We present searches for light dark matter (DM) with masses 3-9 GeV/$c^2$ in the presence of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) from $^{8}$B solar neutrinos with the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment. This analysis uses a 5.7 tonne-year exposure with data collected between March 2023 and April 2025. In an energy range spanning 1-6 keV, we report no significant excess of events attributable to dark matter nuclear recoils, but we observe a significant signal from $^{8}$B CE$ν$NS interactions that is consistent with expectation. We set world-leading limits on spin-independent and spin-dependent-neutron DM-nucleon interactions for masses down to 5 GeV/$c^2$. In the no-dark-matter scenario, we observe a signal consistent with $^{8}$B CE$ν$NS events, corresponding to a $4.5σ$ statistical significance. This is the most significant evidence of $^{8}$B CE$ν$NS interactions and is enabled by robust background modeling and mitigation techniques. This demonstrates LZ's ability to detect rare signals at keV-scale energies.
90% CL WIMP SI cross sections, including sensitivities
90% CL WIMP SDn cross sections, including sensitivities and nuclear structure uncertainties
90% CL WIMP SDp cross sections, including sensitivities and nuclear structure uncertainties
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p> The existence of three distinct neutrino flavours, <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> , <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>μ</jats:sub> and <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>τ</jats:sub> , is a central tenet of the Standard Model of particle physics <jats:sup>1,2</jats:sup> . Quantum-mechanical interference can allow a neutrino of one initial flavour to be detected sometime later as a different flavour, a process called neutrino oscillation. Several anomalous observations inconsistent with this three-flavour picture have motivated the hypothesis that an additional neutrino state exists, which does not interact directly with matter, termed as ‘sterile’ neutrino, <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>s</jats:sub> (refs. <jats:sup>3–9</jats:sup> ). This includes anomalous observations from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) <jats:sup>3</jats:sup> experiment and Mini-Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE) <jats:sup>4,5</jats:sup> , consistent with <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>μ</jats:sub> → <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> transitions at a distance inconsistent with the three-neutrino picture. Here we use data obtained from the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber <jats:sup>10</jats:sup> in two accelerator neutrino beams to exclude the single light sterile neutrino interpretation of the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies at the 95% confidence level (CL). Moreover, we rule out a notable portion of the parameter space that could explain the gallium anomaly <jats:sup>6–8</jats:sup> . This is one of the first measurements to use two accelerator neutrino beams to break a degeneracy between <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> appearance and disappearance, which would otherwise weaken the sensitivity to the sterile neutrino hypothesis. We find no evidence for either <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>μ</jats:sub> → <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> flavour transitions or <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> disappearance that would indicate non-standard flavour oscillations. Our results indicate that previous anomalous observations consistent with <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>μ</jats:sub> → <jats:italic>ν</jats:italic> <jats:sub>e</jats:sub> transitions cannot be explained by introducing a single sterile neutrino state. </jats:p>
14 observation channels used in this analysis. The first 7 channels correspond to the BNB, while the last 7 channels correspond to the NuMI beam. Each set of seven channels is split by reconstructed event type as well as containment in the detector, fully contained (FC) or partially contained (PC). The seven channels in order are $\nu_e$CC FC, $\nu_e$CC PC, $\nu_\mu$CC FC, $\nu_\mu$CC PC, $\nu_\mu$CC $\pi^0$ FC, $\nu_\mu$CC $\pi^0$ PC, and NC $\pi^0$. Each channel contains 25 bins from 0 to 2500 MeV of reconstructed neutrino energy, with an additional overflow bin.
Four $\nu_e$CC observation channels, after constraints from 10 $\nu_\mu$CC and NC $\pi^0$ channels. The four channels in order are BNB $\nu_e$CC FC, BNB $\nu_e$CC PC, NuMI $\nu_e$CC FC, and NuMI $\nu_e$CC PC. Each channel contains 25 bins from 0 to 2500 MeV of reconstructed neutrino energy, with an additional overflow bin.
