arXiv subjects

Bhaskar Dutta

Publications and source records attributed to Bhaskar Dutta.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Astrophysical Neutrino Sources as Colliders

High-energy neutrinos arise from processes at large center-of-mass energies, offering a window to test physics at comparable scales or beyond those accessible in collider experiments on Earth. Here, we present a recipe for extracting two-sided bounds on the inelastic $pp$ and $p\gamma$ cross sections from neutrino point-source data, by independently constraining every astrophysical input (cosmic-ray luminosities and target densities) through electromagnetic observations or theoretical arguments. The cross section is then the only remaining free parameter. Applying this framework to the IceCube associations with TXS~0506+056, NGC~1068, and the Galactic Plane, to a stacked population of eleven X-ray bright Seyfert galaxies, to the ultra-high-energy KM3NeT event KM3-230213A, and to projected observations of ultra-high-energy neutrinos, we obtain constraints that span center-of-mass energies from $\sqrt{s}\sim 1$ GeV to $\sim 10^{5}$ GeV, some of which are well beyond the reach of the LHC and, for the $p\gamma$ channel, beyond HERA. Several of these bounds are more stringent than unitarity limits.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Muon Bremsstrahlung as a New Probe of Dark Sector at Neutrino Experiments

We show that muon bremsstrahlung provides a new production mechanism for light new physics at accelerator neutrino experiments. The intense, highly collimated muon beam produced alongside the neutrino beam in meson decays provides a powerful source for the bremsstrahlung production of new physics when it impinges on the beam dump at these facilities. As a benchmark scenario, we consider a muonphilic scalar coupled to Heavy Neutral Leptons (HNLs) and show that muon bremsstrahlung enables the production of HNLs with masses beyond the kinematic reach of meson decays. Using this new production mechanism and focusing on HNL mixing with tau neutrinos, we find that ongoing (upcoming) short-baseline experiments like SBND (DUNE Near Detector) can probe previously unexplored parameter space for HNL masses up to $\mathcal{O}(1)~\mathrm{GeV}$ through their decay into pions, $\mu^+\mu^-$, and $e^+e^-$ final states at the detector. The resulting signals exhibit distinctive kinematics, allowing efficient discrimination from neutrino-induced Standard Model backgrounds. Our results demonstrate that the muon bremsstrahlung mechanism substantially extends the discovery potential of accelerator neutrino experiments for HNLs and other dark sector particles.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

PBH formation and Gravitational Waves as Multi-messenger Signals of First-order Phase Transitions

The collapse of false-vacuum domains during first-order phase transitions in the early Universe may lead to primordial black hole (PBH) formation whose signatures form a multimessenger complement to gravitational wave (GW) production. We focus on PBH formation through the gravitational collapse of false-vacuum domains, described using a junction condition formalism. This formalism develops the Schwarzschild collapse criterion dynamically, avoiding the usage of critical overdensity thresholds in a post-inflationary Universe, and is driven solely by the vacuum energy enclosed within shrinking false-vacuum domains without the assistance of particle or domain wall interactions in the false vacuum. We study the parameter space of phase transitions and identify regions producing observable GWs, observable PBHs, or both simultaneously. We investigate this phenomenology in polynomial and classically conformal scalar field potentials as model benchmarks. We find that the scalar fields with vacuum expectation values in the range of 1-100 MeV have the largest model parameter space available for these multi-messenger signals, which are testable with upcoming GW observatories, searches for Hawking radiation, and gravitational lensing surveys.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probing Scalar Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions using High-Energy Astrophysical Neutrinos

Scalar non-standard interaction (SNSI) of neutrinos contributes as modifications to the neutrino mass matrix in the oscillation Hamiltonian and can induce a small active-sterile mass splitting due to the matter effect induced by the relic neutrino background via a Majorana-type interaction. This framework leads to pseudo-Dirac behavior of neutrinos, introducing rich phenomenology in neutrino oscillations, particularly for high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. We show that these hyperfine active-sterile splittings imprint themselves in two complementary ways on high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux, namely, in modifying the flavor composition and energy distribution. In this work, we perform both flavor and spectral analyses of the high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux to probe SNSI. We confront the predicted flavor ratios with current IceCube measurements and with the projected reach of next-generation detectors such as IceCube-Gen2. For the spectral analysis, we use the diffuse-flux ESTES (tracks) and cascade data sets, together with point-source spectral shape analysis based on a recent catalog of neutrino-bright sources. The regions excluded by the combined flavor and spectral analyses are translated into limits on the underlying SNSI parameters, namely, Yukawa couplings and scalar mass, providing new sensitivities on the SNSI parameter space for ultra-light mediators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probing New Degrees of Freedom with the Universal Tail of Primordial Black Hole Mass Functions

