PEANUTS: a software for the automatic computation of solar neutrino flux and its propagation within Earth

We present PEANUTS (Propagation and Evolution of Active NeUTrinoS), an open-source Python package for the automatic computation of solar neutrino spectra and active neutrino propagation through Earth. PEANUTS is designed to be fast, by employing analytic formulae for the neutrino propagation through varying matter density, and flexible, by allowing the user to input arbitrary solar models, custom Earth density profiles and general detector locations. It provides functionalities for a fully automated simulation of solar neutrino fluxes at a detector, as well as access to individual routines to perform more specialised computations. The software has been extensively tested against the results of the SNO experiment, providing excellent agreement with their results. In addition, the present text contains a pedagogical derivation of the relations needed to compute the oscillated solar neutrino spectra, neutrino propagation through Earth and nadir exposure of an experiment.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figure

Gravitational Waves from a Pati-Salam Phase Transition

We analyse the gravitational wave and low energy signatures of a Pati-Salam phase transition. For a Pati-Salam scale of $M_{PS} \sim 10^5$ GeV, we find a stochastic power spectrum within reach of the next generation of ground-based interferometer experiments such as the Einstein Telescope, in parts of the parameter space. We study the lifetime of the proton in this model, as well as complementarity with low energy constraints including electroweak precision data, neutrino mass measurements, lepton flavour violation, and collider constraints.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure

GUT Physics in the era of the LHC

Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) are one of the most interesting high-energy completions of the Standard Model, because they provide a rich, powerful and elegant group-theoretical framework able to resolve a variety of problems remaining in our current understanding of particle physics. They usually act as motivators for many low energy BSM theories, such as left-right symmetric or supersymmetric models, and they serve to fill the gap between the experimentally reachable low energies and the physics in the ultraviolet. In recent years, however, they have fallen slightly from the spotlight, in favour of `simplified' models with more specific phenomenological predictions. The aim of this review is to summarize the state of the art on GUTs and argue for their importance in modern physics. Recent advances in experiments permit to test the predictions of GUTs at different energy scales. First, as GUTs can play a role in the inflationary dynamics of the early Universe, their imprints could be found in the CMB observations by the Planck satellite. Remarkably enough, GUTs could manifest themselves also in terrestrial tests; several planned experiments aim to probe the proton stability and to establish order of magnitude higher bounds on its lifetime. Moreover, the predictions of specific GUT models could be tested even at the LHC thanks to its high energy reach, via searches for exotic states or additional contributions to flavour anomalies.Comment: 92 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables. Updated to match published versio

Hunting WIMPs with LISA: Correlating dark matter and gravitational wave signals

The thermal freeze-out mechanism in its classical form is tightly connected to physics beyond the Standard Model around the electroweak scale, which has been the target of enormous experimental efforts. In this work we study a dark matter model in which freeze-out is triggered by a strong first-order phase transition in a dark sector, and show that this phase transition must also happen close to the electroweak scale, i.e. in the temperature range relevant for gravitational wave searches with the LISA mission. Specifically, we consider the spontaneous breaking of a $U(1)^\prime$ gauge symmetry through the vacuum expectation value of a scalar field, which generates the mass of a fermionic dark matter candidate that subsequently annihilates into dark Higgs and gauge bosons. In this set-up the peak frequency of the gravitational wave background is tightly correlated with the dark matter relic abundance, and imposing the observed value for the latter implies that the former must lie in the milli-Hertz range. A peculiar feature of our set-up is that the dark sector is not necessarily in thermal equilibrium with the Standard Model during the phase transition, and hence the temperatures of the two sectors evolve independently. Nevertheless, the requirement that the universe does not enter an extended period of matter domination after the phase transition, which would strongly dilute any gravitational wave signal, places a lower bound on the portal coupling that governs the entropy transfer between the two sectors. As a result, the predictions for the peak frequency of gravitational waves in the LISA band are robust, while the amplitude can change depending on the initial dark sector temperature.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures + appendice

Global fits of simplified models for dark matter with GAMBIT – II. Vector dark matter with an s-channel vector mediator

Global fits explore different parameter regions of a given model and apply constraints obtained at many energy scales. This makes it challenging to perform global fits of simplified models, which may not be valid at high energies. In this study, we derive a unitarity bound for a simplified vector dark matter model with an s-channel vector mediator and apply it to global fits of this model with GAMBIT in order to correctly interpret missing energy searches at the LHC. Two parameter space regions emerge as consistent with all experimental constraints, corresponding to different annihilation modes of the dark matter. We show that although these models are subject to strong validity constraints, they are currently most strongly constrained by measurements less sensitive to the high-energy behaviour of the theory. Understanding when these models cannot be consistently studied will become increasingly relevant as they are applied to LHC Run 3 data

Global fits of simplified models for dark matter with GAMBIT – I. Scalar and fermionic models with s-channel vector mediators