14 channel covariance matrix showing uncertainties and correlations between bins due to flux uncertainties, cross-section uncertainties, hadron reinteraction uncertainties, detector systematic uncertainties, Monte-Carlo statistical uncertainties, and dirt (outside cryostat) uncertainties. Data statistical uncertainties have not been included, but they can be calculated with the Combined Neyman-Pearson (CNP) method. Each channel contains 25 bins from 0 to 2500 MeV of reconstructed neutrino energy, with an additional overflow bin.
We present the first measurements of the forward and midrapidity $η$-meson cross sections from $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=500$ and $510$~GeV, respectively. We also report the midrapidity $η/π^0$ ratio at 510 GeV. The forward cross section is measured differentially in $η$-meson transverse momentum ($p_T$) from 1.0 to 6.5~GeV/$c$ for pseudorapidity $3.0<|η|<3.8$. The midrapidity cross section is measured from 3.5 to 44 GeV/$c$ for pseudorapidity $|η|<0.35$. Both cross sections serve as critical inputs to an updated global analysis of the $η$-meson fragmentation functions.
The invariant differential cross section of $\eta$ mesons at forward rapidity in pp collisions at center-of-mass energy 500 GeV.
The invariant differential cross section of $\eta$ mesons at central rapidity in pp collisions at center-of-mass energy 510 GeV.
The ratio of $\eta$ to $\pi^0$ cross sections at central rapidity in pp collisions at center-of-mass energy 510 GeV.
While dual-phase xenon time projection chambers (TPCs) have driven the sensitivity towards weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) at the GeV/c^2 to TeV/c^2 mass scale, the scope for sub-GeV/c^2 dark matter particles is hindered by a limited nuclear recoil energy detection threshold. One approach to probe for lighter candidates is to consider cases where they have been boosted by collisions with cosmic rays in the Milky Way, such that the additional kinetic energy lifts their induced signatures above the nominal threshold. In this Letter, we report first results of a search for cosmic ray-boosted dark matter (CRDM) with a combined 4.2 tonne-year exposure from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment. We observe no excess above the expected backgrounds and establish world-leading constraints on the spin-independent CRDM-nucleon cross section as small as 3.9 * 10^{-33} cm^2 at 90% confidence level for sub-GeV/c^2 masses.
90% CL CRDM-nucleon cross sections
The polarization of Lambda, Anti-Lambda, Xi, and Anti-Xi hyperons along the angular momentum of the system has been measured in isobar collisions of Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR detector at RHIC. The polarization dependence on collision centrality is explored and found to show an increasing trend in more peripheral collisions. Dependencies on transverse momentum and pseudorapidity are investigated for Lambda and Anti-Lambda hyperons, but no significant dependence has been observed. The polarization measurements for Lambda and Anti-Lambda are consistent with each other, indicating little contribution of the spin-magnetic coupling in the observed polarization. The results for Lambda hyperons measurements are qualitatively consistent with hydrodynamic calculations incorporating effects from shear-induced polarization and thermal vorticity, and show no obvious system size dependence in comparison with previous results in Au+Au collisions. For the first time, the dependence of the polarization on the hyperon's emission azimuthal angle with respect to the second harmonic event plane is extracted and shows stronger polarization for the in-plane emitted hyperons at the level of 2.4$\sigma$ significance in 20-50% centrality. The measurements of Xi hyperons polarization via the polarization transfer analysis exhibit a finite positive polarization, 2.9$\sigma$ significance in 20-50% centrality, slightly enhanced compared to the inclusive Lambda polarization.