The primordial black hole (PBH) mass function today develops a low-mass evaporation tail whose shape is universal with respect to the initial PBH mass distribution. This universality is fixed by the continuity equation and the Hawking mass-loss rate, but the tail is distorted if additional particle degrees of freedom participate in Hawking evaporation. Since this tail controls high-energy PBH photon emission, such distortions leave characteristic features in the gamma-ray spectrum. We show that these features provide a robust probe of new degrees of freedom, even for subdominant PBHs, within reach of future experiments and independent of visible-sector couplings or relic abundance.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Producing the GeV Galactic Center Excess via Cosmic Ray-Dark Matter Scattering

In this work, we propose a novel mechanism for generating gamma rays from the Galactic Center via scattering of cosmic-ray protons off dark matter in the Milky Way halo, in contrast to conventional explanations based on dark matter annihilation. We present two examples of this framework that produce an observable photon signal. In the inelastic dark matter model, cosmic rays up-scatter a lighter dark matter particle, with the subsequent decay of the heavier particle yielding two photons. In the elastic dark matter model, an energetic photon is directly produced in the final state of a 2-to-3 scattering process. We show that, for a range of viable model parameters, this framework provides a fit to the observed Galactic Center gamma-ray excess spectrum comparable to those obtained from dark matter annihilation and millisecond pulsar models. Our results open a new avenue for interpreting gamma-ray observations of the Galactic Center.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

The DAMSA Experiment

DAMSA (DArk Messenger Searches at an Accelerator) is a novel short-baseline accelerator/beam dump experiment aimed at probing short-lived physics processes, including searches for evidence of a dark sector of particle physics and well-motivated rare Standard Model signals. Motivated by open questions in neutrino physics and the absence of conclusive evidence for conventional weakly interacting massive particles, DAMSA targets MeV-to-sub-GeV dark-sector messengers with feeble couplings that can be produced in abundance at a beam dump/target. By employing an ultra-short baseline, DAMSA is uniquely positioned to overcome the beam-dump "ceiling" that limits sensitivity to fast decaying particles in longer-baseline experiments. The conceptual design emphasizes a beam-dump production scheme combined with a compact detector optimized for rare decays while mitigating intense neutron-induced backgrounds, inherent to high-power proton beams. To validate the experimental strategy and detector technologies, the DAMSA Path-Finder (DPF) proof-of-concept experiment is also proposed, focusing on axion-like particles decaying to two photons, as the benchmark physics case and operating with 8 GeV electron beams at SLAC Linac-to-ESA (LESA) facility. Successful realization of DPF will establish the feasibility of the DAMSA approach, enabling a broad and powerful program to explore short-lived new physics and precision Standard Model processes in a previously inaccessible regime. This paper outlines the technical details of DAMSA's physics goals, key experimental challenges, and how to overcome them.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Analytical and Machine Learning Methods for Model Discernment at CE$\nu$NS Experiments

Neutrino experiments are often limited by low statistics, sizable systematic uncertainties, and coarse observable binning, which can hinder discrimination among competing beyond-the-Standard-Model (BSM) explanations of anomalous signals. In particular, analyses based primarily on total event-rate differences are vulnerable to source-normalization uncertainties and to degeneracies among models that induce similar inclusive yields. Using stopped-pion coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) as a benchmark environment, we study how much model-discrimination power can be obtained from correlations in baseline, recoil energy, and timing that are less sensitive to the total rate. As benchmark BSM scenarios, we consider a $3+1$ sterile-neutrino framework and neutral-current non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI). We show with a likelihood-based analysis that these scenarios can be distinguished in nontrivial regions of parameter space once multidimensional shape information is retained. We further demonstrate with convolutional neural networks that substantial discrimination remains possible even after the total event rate is explicitly removed from the input, indicating that the relevant information is genuinely encoded in the shape of the CE$\nu$NS distribution. Finally, through multi-class classification within the sterile parameter space, we show that in favorable regions the same observables can support approximate localization of the underlying sterile-neutrino benchmark point. Our results highlight the complementary roles of conventional and machine-learning-based inference in moving neutrino new-physics searches from anomaly detection to physics interpretation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

UV-Complete Models for a Light Axial Gauge Boson

We present new anomaly free gauge models where the gauge field only has axial vector couplings to both quarks and leptons. We use the left-right symmetric universal seesaw models as the basis for this construction with an extra $U(1)_a$ as the axial gauge group. We present three main versions of the model, denoted as models A, B and C (and their variations), with different properties depending on the way the gauge anomaly is canceled. We show how the models can accommodate small neutrino masses. The models allow for a new Dirac fermion coupled via the $U(1)_a$ gauge portal to the SM fields which can be the dark matter. The models A and its variation have the novel property that there is an upper limit on the $U(1)_a$ gauge coupling $g_a$, due to the fact that the standard model Higgs doublet shares the $U(1)_a$ quantum number. For models B and C, we discuss the phenomenological constraints on the gauge coupling $g_a$ and gauge boson mass $m_{\cal A}$ from current low energy observations where, unlike in models A, $g_a$ depends on $m_{\mathcal{A}}$ through a single vacuum expectation value.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Prying Open the Dark Sector Window with SBND Off-Target Mode

