arXiv subjects

M. Pierini

Publications and source records attributed to M. Pierini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The Rise of Particle Physics

Discovery of the J Particle at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Physics of Electrons and Positrons; The Standard Model Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; The Rise of Gauge Theories: From Many Models to One Theory; From Charm to CP Violation; When the Standard Model Was Ignored; The Discovery of the W and Z Bosons at the CERN Proton-Antiproton Collider; A Personal History of CERN Particle Colliders (1972-2022); The Age of Gravitational Wave Astronomy; Precision Physics in the Era of (HL)LHC; Recent Developments in Flavor Physics, the Unitary Triangle Fit, Anomalies and All That; About BSM Physics, with Emphasis on Flavour; The Discovery of the Antiproton between Rome and Berkeley; Raoul Gatto and Bruno Touschek: the Rise of $e+e^-$ Physics; From ADONE's Multi-Hadron Production to the J/$\Psi$ Discovery; From Bjorken Scaling to Scaling Violations

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

LEP3: A High-Luminosity e+e- Higgs and ElectroweakFactory in the LHC Tunnel

As stated in the 2019 European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP), it is of the utmost importance that the HL-LHC upgrade of the accelerator and the experiments be successfully completed in a timely manner. All necessary efforts should be devoted to achieving this goal. We also recall two of the principal recommendations of the 2019 ESPP for future accelerator initiatives, namely that 1) An electron-positron Higgs factory is the highest priority for the next collider (Rec. c). 2) Europe, together with its international partners, should investigate the technical and financial feasibility of a future hadron collider at CERN with a centre-of-mass energy of at least 100 TeV and with an electron-positron Higgs and electroweak factory as a possible first stage (Rec. e). A major objective in particle physics is always to operate an accelerator that allows a leap of an order of magnitude in the constituent centre-of-mass energy with respect to the previous one. We support FCC-ee and FCC-hh as the preferred option for CERN future, as it addresses both of the above recommendations. The guidance for the 2025 ESPP requests, in addition to the preferred option, the inclusion of ``prioritised alternatives to be pursued if the chosen preferred option turns out not to be feasible or competitive''. Proposed alternatives to the preferred FCC option include linear, muon colliders and LHeC accelerators. In response to this request we propose reusing the existing LHC tunnel for an electron-positron collider, called LEP3, as a back-up alternative if the FCC cannot proceed. LEP3 leverages much of the R\&D conducted for FCC-ee, offers high-precision studies of Z, W, and Higgs bosons below the tt threshold, and offers potential physics performance comparable or superior to other fallback options at a lower cost while supporting continued R\&D towards a next-generation energy frontier machine.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2024

Global analysis of charm mixing parameters and determination of the CKM angle $\gamma$

We present an updated global analysis of beauty decays sensitive to the angle $\gamma$ of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix and of $D$-meson mixing data in the framework of approximate universality, in which CP violation in $D-\overline{D}$ mixing is described in terms of two universal weak phases corresponding to dispersive and absorptive contributions. We extract the fundamental theoretical parameters determining absorptive and dispersive contributions to $D$ meson mixing and CP violation, together with the angle $\gamma$. The results for the charm mixing parameters are $x_{12} \simeq x = (0.401 \pm 0.043)\%$ and $y_{12} \simeq y = (0.610 \pm 0.017)\%$, while the two CP-violating phases are given by $\phi_2^M = (0.13 \pm 0.70)^{\circ}$ and ${\phi}_2^{\Gamma} = (2.1 \pm 1.6)^{\circ}$. The angle $\gamma$ is found to be $\gamma = (65.7 \pm 2.5)^{\circ}$, in excellent agreement with the indirect determination from the Unitarity Triangle analysis.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Impact of the recent measurements of the top-quark and W-boson masses on electroweak precision fits

We assess the impact of the very recent measurement of the top-quark mass by the CMS Collaboration on the fit of electroweak data in the Standard Model and beyond, with particular emphasis on the prediction for the mass of the W boson. We then compare this prediction with the average of the corresponding experimental measurements including the new measurement by the CDF Collaboration, and discuss its compatibility in the Standard Model, in new physics models with oblique corrections, and in the dimension-six Standard Model Effective Field Theory. Finally, we present the updated global fit to electroweak precision data in these models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Global analysis of electroweak data in the Standard Model

We perform a global fit of electroweak data within the Standard Model, using state-of-the art experimental and theoretical results, including a determination of the electromagnetic coupling at the electroweak scale based on recent lattice calculations. In addition to the posteriors for all parameters and observables obtained from the global fit, we present indirect determinations for all parameters and predictions for all observables. Furthermore, we present full predictions, obtained using only the experimental information on Standard Model parameters, and a fully indirect determination of Standard Model parameters using only experimental information on electroweak data. Finally, we discuss in detail the compatibility of experimental data with the Standard Model and find a global p-value of 0.5.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

