Anna Ijjas, Paul J. Steinhardt

We introduce "anamorphic" cosmology, an approach for explaining the smoothness and flatness of the universe on large scales and the generation of a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of adiabatic density perturbations. The defining feature is a smoothing phase that acts like a contracting universe based on some Weyl frame-invariant criteria and an expanding universe based on other frame-invariant criteria. An advantage of the contracting aspects is that it is possible to avoid the multiverse and measure problems that arise in inflationary models. Unlike ekpyrotic models, anamorphic models can be constructed using only a single field and can generate a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of tensor perturbations. Anamorphic models also differ from pre-big bang and matter bounce models that do not explain the smoothness. We present some examples of cosmological models that incorporate an anamorphic smoothing phase.

Cosimo Bambi

Within 5-10 years, submillimeter VLBI facilities will be hopefully able to image the "shadow" of SgrA$^*$. When a black hole is surrounded by an optically thin emitting medium, the boundary of the shadow corresponds to the apparent photon capture sphere and only depends on the background metric. An accurate determination of the shape of the shadow of SgrA$^*$ could constrain possible deviations from the Kerr solution. In combination with other measurements, these observations could test the Kerr black hole paradigm.

LHCb collaboration R. Aaij B. Adeva M. Adinolfi A. Affolder Z. Ajaltouni S. Akar J. Albrecht F. Alessio M. Alexander S. Ali G. Alkhazov P. Alvarez Cartelle A. A. Alves Jr S. Amato S. Amerio Y. Amhis L. An L. Anderlini J. Anderson G. Andreassi M. Andreotti J. E. Andrews R. B. Appleby O. Aquines Gutierrez F. Archilli P. d'Argent A. Artamonov M. Artuso E. Aslanides G. Auriemma M. Baalouch S. Bachmann J. J. Back A. Badalov C. Baesso W. Baldini R. J. Barlow C. Barschel S. Barsuk W. Barter V. Batozskaya V. Battista A. Bay L. Beaucourt J. Beddow F. Bedeschi I. Bediaga L. J. Bel V. Bellee N. Belloli I. Belyaev E. Ben-Haim G. Bencivenni S. Benson J. Benton A. Berezhnoy R. Bernet A. Bertolin M. -O. Bettler M. van Beuzekom A. Bien S. Bifani P. Billoir T. Bird A. Birnkraut A. Bizzeti T. Blake F. Blanc J. Blouw S. Blusk V. Bocci A. Bondar N. Bondar W. Bonivento S. Borghi M. Borsato T. J. V. Bowcock E. Bowen C. Bozzi S. Braun M. Britsch T. Britton J. Brodzicka N. H. Brook A. Bursche J. Buytaert S. Cadeddu R. Calabrese M. Calvi M. Calvo Gomez P. Campana D. Campora Perez L. Capriotti A. Carbone G. Carboni R. Cardinale A. Cardini P. Carniti L. Carson K. Carvalho Akiba G. Casse L. Cassina L. Castillo Garcia M. Cattaneo Ch. Cauet G. Cavallero R. Cenci M. Charles Ph. Charpentier M. Chefdeville S. Chen S. -F. Cheung N. Chiapolini M. Chrzaszcz X. Cid Vidal G. Ciezarek P. E. L. Clarke M. Clemencic H. V. Cliff J. Closier V. Coco J. Cogan E. Cogneras V. Cogoni L. Cojocariu G. Collazuol P. Collins A. Comerma-Montells A. Contu A. Cook M. Coombes S. Coquereau G. Corti M. Corvo B. Couturier G. A. Cowan D. C. Craik A. Crocombe M. Cruz Torres S. Cunliffe R. Currie C. D'Ambrosio E. Dall'Occo J. Dalseno P. N. Y. David A. Davis K. De Bruyn S. De Capua M. De Cian J. M. De Miranda L. De Paula P. De Simone C. -T. Dean D. Decamp