Predicting Future Diameter Distributions Given Current Stand Attributes

This study discussed four methods to project a diameter distribution from age A1 to age A2. Method 1 recovers parameters of the distribution at age A2 from stand attributes at that age. Method 2 uses a stand-level model to grow the quadratic mean diameter, and then recovers the distribution parameters from that prediction. Method 3 grows the diameter distribution by assuming tree-level survival and diameter growth functions. Method 4 first converts the diameter distribution at age A1 into a list of individual trees before growing these trees to age A2. In a numerical example employing the Weibull distribution, methods 3 and 4 produced better results based on two types of error indices and the relative predictive error for each diameter class. Method 4 is a novel method that converts a diameter distribution into a list of individual-trees, and in the process, successfully links together diameter distribution, individual-tree, and whole stand models.

A Study of QCD Radiation in VBF Higgs Production with Vincia and Pythia

We discuss and illustrate the properties of several parton-shower algorithms available in Pythia and Vincia, in the context of Higgs production via vector boson fusion (VBF). In particular, the distinctive colour topology of VBF processes allows to define observables sensitive to the coherent radiation pattern of additional jets. We study a set of such observables, using the Vincia sector-antenna shower as our main reference, and contrast it to Pythia's transverse-momentum-ordered DGLAP shower as well as Pythia's dipole-improved shower. We then investigate the robustness of these predictions as successive levels of higher-order perturbative matrix elements are incorporated, including next-to-leading-order matched and tree-level merged calculations, using Powheg Box and Sherpa respectively to generate the hard events.

A p-Adic Matter in a Closed Universe

In this paper, we introduce a new type of matter that has origin in p-adic strings, i.e., strings with a p-adic worldsheet. We investigate some properties of this p-adic matter, in particular its cosmological aspects. We start with crossing symmetric scattering amplitudes for p-adic open strings and related effective nonlocal and nonlinear Lagrangian which describes tachyon dynamics at the tree level. Then, we make a slight modification of this Lagrangian and obtain a new Lagrangian for non-tachyonic scalar field. Using this new Lagrangian in the weak field approximation as a matter in Einstein gravity with the cosmological constant, one obtains an exponentially expanding FLRW closed universe. At the end, we discuss the obtained results, i.e., computed mass of the scalar p-adic particle, estimated radius of related closed universe and noted p-adic matter as a possible candidate for dark matter.

Urban Forest Ecosystem Services Vary with Land Use and Species: A Case Study of Kyoto City

The demand for urban ecosystem services increases with the rapid growth of the urban population. The urban forest is a crucial ecosystem services provider in cities. To achieve a better estimation of urban ecosystem services, an understanding of the link between heterogeneity and ecosystem services within cities is needed. Other than street trees and forest remnants, the contribution of dispersed green spaces should also be considered. In this study, a ground-based sample quadrat investigation of trees across a sequence of land types in Kyoto City was applied. The ecosystem services and monetary values of trees were further calculated using a customized i-Tree Eco tool. The ecosystem services calculated include carbon storage and sequestration, air pollutants removal, and runoff reduction. Ecosystem services of different land use classes were compared at both quadrat and single-tree levels. We found no significant difference across land use for all the ecosystem services at the quadrat level. However, ecosystem services were different across land use at the single-tree level. We performed a species-specific analysis and found that the pattern of ecosystem services at the single-tree level across land use varies with both the service tested and species. Our study suggests that the heterogeneity within a city should be considered when estimating urban ecosystem services. The results also provide insight into the urban green space management of Kyoto City.

Gauge-fixed Lattice QCD and the dispersion relation of Wilson fermions

We show that, when investigating Wilson-fermions correlation functions on the lattice, one is bound to encounter major difficulties in defining their dispersion relation, even at tree level. The problem is indeed quite general and, although we stumbled upon it while studying Coulomb-gauge applications, it also affects gauge fixed studies in covariant gauges, including their most popular version, Landau gauge. In this paper we will discuss a solution to this problems based on a redefinition of the kinematic momentum of the fermion.

Ambidextrous light transforms for celestial amplitudes

Low multiplicity celestial amplitudes of gluons and gravitons tend to be distributional in the celestial coordinates z,$$ \overline{z} $$ z ¯ . We provide a new systematic remedy to this situation by studying celestial amplitudes in a basis of light transformed boost eigenstates. Motivated by a novel equivalence between light transforms and Witten’s half-Fourier transforms to twistor space, we light transform every positive helicity state in the coordinate z and every negative helicity state in $$ \overline{z} $$ z ¯ . With examples, we show that this “ambidextrous” prescription beautifully recasts two- and three-point celestial amplitudes in terms of standard conformally covariant structures. These are used to extract examples of celestial OPE for light transformed operators. We also study such amplitudes at higher multiplicity by constructing the Grassmannian representation of tree-level gluon celestial amplitudes as well as their light transforms. The formulae for n-point Nk−2MHV amplitudes take the form of Euler-type integrals over regions in Gr(k, n) cut out by positive energy constraints.

