arXiv subjects

Partha Konar

Publications and source records attributed to Partha Konar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Density-induced dark-baryon conversion in $\Delta-$admixed hypernuclear neutron stars

We investigate density-induced conversion of neutrons into a neutral dark baryon $\chi$ in cold, charge-neutral, $\beta$-equilibrated neutron-star matter containing hyperons and all $\Delta(1232)$ quartet. The hadronic sector is modeled within a density-dependent covariant density-functional framework using the DDME2 parametrization. A scalar Higgs portal is included as a possible interaction channel between the visible and dark sectors, although its mean-field contribution is negligible for the couplings adopted here. Unlike fixed dark-matter admixture models or scenarios in which nucleon-to-DM conversion is driven by Higgs exchange, the $\chi$ abundance is determined self-consistently from chemical equilibrium and baryon-number conservation. We find that hyperons and $\Delta$ resonances alter the neutron chemical potential, delay the onset of $\chi$, and suppress its abundance relative to nucleonic matter. This competition induces characteristic changes in the equation of state, particle fractions, sound speed, and adiabatic index. For $m_\chi=1250$, $1300$, and $1400$ MeV, the maximum masses of the complete $N+Y+\Delta+\chi$ configurations are $1.806$, $1.899$, and $2.024,M_\odot$, respectively, indicating that the massive-pulsar constraint disfavors the lighter dark-baryon benchmarks. The radial profiles further show that for $m_\chi=1400$ MeV, $\chi$ is confined to the inner core of the most massive stars, while canonical configurations remain essentially unaffected. Thus, the stellar modifications arise primarily from conversion-induced rearrangement of the equilibrium composition rather than from Higgs-mediated interactions. These results highlight the importance of treating conventional non-nucleonic degrees of freedom and density-generated dark baryons on an equal footing when assessing the astrophysical viability of dark-sector extensions of dense matter.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Probing Boosted Light Scalars in the Type-I 2HDM

In the Type-I two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM), the additional scalars may be light ($\lesssim 100$ GeV) without conflicting with experimental constraints from LHC searches or from flavour observables. So far, the studies of light scalars at the LHC have been limited to exploring non-standard decays of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson or via $b\bar b$ associated production followed by leptonic decays of the light scalar. A light scalar in Type-I 2HDM can evade these search strategies due to its potentially tiny coupling to the SM Higgs boson and its suppressed coupling to quarks. In this work, we have studied electroweak production of a light scalar ($h$) in association with heavy pseudoscalar $A$ or charged Higgs $H^\pm$, which further decays into $h$, resulting in a multi-$h$ final state, where $h$ is boosted due to its lightness. The decay of the boosted $h$ into $b\bar b$ can be reconstructed within a fat-jet containing a pair of $b$-subjets. We find that tagging such a `boosted double-$b$ fat-jet ($J_{bb}$)' signature in association with a SM gauge boson provides an excellent probe of the Type-I 2HDM for hierarchical scalar spectra. Using multiple light mass $M_h$ benchmarks, we demonstrate that such analysis can explore a large region of the parameter space, with the $2\sigma$ exclusion reach for the heavy scalars extending up to $\sim 540$ GeV ($\sim$ 365 GeV) at the HL-LHC with 3000 fb$^{-1}$ (LHC with 300 fb$^{-1}$) luminosity for light scalar masses in the range $30$--$70$ GeV. Furthermore, we show that significant sensitivity and even resonance reconstruction can be achieved within a model-independent framework, highlighting the robustness of this search strategy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Unveiling a Hidden Epoch: Impact of Mediator Induced Matter Domination in Freeze-in Dark Matter

