SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

M. Junaid

Publications and source records attributed to M. Junaid.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Warm Hybrid Axion Inflation in $\alpha$-Attractor Models Constrained by ACT and Future Plan experiments

We present a comprehensive study of warm hybrid inflation within the framework of $\alpha$-attractor models, where an axionic inflaton is coupled to a waterfall field in the presence of thermal dissipation. The model is analyzed for both linear ($\Upsilon \propto T$) and cubic ($\Upsilon \propto T^{3}$) dissipation regimes. Confronting the theoretical predictions with the latest observational data from Planck+BICEP/Keck, P-ACT-LB-BK18 and SPT, and , we find that in the weak dissipative regime ($Q_{*} \lesssim 10^{-5}$), the scalar spectral index $n_{s} \simeq 0.965$ lies at the boundary of the combined P-ACT-LB-BK18 constraints, while the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ remains within observable ranges. For stronger dissipation ($Q_{*} \gtrsim 10^{-5}$), the model predicts values of $n_{s}$ well within the $1$--$2\sigma$ confidence region of all datasets, with tensor modes remaining fully observable in both dissipation scenarios. These results indicate that forthcoming CMB polarization experiments may be capable of detecting primordial gravitational waves, thereby providing a robust observational test of warm hybrid inflation across different dissipative regimes.

hep-ph

Probing hard/soft factorization via beam-spin asymmetry in exclusive pion electroproduction from the proton

Deep exclusive meson production (DEMP) reactions, such as $p(\vec{e},e'\pi^+)n$, provide opportunities to study the three-dimensional structure of the nucleon through differential cross section and beam- and target-spin asymmetry measurements. This work aims to probe the onset of the hard/soft factorization regime through the exclusive $p(\vec{e},e'\pi^+)n$ reaction, as measured in the KaonLT experiment at Jefferson Lab Hall C. A 10.6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron beam was incident on an unpolarized liquid hydrogen target, and the scattered electron and produced meson were detected in two magnetic focusing spectrometers, enabling precision cross section measurements. The cross section ratio $\sigma_{LT'}/\sigma_0$ was extracted from the beam-spin asymmetry $A_{LU}$. The $t$-dependence of $\sigma_{LT'}/\sigma_0$ was determined at fixed $Q^2$ and $x_B$ over a range of kinematics from $2 2$ GeV). Furthermore, these data are combined with recent results from CLAS/CLAS12 to determine the $Q^2$-dependence of $\sigma_{LT'}/\sigma_0$ at two ($x_B$, $t$) settings. This was fairly flat, with $Q^2$ not having a measurable effect on the value of $\sigma_{LT'}/\sigma_0$ in the range explored. Results are compared to predictions from the generalized parton distribution (GPD) formalism, which relies explicitly on hard/soft factorization, and Regge formalism. The Regge models better predict $\sigma_{LT'}/\sigma_0$, which suggests that the factorization regime is not yet reached.

nucl-ex

Threshold $J/\psi$ Photoproduction as a Probe of Nuclear Gluon Structure

The nuclear EMC effect is the observation that quark distributions in bound nucleons experience significant modification at large $x$ relative to free nucleons. Despite decades of measurements verifying the presence of this effect in quarks across a wide range of nuclei, behavior of large-$x$ gluons in nuclei remains almost completely unknown. As the nuclear physics community seeks out new observables to try to elucidate the mechanisms behind the EMC effect, it becomes striking that we remain ignorant regarding the impact of nuclear effects on gluonic behavior. Recent photonuclear data using the Hall D photon beam have enabled the first measurement of $J/\psi$ photoproduction from nuclei near and below the energy threshold, with the results highlighted in Physical Review Letters as an Editors' Suggestion. These data have placed the first, and currently only, constraints on the behavior of large-$x$ gluons within bound nucleons. However, compared to the quantity of data which currently informs our knowledge of the quark-sector EMC effect, these data are extremely limited, and remain unable to conclusively observe or exclude large modification of gluon distributions. A high-luminosity photonuclear experiment will enable a precision measurement of incoherent $J/\psi$ photoproduction at and below the threshold region. This data will provide the first stringent constraints on nuclear modification of gluon structure or other exotic effects which could impact the production of $J/\psi$ from nuclei. We request 85 PAC days at Hall D using the GlueX detector with a 12 GeV electron beam energy and a coherent photon peak energy of $8$ GeV, split into 80 days using a $^4$He target and 5 calibration days using a $^2$H target.