Impact of $$b \rightarrow s \ell \ell $$ anomalies on rare charm decays in non-universal $$Z'$$ models

In this work, we study the impact of $$b \rightarrow s \ell \ell $$ b → s ℓ ℓ , $$B_s - \bar{B_s}$$ B s - B s ¯ mixing and neutrino trident measurements on observables in decays induced by $$c \rightarrow u $$ c → u transition in the context of a non-universal $$Z'$$ Z ′ model which generates $$C^{\mathrm{NP}}_{9} <0$$ C 9 NP < 0 and $$C^{\mathrm{NP}}_9 = - \,C^{\mathrm{NP}}_{10} $$ C 9 NP = - C 10 NP new physics scenarios at the tree level. We inspect the effects on $$D^0 \rightarrow \pi ^0 \nu {\bar{\nu }}$$ D 0 → π 0 ν ν ¯ , $$D^+ \rightarrow \pi ^+ \nu {\bar{\nu }}$$ D + → π + ν ν ¯ and $$B_c \rightarrow B^+ \nu {\bar{\nu }} $$ B c → B + ν ν ¯ decays which are induced by the quark level transition $$c \rightarrow u \nu {\bar{\nu }}$$ c → u ν ν ¯ . The fact that the branching ratios of these decays are negligible in the standard model (SM) and the long distance effects are relatively smaller in comparison to their charged dileptons counterparts, they are considered to provide genuine null-tests of SM. Therefore the observation of these modes at the level of current as well as planned experimental sensitivities would imply unambiguous signature of new physics. Using the constraints on $$Z'$$ Z ′ couplings coming from a combined fit to $$b \rightarrow s \ell \ell $$ b → s ℓ ℓ , $$\varDelta M_s$$ Δ M s and neutrino trident data, we find that any meaningful enhancement over the SM value is ruled out in the considered framework. The same is true for $$D - {\bar{D}}$$ D - D ¯ mixing observable $$\varDelta M_D$$ Δ M D along with $$D^0 \rightarrow \mu ^+ \mu ^-$$ D 0 → μ + μ - and $$D^+ \rightarrow \pi ^+ \mu ^+ \mu ^-$$ D + → π + μ + μ - decay modes which are induced through $$c \rightarrow u \mu ^+ \mu ^-$$ c → u μ + μ - transition.

Closing the window on WIMP Dark Matter

We study scenarios where Dark Matter is a weakly interacting particle (WIMP) embedded in an ElectroWeak multiplet. In particular, we consider real SU(2) representations with zero hypercharge, that automatically avoid direct detection constraints from tree-level Z-exchange. We compute for the first time all the calculable thermal masses for scalar and fermionic WIMPs, including Sommerfeld enhancement and bound states formation at leading order in gauge boson exchange and emission. WIMP masses of few hundred TeV are shown to be compatible both with s-wave unitarity of the annihilation cross-section, and perturbativity. We also provide theory uncertainties on the masses for all multiplets, which are shown to be significant for large SU(2) multiplets. We then outline a strategy to probe these scenarios at future experiments. Electroweak 3-plets and 5-plets have masses up to about 16 TeV and can efficiently be probed at a high energy muon collider. We study various experimental signatures, such as single and double gauge boson emission with missing energy, and disappearing tracks, and determine the collider energy and luminosity required to probe the thermal Dark Matter masses. Larger multiplets are out of reach of any realistic future collider, but can be tested in future $$\gamma $$ γ -ray telescopes and possibly in large-exposure liquid Xenon experiments.

Likelihood analysis of the flavour anomalies and g – 2 in the general two Higgs doublet model

We present a likelihood analysis of the general two Higgs doublet model, using the most important currently measured flavour observables, in view of the anomalies in charged current tree-level and neutral current one-loop rare decays of B mesons in b → cl$$ \overline{\nu} $$ ν ¯ and b → sμ+μ− transitions, respectively. We corroborate that the model explains the latter and it is able to simultaneously fit the experimental values of the R(D) charged current ratio at 1σ, but it can not accommodate the D* charmed meson observables R(D*) and FL(D*). We find that the fitted values for the angular observables in b → sμ+μ− transitions exhibit better agreement with the general two Higgs double model in comparison to the SM. We also make predictions for future collider observables BR(t → ch), BR(h → bs), BR(h → τμ), BR(Bs → τ+τ−), BR(B+ → K+τ+τ−) and the flavour violating decays of the τ lepton, BR(τ → 3μ) and BR(τ → μγ). The model predicts values of BR(t → ch), BR(Bs → τ+τ−) and BR(B+ → K+τ+τ−) that are out of reach of future experiments, but its predictions for BR(h → bs) and BR(h → τμ) are within the future sensitivity of the HL-LHC or the ILC. We also find that the predictions for the τ → 3μ and τ → μγ decays are well within the projected limits of the Belle II experiment. Finally, using the latest measurement of the Fermilab Muon g − 2 Collaboration, we performed a simultaneous fit to ∆aμ constrained by the charged anomalies, finding solutions at the 1σ level. Once the neutral anomalies are included, however, a simultaneous explanation is unfeasible.

Anyons and the double copy

We examine the double copy structure of anyons in gauge theory and gravity. Using on-shell amplitude techniques, we construct little group covariant spinor-helicity variables describing massive particles with spin, which together with locality and unitarity enables us to derive the long-range tree-level scattering amplitudes involving anyons. We discover that classical gauge theory anyon solutions double copy to their gravitational counterparts in a non-trivial manner. Interestingly, we show that the massless double copy captures the topological structure of curved spacetime in three dimensions by introducing a non-trivial mixing of the topological graviton and the dilaton. Finally, we show that the celebrated Aharonov-Bohm phase can be derived directly from the constructed on-shell amplitude, and that it too enjoys a simple double copy to its gravitational counterpart.