ALBERT

Description: The proposed Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector at Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) will be a large (50 kt) magnetized detector located 1270 m underground at Bodi West Hills in Tamilnadu. ICAL is capable of identifying the charge of the particles. In this paper its potential for the measurement of the muon charge ratio is explored by means of a detailed simulation-based study, first using the CORSIKA code and then comparing it with an analytical model (the pika model). The simulated muon charge ratio is in agreement with the existing experimental observations; its measure can be extended by INO-ICAL up to 10.50 TeV and up to 60 degrees.

Description: The standard model of elementary particles (SM) suffers from various problems, such as power-law ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity, exclusion of general relativity (GR), and absence of a dark matter candidate. The LHC experiments, according to which the TeV domain appears to be empty of new particles, started sidelining TeV-scale SUSY and other known cures of the UV sensitivity. In search for a remedy, in this work, it is revealed that affine curvature can emerge in a way restoring gauge symmetries explicitly broken by the UV cutoff. This emergent curvature cures the UV sensitivity and incorporates GR as symmetry-restoring emergent gravity (symmergent gravity, in brief) if a new physics sector (NP) exists to generate the Planck scale and if SM+NP is Fermi-Bose balanced. This setup, carrying fingerprints of trans-Planckian SUSY, predicts that gravity is Einstein (no higher-curvature terms), cosmic/gamma rays can originate from heavy NP scalars, and the UV cutoff might take right value to suppress the cosmological constant (alleviating fine-tuning with SUSY). The NP does not have to couple to the SM. In fact, NP-SM coupling can take any value from zero to if the SM is not to jump from to the NP scale . The zero coupling, certifying an undetectable NP, agrees with all the collider and dark matter bounds at present. The seesawic bound , directly verifiable at colliders, implies that (i) dark matter must have a mass , (ii) Higgs-curvature coupling must be , (iii) the SM RGEs must remain nearly as in the SM, and (iv) right-handed neutrinos must have a mass . These signatures serve as a concise testbed for symmergence.

Description: We study the electromagnetic (EM) duality from derivative theory with homogeneous disorder. We find that, with the change of the sign of the coupling parameter of the derivative theory, the particle-vortex duality with homogeneous disorder holds better than that without homogeneous disorder. The properties of quasinormal modes (QNMs) of this system are also explored. When the homogeneous disorder is introduced, some modes emerge at the imaginary frequency axis for negative but not for positive . In particular, with an increase in the magnitude of , new branch cuts emerge for positive . These emerging modes violate the duality related to the change of the sign of . With the increase of , this duality is getting violated more.

Description: Several experimental proposals expect to confirm the recent measurement of the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS). Motivated in particular by the next generation experiments of the COHERENT collaboration, we study their sensitivity to different tests of the Standard Model and beyond. We analyze the resolution that can be achieved by each future proposed detector in the measurement of the weak mixing angle; we also perform a similar analysis in the context of Nonstandard Interaction (NSI) and in the case of oscillations into a sterile neutrino state. We show that future perspectives are interesting for these types of new physics searches.

Description: Mining processes generate waste rock, tailings, and slag that can increase potentially toxic metal (PTM) concentrations in soils. Un-reclaimed, abandoned mine sites are particularly prone to leaching these contaminants, which may accumulate and pose significant environmental and public health concerns. The characterization and spatial delineation of PTMs in soils is vital for risk assessment and soil reclamation. Bumpus Cove, a once active mining district of eastern Tennessee, is home to at least 47 abandoned, un-reclaimed mines, all permanently closed by the 1950s. This study evaluated soil physicochemical properties, determined the spatial extent of PTMs (Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb, and Cd), and examined the influence of soil properties on PTM distribution in Bumpus Cove, TN. Soil samples (n = 52) were collected from a 0.67 km2 study area containing 6 known abandoned Pb, Zn, and Mn mines at the headwaters of Bumpus Cove Creek. Samples were analyzed for Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb, and Cd by microwave-assisted acid digestion and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) (12–1,354 mg/kg Zn, 6–2,574 mg/kg Mn, 1–65 mg/kg Cu, 33–2,271 mg/kg Pb, and 7–40 mg/kg Cd). Of the measured PTMs, only Pb exceeds permissible limits in soils. In addition to the PTM analyses, soil physical (texture, moisture content, and bulk density) and chemical (pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and total organic carbon (TOC)) properties were evaluated. Spatially weighted multivariate regression models developed for all PTMs using soil physicochemical properties produced improved results over ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. Models for Zn (R2 = 0.71) and Pb (R2 = 0.69) retained covariates epH, moisture content, and CEC (Zn), and pH and CEC (Pb). This study will help define PTM concentration and transport and provide a reference for state and local entities responsible for contaminant monitoring in Bumpus Cove, TN.