nucl-ex

The SHMS 11 GeV/c Spectrometer in Hall C at Jefferson Lab

The Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS) has been built for Hall C at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). With a momentum capability reaching 11 GeV/c, the SHMS provides measurements of charged particles produced in electron-scattering experiments using the maximum available beam energy from the upgraded Jefferson Lab accelerator. The SHMS is an ion-optics magnetic spectrometer comprised of a series of new superconducting magnets which transport charged particles through an array of triggering, tracking, and particle-identification detectors that measure momentum, energy, angle and position in order to allow kinematic reconstruction of the events back to their origin at the scattering target. The detector system is protected from background radiation by a sophisticated shielding enclosure. The entire spectrometer is mounted on a rotating support structure which permits measurements to be taken with a large acceptance over laboratory scattering angles from 5.5 to 40 degrees, thus allowing a wide range of low cross-section experiments to be conducted. These experiments complement and extend the previous Hall C research program to higher energies.

physics.ins-det

Studying the Strangeness $D$-Term in Hall C via Exclusive $\phi$ Electroproduction

We propose a measurement of exclusive electroproduction of $\phi$ mesons near threshold in Hall C. We will measure the |t|-dependence of the exclusive $\phi$ electroproduction cross section, which has recently been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strangeness $D$-term. The contribution of strangeness to the total $D$-term is presently unknown, with different arguments favoring $D_s$ being large, being small, or even having opposite sign from the total $D$-term. Our exploratory measurement is designed to distinguish between these hypotheses. If $D_s$ turns out to be small, $\phi$ electroproduction can be used to study the gluon $D$-term. In addition, this dataset will allow us to perform measurements of other exclusive meson final states, including the first measurement of $\eta'$ electroproduction and multi-differential measurements of $\eta$ and $\omega$ electroproduction.

nucl-ex

Polarization-dependent observables in $H\to \ell^{+}\ell^{-} \gamma$ in the SM

The rare three body decay of a Higgs boson to a lepton-anti lepton pair and a photon has begun to attract attention, after the first evidence for the $H\to Z\gamma$ at CMS and ATLAS, which is a sub process of $H \to \ell^+ \ell^- \gamma$ . To investigate some important features of this process, we suggest that the polarized forward-backward and the photon polarization asymmetries could be useful to probe its important properties, such as the behavior of Yukawa coupling, resonance, and non-resonance contributions. Our analysis introduces a comprehensive framework to evaluate the aforementioned polarization-dependent observables. By analyzing the polarization effects of the final-state photon and lepton separately on forward-backward asymmetries, we demonstrate that loop-induced contributions play a significant role to investigate these asymmetries. Unlike the unpolarized case, where the interference effects of resonance and non-resonance effects are minimal, we show that polarization dependent observables offer a powerful tool to analyze these features of this decay mode. Furthermore, these observables can provide a handy tool for probing possible signatures of physics beyond the SM.

hep-ph

Analysis of final state lepton polarization-dependent observables in $H\to \ell^{+}\ell^{-} \gamma$ in the SM at loop level

