arXiv subjects

Wei-Chih Huang

Publications and source records attributed to Wei-Chih Huang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

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↗

arXiv2025

Testing the dark SU(N) Yang-Mills theory Confined Landscape: From the Lattice to Gravitational Waves

We pave the way for future gravitational-wave detection experiments, such as the Big Bang Observer and DECIGO, to constrain dark sectors made of SU(N) Yang-Mills confined theories. We go beyond the state-of-the-art by combining first principle lattice results and effective field theory approaches to infer essential information about the non-perturbative dark deconfinement phase transition driving the generation of gravitational-waves in the early universe, such as the order, duration and energy budget of the phase transition which are essential in establishing the strength of the resulting gravitational-wave signal.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Novel approach to investigate ATOMKI anomaly using Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills detectors

ATOMKI nuclear anomaly has suggested a new BSM (Beyond the Standard Model) boson with mass $\sim17$ MeV emitted from excited nuclei and quickly decays into a pair of $e^+e^-$. In order to search for the new particle, we propose a new approach that utilizes the ongoing Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills (CCM) 10-ton LAr (liquid argon) detectors. The neutrons from the Lujan target can scatter inelastically by the PMT glass in the CCM detector can produce the new boson which solves the ATOMKI anomaly. The new boson can be detected from its decay to a $e^+e^-$ pair. We find that CCM probes a large area of the anomaly-allowable parameter space. We also show the prediction for a 100-ton LAr detector and 5-ton EOS water detector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Indirect detection of dark matter absorption in the Galactic Center

We consider the nuclear absorption of dark matter as an alternative to the typical indirect detection search channels of dark matter decay or annihilation. In this scenario, an atomic nucleus transitions to an excited state by absorbing a pseudoscalar dark matter particle and promptly emits a photon as it transitions back to its ground state. The nuclear excitation of carbon and oxygen in the Galactic Center would produce a discrete photon spectrum in the $\mathcal{O}(10)$ MeV range that could be detected by gamma-ray telescopes. Using the \texttt{BIGSTICK} large-scale shell-model code, we calculate the excitation energies of carbon and oxygen. We constrain the dark matter-nucleus coupling for current COMPTEL data, and provide projections for future experiments AMEGO-X, e-ASTROGAM, and GRAMS for dark matter masses from $\sim$ 10 to 30 MeV. We find the excitation process to be very sensitive to the dark matter mass and find that the future experiments considered would improve constraints on the dark matter-nucleus coupling within an order of magnitude.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Investigating the Applicability of a Snapshot Computed Tomography Imaging Spectrometer for the Prediction of Brix and pH of Grapes

In this paper, a recently developed snapshot hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system based on Computed Tomography Imaging Spectroscopy (CTIS) is utilized to determine Brix and pH values in Sheegene 20 table grapes through Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) modeling. The performance of the CTIS system is compared with that of a state-of-the-art line scan HSI system by imaging 100 grapes across both platforms. Reference measurements of Brix and pH values are obtained directly using a refractometer and a pH meter, as these parameters are essential for assessing the quality of table and wine grapes. The findings indicate that the spectra captured by the CTIS camera correlate well with the reference measurements, despite the system's narrower spectral range. The CTIS camera's advantages, including its lower cost, portability, and reduced susceptibility to motion errors, highlight its potential for promising in-field applications in grape quality assessment.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Prospects for Light Dark Matter Searches at Large-Volume Neutrino Detectors

We propose a new approach to search for light dark matter (DM), with keV-GeV mass, via inelastic nucleus scattering at large-volume neutrino detectors such as Borexino, DUNE, Super-K, Hyper-K, and JUNO. The approach uses inelastic nuclear scattering of cosmic-ray boosted DM, enabling a low background search for DM in these experiments. Large neutrino detectors, with higher thresholds than dark matter detectors, can be used, since the nuclear deexcitation lines are O(10) MeV. Using a hadrophilic dark-gauge-boson-portal model as a benchmark, we show that the nuclear inelastic channels generally provide better sensitivity than the elastic scattering for a large region of light DM parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Short Baseline Neutrino Anomalies at Stopped Pion Experiments