Accelerator-based neutrino experiments with high-intensity proton beams and advanced detector technologies provide a powerful and complementary approach to probing physics beyond the Standard Model. The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab pioneered a dedicated Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) off-target (beam-dump) run, setting leading constraints on sub-GeV dark matter. In this work, we explore the physics opportunities enabled by operating the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) at Fermilab in a future BNB off-target configuration, as well as in a dedicated beam-dump configuration. By redirecting the proton beam away from the nominal beryllium target, or by employing a dedicated beam-dump, neutrino-induced backgrounds are substantially suppressed, thereby enhancing SBND's sensitivity to many new physics scenarios. We demonstrate that such running modes significantly extend the reach for new physics. As representative examples, we present projected sensitivities to light dark matter, axion-like particles, heavy neutral leptons, and meson-portal scenarios.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Dark Matter-Induced Nuclear De-Excitation at SBND with Ab Initio Nuclear Theory

We explore the sensitivity of the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) experiment to light dark matter using MeV-scale electromagnetic activity. Inelastic scattering of dark matter with argon nuclei can excite nuclear states that subsequently de-excite via the emission of MeV-scale photons, producing localized low-energy "blip" signatures in a liquid argon time projection chamber. We perform state-of-the-art ab initio nuclear calculations, including all relevant argon excited states with energies up to 18 MeV, to provide reliable predictions for these signals. After accounting for relevant backgrounds, we find that SBND can probe previously unexplored regions of parameter space for light dark matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Drell-Yan Production of New Particles at Fixed-Target Experiments: Heavy Neutral Lepton as a Case Study

We demonstrate the sensitivity of Drell-Yan production processes from deep inelastic scattering in searches for beyond-the-Standard Model (BSM) physics at fixed-target or beam-bump experiments. We take heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) as a case study, produced from the decay of a light vector boson mediator with mass in the range of $2-20$ GeV, which itself is generated via the Drell-Yan process. The produced HNLs subsequently decay into Standard Model final states. We consider several current and future experiments, including SBND, DarkQuest, DUNE Near Detector (ND), and SHiP. Utilizing $\nu\pi^0$ and $\nu e^+e^-$ final states from HNL decays, we find that the Drell-Yan mechanism provides important contributions and significantly enhances the HNL search sensitivity, owing to the production of energetic final-state particles that are more readily detectable over the expected backgrounds. We find that at $90\%$ C.L. sensitivity, for gauge couplings $g_{X} \sim 10^{-2}\ (10^{-3})$ and kinematically accessible mass range, SBND and DarkQuest can probe the HNL flavor mixing $|U_{\ell}| \sim 3\times 10^{-4}\ (10^{-3})$, whereas DUNE ND and SHiP may extend the sensitivity down to the Type-I Seesaw prediction of $|U_{\ell}| \sim 10^{-5}$. Finally, for our chosen benchmark $|U_{\ell}| = 10^{-3}$ outside of the current experimental constraints, with a fixed mass ratio $m_{Z'}/m_N = 2.1$, and working within the $U(1)_{B-L}$, $U(1)_{B-3L_{\tau}}$, and $U(1)_{B}$ parameter spaces, we find that both SBND and DarkQuest can probe $g_{X} \sim 10^{-3}$, DUNE ND can reach $g_{X} \sim 10^{-4}$, and SHiP can probe down to $g_{X}\sim 5\times 10^{-6}$. Our approach provides a powerful new technique to study HNL production at future fixed-target experiments and can readily be extended to other light BSM particle production within a broader class of dark sector models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

DAMSA Experiment Conceptual Design White Paper

DAMSA (DArk Messenger Searches at an Accelerator) is a novel short-baseline accelerator experiment aimed at probing short-lived physics processes, including searches for evidence of a dark sector of particle physics and well-motivated Standard Model signals. Motivated by open questions in neutrino physics and the absence of conclusive evidence for conventional weakly interacting massive particles, DAMSA targets MeV-to-sub-GeV dark-sector messengers with feeble couplings that can be produced in abundance at the PIP-II LINAC. By employing an ultra-short baseline of order one meter, DAMSA is uniquely positioned to overcome the beam-dump "ceiling" that limits sensitivity to promptly decaying particles in longer-baseline experiments. The conceptual design emphasizes a beam-dump production scheme combined with a compact detector optimized for rare decays while mitigating intense neutron-induced backgrounds inherent to high-power proton beams. To validate the experimental strategy and detector technologies, the Little DAMSA Path-Finder (LDPF) proof-of-concept experiment is proposed, focusing on axion-like particles decaying to two photons and operating with 300 MeV electron beams at FAST. Successful realization of LDPF will establish the feasibility of the DAMSA approach, enabling a broad and powerful program to explore short-lived new physics and precision Standard Model processes in a previously inaccessible regime. This conceptual design document outlines the technical details of DAMSA's physics goals, the beam facility proposals, key experimental challenges and how to overcome them, and the proposed experimental staging campaigns.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Peer Selection with Friends and Enemies

