Asymptotic Grand Unification (aGUT) is an alternative unification paradigm where coupling tend to the same UV fixed point. Models can be constructed in 5 dimensions with a single bulk gauge group. I will present a pathway to classify aGUT models, and apply it to SU(N) in the bulk. Only two models are viable, based on SU(6) and with one Higgs doublet stemming from the gauge fields. I will also...
We investigate the possibility that inflation originates from a composite field theory, in terms of an effective chiral Lagrangian involving a dilaton and pions. It is possible to find a successful hybrid inflation occurring via the dilaton as the inflaton and the pions as waterfall fields. Compositeness consistency strongly constrain the model such as the composite scale and the inflation...
We discuss a new possible family structure for the Standard Model, where the muon is assigned to the third family. This has no consequence in the Standard Model itself, were this assignment is simply a matter of convention. However in physics beyond the Standard Model this reveals potentially meaningful patterns in the masses and mixings, while pointing to precise and testable predictions for...
Dark Matter particles can be searched for in the Large Hadron Collider in the monojet channel defined as at least one hard jet recoiling against a missing momentum and no leptons. Monojet searches are challenging for classical analyses because they require investigation of subtle differences between the jets originating from the SM background and jets accompanying the production of DM...
In this work we explore multiple search strategies for higgsinos and mixed higgsino-wino states in the MSSM and project the results onto the $(\mu,M_2)$ plane. Assuming associated production of higgsino-like pairs with a $W/Z$ boson, we develop a search in a channel characterized by a hadronically tagged vector boson accompanied by missing energy. We use as our template an ATLAS search for...
At the end of their data taking, experiments in HEP enter a period of data analysis that can be prolonged and made more effective if dedicated data preservation projects are designed and executed. Those projects enable in fact a cost-effective way of doing fundamental research by exploiting unique data sets in the light of the continuously increasing theoretical understanding. This talk...
I present a new methodology that can simultaneously fit the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) of the proton alongside other parameters that determine the theory predictions. The framework is particularly suited for the study of joint PDF-SMEFT interpretations, where the effects of heavy new physics (NP) are encoded in higher-dimensional operators which alter the interactions among SM...
Given the recent success of diffusion models in image generation, we study their applicability to generating LHC phase space distributions. For that purpose two specific models are chosen, which differ in their concrete diffusion architecture, a Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM) and a model based on Conditional Flow Matching (CFM). We find that both achieve state-of-the-art...
Generative networks are promising tools in fast event generation for the LHC, yet struggle to meet the required precision when scaling up to large multiplicities. We employ the flexibility of autoregressive transformers to tackle this challenge, focusing on Z and top quark pair production with additional jets. We demonstrate the use of classifiers in combination with the autoregressive...
The matrix element method remains a crucial tool for LHC inference in scenarios with limited event data. We enhance our neural network-based framework, now dubbed MEMENNTO, by optimizing phase-space integration techniques and introducing an acceptance function. Additionally, employing new architectures, like transformer and diffusion models, allows us to better handle complex jet combinatorics...
To make proper use of the vast amount of data produced at the LHC, the presentation and publication of experimental results is vital. For many years it has been advocated to provide the full likelihood, to allow for the proper interpretation of these measurements. Following this, the ATLAS Top working group now provides several likelihoods for measurements in the Top sector. This talk will...
Rare decays like $B^+ \to K^+ \nu \bar{\nu}$, searched for by the Belle II collaboration, are important in particle physics research as they offer a window into physics beyond the Standard Model. However, the experimental challenges induced by the two final state neutrinos require assumptions on the kinematic distribution of this decay. Consequently, the results feature a model dependency...
Most of the elementary particles discovered in the past century have Compton wavelengths that are much smaller than the size of the atom, and, therefore, they cannot mediate any long-range forces between atoms. This changes in the early Universe, when the horizon size is small. The forces that mediate attractive interactions between particles, such as Yukawa forces, are of particular interest...
We show that primordial black holes $-$ in the observationally allowed mass window with $f_{\rm pbh}=1$ $-$ formed from late nucleating patches in a first order phase transition imply upcoming gravitational wave interferometers will see a large stochastic background arising from the bubble collisions. As an example, we use a classically scale invariant $B-L$ model, in which the right handed...
We used H.E.S.S. gamma-ray observations of Sgr A to derive novel limits on the Dark Matter (DM) annihilation cross-section. I will discuss their dependence on uncertainties i) in the DM halo profile, which we varied from peaked to cored, and ii) in the shape of the DM spike around Sgr A dynamically heated by the nuclear star cluster. For peaked halo profiles and depending on the heating of...
Cosmological simulations of Milky-Way like galaxies