Freeze-in dark matter has recently garnered significant attention as a promising framework due to its feeble interactions, which are consistent with the null results from dark matter experiments. While previous studies have extensively investigated the production of dark matter through the decay of heavy particles, they overlook the cosmological role of the decaying mediator without justifying this assumption. We emphasize that the mediator can dominate the energy budget of the early universe during its decay, leading to an unavoidable early matter-dominated era. This intrinsic matter-dominated phase influences dark matter production in two key ways: (i) dark matter production occurs in both the early radiation and induced matter-dominated phases; specifically, considerable production occurs in the matter-dominated phase and stops when the mediator decays fully, and (ii) it causes dilution in dark matter abundance due to entropy injection before its saturation. Furthermore, this effect significantly alters the gravitational wave signature associated with the production of freeze-in dark matter through graviton emission during the mediator's decay. Specifically, it enhances the gravitational wave spectrum, making it viable for future high-frequency gravitational wave experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Stable and Interpretable Jet Physics with IRC-Safe Equivariant Feature Extraction

Deep learning has achieved remarkable success in jet classification tasks, yet a key challenge remains: understanding what these models learn and how their features relate to known QCD observables. Improving interpretability is essential for building robust and trustworthy machine learning tools in collider physics. To address this challenge, we investigate graph neural networks for quark-gluon discrimination, systematically incorporating physics-motivated inductive biases. In particular, we design message-passing architectures that enforce infrared and collinear (IRC) safety, as well as E(2) and O(2) equivariance in the rapidity-azimuth plane. Using simulated jet datasets, we compare these networks against unconstrained baselines in terms of classification performance, robustness to soft emissions, and latent representation structures. Our analysis shows that physics-aware networks are more stable across training instances and distribute their latent variance across multiple interpretable directions. By regressing Energy Flow Polynomials onto the leading principal components, we establish a direct correspondence between learned representations and established IRC-safe jet observables. These results demonstrate that embedding symmetry and safety constraints not only improves robustness but also grounds network representations in known QCD structures, providing a principled approach toward interpretable deep learning in collider physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Illuminating Degenerate Dark Sector of Inert Doublet Model at Muon Collider

The Inert scalar Doublet Model (IDM) presents a simple yet elegant framework for a scalar dark sector where the lightest mode functions as a viable dark matter candidate under a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. With TeV-scale particles accessible to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or future colliders, probing different dark matter scenarios within IDM provides an exciting opportunity. While the Higgs portal dark matter scenario is extensively well-studied at the LHC, probing the degenerate scalar dark sector presents some unique challenges, not only in detecting excessively soft decay products and the tiny production cross-section expected at the higher masses. The present study explores the potential of a forward muon facility at a future muon collider to uncover this elusive degenerate dark sector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Unraveling Freeze-in Dark matter through the echoes of gravitational waves

In the quest to unravel the dark sector, feebly interacting freeze-in dark matter presents an intriguing possibility, plausibly explaining the consistent null results from various dark matter experiments. We propose a unique imprint in the form of gravitational waves generated during the freeze-in production of dark matter from heavy particle decay in the early universe. This characteristic gravitational wave signature can serve as a powerful probe for freeze-in dark matter. Our study indicates that future high-frequency gravitational wave experiments can detect these waves, offering a novel avenue to critically test the underlying conditions and requirements of this dark matter paradigm, which typically lie beyond the reach of current and planned dark matter detection experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Jet Substructure Probe on Scalar Leptoquark Models via Top Polarization

The study of leptoquarks and their couplings to fermions with different chiralities provides a powerful tool for distinguishing among different leptoquark models. As a case study, we focus on two specific third-generation scalar leptoquark models, $S_3$ and $R_2$, which differ in their electroweak quantum numbers and chiral structures of couplings to the top quark, leading to distinct top-quark polarization states. To enhance the efficacy of the analysis, we employ jet substructure techniques like Soft Drop, $N$-subjettiness, and our custom $b$-tagging method, along with other event variables. The analysis has been performed using both fixed radius and dynamic radius jet clustering algorithms. A multivariate analysis using a boosted decision tree (BDT) is performed to isolate signal from the Standard Model background. For a leptoquark mass of 1250 GeV, the analysis achieves a signal significance of up to $5.3\,\sigma$ at the 14 TeV HL-LHC. Furthermore, a $CL_s$-based profile likelihood estimator is applied to polarization-sensitive variables to discriminate between the two models. To enhance separation between the two models, an additional BDT classifier score is obtained by training a BDT network to distinguish between the $S_3$ and $R_2$ models. In the chosen signal region, the BDT classifier score provides a separation score of up to $3.2\,\sigma$, outperforming traditional variables such as $E_b/E_t$ and $\cos\theta_b$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Collider fingerprints of freeze-in dark matter produced during the fast expansion phase of Universe