Stopped-pion experiments that measure coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) are sensitive to sterile neutrinos via disappearance. Using timing and energy spectra to perform flavor decomposition, we show that the delayed electron neutrino component provides an independent test of short-baseline anomalies that hint at $\sim$ eV-mass sterile neutrinos. Dedicated experiments will be sensitive to nearly the entire sterile neutrino parameter space consistent with short-baseline data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Probing the dark sector with nuclear transition photons

Here we present world-leading sensitivity to light ($< 170$ MeV) dark matter (DM) using beam-dump experiments. Dark sector particles produced during pion decay at accelerator beam-dumps can be detected via scattering in neutrino detectors. The decay of nuclei excited by the inelastic scattering of DM is an unexploited channel which has significantly better sensitivity than similar searches using the elastic scattering channel. We show that this channel is a powerful probe of DM by demonstrating sensitivity to the thermal relic abundance benchmark in a scalar DM dark-photon portal model. This is achieved through the use of existing data, obtained by the KARMEN experiment over two decades ago, which allow us to set world-leading constraints on this model over a wide mass range. With experimental improvements planned for the future, this technique will be able to probe the thermal relic benchmark for fermionic DM across a wide mass range.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Axion-Like Particle Production at Beam Dump Experiments with Distinct Nuclear Excitation Lines

Searches for axion-like particles (ALPs) are motivated by the strong CP problem in particle physics and by unexplained dark matter in astrophysics. In this letter, we discuss novel ALP searches using monoenergetic nuclear de-excitation photons from a beam dump, using IsoDAR as an example. We show that IsoDAR can set limits that close a gap in traditional QCD axion searches using the ALP-photon coupling, as well as provide sensitivity to large regions of new parameter space in models where ALPs couple to nucleons and electrons. We also show how isotope decay-at-rest experiments may be designed to improve potential ALP production and optimize detection sensitivity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Inelastic nuclear scattering from neutrinos and dark matter

Neutrinos with energy of order 10~MeV, such as from pion decay-at-rest sources, are an invaluable tool for studying low-energy neutrino interactions with nuclei -- previously enabling the first measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. Beyond elastic scattering, neutrinos and dark matter in this energy range also excite nuclei to its low-lying nuclear states, providing an additional physics channel. Here, we consider neutral-current inelastic neutrino-nucleus and dark matter(DM)-nucleus scattering off $^{40}$Ar, $^{133}$Cs, and $^{127}$I nuclei that are relevant to a number of low-threshold neutrino experiments at pion decay-at-rest facilities. We carry out large scale nuclear shell model calculations of the inelastic cross sections considering the full set of electroweak multipole operators. Our results demonstrate that Gamow-Teller transitions provide the dominant contribution to the cross section and that the long-wavelength limit provides a reasonable approximation to the total cross section for neutrino sources. We show that future experiments will be sensitive to this channel and thus these results provide additional neutrino and DM scattering channels to explore at pion decay-at-rest facilities.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

The hybrid approach -- Convolutional Neural Networks and Expectation Maximization Algorithm -- for Tomographic Reconstruction of Hyperspectral Images

We present a simple but novel hybrid approach to hyperspectral data cube reconstruction from computed tomography imaging spectrometry (CTIS) images that sequentially combines neural networks and the iterative Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. We train and test the ability of the method to reconstruct data cubes of $100\times100\times25$ and $100\times100\times100$ voxels, corresponding to 25 and 100 spectral channels, from simulated CTIS images generated by our CTIS simulator. The hybrid approach utilizes the inherent strength of the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with regard to noise and its ability to yield consistent reconstructions and make use of the EM algorithm's ability to generalize to spectral images of any object without training. The hybrid approach achieves better performance than both the CNNs and EM alone for seen (included in CNN training) and unseen (excluded from CNN training) cubes for both the 25- and 100-channel cases. For the 25 spectral channels, the improvements from CNN to the hybrid model (CNN + EM) in terms of the mean-squared errors are between 14-26%. For 100 spectral channels, the improvements between 19-40% are attained with the largest improvement of 40% for the unseen data, to which the CNNs are not exposed during the training.

eess.IV↗

arXiv2022

The Application of Convolutional Neural Networks for Tomographic Reconstruction of Hyperspectral Images