M. Deckenhoff L. Del Buono N. Déléage M. Demmer D. Derkach O. Deschamps F. Dettori B. Dey A. Di Canto F. Di Ruscio H. Dijkstra S. Donleavy F. Dordei M. Dorigo A. Dosil Suárez D. Dossett A. Dovbnya K. Dreimanis L. Dufour G. Dujany F. Dupertuis P. Durante R. Dzhelyadin A. Dziurda A. Dzyuba S. Easo U. Egede V. Egorychev S. Eidelman S. Eisenhardt U. Eitschberger R. Ekelhof L. Eklund I. El Rifai Ch. Elsasser S. Ely S. Esen H. M. Evans T. Evans A. Falabella C. Färber N. Farley S. Farry R. Fay D. Ferguson V. Fernandez Albor F. Ferrari F. Ferreira Rodrigues M. Ferro-Luzzi S. Filippov M. Fiore M. Fiorini M. Firlej C. Fitzpatrick T. Fiutowski K. Fohl P. Fol M. Fontana F. Fontanelli R. Forty O. Francisco M. Frank C. Frei M. Frosini J. Fu E. Furfaro A. Gallas Torreira D. Galli S. Gallorini S. Gambetta M. Gandelman P. Gandini Y. Gao J. García Pardiñas J. Garra Tico L. Garrido D. Gascon C. Gaspar R. Gauld L. Gavardi G. Gazzoni A. Geraci D. Gerick E. Gersabeck M. Gersabeck T. Gershon Ph. Ghez A. Gianelle S. Gianì V. Gibson O. G. Girard L. Giubega V. V. Gligorov C. Göbel D. Golubkov A. Golutvin A. Gomes C. Gotti M. Grabalosa Gándara R. Graciani Diaz L. A. Granado Cardoso E. Graugés E. Graverini G. Graziani A. Grecu E. Greening S. Gregson P. Griffith L. Grillo O. Grünberg B. Gui E. Gushchin Yu. Guz T. Gys T. Hadavizadeh C. Hadjivasiliou G. Haefeli C. Haen S. C. Haines S. Hall B. Hamilton X. Han S. Hansmann-Menzemer N. Harnew S. T. Harnew J. Harrison J. He T. Head V. Heijne K. Hennessy P. Henrard L. Henry J. A. Hernando Morata E. van Herwijnen M. Heß A. Hicheur D. Hill M. Hoballah C. Hombach W. Hulsbergen T. Humair N. Hussain D. Hutchcroft D. Hynds M. Idzik P. Ilten R. Jacobsson A. Jaeger J. Jalocha E. Jans A. Jawahery F. Jing M. John D. Johnson C. R. Jones C. Joram B. Jost N. Jurik S. Kandybei W. Kanso M. Karacson T. M. Karbach S. Karodia M. Kelsey I. R. Kenyon M. Kenzie T. Ketel B. Khanji C. Khurewathanakul S. Klaver K. Klimaszewski O. Kochebina M. Kolpin I. Komarov R. F. Koopman P. Koppenburg M. Kozeiha L. Kravchuk K. Kreplin M. Kreps G. Krocker P. Krokovny F. Kruse W. Krzemien W. Kucewicz M. Kucharczyk V. Kudryavtsev A. K. Kuonen K. Kurek T. Kvaratskheliya D. Lacarrere G. Lafferty A. Lai D. Lambert G. Lanfranchi C. Langenbruch B. Langhans T. Latham C. Lazzeroni R. Le Gac J. van Leerdam J. -P. Lees R. Lefèvre A. Leflat J. Lefrançois O. Leroy T. Lesiak B. Leverington Y. Li T. Likhomanenko M. Liles R. Lindner C. Linn F. Lionetto B. Liu X. Liu D. Loh I. Longstaff J. H. Lopes D. Lucchesi M. Lucio Martinez H. Luo A. Lupato E. Luppi O. Lupton N. Lusardi F. Machefert F. Maciuc O. Maev K. Maguire S. Malde A. Malinin G. Manca G. Mancinelli P. Manning A. Mapelli J. Maratas J. F. Marchand U. Marconi C. Marin Benito P. Marino J. Marks G. Martellotti M. Martin M. Martinelli D. Martinez Santos F. Martinez Vidal D. Martins Tostes A. Massafferri R. Matev A. Mathad Z. Mathe C. Matteuzzi K. Matthieu A. Mauri B. Maurin A. Mazurov M. McCann J. McCarthy A. McNab R. McNulty B. Meadows F. Meier M. Meissner D. Melnychuk M. Merk D. A. Milanes M. -N. Minard D. S. Mitzel J. Molina Rodriguez I. A. Monroy S. Monteil M. Morandin P. Morawski A. Mordà M. J. Morello J. Moron A. B. Morris R. Mountain F. Muheim J. Müller K. Müller V. Müller M. Mussini B. Muster P. Naik T. Nakada R. Nandakumar A. Nandi I. Nasteva M. Needham N. Neri S. Neubert N. Neufeld