, neglecting the contribution to DM direct detection signals from the new operators leads to inaccurate conclusions when assessing the compatibility of a future direct detection signal with CMB constraints on the DM relic density, especially when the number of signal events is small, e.g.
O
(1).
The discovery of dark matter (DM) at XENONnT or LZ would place constraints on DM particle mass and coupling constants. It is interesting to ask when these constraints can be compatible with the DM ...thermal production mechanism. We address this question within the most general set of renormalizable models that preserve Lorentz and gauge symmetry, and that extend the standard model by one DM candidate of mass mDM and one particle of mass Mmed mediating DM-quark interactions. Our analysis divides into two parts. First, we postulate that XENONnT/LZ has detected μS∼O(100) signal events, and use this input to calculate the DM relic density, ΩDMh2. Then, we identify the regions in the Mmed−ΩDMh2 plane which are compatible with the observed signal and with current CMB data. We find that for most of the models considered here, O(100) signal events at XENONnT/LZ and the DM thermal production are only compatible for resonant DM annihilations, i.e. for Mmed≃2mDM. In this case, XENONnT/LZ would be able to simultaneously measure mDM and Mmed. We also discuss the dependence of our results on mDM, μS and the DM spin, and provide analytic expressions for annihilation cross sections and mediator decay widths for all models considered in this study.
Increased synthetic chemical production and diversification in developing countries caused serious aquatic pollution worldwide with emerging organic pollutants (EOPs) detected in surface water rising ...health concerns to human and aquatic ecosystem even at low ng/L concentration with long-term exposure. The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) area serves agriculture and industry for people in eastern China. However, the current knowledge on the occurrence and ecological risk of diverse EOPs which are present in the aquatic environment is limited. This study was to investigate the complexity and diversity of EOPs in surface water from 28 sampling sites, which were selected to represent urban, industrial or agriculture areas in the YRD area. In total 484 chemicals were analyze by a target screening approach using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). 181 out of 484 EOPs were detected at least one site in the YRD area, and 44 analytes, mostly industrial chemicals and pesticides, were ubiquitous at all sampling sites. Most EOPs were industrial chemicals with 1H-benzotriazole and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) as the chemicals with highest concentrations. For 21 pesticides, mostly herbicides, maximum concentrations of atrazine and isoproturon were above the annual average environmental quality standards of Europe. Amantadine and DEET were the dominant pharmceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the YRD area. Compared to urban areas (mostly in Qinhuai River), chemical profiles from industrial areas were more complex. Industrial activities likely have a strong impact on the composition of chemical mixtures in surface water from the YRD area. ISO E Super, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and clotrimazole detected in this study are potentially persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals. Furthermore, results of risk assessment showed that hazard quotients of dimethyldioctadecylammonium, didecyldimethylammonium and octocrylene were higher than one and occur frequently, which indicates possibly adverse effects on fish species in the YRD area.
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•The surface waters in the YRD area are polluted with a vast range of predominantly industrial EOPs.•44 EOPs detected in surface water from YRD area everywhere, most of them were industrial chemicals and pesticides.•ISO E Super, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and clotrimazole are potential persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals.•Dimethyldioctadecylammonium, didecyldimethylammonium and octocrylene show high risks to aquatic organisms.
We develop a method to forecast the outcome of the LHC Run 3 based on the hypothetical detection of O(100) signal events at XENONnT. Our method relies on a systematic classification of renormalizable ...single-mediator models for dark matter–quark interactions and is valid for dark matter candidates of spin less than or equal to one. Applying our method to simulated data, we find that at the end of the LHC Run 3 only two mutually exclusive scenarios would be compatible with the detection of O(100) signal events at XENONnT. In the first scenario, the energy distribution of the signal events is featureless, as for canonical spin-independent interactions. In this case, if a monojet signal is detected at the LHC, dark matter must have spin 1/2 and interact with nucleons through a unique velocity-dependent operator. If a monojet signal is not detected, dark matter interacts with nucleons through canonical spin-independent interactions. In a second scenario, the spectral distribution of the signal events exhibits a bump at nonzero recoil energies. In this second case, a monojet signal can be detected at the LHC Run 3; dark matter must have spin 1/2 and interact with nucleons through a unique momentum-dependent operator. We therefore conclude that the observation of O(100) signal events at XENONnT combined with the detection, or the lack of detection, of a monojet signal at the LHC Run 3 would significantly narrow the range of possible dark matter–nucleon interactions. As we argued above, it can also provide key information on the dark matter particle spin.
