Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Corentin Cot, Francesco Sannino
Pandemics, like the 1918 Spanish Influenza and COVID-19, spread through regions of the World in subsequent waves. There is, however, no consensus on the origin of this pattern, which may originate from human behaviour rather than from the virus diffusion itself. Time-honoured models of the SIR type or others based on complex networks describe well the exponential spread of the disease, but cannot naturally accommodate the wave pattern. Nevertheless, understanding this time-structure is of paramount importance in designing effective prevention measures. Here we propose a consistent picture of the wave pattern based on the epidemic Renormalisation Group (eRG) framework, which is guided by the global symmetries of the system under time rescaling. We show that the rate of spreading of the disease can be interpreted as a time-dilation symmetry, while the final stage of an epidemic episode corresponds to reaching a time scale-invariant state. We find that the endemic period between two waves is a sign of instability in the system, associated to near-breaking of the time scale-invariance. This phenomenon can be described in terms of an eRG model featuring complex fixed points. Our results demonstrate that the key to control the arrival of the next wave of a pandemic is in the strolling period in between waves, i.e. when the number of infections grow linearly. Thus, limiting the virus diffusion in this period is the most effective way to prevent or delay the arrival of the next wave. In this work we establish a new guiding principle for the formulation of mid-term governmental strategies to curb pandemics and avoid recurrent waves of infections, deleterious in terms of human life loss and economic damage.
Michele Gallinaro, Kenneth Long, Jürgen Reuter, Richard Ruiz, Dinos Bachas, Liron Barak, Fady Bishara, Ilaria Brivio, Diogo Buarque Franzosi, Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Farida Fassi, Eirini Kasimi, Henning Kirschenmann, Chara Petridou, Harrison Prosper, Jorge Romão, Ignasi Rosell, Ennio Salvioni, Rui Santos, Magdalena Slawinska, Giles Chatham Strong, Michał Szleper
The high-energy scattering of massive electroweak bosons, known as vector boson scattering (VBS), is a sensitive probe of new physics. VBS signatures will be thoroughly and systematically investigated at the LHC with the large data samples available and those that will be collected in the near future. Searches for deviations from Standard Model (SM) expectations in VBS facilitate tests of the Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) mechanism. Current state-of-the-art tools and theory developments, together with the latest experimental results, and the studies foreseen for the near future are summarized. A review of the existing Beyond the SM (BSM) models that could be tested with such studies as well as data analysis strategies to understand the interplay between models and the effective field theory paradigm for interpreting experimental results are discussed. This document is a summary of the EU COST network "VBScan" workshop on the sensitivity of VBS processes for BSM frameworks that took place December 4-5, 2019 at the LIP facilities in Lisbon, Portugal. In this manuscript we outline the scope of the workshop, summarize the different contributions from theory and experiment, and discuss the relevant findings.
Haiying Cai, Giacomo Cacciapaglia
Singlet scalar Dark Matter can naturally arise in composite Higgs models as an additional stable pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson. We study the properties of such a candidate in a model based on $SU(6)/SO(6)$, with the light quark masses generated by 4-fermion interactions. The presence of non-linearities in the couplings allows to saturate the relic density for masses $400 < m_{\rm DM} < 1000$ GeV, and survive the bound from Direct Detection and Indirect Detection. The viable parameter regions are in reach of the sensitivities of future upgrades, like XENONnT and LZ.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia
Asymptotic Grand Unification theories (aGUTs) in five dimensions provide a valid alternative to standard quantitative unification. We define the pathway towards viable models starting from a general unified bulk gauge symmetry. Imposing the presence of ultra-violet fixed points for both gauge and Yukawa couplings strongly limits the possibilities. Within the SU(N) kinship, we identify and characterise only two realistic minimal models, both based on a bulk SU(6) symmetry. Both models feature the generation of either up or down-type Yukawas via gauge scalars, two Higgs doublets with build-in minimal flavour violation at low energies, and conservation of baryon number. We also propose interesting avenues beyond the minimality criterion.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Stefania De Curtis
We consider a description of propagators for particle resonances which takes into account the quantum mechanical interference due to the width of two or more nearby states that have common decay channels, by incorporating the effects arising from the imaginary parts of the one-loop self-energies. Depending on the couplings to the common decay channels, the interference effect, not taken into account in the usual Breit-Wigner approximation, can significantly modify the cross section or make the more long-lived resonance narrower. We give few examples of New Physics models for which the effect is sizable, namely a generic two and multiple Higgs model and neutral vector resonances in Higgsless models. Based on these results we suggest the implementation of a proper treatment of nearby resonances into Monte Carlo generators.