The Dark Machines Anomaly Score Challenge: Benchmark Data and Model Independent Event Classification for the Large Hadron Collider

We describe the outcome of a data challenge conducted as part of the Dark Machines Initiative and the Les Houches 2019 workshop on Physics at TeV colliders. The challenged aims at detecting signals of new physics at the LHC using unsupervised machine learning algorithms. First, we propose how an anomaly score could be implemented to define model-independent signal regions in LHC searches. We define and describe a large benchmark dataset, consisting of >1 Billion simulated LHC events corresponding to $10~\rm{fb}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. We then review a wide range of anomaly detection and density estimation algorithms, developed in the context of the data challenge, and we measure their performance in a set of realistic analysis environments. We draw a number of useful conclusions that will aid the development of unsupervised new physics searches during the third run of the LHC, and provide our benchmark dataset for future studies at https://www.phenoMLdata.org. Code to reproduce the analysis is provided at https://github.com/bostdiek/DarkMachines-UnsupervisedChallenge.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Les Houches 2019 Physics at TeV Colliders: New Physics Working Group Report

This report presents the activities of the `New Physics' working group for the `Physics at TeV Colliders' workshop (Les Houches, France, 10--28 June, 2019). These activities include studies of direct searches for new physics, approaches to exploit published data to constrain new physics, as well as the development of tools to further facilitate these investigations. Benefits of machine learning for both the search for new physics and the interpretation of these searches are also presented.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Deep learning for inferring cause of data anomalies

Daily operation of a large-scale experiment is a resource consuming task, particularly from perspectives of routine data quality monitoring. Typically, data comes from different sub-detectors and the global quality of data depends on the combinatorial performance of each of them. In this paper, the problem of identifying channels in which anomalies occurred is considered. We introduce a generic deep learning model and prove that, under reasonable assumptions, the model learns to identify 'channels' which are affected by an anomaly. Such model could be used for data quality manager cross-check and assistance and identifying good channels in anomalous data samples. The main novelty of the method is that the model does not require ground truth labels for each channel, only global flag is used. This effectively distinguishes the model from classical classification methods. Being applied to CMS data collected in the year 2010, this approach proves its ability to decompose anomaly by separate channels.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2017

Squark-mediated Higgs+jets production at the LHC

We investigate possible scenarios of light-squark production at the LHC as a new mechanism to produce Higgs bosons in association with jets. The study is motivated by the SUSY search for H+jets events, performed by the CMS collaboration on 8 and 13 TeV data using the razor variables. Two simplified models are proposed to interpret the observations in this search. The constraint from Run I and the implications for Run II and beyond are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Physics at a 100 TeV pp collider: Standard Model processes

This report summarises the properties of Standard Model processes at the 100 TeV pp collider. We document the production rates and typical distributions for a number of benchmark Standard Model processes, and discuss new dynamical phenomena arising at the highest energies available at this collider. We discuss the intrinsic physics interest in the measurement of these Standard Model processes, as well as their role as backgrounds for New Physics searches.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

The UTfit Collaboration Average of $D$ meson mixing data: Winter 2014

We update the analysis of $D$ meson mixing including the latest experimental results as of January 2014. We derive constraints on the parameters $M_{12}$, $Γ_{12}$ and $Φ_{12}$ that describe $D$ meson mixing using all available data, allowing for CP violation. We also provide posterior distributions for observable parameters appearing in $D$ physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

First Look at the Physics Case of TLEP

The discovery by the ATLAS and CMS experiments of a new boson with mass around 125 GeV and with measured properties compatible with those of a Standard-Model Higgs boson, coupled with the absence of discoveries of phenomena beyond the Standard Model at the TeV scale, has triggered interest in ideas for future Higgs factories. A new circular e+e- collider hosted in a 80 to 100 km tunnel, TLEP, is among the most attractive solutions proposed so far. It has a clean experimental environment, produces high luminosity for top-quark, Higgs boson, W and Z studies, accommodates multiple detectors, and can reach energies up to the t-tbar threshold and beyond. It will enable measurements of the Higgs boson properties and of Electroweak Symmetry-Breaking (EWSB) parameters with unequalled precision, offering exploration of physics beyond the Standard Model in the multi-TeV range. Moreover, being the natural precursor of the VHE-LHC, a 100 TeV hadron machine in the same tunnel, it builds up a long-term vision for particle physics. Altogether, the combination of TLEP and the VHE-LHC offers, for a great cost effectiveness, the best precision and the best search reach of all options presently on the market. This paper presents a first appraisal of the salient features of the TLEP physics potential, to serve as a baseline for a more extensive design study.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2012