A novel method, utilizing convolutional neural networks (CNNs), is proposed to reconstruct hyperspectral cubes from computed tomography imaging spectrometer (CTIS) images. Current reconstruction algorithms are usually subject to long reconstruction times and mediocre precision in cases of a large number of spectral channels. The constructed CNNs deliver higher precision and shorter reconstruction time than a sparse expectation maximization algorithm. In addition, the network can handle two different types of real-world images at the same time -- specifically ColorChecker and carrot spectral images are considered. This work paves the way toward real-time reconstruction of hyperspectral cubes from CTIS images.

eess.IV↗

arXiv2021

Techni-Composite Higgs models with (a)symmetric dark matter candidates

We propose a novel class of composite models that feature both a technicolor and a composite Higgs vacuum limit, resulting in an asymmetric dark matter candidate. These Techni-Composite Higgs models are based on an extended left-right electroweak symmetry with a pseudo-Nambu Goldstone boson Higgs and stable dark matter candidates charged under a global $\mathrm{U}(1)_X$ symmetry, connected to the baryon asymmetry at high temperatures via the $SU(2)_{\rm R}$ sphaleron. We consider, as explicit examples, four-dimensional gauge theories with fermions charged under a new confining gauge group $G_{\rm HC} $.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

A convolutional-neural-network estimator of CMB constraints on dark matter energy injection

We show that the impact of energy injection by dark matter annihilation on the cosmic microwave background power spectra can be apprehended via a residual likelihood map. By resorting to convolutional neural networks that can fully discover the underlying pattern of the map, we propose a novel way of constraining dark matter annihilation based on the Planck 2018 data. We demonstrate that the trained neural network can efficiently predict the likelihood and accurately place bounds on the annihilation cross-section in a $\textit{model-independent}$ fashion. The machinery will be made public in the near future.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Large Higgs quartic coupling and (A)DM from extended Bosonic Technicolor

We propose novel bosonic Technicolor models augmented by an $SU(2)_R$ gauge group and scalar doublet. Dynamical breaking of $SU(2)_R$ induced by technifermion condensation triggers $SU(2)_L$ breaking via a portal coupling. The scale of the new strong interactions is as high as that of composite Higgs models, and the vacuum stability challenge confronting ordinary bosonic Technicolor models is avoided. Thermal or asymmetric dark matter, whose stability is ensured by a $U(1)_{\rm TB}$ technibaryon symmetry, can be realized. In the latter case, the correct relic density can be reproduced for a wide range of dark matter mass via leptogenesis.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Two-component asymmetric dark matter via bound states and freeze-in decay

We propose a novel mechanism to realize two-component asymmetric dark matter of very different mass scales through bound state formation and late freeze-in decay. Assuming a particle-antiparticle asymmetry is initially shared by SM baryons and two dark matter components, we demonstrate that the existence of bound states formed by the heavy component can efficiently transfer the asymmetry from the heavy to the light component via late decay. In this case, the energy densities of the two components can be comparable, and the correct relic density is reproduced.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Gravitational Waves from Pati-Salam Dynamics

We show that it is possible to use gravitational wave detectors to observe the occurrence of a first order phase transition in Pati-Salam extensions of the Standard Model. We show that the peak frequency of the expected gravitational wave signals ranges within $0.1-10$ Hz. We find amusing that the next generation of gravity waves detectors are able to explore time honoured extensions of the Standard Model occurring at energy scales inaccessible by present and future particle physics accelerators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Circularly Polarized Gamma Rays in Effective Dark Matter Theory

We study the loop-induced circularly polarized gamma rays from dark matter annihilation using the effective dark matter theory approach. Both neutral scalar and fermionic dark matter annihilating into monochromatic diphoton and $Z$-photon final states are considered. To generate the circular polarization asymmetry, $P$ and $CP$ symmetries must be violated in the couplings between dark matter and Standard Model fermions inside the loop with non-vanishing Cutkosky cut. The asymmetry can be sizable especially for $Z$-photon final state for which asymmetry of nearly $90\%$ can be reached. We discuss the prospect for detecting the circular polarization asymmetry of the gamma-ray flux from dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Center in future gamma-ray polarimetry experiments.

hep-ph↗