Haiying Cai, Giacomo Cacciapaglia
We revisit the impact of top partial compositeness on electroweak precision observables in the misaligned vacuum basis. We identify a new source for $S$ in the singlet mixing case, and for $S$-$T$ in the bi-doublet mixing, stemming from misalignment in the gauge couplings of the top partners. Hence, a positive shift in $T$ can be obtained in both cases, as preferred by the recent CDF measurement of the $W$ mass. These results, obtained for the minimal fundamental coset SU(4)/Sp(4), apply to any composite Higgs model with top partial compositeness.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Wanda Isnard
The attractive feature of supersymmetry is predictive power, due to the large number of calculable properties and to coupling non-renormalisation. This power can be fully expressed in hidden sectors where supersymmetry may be exact, as these sectors are secluded from the visible one where instead supersymmetry must be broken. This suggests a new paradigm for supersymmetric dark sectors, where supersymmetry is exact at the dark matter scale, implying that many properties of hidden supersymmetric dark sectors can be fully computed. As a proof of concept we discuss a concrete example based on $\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills.
Corentin Cot, Dea Aksentijević, Alen Jugović, Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Gianandrea Mannarini
The outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe occurred in early 2020. During the year, several waves of infection developed with different timings across the European countries. The onset of the largest wave of infection occurred in August-September. Croatia is a hotspot of tourism in the Mediterranean region, and thus may have acted as an incubator of the pandemic during the summer of 2020. Given this, we designed a data-driven investigation to assess the possible role of mobility of passengers to and within Croatia through various modes of transportation. To this end, observational datasets were integrated with the modelling framework of the ``epidemic Renormalisation Group''. Comparing the models to the epidemiological data allowed to disfavour, in the case of Croatia in 2020, any prominent role in propagating the infection by either maritime or train transportation, while highlighting the leading role of both road and airborne mobility. The proposed framework aims to test hypotheses regarding the causation of infectious waves, with the capacity to rule out unrelated phenomena.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Jeremie Llodra-Perez
The Real Projective Plane is the lowest dimensional orbifold which, when combined with the usual Minkowski space-time, gives rise to a unique model in six flat dimensions possessing an exact Kaluza Klein (KK) parity as a relic symmetry of the broken six dimensional Lorentz group. As a consequence of this property, any model formulated on this background will include a stable Dark Matter candidate. Loop corrections play a crucial role because they remove mass degeneracy in the tiers of KK modes and induce new couplings which mediate decays. We study the full one loop structure of the corrections by means of counter-terms localised on the two singular points. As an application, the phenomenology of the (2,0) and (0,2) tiers is discussed at the LHC. We identify promising signatures with single and di-lepton, top antitop and 4 tops: in the dilepton channel, present data from CMS and ATLAS may already exclude KK masses up to 250 GeV, while by next year they may cover the whole mass range preferred by WMAP data.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Mairi Sakellariadou
We examine whether F-term supersymmetric hybrid inflation can be embedded within the minimal SO(10) model, in a natural way. We show that none of the singlets of the Standard Model symmetries in the minimal set of SO(10) representations can satisfy the conditions which are necessary for a scalar field to play the role of the inflaton. As a consequence, one has to introduce an extra scalar field, which however may spoil the naturalness of inflation within the context of SO(10). Nevertheless, if we add an extra scalar field, we are then able to construct a model that can accommodate flat directions while it preserves the stability of the inflationary valley.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Alberto Parolini
Vector-like quarks, usually dubbed top partners, are a common presence in composite Higgs models. Being composite objects, their mass is expected to be of the order of their inverse size, that is the condensation scale of the new strong interactions. Light top partners, while not being a generic prediction, are however often considered in phenomenological models. We suggest that their lightness may be due to the matching of global 't Hooft anomalies of the underlying theory. We check this mechanism in explicit models showing that, in one case, composite fermions with the quantum numbers of the top quark obtain a mass which is controlled by a soft breaking term and can be made parametrically small.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia
