Most observables at particle colliders involve physics at a wide variety of distance scales. Due to asymptotic freedom of the strong interaction, the physics at short distances can be calculated reliably using perturbative techniques, while long distance physics is non-perturbative in nature. Factorization theorems separate the contributions from different scales scales, allowing to identify the pieces that can be determined perturbatively from those that require non-perturbative information, and if the non-perturbative pieces can be reliably determined, one can use experimental measurements to extract the short distance effects, sensitive to possible new physics. Without the ability to compute the non-perturbative ingredients from first principles one typically identifies observables for which the non-perturbative information is universal in the sense that it can be extracted from some experimental observables and then used to predict other observables. In this paper we argue that the future ability to use quantum computers to calculate non-perturbative matrix elements from first principles will allow to make predictions for observables with non-universal non-perturbative long-distance physics.

We compute two-loop electroweak corrections to double Higgs boson production in gluon fusion mediated by light quarks in a fully analytical way. We determine a basis of master integrals satisfying canonical differential equations in $\mathrm{d}\log$ form, enhanced by subsequent rotations to remove unnecessary functions that do not appear in the analytic expressions of the amplitudes. We determine the integration constants by matching our expressions to the large mass expansion limit of the canonical integrals. We express the solution of differential equations in terms of Chen iterated integrals up to transcendental weight six over logarithmic kernels with algebraic arguments, and further decompose them by employing a basis of uniform weight functions. By deriving differential equations for such basis, we provide numerical results as well as routines for optimised numerical evaluations.

We explore a class of axion models where an accidental $\mathrm{U}(1)$ Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry automatically emerges from the interplay of vertical (grand-unified) and horizontal (flavor) gauge symmetries. Focusing on a specific Pati-Salam realization, we analyze the quality of the PQ symmetry and demonstrate that the model non-trivially reproduces the Standard Model flavor structure. In the pre-inflationary PQ-breaking scenario, the axion mass window is predicted to be $m_a \in [2 \times 10^{-8}, 10^{-3}]\,\mathrm{eV}$. A high-quality axion, immune to the PQ quality problem, is obtained instead for $m_a \gtrsim 0.01\,\mathrm{eV}$, corresponding to a post-inflationary PQ-breaking scenario. A distinctive feature of this setup is the presence of parametrically light fermions, known as anomalons, which are introduced to cancel the gauge anomalies of the flavor symmetry. For the most favorable values of the PQ-breaking scale needed to address the PQ quality problem, the anomalons are expected to have masses below the eV scale. We further investigate their cosmological production in the early universe, highlighting how measurements of $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ could serve as a low-energy probe of the ultraviolet dynamics addressing the PQ quality problem.

Virtual Majorana neutrinos are indispensable for neutrinoless double-beta (0$\nu\beta\beta$) decay. In this study, we demonstrate that the overlap of the virtual Majorana neutrino wavefunction, predominantly composed of a right-handed antineutrino component with a strongly suppressed left-handed component (with amplitude proportional to the effective Majorana neutrino mass, $|m_{\beta\beta}|$, is crucial for triggering this decay process. This effective mass, derived from the minimum neutrino mass, offers valuable insights into the absolute neutrino mass scale. Using best-fit parameters from neutrino oscillation experiments, the minimum neutrino mass is determined from the sum of the three neutrino mass eigenstates, $\Sigma = m_1 + m_2 + m_3,$ which is represented by two narrow bands centered at approximately 0.06 eV/c$^2$ for the normal hierarchy (NH) and 0.102 eV/c$^2$ for the inverted hierarchy (IH). Under these constraints, the minimum neutrino mass is found to be 0.001186 eV/c$^2$ for NH and 0.002646 eV/c$^2$ for IH, thereby establishing a potential absolute neutrino mass scale for both scenarios. From these values, we calculate $|m_{\beta\beta}|$, which plays a central role in $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay. By combining $|m_{\beta\beta}|$ with decay phase-space factors, nuclear matrix elements, and the absorption probability of the virtual Majorana neutrino, we estimate the $0\nu\beta\beta$ half-life for key isotopes, namely, $^{76}$Ge, $^{130}$Te, and $^{136}$Xe, using two independent methods. The results are in good agreement, and we also discuss the uncertainties in the nuclear matrix elements that may affect these calculations.

