- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science
- Early Publication
Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science - Early Publication
Reviews in Advance appear online ahead of the full published volume. View expected publication dates for upcoming volumes.
-
-
Searches for New High-Mass Resonances Decaying to Fermions at the LHC
First published online: 02 July 2024More LessAccelerator searches for new resonances have a long-standing history of discoveries that have driven advances in our understanding of nature. Since 2010, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has probed previously inaccessible energy scales, enabling searches for new heavy resonances predicted by a wide range of theories beyond the Standard Model (BSM). In particular, resonance decays into fermionic final states are often seen as golden channels since they provide a clear signal—typically a peak in the invariant mass of the decay products over a smoothly falling background distribution. This review summarizes the key concepts of the experimental searches for new resonances decaying to fermions, in the context of the BSM theories that motivate them, and presents the latest results of the ATLAS and CMS experiments, focusing on the complete LHC Run 2 dataset. Future prospects at the High-Luminosity LHC and potential future colliders are also surveyed.
-
-
-
Double-Higgs Production
First published online: 01 July 2024More LessA major focus in particle physics has been on understanding the interactions of the Higgs boson. Tremendous progress has been made in determining the strength of the couplings of the Higgs boson to fermions and vector bosons, but its self-interaction has yet to be established. Understanding the Higgs self-coupling and the form of the potential function of the Higgs field will illuminate the process by which the Higgs boson acquires a vacuum expectation value and could provide insight into the early Universe and, perhaps, its eventual fate. The most natural way to probe the Higgs self-interaction is via searches for Higgs boson pair (HH) production. Since the Standard Model makes a definite prediction for the Higgs self-coupling, enhanced rates and modified kinematic properties of HH production are a smoking-gun signature for new physics. This article reviews the current experimental status of HH searches, discusses the experimental challenges and limitations, and provides an outlook for the future of the field.
-
-
-
Inferring Binary Properties from Gravitational-Wave Signals
First published online: 19 June 2024More LessThis review provides a conceptual and technical survey of methods for parameter estimation of gravitational-wave signals in ground-based interferometers such as Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo. We introduce the framework of Bayesian inference and provide an overview of models for the generation and detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers, focusing on the essential features that are observable in the signals. Within the traditional likelihood-based paradigm, we describe various approaches for enhancing the efficiency and robustness of parameter inference. This includes techniques for accelerating likelihood evaluations, such as heterodyne/relative binning, reduced-order quadrature, multibanding, and interpolation. We also cover methods to simplify the analysis to improve convergence, via reparameterization, importance sampling, and marginalization. We end with a discussion of recent developments in the application of likelihood-free (simulation-based) inference methods to gravitational-wave data analysis.
-
-
-
Galaxy Formation in ΛCDM Cosmology
First published online: 17 June 2024More LessThis is a golden age for galaxy formation: Existing and especially new telescopes are providing observations that challenge and illuminate rapidly improving theory and simulations. This review describes the formation of the cosmic web and the structure of the dark matter halos that provide the scaffolding of the Universe. It then summarizes how empirical models, semianalytic models, and hydrodynamic simulations attempt to account for key properties of the galaxy population, including the main sequence of star-forming galaxies, the inefficiency of star formation, the shape evolution and color bimodality of galaxies, and the phenomena that cause galaxies to quench their star formation. It concludes with a summary of observations that have challenged the cosmological constant cold dark matter (ΛCDM) paradigm of galaxy formation—including the Hubble and S8 tensions, bright galaxies in the early Universe, an extragalactic background light mystery, missing satellite galaxies, the diversity of dwarf galaxies, the cusp–core problem, the too-big-to-fail problem, stellar clumps, planes of satellite galaxies, and galaxies without dark matter—and solutions that have been proposed.
-
-
-
The Standard Model from String Theory: What Have We Learned?
First published online: 10 June 2024More LessAmid all candidates of physics beyond the Standard Model, string theory provides a unique proposal for incorporating gauge and gravitational interactions. In string theory, a four-dimensional theory that unifies quantum mechanics and gravity is obtained automatically if one posits that the additional dimensions predicted by the theory are small and curled up—a concept known as compactification. The gauge sector of the theory is specified by the topology and geometry of the extra dimensions, and the challenge is to reproduce all of the features of the Standard Model of particle physics from them. We review the state of the art in reproducing the Standard Model from string compactifications and summarize the lessons drawn from this fascinating quest. We describe novel scenarios and mechanisms that string theory provides to address some of the Standard Model puzzles as well as the most frequent signatures of new physics that could be detected in future experiments. We then comment on recent developments that connect, in a rather unexpected way, the Standard Model with quantum gravity and that may change our field theory notion of naturalness.
-
-
-
A Vision for the Science of Rare Isotopes
H.L. Crawford, K. Fossez, S. König, and A. SpyrouFirst published online: 10 June 2024More LessThe field of nuclear science has considerably advanced since its beginning just over a century ago. Today, the science of rare isotopes is on the cusp of a new era with theoretical and computing advances complementing experimental capabilities at new facilities internationally. In this article we present a vision for the science of rare isotope beams (RIBs). We do not attempt to cover the full breadth of the field; rather, we provide a perspective and address a selection of topics that reflect our own interests and expertise. We focus in particular on systems near the drip lines, where one often finds nuclei that are referred to as exotic and where the role of the nuclear continuum is only just starting to be explored. An important aspect of this article is its attempt to highlight the crucial connections between nuclear structure and the nuclear reactions required to fully interpret and leverage the rich data to be collected in the next years at RIB facilities. Further, we connect the efforts in structure and reactions to key questions of nuclear astrophysics.
-
-
-
Nuclear Parton Distribution Functions After the First Decade of LHC Data
First published online: 26 April 2024More LessWe present a review of the conceptual basis, current knowledge, and recent progress regarding global analysis of nuclear parton distribution functions (PDFs). After introducing the theoretical foundations and methodological approaches for the extraction of nuclear PDFs from experimental data, we discuss how different measurements in fixed-target and collider experiments provide increasingly precise constraints on various aspects of nuclear PDFs, including shadowing, antishadowing, the EMC effect, Fermi motion, flavor separation, deuteron binding, and target-mass and other higher-twist effects. Particular emphasis is given to measurements carried out in proton–lead collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, which have revolutionized the global analysis during the past decade. These measurements include electroweak boson, jet, light hadron, and heavy flavor observables. Finally, we outline the expected impact of the future Electron Ion Collider and discuss the role and interplay of nuclear PDFs with other branches of nuclear, particle, and astroparticle physics.
-
-
-
Superallowed Nuclear Beta Decays and Precision Tests of the Standard Model
First published online: 17 April 2024More LessFor many decades, the main source of information on the top-left corner element of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa quark mixing matrix, Vud, was superallowed nuclear β decays with an impressive 0.01% precision. This precision, apart from experimental data, relies on theoretical calculations in which nuclear structure–dependent effects and uncertainties play a prime role. This review is dedicated to a thorough reassessment of all ingredients that enter the extraction of the value of Vud from experimental data. We try to keep balance between historical retrospect and new developments, many of which occurred in just the past 5 years. They have not yet been reviewed in a complete manner, not least because new results are forthcoming. This review aims to fill this gap and offers an in-depth yet accessible summary of all recent developments.
-
-
-
An Experimental Life
First published online: 12 April 2024More LessOver the past 60 years, particle physics has seen the maturation of its Standard Model and an enormous change in the character of the experiments that have defined it. I have had the good fortune to participate in and help shape this evolution.
-