Recently, the CMS and ATLAS collaborations have announced the results for $H\rightarrow Z[\rightarrow \ell^{+}\ell^{-}]\gamma$ with $\ell=e$ or $\mu$ \cite{CMS:2022ahq,CMS:2023mku}, where $H\rightarrow Z\gamma$ is a sub-process of $H\rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-} \gamma$. This semi-leptonic Higgs decay receives loop induced resonant $H\rightarrow Z[\rightarrow \ell^{+}\ell^{-}]\gamma$ as well as non-resonant contributions. % as discussed in \cite{Kachanovich:2021pvx}. To probe further features coming from these contributions to $H\rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-} \gamma$, we argue that the polarization of the final state leptons is also an important parameter. We show that the contribution from the interference of resonant and non-resonant terms plays an important role when the polarization of final state lepton is taken into account, which is negligible in the case of unpolarized leptons. For this purpose, we have calculated the polarized decay rates and the longitudinal ($P_L$), normal ($P_N$) and transverse ($P_T$) polarization asymmetries. We find that these asymmetries purely come from the loop contributions and are helpful to further investigate the resonant and non-resonant nature of $H\rightarrow Z[\rightarrow \ell^{+}\ell^{-}]\gamma$ decay. We observe that for $\ell=e,\mu$, the longitudinal decay rate is highly suppressed around $m_{\ell\ell}\approx 60$GeV when the final lepton spin is $-\frac{1}{2}$, dramatically increasing the corresponding lepton polarization asymmetries. Furthermore, we analyze another observable, the ratio of decay rates $R^{\ell\ell'}_{i\pm}$, where $\ell$ and $\ell'$ refer to different final state lepton generations. Precise measurements of these observables at the HL-LHC and the planned $e^{+}e^{-}$ can provide a fertile ground to test not only the SM but also to examine the signatures of possible NP beyond the SM.

hep-ph

Artificial Intelligence for the Electron Ion Collider (AI4EIC)

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a state-of-the-art facility for studying the strong force, is expected to begin commissioning its first experiments in 2028. This is an opportune time for artificial intelligence (AI) to be included from the start at this facility and in all phases that lead up to the experiments. The second annual workshop organized by the AI4EIC working group, which recently took place, centered on exploring all current and prospective application areas of AI for the EIC. This workshop is not only beneficial for the EIC, but also provides valuable insights for the newly established ePIC collaboration at EIC. This paper summarizes the different activities and R&D projects covered across the sessions of the workshop and provides an overview of the goals, approaches and strategies regarding AI/ML in the EIC community, as well as cutting-edge techniques currently studied in other experiments.

physics.acc-ph

Constraining the Cosmic Strings Gravitational Wave Spectra in No Scale Inflation with Viable Gravitino Dark matter and Non Thermal Leptogenesis

We revisit the hybrid inflation model gauged by $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) in a no-scale background. Considering a single predictive framework, we study inflation, leptogenesis, gavitino cosmology, and the stochastic background of gravitational waves produced by metastable cosmic strings. The spontaneous breaking of $U(1)_{B-L}$ at the end of inflation produces a network of metastable cosmic strings while, the interaction between $U(1)_{B-L}$ Higgs field and the neutrinos generate heavy Majorana masses for the right-handed neutrinos. The heavy Majorana masses explain the tiny neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism, a realistic scenario for reheating and non-thermal leptogenesis. We show that a successful non-thermal leptogenesis and a stable gravitino as a dark matter candidate can be achieved for a wide range of reheating temperatures and $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry breaking scales. The possibility of realizing metastable cosmic strings in a grand unified theory (GUT) setup is briefly discussed. We find that a successful reheating with non-thermal leptogenesis and gravitino dark matter restrict the allowed values of string tension to a narrow range $10^{-9} \lesssim G\mu_{CS} \lesssim 8 \times 10^{-6}$, predicting a stochastic gravitational-wave background that lies within the 1-$\sigma$ bounds of the recent NANOGrav 12.5-yr data, as well as within the sensitivity bounds of future GW experiments.

hep-ph

Primordial Black Holes and Gravitational Waves in Hybrid Inflation with Chaotic Potentials