The UTfit Collaboration Average of D meson mixing data: Spring 2012

We derive constraints on the parameters $M_{12}$, $Γ_{12}$ and $Φ_{12}$ that describe $D$ meson mixing using all available data, allowing for CP violation. We also provide posterior distributions and predictions for observable parameters appearing in $D$ physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Interpreting LHC SUSY searches in the phenomenological MSSM

We interpret within the phenomenological MSSM (pMSSM) the results of SUSY searches published by the CMS collaboration based on the first ~1 fb^-1 of data taken during the 2011 LHC run at 7 TeV. The pMSSM is a 19-dimensional parametrization of the MSSM that captures most of its phenomenological features. It encompasses, and goes beyond, a broad range of more constrained SUSY models. Performing a global Bayesian analysis, we obtain posterior probability densities of parameters, masses and derived observables. In contrast to constraints derived for particular SUSY breaking schemes, such as the CMSSM, our results provide more generic conclusions on how the current data constrain the MSSM.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Update of the Unitarity Triangle Analysis

We present the status of the Unitarity Triangle Analysis (UTA), within the Standard Model (SM) and beyond, with experimental and theoretical inputs updated for the ICHEP 2010 conference. Within the SM, we find that the general consistency among all the constraints leaves space only to some tension (between the UTA prediction and the experimental measurement) in BR(B -> tau nu), sin(2 beta) and epsilon_K. In the UTA beyond the SM, we allow for New Physics (NP) effects in (Delta F)=2 processes. The hint of NP at the 2.9 sigma level in the B_s-\bar B_s mixing turns out to be confirmed by the present update, which includes the new D0 result on the dimuon charge asymmetry but not the new CDF measurement of phi_s, being the likelihood not yet released.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Flavor Physics in the Quark Sector

One of the major challenges of particle physics has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of quark flavor and measurements and theoretical interpretations of their results have advanced tremendously: apart from masses and quantum numbers of flavor particles, there now exist detailed measurements of the characteristics of their interactions allowing stringent tests of Standard Model predictions. Among the most interesting phenomena of flavor physics is the violation of the CP symmetry that has been subtle and difficult to explore. Till early 1990s observations of CP violation were confined to neutral $K$ mesons, but since then a large number of CP-violating processes have been studied in detail in neutral $B$ mesons. In parallel, measurements of the couplings of the heavy quarks and the dynamics for their decays in large samples of $K, D$, and $B$ mesons have been greatly improved in accuracy and the results are being used as probes in the search for deviations from the Standard Model. In the near future, there will be a transition from the current to a new generation of experiments, thus a review of the status of quark flavor physics is timely. This report summarizes the results of the current generation of experiments that is about to be completed and it confronts these results with the theoretical understanding of the field.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

An Improved Standard Model Prediction Of BR(B -> tau nu) And Its Implications For New Physics

The recently measured B -> tau nu branching ratio allows to test the Standard Model by probing virtual effects of new heavy particles, such as a charged Higgs boson. The accuracy of the test is currently limited by the experimental error on BR(B -> tau nu) and by the uncertainty on the parameters fB and |Vub|. The redundancy of the Unitarity Triangle fit allows to reduce the error on these parameters and thus to perform a more precise test of the Standard Model. Using the current experimental inputs, we obtain BR(B -> tau nu)_SM = (0.84 +- 0.11)x10^{-4}, to be compared with BR(B -> tau nu)_exp = (1.73 +- 0.34)x10^{-4}. The Standard Model prediction can be modified by New Physics effects in the decay amplitude as well as in the Unitarity Triangle fit. We discuss how to disentangle the two possible contributions in the case of minimal flavour violation at large tan beta and generic loop-mediated New Physics. We also consider two specific models with minimal flavour violation: the Type-II Two Higgs Doublet Model and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

First Evidence of New Physics in b <--> s Transitions

We combine all the available experimental information on Bs mixing, including the very recent tagged analyses of Bs to J/Psi phi by the CDF and D0 collaborations. We find that the phase of the Bs mixing amplitude deviates more than 3 sigma from the Standard Model prediction. While no single measurement has a 3 sigma significance yet, all the constraints show a remarkable agreement with the combined result. This is a first evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. This result disfavours New Physics models with Minimal Flavour Violation with the same significance.

hep-ph↗