The shear $\eta$ and bulk $\zeta$ viscous coefficients have been calculated in a hot and chirally asymmetric quark matter quantified in terms of a chiral chemical potential (CCP) using the two-flavor Nambu-Jona--Lasinio (NJL) model. This is done by employing the one-loop Green-Kubo formalism where the viscous coefficients have been extracted from the long-wavelength limit of the in-medium spectral function corresponding to the energy momentum tensor (EMT) current correlator calculated using the real time formalism of finite temperature field theory. The momentum dependent thermal width of the quark/antiquark that enters into the expression of the viscosities as a dynamical input containing interactions, has been obtained from the $2\to2$ scattering processes mediated via the collective mesonic modes in scalar and pseudoscalar chanels encoded in respective in-medium polarization functions having explicit temperature and CCP dependence. Several thermodynamic quantities such as pressure, energy density, entropy density $(s)$, specific heat and isentropic speed of sound have also been calculated at finite CCP. The temperature and CCP dependence of the viscosity to entropy density ratios $\eta/s$ and $\zeta/s$ have also been studied.

We employ an equal-velocity quark combination model to study anisotropic flows $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ of identified hadrons at mid-rapidity in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC energies. Under the equal-velocity combination mechanism of constituent quarks at hadronization, we build analytical formulas of anisotropic flows of hadrons in terms of those of quarks just before hadronization. We systematically analyze the contribution of higher order flows of quarks, and show how simple formulas of $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ of identified hadrons with the desired precision can be obtained by neglecting the small contribution of higher order flows of quarks. We systematically test these simple formulas of hadronic flows by the experimental data of $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ of identified hadrons $\phi$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^{-}$, $\Omega^{-}$, $\bar{\Lambda}$, $\bar{\Xi}^{+}$, $\bar{\Omega}^{+}$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 19.6, 54.4 and 200 GeV, and we find that the equal-velocity quark combination model can well describe the measured $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ of identified hadrons in Au+Au collisions at those collision energies. We further study the obtained anisotropic flows of quarks and find two scaling properties\textcolor{red}{{} }which can be qualitatively understood by the hydrodynamic evolution of thermal quark medium produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

We work out the Hopfion description of glueballs by inclusively comparing the energy spectra obtained by quantizing Hopfions with experimental data and lattice QCD. Identifying a Hopfion carrying a unit topological charge as $f_0(1500)$, the Hopfions with the topological charge two are classified as glueballonia, i.e., two glueballs are bound together. We find a tightly and a loosely bound glueballonia complying with $f_0 (2470)$ and a novel scalar particle carrying the mass around 2814 MeV, respectively, and calculate their binding energies. By the rigid body quantization of Hopfions, we predict a characteristic multiplet structure of tensor glueball states. Some of them are missing in the current experimental data and can be verified in future measurements.

This work investigates the substructure of the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance in the $p\gamma^*\to \Delta(1232)$ process through helicity transition amplitudes within the quark model framework. We consider the involved baryons composed of three quarks, and both the quark core and meson cloud contribute to the transition amplitudes. The comparison of theoretical results with experimental data reveals that, rather than the $L=0$ component of the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance, it is the $L=2$ component that significantly affects its $S_{1/2}$ amplitude. These findings indicate that the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance likely contains a substantial $L=2$ component, challenging the conventional view of the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance as an $L=0$ baryon.

We consider two-loop planar contributions to a three-body form factor at the next-to-leading power in the high-energy limit, where the masses of external particles are much smaller than their energies. The calculation is performed by exploiting the differential equations of the expansion coefficients, both for facilitating the linear relations among them, and for deriving their analytic expressions. The result is written in terms of generalized polylogarithms involving a few simple symbol letters. Our method can be readily applied to the calculation of non-planar contributions as well. The result provides crucial information for establishing sub-leading factorization theorems for massive scattering amplitudes in the high-energy limit.