We examine a simple dark sector extension where the observed dark matter (DM) abundance arises from a freeze-in process through the decay of heavy vector-like quarks into a scalar dark matter candidate. The detection prospects of such DM are challenging due to the feeble nature of the interactions, but these vector-like quarks can be produced copiously at the LHC, where they decay to Standard Model quarks along with DM. Depending on the decay rate, this scenario is typically probed through long-lived particle or displaced vertex signatures, assuming a radiation-dominated background. An alternative hypothesis suggests that the Universe may have experienced a rapid expansion phase instead of the standard radiation-dominated one during freeze-in. This would significantly alter the dark matter phenomenology, requiring a substantial increase in the interaction rate to match the observed relic density, resulting in the rapid decay of the parent particle. As a result, much of the parameter space for this scenario is beyond the reach of traditional long-lived particle and displaced vertex searches. Due to this non-standard cosmic evolution, existing constraints do not cover the expanded dark matter parameter space. We propose a complementary search strategy to explore this scenario, offering additional limits alongside searches for long-lived particles and displaced vertices. In our search, we investigate the FIMP dark matter model at the LHC using boosted fatjets and significant missing transverse momentum. To improve precision, we include one-loop QCD corrections for LHC production processes and employ a boosted decision tree multivariate analysis, leveraging jet substructure variables to explore a vast parameter space for this minimally extended FIMP dark matter model at the 14 TeV LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Unveiling desert region in inert doublet model assisted by Peccei-Quinn symmetry

The Inert Higgs Doublet model (IDM), assisted by Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry, offers a simple but natural framework of a dark sector that accommodates Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) and axion as dark matter components. Spontaneous breaking of $U(1)_{PQ}$ symmetry, which was originally proposed as an elegant solution to the strong charge-parity (CP) problem, also ensures the stability of WIMP through a residual $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. Interestingly, additional fields necessitated by PQ symmetry further enrich the dark sector. These include a scalar field proprietor for axion DM and a vector-like quark (VLQ) that acts as a portal for the dark sector through Yukawa interactions. Moreover, this combination of the axion and WIMP components satisfies the observed DM relic density and reopens the phenomenologically exciting region of the IDM parameter space where the WIMP mass falls between 100 - 550 GeV. We investigate the model-independent pair production of VLQs exploring this region at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), incorporating the effects of next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections. After production, each VLQ decays into a top or bottom quark accompanied by an inert scalar, a consequence of the residual $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. Utilising relevant observables with a leptonic search channel and employing multivariate analysis, we demonstrate the ability of this analysis to exclude a significant portion of the parameter space with an integrated luminosity of 300 $\text{fb}^{-1}$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Foundations of automatic feature extraction at LHC--point clouds and graphs

Deep learning algorithms will play a key role in the upcoming runs of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), helping bolster various fronts ranging from fast and accurate detector simulations to physics analysis probing possible deviations from the Standard Model. The game-changing feature of these new algorithms is the ability to extract relevant information from high-dimensional input spaces, often regarded as "replacing the expert" in designing physics-intuitive variables. While this may seem true at first glance, it is far from reality. Existing research shows that physics-inspired feature extractors have many advantages beyond improving the qualitative understanding of the extracted features. In this review, we systematically explore automatic feature extraction from a phenomenological viewpoint and the motivation for physics-inspired architectures. We also discuss how prior knowledge from physics results in the naturalness of the point cloud representation and discuss graph-based applications to LHC phenomenology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Unitarity Bound on Dark Matter in Low-temperature Reheating Scenarios