Resolutions of the first-order event plane from the ZDC-SMDs as a function of collision centrality in Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Resolutions of the second-order event plane from the TPC as a function of collision centrality in Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Global polarization of $\Lambda$ and $\bar\Lambda$ and their difference as a function of centrality in combined Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
Partonic collectivity is one of the necessary signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in high-energy nuclear collisions. Number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling has been observed for hadron elliptic flow $v_2$ in top energy nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the LHC, and this has been theoretically suggested as strong evidence for partonic collectivity. In this Letter, a systematic analysis of $v_2$ of $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $K^{0}_{S}$, $p$, and $Λ$ in Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 3.2, 3.5, 3.9, and 4.5 GeV, with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, is presented. NCQ scaling is markedly violated at 3.2 GeV, consistent with a hadronic-interaction dominated equation of state. However, as the collision energy increases, a gradual evolution to NCQ scaling is observed. This beam-energy dependence of $v_2$ for all hadrons studied provides evidence for the onset of dominant partonic interactions by ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 4.5 GeV.
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3 GeV
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3.2 GeV
$p_{T}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ for $\pi^{+}$ in Au+Au collisions at 3.5 GeV
We report precision measurements on cumulants ($C_{n}$) and factorial cumulants ($\kappa_{n}$) of (net-)proton number distributions up to fourth-order in Au+Au collisions from phase II of the Beam Energy Scan program at RHIC. (Anti-)protons are selected at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) within a transverse momentum range of $0.4 < p_T < 2.0$ GeV/$c$. The collision energy and centrality dependence of these cumulants are studied over center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 -- 27 GeV. Relative to various non-critical-point model calculations and peripheral collision 70-80% data, the net-proton $C_4/C_2$ measurement in 0-5% collisions shows a minimum around 19.6 GeV for significance of deviation at $\sim2$--$5\sigma$. In addition, deviations from non-critical baselines around the same collision energy region are also seen in proton factorial cumulant ratios, especially in $\kappa_2/\kappa_1$ and $\kappa_3/\kappa_1$. Dynamical model calculations including a critical point are called for in order to understand these precision measurements.
Reference multiplicity distributions (RefMult3 and RefMult3X) for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV along with MC Glauber model fits.
Collision centrality dependence of net-proton cumulants in Au+Au collisions for $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 27 GeV obtained with RefMult3 and RefMult3X centrality definition.
Collision energy dependence of net-proton cumulant ratios and proton factorial cumulant ratios in Au+Au collisions from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 200 GeV for 0-5$\%$ and 70-80$\%$ centrality. Data from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 7.7 - 27 GeV are from BES-II (obtained with RefMult3X except 27 GeV where RefMult3 is used). Data from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 39 - 200 GeV are from BES-I (RefMult3).
A measurement of the WZ$γ$ triboson production cross section is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The analysis focuses on the final state with three charged leptons, $\ell^\pmν\ell^+\ell^-$, where $\ell$ = e or $μ$, accompanied by an additional photon. The observed (expected) significance of the WZ$γ$ signal is 5.4 (3.8) standard deviations. The cross section is measured in a fiducial region, where events with an $\ell$ originating from a tau lepton decay are excluded, to be 5.48 $\pm$ 1.11 fb, which is compatible with the prediction of 3.69 $\pm$ 0.24 fb at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics. Exclusion limits are set on anomalous quartic gauge couplings and on the production cross sections of massive axion-like particles.
The distributions of the variables used in the simultaneous fit for the nonprompt $l$ CR. The black points with error bars represent the data and their statistical uncertainties, whereas the shaded band represents the predicted uncertainties. The bottom panel in each figure shows the ratio of the number of events observed in data to that of the total SM prediction. The last bin of each plot has been extended to include the overflow contribution.
The distributions of the variables used in the simultaneous fit for the nonprompt $\gamma$ CR. The black points with error bars represent the data and their statistical uncertainties, whereas the shaded band represents the predicted uncertainties. The bottom panel in each figure shows the ratio of the number of events observed in data to that of the total SM prediction. The last bin of each plot has been extended to include the overflow contribution.
The distributions of the variables used in the simultaneous fit for the ZZ CR. The black points with error bars represent the data and their statistical uncertainties, whereas the shaded band represents the predicted uncertainties. The bottom panel in each figure shows the ratio of the number of events observed in data to that of the total SM prediction. The last bin of each plot has been extended to include the overflow contribution.