In this paper, we discuss the impact of a higher number of light quark flavors, $N_f$, on the QCD phase diagram under extreme conditions. Our formalism is based on the Schwinger-Dyson equation, employing a specific symmetry-preserving vector-vector flavor-dressed contact interaction model of quarks in Landau gauge, utilizing the rainbow-Ladder truncation. We derive expressions for the dressed quark mass $M_f$ and effective potential $\Omega^{f}$ at zero, at finite temperature $T$ and the quark chemical potential $\mu$. The transition between chiral symmetry breaking and restoration is triggered by the effective potential of the contact interaction, whereas the confinement and deconfinement transition is approximated from the confinement length scale $\tilde{\tau}_{ir}$. Our analysis reveals that at $(T = \mu = 0)$, increasing $N_f$ leads to the restoration of chiral symmetry and the deconfinement of quarks when $N_f$ reaches its critical value, $N^{c}_{f} \approx 8$. At this critical value, In the chiral limit ($m_f = 0$), the global minimum of the effective potential occurs at the point where the dressed quark mass approaches zero ($M_f \rightarrow 0$). However, when a bare quark mass of $m_f = 7$ MeV is introduced, the global minimum shifts slightly to a nonzero value, approaching $M_f \rightarrow m_f$. At finite $T$ and $\mu$, we illustrate the QCD phase diagram in the $(T^{\chi,C}_{c} -\mu)$ plane, for various numbers of light quark flavors, noting that both the critical temperature $T_c$ and the critical chemical potential $\mu_c $ for chiral symmetry restoration and deconfinement decrease as $ N_f $ increases. Moreover, the critical endpoint $(T_{EP}, \mu_{EP})$ also shifts to lower values with increasing $N_f $. Our findings are consistent with other low-energy QCD approaches.

The Chiral Quark--Soliton Model applied to baryons with one heavy quark predicts new exotic states belonging to three $\overline{\boldsymbol{15}}$ SU(3) multiplets. Here, we extend previous analysis of charm exotica to the case of beauty. All model parameters are fixed from the charm sector and from the nonexotic $b$--baryons. We present predictions for masses of beautiful exotica and discuss the decay widths, which are either very small or relatively large.

We illustrate the potential of a future high-intensity $e^+ e^-$ collider running at the $Z$ pole in probing extensions of the Standard Model via precise measurements of flavor-changing processes. We illustrate this potential both within effective field theories and simplified models inspired by current $B$-physics data, focusing on selected flavor-physics measurement projections at FCC-ee, and by the theoretically well-motivated scenario of TeV-scale new physics predominantly coupled to third-generation fields. In particular, we demonstrate the key role played by the interplay among different flavor-physics measurements, and between flavor and electroweak measurements, in cornering the New Physics parameter space. Updated constraints on new physics, in the limit that no deviations from the Standard Model are observed, are also presented.

We explore the discovery potential of ultraheavy $(7-8.5$ TeV) diquark scalars $(S_{uu})$ produced in the collision of two up quarks at the LHC. Assuming that the diquark scalar decays in two vectorlike quarks of mass around 2 TeV, each of them decaying into a $W^{+}$ boson and a $b$ quark, we focus on the fully hadronic final state. We present a signal-from-background separation study based on a discriminator built with Machine Learning techniques. For this six-jet final state and a luminosity of $3000 \ \text{fb}^{-1}$, we estimate that a diquark scalar of mass near 8 TeV may be discovered or ruled out even when its coupling to up quarks is as low as 0.2.

We investigate the influence of quark anomalous magnetic moments (AMM) on the mass spectra of neutral pseudoscalar mesons ($\pi$, $K$, $\eta$, $\eta^{'}$) under external magnetic fields, finite temperatures, and quark chemical potentials using the three-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. By incorporating AMM at the quark level, we reveal that AMM significantly alters the magnetic field dependence of constituent quark masses, inducing first-order phase transitions for light quarks at critical fields, while strange quarks exhibit non-monotonic mass behavior. The inclusion of AMM reshapes the QCD phase diagram, suppressing chiral transition temperatures and shifting critical endpoints (CEP) toward lower $\mu$ and $T$. Notably, crossover transitions observed without AMM are replaced by first-order transitions under strong fields, aligning with lattice QCD predictions for IMC. For mesons, AMM triggers abrupt mass collapses and enhances flavor mixing, accelerating chiral restoration for $K$ and $\eta$ mesons via thresholds tied to strange quark masses. The $\eta'$ meson, as a resonance state, shows suppressed mass growth and instability at strong fields, highlighting limitations in handling non-perturbative decay widths within the NJL framework. These findings underscore AMM critical role in reconciling effective model predictions with LQCD results, particularly in explaining IMC and phase transition dynamics.