We study the formation of primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter and the generation of scalar induced secondary gravitational waves (SIGWs) in a non-supersymmetric model of hybrid inflation with chaotic (polynomial-like) potential, including one-loop radiative corrections. A radiatively corrected version of these models is entirely consistent with Planck's data. By adding non-canonical kinetic energy term in the lagrangian, the inflaton experiences a period of ultra-slow-roll, and the amplitude of primordial power spectrum is enhanced to $O(10^{-2})$. The enhanced power spectra of primordial curvature perturbations can have both sharp and broad peaks. %In the enhancement mechanism we explore two possible extensions by employing a Guassian and a step size kinetic function. A wide mass range of PBHs is realized in our model with the frequencies of scalar induced gravitational waves ranged from nHz to kHz. We present several benchmark points where the PBH mass generated during inflation is around $(1 - 100) \, M_{\odot}$, $(10^{-9} - 10^{-7}) \, M_{\odot}$ and $(10^{-16} - 10^{-11}) \, M_{\odot}$. The PBHs can make up most of the dark matter with masses around $(10^{-16} - 10^{-11}) \, M_{\odot}$ and $(1 - 100) \, M_{\odot}$, and their associated SIGWs can be probed by the upcoming ground and space-based gravitational wave (GW) observatories. The evidence of stochastic process recently reported by NANOGrav may be interpreted as SIGWs associated with the formation of PBHs. These SIGWs may also be tested by future interferometer-type GW observations of SKA, DECIGO, LISA, BBO, TaiJi, TianQin, CE and ET.

astro-ph.CO

Backward-angle Exclusive pi0 Production above the Resonance Region

The proposed measurement is a dedicated study of the exclusive electroproduction process,1H(e,e'p)pi0, in the backward-angle regime (u-channel process) above the resonance region. The produced pi0 is emitted 180 degrees opposite to the virtual-photon momentum. This study also aims to apply the well-known Rosenbluth separation technique that provides the model-independent differential cross-sections at the never explored u-channel kinematics region. Currently, the "soft-hard transition" in u-channel meson production remains an interesting and unexplored subject. The available theoretical frameworks offer competing interpretations for the observed backward-angle cross section peaks. In a "soft" hadronic Regge exchange description, the backward meson production comes from the interference between nucleon exchange and the meson produced via re-scattering within the nucleon. Whereas in the "hard" GPD-like backward collinear factorization regime, the scattering amplitude factorizes into a hard subprocess amplitude and baryon to meson transition distribution amplitudes (TDAs), otherwise known as super skewed parton distributions (SuperSPDs). Both TDAs and SPDs are universal non-perturbative objects of nucleon structure accessible only through backward-angle kinematics. The separated cross sections:sigma_T,sigma_L and T/L ratio at Q2=2-6 GeV2, provide a direct test of two predictions from the TDA model. The magnitude and u-dependence of the separated cross sections also provide a direct connection to the re-scattering Regge picture. The extracted interaction radius (from u-dependence) at different Q2 can be used to study the soft-hard transition in the u-channel kinematics. The acquisition of these data will be an important step forward in validating the existence of a backward factorization scheme of the nucleon structure function and establishing its applicable kinematic range.

nucl-ex

Inflationary study of non-Gaussianity using two-dimensional geometrical measures of CMB temperature maps

In this work we effectively calculated the two-dimensional Minkowski functionals for cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature maps generated by single field models of inflation with a standard kinetic term. We started with calculation of the bispectrum of initial perturbations and then calculated the two-dimensional configuration space cubic moments for temperature fluctuations. These cubic moments give rise to first order non-Gaussian correction terms to the Minkowski functionals. Thus, we developed a robust mechanism to predict the amount of non-Gaussianity generated by inflation in the CMB temperature maps using Minkowski functionals.

astro-ph.CO

Geometrical measures of non-Gaussianity generated from single field Inflationary models

We have calculated the third order moments of scalar curvature perturbations in configuration space for different inflationary models. We developed a robust numerical technique to compute the bispectrum for different models that have some features in the inflationary potential. From the bispectrum we evaluated moments analytically in the slow roll regime while we devised a numerical mechanism to calculated these moments for non slow roll single field inflationary models with standard kinetic term that are minimally coupled to gravity. With help of these third order moments one can directly predict many non-Gaussian and geometrical measures of CBM distributions in the configuration space. Thus, we have devised a framework to calculate different third order moments and geometrical measures, e.g. Minkowski functionals or skeleton statistic, generated by different single field models of inflation.