A planner wants to select one agent out of n agents on the basis of a binary characteristic that is commonly known to all agents but is not observed by the planner. Any pair of agents can either be friends or enemies or impartials of each other. An individual's most preferred outcome is that she be selected. If she is not selected, then she would prefer that a friend be selected, and if neither she herself or a friend is selected, then she would prefer that an impartial agent be selected. Finally, her least preferred outcome is that an enemy be selected. The planner wants to design a dominant strategy incentive compatible mechanism in order to be able choose a desirable agent. We derive sufficient conditions for existence of efficient and DSIC mechanisms when the planner knows the bilateral relationships between agents. We also show that if the planner does not know these relationships, then there is no efficient and DSIC mechanism and we compare the relative efficiency of two ``second-best'' DSIC mechanisms. Finally, we obtain sharp characterization results when the network of friends and enemies satisfies structural balance.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2025

Strategic hiding and exploration in networks

We propose and study a model of strategic network design and exploration where the hider, subject to a budget constraint restricting the number of links, chooses a connected network and the location of an object. Meanwhile, the seeker, not observing the network and the location of the object, chooses a network exploration strategy starting at a fixed node in the network. The network exploration follows the expanding search paradigm of Alpern and Lidbetter (2013). We obtain a Nash equilibrium and characterize equilibrium payoffs in the case of linking budget allowing for trees only. We also give an upper bound on the expected number of steps needed to find the hider for the case where the linking budget allows for at most one cycle in the network.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2025

Primordial Black Holes at the Junction

Primordial black holes (PBHs) formed during first-order phase transitions provide a powerful link between the early-universe microphysics and observable signatures today, including dark matter and gravitational waves. In this work we develop a unified description of PBH formation based on the Israel junction conditions, which capture collapse dynamics without relying on conventional overdensity or pressure-balance arguments. As a first application, we show that exotic objects such as Fermi-balls can collapse into PBHs even when most of the vacuum energy is trapped in solitonic cores, leading to a different gravitational-wave signal relative to vacuum-only scenarios. As a second application, we study multiple phase transitions in a hidden sector, which generate correlated gravitational-wave spectra and PBH abundances across transitions. Our framework, while analytically controlled, is broadly applicable to hidden-sector models with general vacuum, radiation, and matter contributions. We present the resulting predictions for PBH mass spectra, dark matter fractions, and gravitational-wave signals, highlighting parameter regions that remain open in current searches and motivating future probes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Scalar non-standard neutrino interactions in Galactic supernovae

We analyze the prospects for studying scalar non-standard interactions (SNSI) using the neutrino burst from a Galactic supernova. SNSI modify the resonant flavor conversion and, correspondingly, the neutronization burst signal, and may be identifiable in future multi-tonne-scale experiments such as DUNE. We show that, in the presence of SNSI, neutrinos propagating out of the dense supernova environment acquire a density-squared-dependent contribution to their mass-squared differences, which in turn modifies the energy levels of the neutrino mass eigenstates. This phenomenon is not present in less dense environments like the Earth or the Sun. For a given mass ordering, supernova neutrinos can improve the sensitivity to SNSI parameters by up to four orders of magnitude compared to that achievable with solar or terrestrial neutrino sources.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Finding BSM Needles in Electromagnetic Haystacks at DUNE

In this work, motivated by several beyond the Standard Model signal topologies, we perform detailed background mitigation analyses for the DUNE near detector. Specifically, we investigate $e^+ e^-$, $e^- \gamma$, $\gamma$, and $\gamma\gamma$ final states that may arise from long-lived particles, including light mediators, dark matter, heavy neutral leptons, and axion-like particles (ALPs), decaying or scattering inside the liquid argon detector. To this end, we employ both photophilic and leptophilic ALPs as phenomenological benchmarks. The aforementioned final states leave a hard electromagnetic signature with no hadronic activity above the detector energy thresholds. Nevertheless, such signatures are not immune to backgrounds from neutrino scattering in the detector, which are in the focus of our study. In order to model realistic experimental analyses, we take into account particle misidentification rates, cross-contamination effects, and detector responses. We calculate confidence limit projections for DUNE, thereby presenting realistic capabilities for constraining or discovering new physics manifested through electromagnetic showers.

hep-ph↗