The dark sector offers a compelling theoretical framework for addressing the nature of dark matter while potentially solving other fundamental problems in physics. This review focuses on light dark flavored sector models, which are those where the flavor structure of the interactions with the standard model is non-trivial and distinguish among different fermion families. Such scenarios feature flavor violation leading to unique experimental signatures, such as flavor-changing neutral current decays of heavy hadrons (kaons, $D$ and $B$ mesons, baryons) and leptons (muons and taus) with missing energy carried away by light dark-sector particles. In this article, we review their motivation, summarize current constraints, highlight discovery opportunities in ongoing and future flavor experiments, and discuss implications for astrophysics and cosmology.

Lecture notes for a one-semester master-level course on analytical mechanics and classical field theory, covering: 0 Mathematical Introduction, 1 Lagrangian Mechanics, 2 Application: Motion in Central Fields, 3 Hamiltonian Mechanics, 4 Application: Oscillations of Mechanical Systems, 5 Application: Relativistic Mechanics, 6 Geometry of Classical Mechanics, 7 Application: Dynamics of Rigid Bodies, 8 Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics of Continuous Systems, 9 Application: Elasticity of Solids, 10 Symmetries and Conservation Laws, 11 Application: Fluid Dynamics, 12 Application: Electrodynamics

We combine the ghost-free bimetric theory of gravity with the concept of local Weyl invariance, realized in the framework of Einstein-Cartan gravity. The gravitational sector, characterized by two independent metrics and two independent connections, is coupled to a scalar field that can in principle develop a non-vanishing expectation value through radiative corrections. The spectrum of the model, apart from the massless standard graviton and a pair of axion-like pseudoscalars, associated with the presence of the Holst invariants in the action, includes an additional spin-$2$ state of a non-vanishing Fierz-Pauli mass proportional to the scalar field vacuum expectation value. We analyze the phenomenology of the model and specify the conditions under which the massive spin-$2$ state could be a primary dark matter candidate.

The extreme energy of the KM3-230213A event could transform our understanding of the most energetic sources in the Universe. However, it also reveals an inconsistency between the KM3NeT detection and strong IceCube constraints on the ultra-high energy neutrino flux. The most congruous explanation for the KM3NeT and IceCube data requires KM3-230213A to be produced by a (potentially transient) source fortuitously located in a region where the KM3NeT acceptance is maximized. In hadronic models of ultra-high-energy neutrino production, such a source would also produce a bright {\gamma}-ray signal, which would cascade to GeV--TeV energies due to interactions with extragalactic background light. We utilize the {\gamma}-Cascade package to model the spectrum, spatial extension, and time-delay of such a source, and scan a region surrounding the KM3NeT event to search for a consistent {\gamma}-ray signal. We find no convincing evidence for a comparable \textit{Fermi}-LAT source and place constraints on a combination of the source redshift and the intergalactic magnetic field strength between the source and Earth.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the preheating dynamics and associated gravitational wave signatures in the Higgs--$R^2$ inflationary model. Using lattice simulations, we investigate the post-inflationary evolution of the system across the parameter space, covering both the Higgs-like and $R^2$-like scenarios. We demonstrate that the efficiency of preheating is significantly dependent on the nonminimal coupling parameter $\xi$. As the $\xi$ parameter increases, moving from the $R^2$-like regime to the Higgs-like regime, we observe more efficient preheating. Through detailed numerical computations, efficient preheating is shown to lead to stronger gravitational wave production. The amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum varies by several orders of magnitude as we move from the $R^2$-like regime to the Higgs-like regime. The resultant gravitational wave signatures can serve as a potential observational probe to distinguish between different parameter regimes of the Higgs--$R^2$ model.

The $\chi_{c1}(3872)$ serves as a pivotal role for understanding hadronic structures, remaining one of the most extensively studied exotic particles despite the experimental discovery of numerous unconventional hadronic states. Sustained experimental and theoretical investigations into the particle over the past two decades have propelled its study into a high-precision regime, marked by refined measurements of its decay dynamics and line shape, thereby offering critical insights to resolve longstanding debates between molecular, tetraquark, hybrid, and charmonium interpretations of this particle. The BESIII experiment has made seminal contributions to the study of the $\chi_{c1}(3872)$, leveraging its unique capabilities in high-statistics data acquisition and low-background condition. This article gives a concise review and prospects of the study of the $\chi_{c1}(3872)$ from the BESIII experiment.