Model-independent theoretical upper bound on the thermal dark matter (DM) mass can be derived from the maximum inelastic DM cross-section featuring the whole observed DM abundance. We deploy partial-wave unitarity of the scattering matrix to derive the maximal thermally-averaged cross section for general number-changing processes $r\to 2$ (with $r\ge 2$), which may involve standard model particles or occur solely within the dark sector. The usual upper limit on the DM mass for $s$-wave annihilation is around 130 TeV (1 GeV) for $r=2$ (3), only applies in the case of a freeze-out occurring in the standard cosmological scenario. We consider the effects of two nonstandard cosmological evolutions, characterized by low-temperature reheating: $i)$ a kination-like scenario and $ii)$ an early matter-dominated scenario. In the first case, early freeze-out strengthens the unitarity bound to a few TeVs for WIMPs; while in the second case, the WIMP DM can be as heavy as $\sim 10^{10}$ GeV due to a large entropy dilution.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Hypergraphs in LHC Phenomenology -- The Next Frontier of IRC-Safe Feature Extraction

In this study, we critically evaluate the approximation capabilities of existing infra-red and collinear (IRC) safe feature extraction algorithms, namely Energy Flow Networks (EFNs) and Energy-weighted Message Passing Networks (EMPNs). Our analysis reveals that these algorithms fall short in extracting features from any $N$-point correlation that isn't a power of two, based on the complete basis of IRC safe observables, specifically C-correlators. To address this limitation, we introduce the Hypergraph Energy-weighted Message Passing Networks (H-EMPNs), designed to capture any $N$-point correlation among particles efficiently. Using the case study of top vs. QCD jets, which holds significant information in its 3-point correlations, we demonstrate that H-EMPNs targeting up to N=3 correlations exhibit superior performance compared to EMPNs focusing on up to N=4 correlations within jet constituents.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

LLPNet: Graph Autoencoder for Triggering Light Long-Lived Particles at HL-LHC

In the search for exotic events involving displaced particles at HL-LHC, the triggering at the level-1 (L1) system will pose a significant challenge. This is particularly relevant in scenarios where low mass long-lived particles (LLPs) are coupled to a Standard Model (SM)-like 125 GeV Higgs boson and they decay into jets. The complexity arises from the low hadronic activity resulting from LLP decay, and the existing triggers' inability to efficiently select displaced events. This study introduces a novel machine learning approach to address this challenge, utilizing a lightweight autoencoder architecture designed for low latency requirements at L1. Focusing on light LLPs with decay lengths ranging from 1 to 100 cm, this approach employs "Edge convolution" on L1 reconstructed tracks. The results show notable signal acceptance at the permissible background rate, primarily originating from minimum bias and QCD di-jet events. For LLPs of mass 10, 30, and 50 GeV at decay length of 5 cm, the signal efficiencies are 33%, 70%, and 80%, respectively. At a 50 cm decay length, these efficiencies are 20%, 39%, and 45% for the same respective masses.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Jet substructure probe to unfold singlet-doublet dark matter in the presence of non-standard cosmology

We examine the singlet-doublet fermionic dark matter model, where the non-thermal production of the dark matter in light of a non-standard cosmology demands a significantly large interaction rate than the typical radiation-dominated Universe. Despite being a model of freeze-in light dark matter and heavy mediator, the characteristic long-lived particle searches at the collider experiment and the displaced vertex signature do not help in probing such a dark sector since this non-standard interaction mandates nearly prompt decay. We make a counterproposal to probe such signal with di-fat-jets generated from the boosted decays of massive vector bosons and Standard Model Higgs, along with the substantial missing transverse momentum to probe the dark matter at LHC. Interestingly, substructure variables associated with these fat jets have an additional handle to tackle the extensive QCD background as it encodes implicit footmarks of their origin. We adopt the multivariate analysis with the booted decision tree to constrain the measured relic density allowed parameter space of dark matter in the presence of the modified cosmological scenario. Our study shows how the non-trivial expansion affects dark matter production in the early Universe and alters the required search strategies at colliders. This probe provides the best discovery prospect at the HL-LHC for extended parameter space now opened up in the dark sector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Precision prediction of a democratic up-family philic KSVZ axion model at the LHC

