In this talk we will summarize the main results from our recent work concerning the possibility that a new metastable phase occurs in some heavy ion collisions (HIC). This phase would be characterized by the breaking of two characteristic symmetries of strong interactions; namely P and CP. We investigate the experimental consequences of parity breaking in such a situation and propose suitable observables to elucidate the presence this phenomenon.
Although the Odderon is an unambiguous prediction of Quantum Chromodynamics, its existence still was not confirmed experimentally. One of the processes where the Odderon contribution is expected to be dominant is the diffractive photoproduction of tensor mesons. In this paper we study the diffractive $f_2(1270)$ photoproduction in $pA$ collisions at LHC and RHIC considering the model of the stochastic vacuum to treat the non - perturbative process. We demonstrate that this process dominates the $f_2$ production at mid - rapidities, and large values for the cross section are predicted. Our resu…
In this talk estimates are presented of the odderon contributions to the exclusive J/psi and Upsilon production cross-sections at the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider. The obtained cross-sections are compared to cross-sections of the dominant background subprocesses mediated by the photon exchange. Possible experimental cuts are proposed that reduce the photon background.
Completely natural electroweak symmetry breaking is easily achieved in supersymmetric models if there is a SM-like Higgs boson, $h$, with $m_h\lsim 100\gev$. In the minimal supersymmetric model, such an $h$ decays mainly to $b\anti b$ and is ruled out by LEP constraints. However, if the MSSM Higgs sector is expanded so that $h$ decays mainly to still lighter Higgs bosons, e.g. $h\to aa$, with $BR(h\to aa)>0.7$, and if $m_a<2m_b$, then the LEP constraints are satisfied. In this letter, we show that in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model the above $h$ and $a$ properties (for the lightest CP…
The CP-odd Higgs boson $A^0$ of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) will usually decay into the heaviest possible fermion -- antifermion pair available. The $A^0 \to VV$ decay where, $V =γ, Z, W^\pm$, and gluons are of particular interest as they are not allowed at tree level and hence they may offer information about the underlying new physics that enters at one loop level. In this paper all branching ratios of the CP-odd Higgs boson $A^0$ both in the MSSM and 2HDM are presented for this channel including all relevant Standard Model (SM) and MSS…
We first re-prove with a more complete method that the the minimum standard model, with the inclusion of the CKM-matrix, requires the T-odd/P-odd total cross section of two spin-1/2 particles to vanish in all orders\cite{gxu}. Then we study the contribution to T-odd/P-odd total scattering cross sections from various channels within the Higgs sector, and optimize conditions for possible experimental measurements of these effects. These studies show that such contributions can appear at tree level, and that the spin dependent cross section asymmetry is measurable if the lightest Higgs paarticle …
We explore the possibility of observing Odderon exchange in proton--ion collisions at the LHC, via the ultraperipheral photoproduction of C-even mesons. As well as the signal, we consider in detail the principle backgrounds, due to QCD--initiated production (i.e. double Pomeron exchange) and $γγ$ fusion. We find that while the photon--initiated background is dominant at very small momentum transfer, this can be effectively removed by placing a reasonable cut on the transverse momentum of the produced meson. In the case of QCD--initiated production, we show this is in general strongly suppresse…
We show that ultra-peripheral heavy-ion collisions at the LHC can be used to search for axion-like particles with mass below 100 GeV. The $Z^4$ enhanced photon-photon luminosity from the ions provides a large exclusive production rate, with a signature of a resonant pair of back-to-back photons and no other activity in the detector. In addition, we present both new and updated limits from recasting multi-photon searches at LEP II and the LHC, which are more stringent than those currently in the literature for the mass range 100 MeV to 100 GeV.
We investigate the sensitivity of the heavy ion mode of the LHC to anomalous Higgs boson couplings to photons, H-photon-photon, through the analysis of the processes photon photon to b anti-b and photon photon to photon photon in peripheral heavy ion collisions. We suggest cuts to improve the signal over background ratio and determine the capability of LHC to impose bounds on anomalous couplings by searching for a Higgs boson signal in these modes.
We show that heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide a promising environment to search for new long lived particles in well-motivated New Physics scenarios. One advantage lies in the possibility to operate the main detectors with looser triggers, which can increase the number of observable events by orders of magnitude if the long lived particles are produced with low transverse momentum. In addition, the absence of pileup in heavy ion collisions can avoid systematic nuisances that will be present in future proton runs, such as the problem of vertex mis-identification. Finally, there are new p…
We argue that the large instanton induced Pauli form factor in polarized proton-proton scattering may cause, through topological fluctuations, substantial charge-dependent azimuthal correlations for pi^+/pi^- production in peripheral heavy ion collisions both at RHIC and LHC, thanks to the large induced magnetic field. Our results compare favorably to the measured pion azimuthal correlations by the STAR and ALICE collaborations.
