Moderadores
Connections to Particle Physics
- Luca Visinelli (Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy)
Connections to Particle Physics
- Jordi Salvadó Serra (Universitat de Barcelona)
Axion-like particles (ALPs) appear in various extensions of the Standard Model and can interact with photons, leading to ALP-photon conversions in external magnetic fields. This phenomenon can introduce characteristic energy-dependent “wiggles” in gamma-ray spectra. The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, designed to provide...
Blazars are a class of active galactic nuclei, supermassive black holes located at the centres of distant galaxies characterised by strong emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. Their relativistic jets, closely aligned to the line of sight from Earth, are a rich and complex environment, characterised by the presence of strong magnetic fields over...
Sub-GeV, or light, dark matter (DM) has emerged as a compelling candidate for the observed DM in the universe. Unlike the canonical WIMP, light DM can account for the thermal relic abundance while evading nuclear recoil direct detection constraints, due to its limited momentum transfer. This motivates alternative search strategies, such as electron recoil direct detection and accelerator based...
Heavy axions that couple to both quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics with masses on the order of MeV–GeV and high-scale decay constants in excess of $10^{8}$ GeV may arise generically in, e.g., axiverse constructions. In this work we provide the most sensitive search to date for the existence of such heavy axions using Fermi-LAT data toward four recent supernovae (SN): Cassiopea...
Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the brightest transients in the universe. We show that heavy axion-like particles (ALPs) can be produced in the hot plasma of GRB fireballs. When produced in the earliest stages, they escape and decay outside the source. We demonstrate that the resulting prompt photon field arising from ALP decay is too rarefied to re-thermalize, effectively preventing...
Supernova explosions are extreme cosmic events that may impact not only ordinary matter but also dark matter (DM) halos. In this talk, I explore the possibility that a fraction of supernova energy is released as dark radiation, which could transform a cuspy DM halo into a cored one, potentially explaining observed cores in some dwarf galaxies. Alternatively, limits on DM core sizes provide...
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest facility dedicated to the study of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. By observing extensive air shower cascades produced when cosmic rays interact with the Earth's atmosphere, the Observatory enables indirect measurements of hadron-air collisions at center-of-mass energies that exceed those achievable by the Large Hadron Collider.
Analyses of...
Apart from its gravitational interactions, dark matter (DM) has remained so far elusive in laboratory searches. One possible explanation is that the relevant interactions to explain its relic abundance are mainly gravitational. In this work we consider an extra-dimensional Randall-Sundrum scenario with a TeV-PeV IR brane, where the Standard Model is located, and a GeV-TeV deep IR (DIR) one,...
Gravitational Waves (GWs) provide a remarkable perspective into the physics of the early Universe and could serve as an innovative means of investigating high-scale leptogenesis theories. In this presentation, I will examine how GW observations can can shed light on a class of GUT-inspired seesaw models based on the $U(1){B-L}$ gauge symmetry. Within these models, the scalar field $\Phi$,...
Primordial black holes (PBH), while still constituting a viable dark matter component, are expected to evaporate through Hawking radiation.
Assuming the semi-classical approximation holds up to near the Planck scale, PBHs are expected to evaporate by the present time, emitting a significant flux of particles in their final moments, if produced in the early Universe with an initial mass of...
The Intergalactic Magnetic Field (IGMF), though significantly weaker than the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF), is believed to permeate the vast cosmic voids. Recent experimental developments have provided both upper and lower bounds on the IGMF, motivating us to revisit the scenario in which Magnetic Monopoles (MMs) are accelerated by these large-scale fields. In this work, we analyze MM...
The search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is fundamental for investigating lepton-number violation, probing new physics beyond the Standard Model, and determining whether neutrinos are Majorana particles. CUORE, a cryogenic bolometric experiment at LNGS, studies 0νββ in $^130$Te using 988 TeO$_2$ crystals. It is a milestone of cryogenic detector arrays with a tonne-scale detector...
Magnetic levitation technology offers force and displacement sensitivities at the quantum frontier, making it an attractive platform for probing the feeble interactions expected of beyond the Standard Model physics. Despite its promise, the case for magnetic levitation in fundamental physics applications is only just being built. In this talk, I will introduce two new experiments based on the...
The evidence of a Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background (SGWB) in the nHz frequency range is posed to open a new window on the Universe. A preferred explanation relies on a supercooled first order phase transition at the 100 MeV–GeV scale. I will address the feasibility of this solution by discussing viable dark sectors and their constraints, going from the particle physics model to the...