The cumulants of the distribution of anisotropic flow are measured accurately in Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC as a function of centrality classifiers (charged multiplicity and/or transverse energy). Using Bayesian inference, we reconstruct from these measurements the probability distribution of anisotropic flow in the ``theorists' frame'' where the impact parameter has a fixed magnitude and orientation, up to $\sim 70\%$ centrality. The variation of flow fluctuations with impact parameter displays direct evidence of viscous damping, which is larger for higher Fourier harmonics, in line with expectations from hydrodynamics. We use intensive measures of non-Gaussian flow fluctuations, which have reduced dependence on centrality. We infer from ATLAS data the magnitude of these intensive non-Gaussianities in each Fourier harmonic. They provide data-driven estimates of response coefficients to initial anisotropies, without resorting to any specific microscopic model of initial conditions. These estimates agree with viscous hydrodynamic calculations.

The FCC program at CERN provides an attractive all-in-one solution to address many of the key questions in particle physics. While we fully support the efforts towards this ambitious path, we believe that it is important to prepare a mitigation strategy in case the program faces unexpected obstacles for geopolitical or other reasons. This approach could be based on two components: I) a circular electron-positron collider in the LHC tunnel that operates at the Z-pole energy of 45.6 GeV and II) a high-energy electron-positron linear collider which acts as a Higgs, top quark and W-boson factory, and that can further be extended to TeV energies. The former could reach a high luminosity that is not accessible at a linear collider, the latter could probe the high energy regime with higher sensitivity and discovery potential than LEP3. The program should be flanked by dedicated intensity frontier searches at lower energies. These accelerators can be used in a feasible, timely and cost-efficient way to search for new physics and make precise determination of the parameters of the Standard Model.

Acceptance talk for the 2024 Kenneth G. Wilson Award for Excellence in Lattice Field Theory: For key contributions to lattice QCD studies of noise reduction in nuclear systems, the structure of nuclei, and transverse-momentum dependent hadronic structure functions.

Dark matter heating in planets has been proposed as a potential probe for dark matter detection. Assuming near-equilibrium, we find that dark matter energy input raises planetary temperature and accelerates rotation. The energy distribution depends on planetary properties and external input, suggesting that previous studies have overestimated its heating effect. When dark matter density is high, planetary rotation stabilizes earlier and is primarily governed by dark matter. For Earth, our model predicts a 0.015 K temperature increase and a $10^{-8}$ rad/s angular velocity increase over 100 years.

We study the effect of rotation on the confining and chiral properties of QCD using the Polyakov-enhanced linear sigma model coupled to quarks. Working in the homogeneous approximation, we obtain the phase diagram at finite temperature, baryon density and angular frequency, taking into account the causality constraint enforced by the spectral boundary conditions at a cylindrical surface. We explicitly address various limits with respect to system size, angular frequency and chemical potential. We demonstrate that, in this model, the critical temperatures of both transitions diminish in response to the increasing rotation, being in contradiction with the first-principle lattice results. In the limit of large volume, the thermodynamics of the model is consistent with the Tolman-Ehrenfest law. We also compute the mechanical characteristics of rotating plasma such as the moment of inertia and the $K_4$ shape coefficient.

For general bipartite mixed states, a sufficient and necessary mathematical condition for certifying entanglement and/or (Bell) non-locality remains unknown. In this paper, we examine this question for a broad and physically relevant class of bipartite systems, specifically those possessing an additive observable with a definite value. Such systems include, for example, final states of particle decays or bipartitions of spin chains with well-defined magnetization. We derive very simple, handy criteria for detecting entanglement or non-locality in many cases. For instance, if $\rho_{\left( m p\right)\left( nq\right)} \neq 0$, where the eigenstates $|np\rangle$ or $|mq\rangle$ do not correspond to the given definite value of the additive observable, then the state is necessarily entangled-this condition is very easy to check in practice. If, in addition, the partitioned Hilbert space has dimension 2xd, the condition becomes necessary. Furthermore, if the sectors associated with the eigenstates $|mp\rangle$ or $|nq\rangle$ are non-degenerate, there exists a CHSH inequality that is violated. We illustrate these results by analyzing the potential detection of entanglement and nonlocality in Higgs to ZZ decays at the LHC.

We investigate spectral features of bottomonium at high temperature, in particular the thermal mass shift and width of ground state S-wave and P-wave state. We employ and compare a range of methods for determining these features from lattice NRQCD correlators, including direct correlator analyses (multi-exponential fits and moments of spectral functions), linear methods (Backus-Gilbert, Tikhonov and HLT methods), and Bayesian methods for spectral function reconstruction (MEM and BR). We comment on the reliability and limitations of the various methods.