We study the doubly charmed baryon $Ξ_{cc}^+$ in high energy nuclear collisions. We solve the three-body Schroedinger equation with relativistic correction and calculate the $Ξ_{cc}^+$ yield and transverse momentum distribution via coalescence mechanism. For $Ξ_{cc}^+$ production in central Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energy, the yield is extremely enhanced, and the production cross section per binary collision is one order of magnitude larger than that in p+p collisions. This indicates that, it is most probable to discover $Ξ_{cc}^+$ in heavy ion collisions and its discovery can be considered as…
In this thesis we study the possibility that QCD breaks parity at high temperatures and densities, a scenario that may be tested in heavy ion collisions. Analytical studies with effective models suggest that QCD may break parity in dense systems. Besides, P- and CP- odd bubbles may appear in a finite volume due to local large topological fluctuations in a hot medium. The last effect may be treated in a quasi-equilibrium description by means of a non-trivial axial chemical potential. We consider the 'two flavour' Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model in the presence of a vector and an axial external chemic…
I review the status of the search for quark-gluon plasma in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The available data provide strong evidence for the "three pillars of the Little Bang model": strong radial expansion of the collision fireball with Hubble-like scaling, thermal hadron emission and primordial hadrosynthesis. It is argued that the initial state of the reaction zone exhibits features which cannot be understood with conventional hadronic dynamics, but are consistent with the formation of deconfined quark-gluon matter.
Available experimental data in respect to a possible formation of a strongly interacting mixed phase are outlined. A physical program is formulated for new facilities being opend in Dubna for acceleration of heavy ions with an energy up to 5 AGeV.
We reexamine the prospects for searching for a neutral Higgs boson in the intermediate-mass range and physics beyond the standard model, using the proton- and ion-beam facilities of the LHC to study coherent two-photon processes. Considering realistic design luminosities for the different ion beams, we find that beams of light-to-medium size ions like calcium will give the highest production rates. With a suitable trigger and assuming a b-quark identification efficiency of $30\%$ and a $b{\bar b}$ mass resolution of 10 GeV one could expect to see a Higgs signal in the $b{\bar b}$ channel with …
We compute numerically the topological charge distribution in the initial stage of a high energy heavy ion collision. This charge distribution is generated by Chern-Simons number fluctuations associated with the dynamics of strong classical fields in the initial state. The distribution is found to be quite narrow at RHIC and LHC energies reflecting a small value of the topological susceptibility. Thus the effective potential of classical fields is shallow in the $θ$-direction likely creating favorable conditions for the subsequent generation of P-odd bubbles.
We study the local violation of P and CP invariance in heavy ion collisions as observed at RHIC and LHC using a simple "deformed QCD" model. This model is a weakly coupled gauge theory, which however has all the relevant crucial elements allowing us to study difficult and nontrivial questions which are known to be present in real strongly coupled QCD. Essentially, we want to understand the physics of long range order in form of coherent low dimensional vacuum configurations observed in Monte Carlo lattice simulations. Apparently precisely such kind of configurations are responsible for suffici…
The colliding heavy ions create extremely strong magnetic and electric fields that significantly affect the evolution of the produced quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The knowledge of these fields is essential for establishing the role of topological fluctuations in the QGP through the chiral magnetic effect and related anomaly-induced phenomena. In this talk, we describe our work on the evolution of the QGP in electric and magnetic fields in the framework of hydrodynamics supplemented, in a perturbative fashion, by the dynamical electromagnetism. The evolution of the QGP fluid is described within th…
We investigate the charge-dependent flow induced by magnetic and electric fields in heavy ion collisions. We simulate the evolution of the expanding cooling droplet of strongly coupled plasma hydrodynamically, using the iEBE-VISHNU framework, and add the magnetic and electric fields as well as the electric currents they generate in a perturbative fashion. We confirm the previously reported effect of the electromagnetically induced currents, that is a charge-odd directed flow $Δv_1$ that is odd in rapidity, noting that it is induced by magnetic fields (à la Faraday and Lorentz) and by electric …
We explore the decays of $B\to V_1V_2$ ($V_{1,2}= (ρ, ω,K^*, ϕ)$ and $B= (B^0, B^+,B_s)$) with transverse polarizations. We explicitly evaluate the eigenstates of T-odd scalar operators involving spins for the first time, which offer physical insight among the T violating observables. Based on the helicity suppression of tree operators for transverse polarizations in the standard model (SM), we deduce that $Δϕ_p= Δϕ_\parallel - Δϕ_\perp=0$ with $Δϕ_{\perp,\parallel}$ the weak phases of the transverse amplitudes. In contrast, the experiments show that $Δϕ_p (B^0 \to K^{*0} ω)= -0.84\pm 0.54$, w…
Thermalized matter created in non-central relativistic heavy-ion collisions is expected to be tilted in the reaction plane with respect to the beam axis. The most notable consequence of this forward-backward symmetry breaking is the observation of rapidity-odd directed flow for charged particles. On the other hand, the production points for heavy quarks are forward-backward symmetric and shifted in the transverse plane with respect to the fireball. The drag of heavy quarks from the asymmetrically distributed thermalized matter generates a large directed flow for heavy flavor mesons. We predict…