We study tree level corrections to precision electroweak physics in the recently proposed Higgsless models in warped space. Such models inherit from their similarity with technicolor theories a large contribution to the oblique parameters, S in particular. We show that it is possible to suppress S using brane induced kinetic terms and unequal left-right bulk gauge couplings, paying the price of heavy KK modes. In the allowed region, they are eventually ineffective in restoring perturbative unitarity in W scattering above 2 TeV. Although it looks like a Higgsless models' bane, it has been recently shown that such problem can be easily solved delocalizing the light fermions.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Francesco Sannino
The recent paper "The asymptotically-free gauge theories" by Ben Gripaios and Khoi Le Nguyen Nguyen [arXiv:2507.12348] presents a proposed classification of gauge theories valid down to arbitrarily short scales. In this comment, we aim to clarify several points and address some statements that may be misleading. We also provide additional context by discussing relevant prior literature and existing classifications.
Atreya Acharyya, Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Manuel Meyer, Francesco Sannino
Sep 22, 2025·astro-ph.HE·PDF Hawking's groundbreaking prediction that black holes emit thermal radiation and ultimately evaporate remains unverified due to the extreme faintness of this radiation for stellar-mass or larger black holes. In this study, we explore a novel observational strategy to search for Hawking radiation from asteroid-mass black hole morsels -- hypothetical small black holes that may form and be ejected during catastrophic events such as binary black hole mergers. These black hole morsels are expected to emit gamma rays in the GeV-TeV range on observable timescales. We analyze data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope coinciding with the well-localized binary black hole merger GW170814, searching for delayed gamma-ray signatures associated with morsel evaporation. While we find no evidence for such emission, we place exclusion limits on morsel masses, ruling out the 4 x 10^8 kg scenario at the 95 percent confidence level for a total emitted mass of one solar mass. We also outline future directions, including the incorporation of late-time evaporation spikes, systematic application across the growing gravitational wave catalog, and the enhanced discovery potential of next-generation facilities such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.
Alexander Belyaev, Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Daniel Locke, Alexander Pukhov
The search for a Dark Matter particle is the new grail and hard-sought nirvana of the particle physics community. From the theoretical side, it is the main challenge to provide a consistent and model-independent tool for comparing the bounds and reach of the diverse experiments. We propose a first complete classification of minimal consistent Dark Matter models, which provides the missing link between experiments and top-down models. Consistency is achieved by imposing renormalisability and invariance under the full Standard Model symmetries. We apply this paradigm to fermionic Dark multiplets with up to one mediator. We also reconsider the one-loop contributions to direct detection, including the relevant effect of (small) mass splits in the Dark multiplet. Our work highlights the presence of unexplored viable models, and paves the way for the ultimate systematic hunt for the Dark Matter particle.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Francesco Sannino
We consider the implications of the CDF collaboration high-precision measurement of the W boson mass on models with a non-standard Higgs. We show that this requires an enhancement of 3-10% in the non-standard Higgs coupling to the gauge bosons. This is naturally accommodated in dynamical models such as the dilaton Higgs, the Technicolor and glueball Higgs. The needed composite scale between 2 and 3 TeV can also explain the muon g-2 anomaly, as well as possible violations of lepton flavour universality.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Jeremie Llodra-Perez
We study the unique 6 dimensional orbifold with chiral fermions where a stable dark matter candidate is present due to Lorentz invariance on the orbifold, with no additional discrete symmetries imposed by hand. We propose a model of Universal Extra Dimensions where a scalar photon of few hundred GeV is a good candidate for dark matter. The spectrum of the model is characteristic of the geometry, and it has clear distinctive features compared to previous models of Kaluza-Klein dark matter. The 5 dimensional limit of this model is the minimal model of natural Kaluza-Klein dark matter. Notwithstanding the low mass range preferred by cosmology, the model will be a challenge for the LHC due to the relatively small splitting between the states in the same KK level.