hep-th

Comparative Study of B_{c} --> D_{s}^{*}l^{+}l^{-} Decays in Standard Model and Supersymmetric Models

A comparative study of the exclusive rare $B_{c}\rightarrow D_{s}^{\ast}\ell^{+}\ell^{-}$ ($\ell=μ, τ$) decays has been made in the minimal supersymmetric models (MSSM) and the SUSY SO(10) GUT models. In this context, various physical observables such as branching ratios $(\mathcal{BR})$, forward-backward asymmetries $(\mathcal{A}_{FB})$, lepton polarization asymmetries $(P_{L,N,T})$ and helicity fractions ($f_{L,T}$) of $D_{s}^{\ast}$ meson by using the the QCD sum rules form factors have been investigated. It is found that the SUSY effects are characteristically prominent to that of the SM values for these observables. For instance, in SUSY I and SUSY II, the forward-backward asymmetry does not cross zero which is mainly due to the same sign of the $C_{7}^{eff}$ and $C_{9}^{eff}$ Wilson coefficients. Similarly in SUSY SO(10) GUT models due to the complex nature of the new Wilson coefficients -- corresponding to the new operators arising due to the contribution of neutral Higgs bosons (NHBs) -- the above mentioned observables are sizably affected. Therefore the analysis of said observables in charmed semileptonic $B$ meson decays can put some stringent constraints on the parameter space of SUSY variants and can serve as a windowpane to look beyond the SM.

hep-ph

Fourth-generation SM imprints in B -> K^*l^+l^- decays with polarized K^*

The implication of the fourth-generation quarks in the B -> K^*l^+l^- (l=mu,tau) decays, when K^* meson is longitudinally or transversely polarized, is presented. In this context, the dependence of the branching ratio with polarized K^* and the helicity fractions (f_{L,T}) of K^* meson are studied. It is observed that the polarized branching ratios as well as helicity fractions are sensitive to the NP parameters, especially when the final state leptons are tauons. Hence the measurements of these observables at LHC can serve as a good tool to investigate the indirect searches of new physics beyond the Standard Model.

hep-ph

Analysis of B_{C} --> D_{s}^{*}l^{+}l^{-} in the Standard Model Beyond Third Generation

The weak decays of B_{c} --> D_{s}^{*}l^{+}l^{-} (l=mu,tau) are investigated in the Standard Model with fourth generation (SM4). Taking fourth generation quark mass m_{t'} of about 300 to 600 GeV with the CKM matrix elements V_{t'b}^{*}V_{t's} in the range (0.03-1.2)*10^{-2} and using the new CP odd phase (phi_{sb}) to be 90^{o} the analysis of decay rates, forward-backward asymmetries, lepton polarization asymmetries and the helicity fractions of D_{s}^{*} meson in B_{c} --> D_{s}^{*}l^{+}l^{-} (l=mu,tau) is made. It is shown that the values of these physical observables are greatly influenced by the effects of extra sequential quark generation in the SM. It is found that the zero position of the forward-backward asymmetry in B_{c} --> D_{s}^{*} mu^{+} mu^{-} deviates significantly from that of the SM value while the effects in the decay rate, helicity fractions of D_s^{*} meson and the lepton polarization asymmetries are also quite promising. In B_{c} --> D_{s}^{*} tau^{+} tau^{-} decay, the SM4 the NP effects are somewhat mild in the decay rate and forward-backward asymmetry but they have shown them up in the longitudinal and transverse lepton polarization and also in the helicity fractions of the D_{s}^{*} meson which differ distinctively from the SM values. Thus the study of these physical observables will provide us useful information to probe new physics and helps us to search for the fourth generation of quarks (t',b') in an indirect way.

hep-ph