Description: The present article is the follow-up of our work Bottomonium suppression in quasi-particle model, where we have extended the study for charmonium states using quasi-particle model in terms of quasi-gluons and quasi quarks/antiquarks as an equation of state. By employing medium modification to a heavy quark potential thermodynamic observables, viz., pressure, energy density, speed of sound, etc. have been calculated which nicely fit with the lattice equation of state for gluon, massless, and as well massive flavored plasma. For obtaining the thermodynamic observables we employed the debye mass in the quasi particle picture. We extended the quasi-particle model to calculate charmonium suppression in an expanding, dissipative strongly interacting QGP medium (SIQGP). We obtained the suppression pattern for charmonium states with respect to the number of participants at mid-rapidity and compared it with the experimental data (CMS JHEP) and (CMS PAS) at LHC energy (Pb+Pb collisions, = TeV).

Description: Discharging of untreated municipal solid wastes (MSWs) onto land is very widespread in developing countries. The compounds contained in MSW cause a harmful effect to human and environment. Hence, an assessment of the extent of their local impact is of great interest to figure out the pollution they cause. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the effects of discharge of solid wastes on soil quality within the landfill of Ain-El-Hammam municipality (Algeria). To achieve this, different soil physicochemical parameters were considered: granulometry, electrical conductivity, pH, organic matter content, and heavy metal concentration. The results indicated the influence of the MSW on the physicochemical characteristics of the soil by enhancing the organic matter content of soil (4.53%) and increasing heavy metal content (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cr), which is a clear indication of the level of pollution they are generating.

Description: Over the past ten years, more than twenty fires have affected the El Noviciado estate located in Cerro Majuy, Colombia, leading to a loss of soil nutrients and infertility. Lysinibacillus sphaericus, a Gram-positive, mesophilic, and spore-forming bacterium, can be used in soil amendment in the replantation processes, given its ability to fix nitrogen, and nitrify, and solubilize phosphorus, increasing soil nutrients used for plant growth. In this study, we evaluated the soil-amendment potential of L. sphaericus by monitoring the nutrient content of a selected fragment of soil in the El Noviciado estate. For this purpose, we added a mixture of L. sphaericus OT4b.31, OT4b.49, CBAM5, III(3)7, and 2362 strains and determined the ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, phosphorus, and indole acetic acid concentrations in soil. Alnus acuminata sbsp. acuminata, a native model plant known for its restoration effect, was used for replantation. Results indicated that soils with added L. sphaericus presented significant differences in ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, phosphorus, and indole acetic acid concentrations when compared to control soils. Further, results showed no significant differences between soil that had been pre-inoculated in greenhouse and soil directly inoculated in field. We propose that L. sphaericus could be a good nutrient enhancer and plant growth promoter that can be used for the amendment of fire-impacted soils and replantation treatments.

Description: In this review, we describe the status of transverse momentum dependence (TMD) in double parton scattering (DPS). The different regions of TMD DPS are discussed, and expressions are given for the DPS cross section contributions that make use of as much perturbative information as possible. The regions are then combined with each other as well as single parton scattering to obtain a complete expression for the cross section. Particular emphasis is put on the differences and similarities to transverse momentum dependence in single parton scattering. We further discuss the status of the factorisation proof for double colour singlet production in DPS, which is now on a similar footing to the proofs for TMD factorisation in single Drell-Yan, discuss parton correlations, and give an outlook on possible research on DPS in the near future.