David Lyver, Mihai Nica, Corentin Cot, Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Zahra Mohammadi, Edward W. Thommes, Monica-Gabriela Cojocaru
Nov 25, 2023·q-bio.PE·PDF The epidemiology of pandemics is classically viewed using geographical and political borders; however, these artificial divisions can result in a misunderstanding of the current epidemiological state within a given region. To improve upon current methods, we propose a clustering algorithm which is capable of recasting regions into well-mixed clusters such that they have a high level of interconnection while minimizing the external flow of the population towards other clusters. Moreover, we analyze and identify so called core clusters, clusters that retain their features over time (temporally stable) and independent of the presence or absence of policy measures. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of this algorithm, we use US county-level cellular mobility data to divide the country into such clusters. Herein, we show a more granular spread of SARS-CoV-2 throughout the first weeks of the pandemic. Moreover, we are able to identify areas (groups of counties) that were experiencing above average levels of transmission within a state, as well as pan-state areas (clusters overlapping more than one state) with very similar disease spread. Therefore, our method enables policymakers to make more informed decisions on the use of public health interventions within their jurisdiction, as well as guide collaboration with surrounding regions to benefit the general population in controlling the spread of communicable diseases.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Antimo Cagnotta, Roberta Calabrese, Francesco Carnevali, Agostino De Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria Iorio, Stefano Morisi, Francesco Sannino
The Standard Model of Particle Physics and its description of Nature have been recently challenged by a series of precision measurements performed via different accelerator machines. Statistically significant anomalies emerged in the heavy meson physics sector, when measuring the muon magnetic momentum, and very recently when deducing the mass of the W boson. Here we consider a radiative extension of the Standard Model devised to be sufficiently versatile to reconcile the various experimental results while further predicting the existence of new bosons and fermions with a mass spectrum in the TeV energy scale. The resulting spectrum is, therefore, within the energy reach of the proton-proton collisions at the LHC experiments at CERN. The model investigated here allows to interpolate between composite and elementary extensions of the Standard Model with emphasis on a new modified Yukawa sector that is needed to accommodate the anomalies. Focusing on the radiative regime of the model, we introduce interesting search channels of immediate impact for the ATLAS and CMS experimental programs such as the associate production of Standard Model particles with either invisible or long-lived particles. We further show how to adapt earlier SUSY-motivated searchers of new physics to constrain the spectrum and couplings of the new scalars and fermions. Overall, the new physics template simultaneously accounts for the bulk of the observed experimental anomalies while suggesting a wide spectrum of experimental signatures relevant for the current LHC experiments.
Giacomo Cacciapaglia, Aldo Deandrea, Naveen Gaur, Daisuke Harada, Yasuhiro Okada, Luca Panizzi
We consider the phenomenology at the Large Hadron Collider of new heavy vector-like quarks which couple mainly to the third generation quarks via Yukawa interactions, with special emphasis on non-standard doublet representations which are less constrained from present data. We also discuss in detail the flavour limits at tree level and loop level and implications of a generalised CKM mixing matrix to these cases.