M. Neuner A. D. Nguyen T. D. Nguyen C. Nguyen-Mau V. Niess R. Niet N. Nikitin T. Nikodem D. Ninci A. Novoselov D. P. O'Hanlon A. Oblakowska-Mucha V. Obraztsov S. Ogilvy O. Okhrimenko R. Oldeman C. J. G. Onderwater B. Osorio Rodrigues J. M. Otalora Goicochea A. Otto P. Owen A. Oyanguren A. Palano F. Palombo M. Palutan J. Panman A. Papanestis M. Pappagallo L. L. Pappalardo C. Pappenheimer C. Parkes G. Passaleva G. D. Patel M. Patel C. Patrignani A. Pearce A. Pellegrino G. Penso M. Pepe Altarelli S. Perazzini P. Perret L. Pescatore K. Petridis A. Petrolini M. Petruzzo E. Picatoste Olloqui B. Pietrzyk T. Pilař D. Pinci A. Pistone A. Piucci S. Playfer M. Plo Casasus T. Poikela F. Polci A. Poluektov I. Polyakov E. Polycarpo A. Popov D. Popov B. Popovici C. Potterat E. Price J. D. Price J. Prisciandaro A. Pritchard C. Prouve V. Pugatch A. Puig Navarro G. Punzi W. Qian R. Quagliani B. Rachwal J. H. Rademacker M. Rama M. S. Rangel I. Raniuk N. Rauschmayr G. Raven F. Redi S. Reichert M. M. Reid A. C. dos Reis S. Ricciardi S. Richards M. Rihl K. Rinnert V. Rives Molina P. Robbe A. B. Rodrigues E. Rodrigues J. A. Rodriguez Lopez P. Rodriguez Perez S. Roiser V. Romanovsky A. Romero Vidal J. W. Ronayne M. Rotondo J. Rouvinet T. Ruf P. Ruiz Valls J. J. Saborido Silva N. Sagidova P. Sail B. Saitta V. Salustino Guimaraes C. Sanchez Mayordomo B. Sanmartin Sedes R. Santacesaria C. Santamarina Rios M. Santimaria E. Santovetti A. Sarti C. Satriano A. Satta D. M. Saunders D. Savrina M. Schiller H. Schindler M. Schlupp M. Schmelling T. Schmelzer B. Schmidt O. Schneider A. Schopper M. Schubiger M. -H. Schune R. Schwemmer B. Sciascia A. Sciubba A. Semennikov N. Serra J. Serrano L. Sestini P. Seyfert M. Shapkin I. Shapoval Y. Shcheglov T. Shears L. Shekhtman V. Shevchenko A. Shires B. G. Siddi R. Silva Coutinho G. Simi M. Sirendi N. Skidmore I. Skillicorn T. Skwarnicki E. Smith E. Smith I. T. Smith J. Smith M. Smith H. Snoek M. D. Sokoloff F. J. P. Soler F. Soomro D. Souza B. Souza De Paula B. Spaan P. Spradlin S. Sridharan F. Stagni M. Stahl S. Stahl S. Stefkova O. Steinkamp O. Stenyakin S. Stevenson S. Stoica S. Stone B. Storaci S. Stracka M. Straticiuc U. Straumann L. Sun W. Sutcliffe K. Swientek S. Swientek V. Syropoulos M. Szczekowski P. Szczypka T. Szumlak S. T'Jampens A. Tayduganov T. Tekampe M. Teklishyn G. Tellarini F. Teubert C. Thomas E. Thomas J. van Tilburg V. Tisserand M. Tobin J. Todd S. Tolk L. Tomassetti D. Tonelli S. Topp-Joergensen N. Torr E. Tournefier S. Tourneur K. Trabelsi M. T. Tran M. Tresch A. Trisovic A. Tsaregorodtsev P. Tsopelas N. Tuning A. Ukleja A. Ustyuzhanin U. Uwer C. Vacca V. Vagnoni G. Valenti A. Vallier R. Vazquez Gomez P. Vazquez Regueiro C. Vázquez Sierra S. Vecchi J. J. Velthuis M. Veltri G. Veneziano M. Vesterinen B. Viaud D. Vieira M. Vieites Diaz X. Vilasis-Cardona A. Vollhardt D. Volyanskyy D. Voong A. Vorobyev V. Vorobyev C. Voß J. A. de Vries R. Waldi C. Wallace R. Wallace J. Walsh S. Wandernoth J. Wang D. R. Ward N. K. Watson D. Websdale A. Weiden M. Whitehead G. Wilkinson M. Wilkinson M. Williams M. P. Williams M. Williams T. Williams F. F. Wilson J. Wimberley J. Wishahi W. Wislicki M. Witek G. Wormser S. A. Wotton S. Wright K. Wyllie Y. Xie Z. Xu Z. Yang J. Yu X. Yuan O. Yushchenko M. Zangoli M. Zavertyaev L. Zhang Y. Zhang A. Zhelezov A. Zhokhov L. Zhong S. Zucchelli