In this work, we study the $SU(2)_L$ singlet complex scalar extended KSVZ model that, in addition to providing a natural solution to the strong-CP problem, furnishes two components of dark matter that satisfy observer relic density without fine-tuning the model's parameters. A colored vector-like quark (VLQ) is naturally present in the KSVZ axion model, providing a rich dark matter and collider phenomenology. In this extended model, scalar dark matter interacts with the Standard Model up-type quarks (up, charm, top) through VLQ. We explore the possibility of democratic Yukawa interaction of the VLQ with all up-type quarks and scalar dark matter candidate. We also employ next-to-leading order NLO-QCD correction on dominant production channels for VLQ pair production to study a unique search at the LHC, generating a pair of boosted tops with sizeable missing transverse momentum. Such corrections are significant and reduce factorization and renormalization scale uncertainties substantially. The NLO fixed order results are matched with the Pythia8 parton shower. After being pair-produced, each VLQ decays into a dark matter and a top quark. We conducted a multivariate analysis using jet substructure variables of boosted top fatjets with a significant missing transverse momentum signal. This analysis allows us to explore a substantial parameter space of this model at the 14 TeV LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Thermally corrected masses and freeze-in dark matter: a case study

If coupled \emph{feebly} to the Standard Model bath, a dark matter can evade the severe constraints from the direct search experiments. At the same time, such interactions help produce dark matter via the freeze-in mechanism. The freeze-in scenario becomes more interesting if one also includes the thermal masses of the different particles involved in the dark matter phenomenology. Incorporating such thermal corrections opens up the possibility of dark matter production via forbidden channels that remain kinematically disallowed in the standard freeze-in setup. Motivated by this, we investigate such freeze-in production of the dark matter in a minimally extended $U(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$ framework that remains consistent with the recent muon $(g-2)$ data. Here, the role of the dark matter is played by the scalar with a non-trivial charge under the additional symmetry $U(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$. This scalar dark matter obtains a thermally corrected mass at high temperatures for a not-so-small self-coupling. We show that the thermal correction to the dark matter mass plays a significant role in the dark matter phenomenology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Precise probing and discrimination of third-generation scalar leptoquarks

We explore the pair production of third-generation scalar leptoquark at the Large Hadron Collider to next-to-leading order accuracy in QCD, matched to parton shower for a precise probing of the stemming model. We propose to tag two boosted top-like fatjets produced from the decay of heavy leptoquarks in association with notably large missing transverse momentum and consider them as the potential signal. Such a signal demonstrates the capability of a robust discovery prospect in the multivariate analysis with different high-level observables, including jet substructure variables. Various scalar leptoquark models predict different chirality of the top quark appearing from the decay of the leptoquark carrying same electromagnetic charge. We make use of the polarization variables sensitive to the top quark polarization in order to identify the underlying theory.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

IRC-safe Graph Autoencoder for unsupervised anomaly detection

Anomaly detection through employing machine learning techniques has emerged as a novel powerful tool in the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Historically similar to the development of jet observables, theoretical consistency has not always assumed a central role in the fast development of algorithms and neural network architectures. In this work, we construct an infrared and collinear safe autoencoder based on graph neural networks by employing energy-weighted message passing. We demonstrate that whilst this approach has theoretically favourable properties, it also exhibits formidable sensitivity to non-QCD structures.

hep-ph↗