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bstract
It is well-known that dark matter (DM) direct detection experiments and the LHC are complementary, since they probe physical processes occurring at different energy scales. And yet, there ...are aspects of this complementarity which are still not fully understood, or exploited. For example, what is the impact that the discovery of DM at XENONnT would have on present and future searches for DM in LHC final states involving a pair of hadronic jets? In this work we investigate the impact of a XENONnT signal on the interpretation of current dijet searches at the LHC, and on the prospects for dijet signal discovery at the High-Luminosity (HL) LHC in the framework of simplified models. Specifically, we focus on a general class of simplified models where DM can have spin 0, 1/2 or 1, and interacts with quarks through the exchange of a scalar, pseudo-scalar, vector, or pseudo-vector mediator. We find that exclusion limits on the mediator’s mass and its coupling to quarks from dijet searches at the LHC are significantly affected by a signal at XENONnT, and that
O
(100) signal events at XENONnT would drastically narrow the region in the parameter space of simplified models where a dijet signal can be discovered at 5
σ
C.L. at the HL-LHC.
To detect site-specific, suspected and formerly unknown contaminants in a wastewater treatment plant effluent, we established a screening procedure based on liquid chromatography–high resolution mass ...spectrometry (LC–HRMS) with stepwise identification schemes. Based on automated substructure searches a list of 2160 suspected site-specific and documented water contaminants was reduced to those amenable to LC–HRMS. After searching chromatograms for exact masses of suspects, presumably false positive detections were stepwise excluded by retention time prediction, the evaluation of isotope patterns, ionization behavior, and HRMS/MS spectra. In nontarget analysis, peaks for identification were selected based on distinctive isotope patterns and intensity. The stepwise identification of nontarget compounds was automated by a plausibility check of molecular formulas using the Seven Golden Rules, an exclusion of compounds with presumably low commercial importance and an automated HRMS/MS evaluation. Six suspected and five nontarget chemicals were identified, of which two have not been previously reported as environmental pollutants.
•A LC–HRMS-based suspect and nontarget screening was applied to wastewater.•Manual data processing to identify candidate structures was accelerated by automated software-based procedure.•Identification was supported by sophisticated analytical methods such as deuterium exchange.•Eleven site-specific and formerly unknown compounds were identified.•We provide a framework to extend analytical procedures from target to suspect and nontarget compounds.
A screening procedure based on liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) with a systematic data evaluation was established, which allowed detecting suspected and formerly unknown contaminants in wastewater.
The interactions of dark matter (DM) with the visible sector are often phenomenologically described in the framework of simplified models, where the couplings of quarks to the new particles are ...generally assumed to be universal or have a simple structure motivated by observational benchmarks. They should, however, a priori be treated as free parameters. In this work, we discuss one particular realization of the structure of DM couplings based on an S4 × Z5 flavor symmetry, which has been shown to account reasonably well for fermion masses and mixing, and compare their effect on observational signals to universal as well as Yukawa-like couplings, which are motivated by a minimal flavor violation. We will also comment on how these structures could be constrained in UV complete theories of DM and how DM observables, such as, e.g., relic density and direct detection, can potentially be used as a smoking gun for the underlying flavor symmetries.
If dark matter has spin 0, only two WIMP-nucleon interaction operators can arise as leading operators from the nonrelativistic reduction of renormalizable single-mediator models for dark matter-quark ...interactions. Based on this crucial observation, we show that about 100 signal events at next generation directional detection experiments can be enough to enable a 2σ rejection of the spin 0 dark matter hypothesis in favor of alternative hypotheses where the dark matter particle has spin 1/2 or 1. In this context, directional sensitivity is crucial since anisotropy patterns in the sphere of nuclear recoil directions depend on the spin of the dark matter particle. For comparison, about 100 signal events are expected in a CF4 detector operating at a pressure of 30 torr with an exposure of approximately 26,000 cubic-meter-detector days for WIMPs of 100 GeV mass and a WIMP-fluorine scattering cross section of 0.25 pb. Comparable exposures require an array of cubic meter time projection chamber detectors.
We present a reanalysis of the latest results from CMS dijet searches for an integrated luminosity of 36 fb − 1 together with preliminary results for 78 fb − 1 in the framework of simplified models ...for dark matter interacting with quarks through the exchange of a scalar, pseudoscalar, vector or pseudovector mediator particle. Within the same framework, we also project the sensitivity of dijet searches in future LHC runs and study how well the parameters of a simplified model could be reconstructed in case of a future discovery at the high luminosity (HL) LHC. Finally, we explore the possibility of discriminating different mediator scenarios by extending the sensitivity of dijet searches for simplified models through the use of angular information. It is the first time that these studies are performed systematically for the case of spin 0 mediators. Among other results we find: (1) no evidence for a dijet signal in the simplified model framework; (2) improvements due to an increased luminosity at the HL-LHC are significant, but mostly for heavy mediators, where dijet searches are limited by statistical, rather than systematical uncertainties; (3) Information on the angular separation of dijets could be used at the HL-LHC to discriminate different mediator scenarios.
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