Observations of exotic structures in the $J/\psi p$ channel, that we refer to as pentaquark-charmonium states, in $\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi K^- p$ decays are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3/fb acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8 TeV pp collisions. An amplitude analysis is performed on the three-body final-state that reproduces the two-body mass and angular distributions. To obtain a satisfactory fit of the structures seen in the $J/\psi p$ mass spectrum, it is necessary to include two Breit-Wigner amplitudes that each describe a resonant state. The significance of each of these resonances is more than 9 standard deviations. One has a mass of $4380\pm 8\pm 29$ MeV and a width of $205\pm 18\pm 86$ MeV, while the second is narrower, with a mass of $4449.8\pm 1.7\pm 2.5$ MeV and a width of $39\pm 5\pm 19$ MeV. The preferred $J^P$ assignments are of opposite parity, with one state having spin 3/2 and the other 5/2.

Angelika Fertig, Jean-Luc Lehners, Enno Mallwitz

In the framework of scaler-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial differences compared to ordinary inflation. In particular, the potential energy is negative, which is of interest for supergravity and string theory where both negative potentials and the required scalar-tensor couplings are rather natural. A distinguishing feature of the model is that it does not amplify adiabatic scalar and tensor fluctuations, and in particular does not lead to eternal inflation and the associated infinities. We also show how density fluctuations in accord with current observations may be generated by adding a second scalar field to the model. Conflation may be viewed as complementary to the recently proposed anamorphic universe of Ijjas and Steinhardt.

Ido Ben-Dayan, Robert Richter, Fabian Ruehle, Alexander Westphal

In a series of recent papers Kaloper and Padilla proposed a mechanism to sequester standard model vacuum contributions to the cosmological constant. We study the consequences of embedding their proposal into a fully local quantum theory. In the original work, the bare cosmological constant $\Lambda$ and a scaling parameter $\lambda$ are introduced as global fields. We find that in the local case the resulting Lagrangian is that of a spontaneously broken conformal field theory where $\lambda$ plays the role of the dilaton. A vanishing or a small cosmological constant is thus a consequence of the underlying conformal field theory structure.

