PIKIMO 18, University of Kentucky, 19 April 2025

Session

Afternoon contributed talks (chairperson S. Gardner)

19 Apr 2025, 14:30

153 (Chemistry Physics (CP) Building )

1. New Physics from Light Scalars in Rare Kaon Decay

Rahul Pradeep (University of Cincinnati)

19/04/2025, 14:30

We introduce and investigate the effects of a light scalar interacting with the
short-lived kaon and the KS → μ+μ− decay. We use the results of searches performed at
kaon factories as well as the Standard Model predictions for this decay to constrain the
couplings of a ϕ particle with a mass mϕ of the order of MeV. In addition to this we find
the allowed parameter space for further CP...

6. The Z \alpha^2 order radiative correction to nuclear beta decays

Zehua Cao

19/04/2025, 15:00

Superallowed nuclear beta decays offer one of the most precise ways of extracting the CKM matrix |V_ud|, which is an important parameter in the Standard Model. QED radiative corrections play an important role in the precision computation of nuclear beta decays, which can be expressed in a series of Z \alpha and \alpha. Given the current experimental uncertainty, the order Z \alpha^2 correction...

2. Electron EDM and Γ(μ → eγ) in the 2HDM

Daniil Volkov (University of Cinccinati)

19/04/2025, 15:30

We present the first complete two-loop calculation of the electric dipole moment of the electron, as well as the rates of the lepton-flavor violating decays μ→e+γ and τ→e/μ+γ, in the unconstrained two-Higgs doublet model. We include the most general Yukawa interactions of the Higgs doublets with the Standard Model fermions up to quadratic order, and allow for generic phases in the Higgs...

8. The Fermi Function, Factorization and the Neutron’s Lifetime

Peter Vander Griend

19/04/2025, 16:00

The neutron lifetime is a precision observable of the Standard Model probing the CKM matrix element $|V_{ud}|$ and beyond the Standard Model physics. For nuclear beta decay, in the region of small electron velocity or the limit of large nuclear charge $Z$, a Fermi function is used to account for enhanced perturbative effects. In this talk, I will present the derivation of the quantum field...

11. Primordial black holes and induced gravitational waves from an underdamped axion-like curvaton

Dr Sai Chaitanya Tadepalli (Dept of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington)

19/04/2025, 16:40

We explore the generation of primordial black holes (PBHs) and second-order induced gravitational waves (GWs) arising from underdamped isocurvature fluctuations of an axion-like curvaton field. During inflation, the radial component of the curvaton undergoes underdamped evolution, leading to a resonant amplification of the curvaton's quantum fluctuations. This mechanism imprints...

12. Direct detection of ultralight dark matter with charged lepton flavor violation

Tony Menzo

19/04/2025, 17:05

I will discuss a class of ultralight dark matter models with charged-lepton-flavor violating couplings that can induce potentially observable time-dependent signals at the intensity frontier. I will highlight the sensitivity of current/future experiments and outline possible UV completions.