Hard-scattered partons ejected from high-energy proton-proton collisions undergo parton shower and hadronization, resulting in collimated collections of particles that are clustered into jets. A substructure observable that highlights the transition between the perturbative and non-perturbative regimes of jet evolution in terms of the angle between two particles is the two-point energy correlator (EEC). In this letter, the first measurement of the EEC at RHIC is presented, using data taken from 200 GeV $p$+$p$ collisions by the STAR experiment. The EEC is measured both for all the pairs of particles in jets and separately for pairs with like and opposite electric charges. These measurements demonstrate that the transition between perturbative and non-perturbative effects occurs within an angular region that is consistent with expectations of a universal hadronization regime that scales with jet momentum. Additionally, a deviation from Monte-Carlo predictions at small angles in the charge-selected sample could result from mechanics of hadronization not fully captured by current models.
Corrected distributions of the normalized EEC differential in $R_{L}$ for $R_{\rm jet}=$ 0.6, with jet transverse momentum selections 15 $< p_{\rm T, jet} <$ 20 GeV/c and 30 $< p_{\rm T, jet} <$ 50 GeV/c
Corrected distributions of the normalized EEC within jets, differential in $ \left\langle p_{\rm T,jet} \right\rangle R_{L} $ at $R_{\rm jet} =$ 0.6 for one $p_{\rm T, jet}$ selection. Each distribution is normalized to integrate to one in $R_{L}$ prior to shifting.
Corrected distributions of the normalized EEC within jets, differential in $ \left\langle p_{\rm T,jet} \right\rangle R_{L} $ at $R_{\rm jet} =$ 0.6 for one $p_{\rm T, jet}$ selection. Each distribution is normalized to integrate to one in $R_{L}$ prior to shifting.
We present an inclusive search for anomalous production of single-photon events from neutrino interactions in the MicroBooNE experiment. The search and its signal definition are motivated by the previous observation of a low-energy excess of electromagnetic shower events from the MiniBooNE experiment. We use the Wire-Cell reconstruction framework to select a sample of inclusive single-photon final-state interactions with a final efficiency and purity of 7.0% and 40.2%, respectively. We leverage simultaneous measurements of sidebands of charged current $\nu_{\mu}$ interactions and neutral current interactions producing $\pi^{0}$ mesons to constrain signal and background predictions and reduce uncertainties. We perform a blind analysis using a dataset collected from February 2016 to July 2018, corresponding to an exposure of $6.34\times10^{20}$ protons on target from the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. In the full signal region, we observe agreement between the data and the prediction, with a goodness-of-fit $p$-value of 0.11. We then isolate a sub-sample of these events containing no visible protons, and observe $93\pm22\text{(stat.)}\pm35\text{(syst.)}$ data events above prediction, corresponding to just above $2\sigma$ local significance, concentrated at shower energies below 600 MeV.
Fig. 2. The reconstructed shower energy. The individual signal and background event type categories added together form the unconstrained prediction.
Fig. 2. The constrained covariance matrix for the reconstructed shower energy. The matrix shows uncertainties and correlations between bins due to flux uncertainties, cross-section uncertainties, hadron reinteraction uncertainties, detector systematic uncertainties, Monte-Carlo statistical uncertainties, and dirt (outside cryostat) uncertainties. Data statistical uncertainties are not included. An example of how to add Pearson data statistical uncertainties can be found in the example code repository.
Fig. 2, Suppl. Fig. 5. The unconstrained covariance matrix for the reconstructed shower energy. The matrix shows uncertainties and correlations between bins due to flux uncertainties, cross-section uncertainties, hadron reinteraction uncertainties, detector systematic uncertainties, Monte-Carlo statistical uncertainties, and dirt (outside cryostat) uncertainties. Data statistical uncertainties are not included. An example of how to add Pearson data statistical uncertainties can be found in the example code repository.
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