Simplified models provide a useful way to study the impacts of a small number of new particles on experimental observables and the interplay of those observables, without the need to construct an underlying theory. In this study, we perform global fits of simplified dark matter models with GAMBIT using an up-to-date set of likelihoods for indirect detection, direct detection and collider searches. We investigate models in which a scalar or fermionic dark matter candidate couples to quarks via an s-channel vector mediator. Large parts of parameter space survive for each model. In the case of Dirac or Majorana fermion dark matter, excesses in LHC monojet searches and relic density limits tend to prefer the resonance region, where the dark matter has approximately half the mass of the mediator. A combination of vector and axial-vector couplings to the Dirac candidate also leads to competing constraints from direct detection and unitarity violation

GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS AND ACTIVITIES OF PARAOXONASE IN THE PANAMANIAN POPULATION

  Human paraoxonase (PON1) is an enzyme associated to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles that protects against oxidative damage to both low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and HDL. The enzyme is also involved in the hydrolysis of highly toxic metabolite from organophosphate pesticides. In the present study, the distribution of the PON1 polymorphisms at position -108 in the promoter region and at positions 55 and 192 in the coding region, in the Panamanian population (n = 187) was determined. The genotype of each individual was determined by PCR-RFLP. The genotype frequencies at position 55 were: LL 0.631, LM = 0.331, and MM = 0.037; frequencies at position 192 were: QQ = 0.331, QR = 0.497, and RR = 0.171; and the frequencies at position -108 were: CC = 0.428, CT = 0.428, and TT = 0.117. The highest allele frequencies were: Q = 0.581, L = 0.796 and C = 0.655. However, the Amerindian Panamanian group, Gnöbé Bugle, presented a low frequency for the -108CC genotype (0.125), which might be associated to a higher risk to organophosphate pesticides poisoning. Arylesterase and diazoxonase activities of PON1 were determined in samples of the Caucasian and Black Panamanian population. The most frequent haplotype in the whole population was -108CC/55LL/192QR; this haplotype was the second most frequent in Black Panamanians and the most frequent in Caucasian Panamanians. The arylesterase activities for this haplotype were 116.16 U/mL and 146.30 U/mL in Black and Caucasian Panamanians, respectively. Diazoxonase activities were 10.09 U/mL and 11.25 U/mL in the same groups, respectively. Relationships between the arylesterase activity of PON1 and these polymorphisms are discussed.La Paraoxonasa (PON1) humana es una enzima asociada a las lipoproteínas de alta densidad (HDL) que protege contra el daño oxidativo tanto a las lipoproteínas de baja densidad (LDL) como a las HDL. La enzima está involucrada en la hidrólisis de metabolitos altamente tóxicos de pesticidas organofosforados. En el presente estudio, se determinó la distribución de los polimorfismos de PON1 en la posición -108 de la región promotora y en las posiciones 55 y 192 de la región codificadora en la población Panameña (n=187). El genotipo de cada individuo fue determinado mediante PCR-RFLP. Las frecuencias genotípicas encontradas en la posición 55 fueron: LL 0.631, LM = 0.331, y MM = 0.037; en la posición 192: QQ = 0.331, QR = 0.497, y RR = 0.171; y en la posición -108: CC = 0.428, CT = 0.428, y TT = 0.117. Las frecuencias alélicas más altas fueron: Q = 0.581, L = 0.796 y C = 0.655. Sin embargo, El grupo indígena Panameño, Gnöbé Bugle, presentó una frecuencia baja para el genotipo -108CC (0.125), lo que podría estar asociado a un mayor riesgo al envenenamiento por pesticidas organofosforados. Las actividades enzimáticas de PON1 arilesterasa y diazoxonasa fueron determinadas en muestras de la población panameña de blancos y negros. El haplotipo más frecuente en la población total fue -108CC/55LL/192QR; éste haplotipo fue el segundo más frecuente en la población Negra Panameña y el más frecuente en la población Blanca Panameña. La actividad arilesterasa para este haplotipo fue de 116.16 U/mL y 146.30 U/mL en Negros y Blancos Panameños, respectivamente. La actividad diazoxonasa fue de 10.09 U/mL y 11.25 U/mL en los grupos antes mencionados. Relaciones entre la actividad arilesterasa y los polimorfismos de PON1 son discutidos en este artículo

Cosmological constraints on decaying axion-like particles: a global analysis

Axion-like particles (ALPs) decaying into photons are known to affect a wide range of astrophysical and cosmological observables. In this study we focus on ALPs with masses in the keV-MeV range and lifetimes between 10$^4$ and 10$^{13}$ seconds, corresponding to decays between the end of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Using the CosmoBit module of the global fitting framework GAMBIT, we combine state-of-the-art calculations of the irreducible ALP freeze-in abundance, primordial element abundances (including photodisintegration through ALP decays), CMB spectral distortions and anisotropies, and constraints from supernovae and stellar cooling. This approach makes it possible for the first time to perform a global analysis of the ALP parameter space while varying the parameters of ΛCDM as well as several nuisance parameters. We find a lower bound on the ALP mass of around m$_a$>300keV, which can only be evaded if ALPs are stable on cosmological timescales. Future observations of CMB spectral distortions with a PIXIE-like mission are expected to improve this bound by two orders of magnitude