We present a strategy for searching for heavy neutrinos at the Large Hadron Collider using the MoEDAL Experiment's MAPP detector. We hypothesize the heavy neutrino to be a member of a fourth generation lepton doublet, with the electric dipole moment (EDM) introduced within a dimension-five operator. In this model the heavy neutrino is produced in association with a heavy lepton. According to our current experimental and theoretical understanding, the electric dipole moment of this heavy neutrino may be as high as $10^{-15}$ $e$ cm. Taking advantage of the sensitivity of MoEDAL detector, we exa…
We estimate the production of two meson pairs in high energy photon photon collisions produced in ultraperipheral collisions at LHC. We show that the study of charge asymmetries may reveal the existence of the perturbative Odderon and discuss the concrete event rates expected at the LHC. Sizable rates and asymmetries are expected in the case of proton-proton collisions and medium values of gamma-gamma energies \sqrt{s_{γγ}} \approx 20GeV. Proton-proton collisions will benefit from a high rate due to a large effective gamma-gamma luminosity and ion-ion collisions with a somewhat lower rate from…
The hot QCD matter produced in any heavy ion collision with a nonzero impact parameter is produced within a strong magnetic field. We study the imprint that these fields leave on the azimuthal distributions and correlations of the produced charged hadrons. The magnetic field is time-dependent and the medium is expanding, which leads to the induction of charged currents due to the combination of Faraday and Hall effects. We find that these currents result in a charge- dependent directed flow v1 that is odd in rapidity and odd under charge exchange. It can be detected by measuring correlations b…
The search for a possible critical point in the QCD phase diagram is ongoing in heavy ion collision experiments at RHIC which scan the phase diagram by scanning the beam energy; a coming upgrade will increase the luminosity and extend the rapidity acceptance of the STAR detector. In fireballs produced in RHIC collisions, the baryon density depends on rapidity. By employing Ising universality together with a phenomenologically motivated freezeout prescription, we show that the resulting rapidity dependence of cumulant observables sensitive to critical fluctuations is distinctive. The dependence…
We consider theoretically ionization of an atom by neutrino impact taking into account electromagnetic interactions predicted for massive neutrinos by theories beyond the Standard Model. The effects of atomic recoil in this process are estimated using the one-electron and semiclassical approximations and are found to be unimportant unless the energy transfer is very close to the ionization threshold. We show that the energy scale where these effects become important is insignificant for current experiments searching for magnetic moments of reactor antineutrinos.
At the early stage of heavy ion collisions, non-trivial topologies of the gauge fields can be created resulting in an imbalance of axial charge density and eventually separation of electric charges along the direction of the magnetic field produced in such collisions. This process is called the chiral magnetic effect (CME). In this work we implement such a charge separation at the partonic level in AMPT for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV to study its consequence on experimental observables. We present the effects on the pion elliptic flow ($v_2$) and the charged particle balance…
The hot QCD matter produced in any heavy ion collision with a nonzero impact parameter is produced within a strong magnetic field. We study the imprint the magnetic fields produced in non-central heavy ion collisions leave on the azimuthal distributions and correlations of the produced charged hadrons. The magnetic field is time-dependent and the medium is expanding, which leads to the induction of charged currents due to the combination of Faraday and Hall effects. We find that these currents result in a charge-dependent directed flow $v_1$ that is odd in rapidity and odd under charge exchang…
f large fluctuations of quark chirality occur in heavy ion collisions, they result in macroscopic CP-odd "spots" of the so called theta-vacua, with a non-zero $θ(x)$. We consider particular decays of mesons, CP-forbidden in the vacuum with zero $θ$, like $η\to ππ$. We evaluate their rates for such decays near hadronic freezeout. These rates, as well as charge asymmetries already observed, are proportional to square of the CP-violating parameter $<θ^2>$ averaged over the fireball and events. With such input, we found that the forbidden decay rates are likely to be orders of magnitude larger tha…
Motivated by the possibility of the formation of CP-odd domains in heavy ion collisions, we investigate the effects of CP violation on the chiral transition within the linear sigma model with two flavors of quarks. We also study how the CP-odd system is affected by the presence of a strong magnetic field, that is presumably generated in a non-central heavy ion collision. We find that both ingredients play an important role, influencing drastically the nature of the phase transition and the critical temperature.
Recently the STAR Collaboration discovered the "subatomic swirls", that is, the most vortical fluid flow structures in the quark-gluon plasma produced via the AuAu collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Published in Nature and featured as a cover story, this discovery attracted significant interest and generated wide enthusiasm. For such an important finding, it is crucial to look for independent evidences of confirmation and to critically test the current interpretation of the global polarization measurement. We suggest that the CuCu and CuAu colliding systems at RHIC provi…
We examine the recent suggestion that P- and CP-odd effects in QCD matter can induce electric charge asymmetry with respect to reaction plane in relativistic heavy ion collisions. General arguments are given which confirm that the angular momentum of QCD matter in the presence of non-zero topological charge should induce an electric field aligned along the axis of the angular momentum. A simple formula relating the magnitude of charge asymmetry to the angular momentum and topological charge is derived. The expected asymmetry is amenable to experimental observation at RHIC and LHC; we discuss t…