Daniela Pérez, Gustavo E. Romero, Federico G. Lopez Armengol

Macroscopic irreversible processes emerge from fundamental physical laws of reversible character. The source of the local irreversibility seems to be not in the laws themselves but in the initial and boundary conditions of the equations that represent the laws. In this work we propose that the asymmetric screening of currents by black hole event horizons determines, locally, a preferred direction for the flux of electromagnetic energy. We study the growth of black hole event horizons due to the cosmological expansion and accretion of cosmic microwave background radiation, for different cosmological models. We propose generalized McVittie comoving metrics and integrate the rate of accretion of cosmic microwave background radiation onto a supermassive black hole over cosmic time. We find that for flat, open, and closed Friedmann cosmological models, the ratio of the total area of the black hole event horizons with respect to the area of a radial comoving space-like hypersurface is always larger than one. Since accretion of cosmic radiation set an absolute lower limit to the total matter accreted by black holes, this implies that the causal past and future are not symmetric for any spacetime event. The asymmetry causes a net Poynting flux in the global future direction; the latter is in turn related to the ever increasing thermodynamic entropy. Thus, we expose a connection between four different "time arrows": cosmological, electromagnetic, gravitational, and thermodynamic.

C.P. Burgess, Subodh P. Patil, Michael Trott

We re-examine the predictiveness of single-field inflationary models and discuss how an unknown UV completion can complicate determining inflationary model parameters from observations, even from precision measurements. Besides the usual naturalness issues associated with having a shallow inflationary potential, we describe another issue for inflation, namely, unknown UV physics modifies the running of Standard Model (SM) parameters and thereby introduces uncertainty into the potential inflationary predictions. We illustrate this point using the minimal Higgs Inflationary scenario, which is arguably the most predictive single-field model on the market, because its predictions for $A_s$, $r$ and $n_s$ are made using only one new free parameter beyond those measured in particle physics experiments, and run up to the inflationary regime. We find that this issue can already have observable effects. At the same time, this UV-parameter dependence in the Renormalization Group allows Higgs Inflation to occur (in principle) for a slightly larger range of Higgs masses. We comment on the origin of the various UV scales that arise at large field values for the SM Higgs, clarifying cut off scale arguments by further developing the formalism of a non-linear realization of $\rm SU_L(2) \times U(1)$ in curved space. We discuss the interesting fact that, outside of Higgs Inflation, the effect of a non-minimal coupling to gravity, even in the SM, results in a non-linear EFT for the Higgs sector. Finally, we briefly comment on post BICEP2 attempts to modify the Higgs Inflation scenario.

I. Horvath, Z. Bagoly, J. Hakkila, L. V. Toth

Swift's remarkable ability to quickly localize gamma-ray bursts has led to the accumulation of a sizable burst sample for which both angular locations and redshifts are measured. This sample has become large enough that it can potentially be used to probe angular anisotropies indicative of large-scale universal structure. In a previous work, a large clustering of gamma-ray bursts at redshift z about 2 was reported in the general direction of the constellations of Hercules and Corona Borealis. Since that report, a 42 per cent increase in the number of z about 2 gamma-ray bursts has been observed, warranting an updated analysis. Surprisingly, the cluster is more pronounced now than it was when it was first reported.

Steven Abel, Alex Kehagias

Non-topological solitons (Q-balls) are discussed in some stringy settings. Our main result is that the dielectric D-brane system of Myers admits non-abelian Q-ball solutions on their world-volume, in which $N$ D$p$-branes relax to the standard dielectric form outside the Q-ball, but assume a more diffuse configuration at its centre. We also consider how Q-balls behave in the bulk of extra-dimensional theories, or on wrapped branes. We demonstrate that they carry Kaluza-Klein charge and possess a corresponding Kaluza-Klein tower of states just as normal particles, and we discuss surface energy effects by finding exact Q-ball solutions in models with a specific logarithmic potential.