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NEXT-100 is an electroluminescent high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber that will search for the neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of 136 Xe. The detector possesses two features of great value for 0νββ searches: energy resolution better than 1% FWHM at the Q value of 136 Xe and track reconstruction for the discrimination of signal and background events. This combination results in excellent sensitivity, as discussed in this paper. Material-screening measurements and a detailed Monte Carlo detector simulation predict a background rate for NEXT-100 of at most 4 × 10 −4 counts keV −1 kg −1 yr −1 . Accordingly, the detector will reach a sensitivity to the 0νββ-decay half-life of 2.8 × 10 25 years (90% CL) for an exposure of 100 kg · year, or 6.0 × 10 25 years after a run of 3 effective years.

The first measurement of transverse-spin-dependent azimuthal asymmetries in the pion-induced Drell-Yan (DY) process is reported. We use the CERN SPS 190  GeV/c π^{-} beam and a transversely polarized ammonia target. Three azimuthal asymmetries giving access to different transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions (PDFs) are extracted using dimuon events with invariant mass between 4.3  GeV/c^{2} and 8.5  GeV/c^{2}. Within the experimental uncertainties, the observed sign of the Sivers asymmetry is found to be consistent with the fundamental prediction of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) that the Sivers TMD PDFs extracted from DY have a sign opposite to the one extracted from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) data. We present two other asymmetries originating from the pion Boer-Mulders TMD PDFs convoluted with either the nucleon transversity or pretzelosity TMD PDFs. A recent COMPASS SIDIS measurement was obtained at a hard scale comparable to that of these DY results. This opens the way for possible tests of fundamental QCD universality predictions.

We have performed the most comprehensive resonance-model fit of π − π − π þ states using the results of our previously published partial-wave analysis (PWA) of a large data set of diffractive-dissociation events from the reaction π − þ p → π − π − π þ þ p recoil with a 190 GeV=c pion beam. The PWA results, which were obtained in 100 bins of three-pion mass, 0.5 < m 3π < 2.5 GeV=c 2 , and simultaneously in 11 bins of the reduced four-momentum transfer squared, 0.1 < t 0 < 1.0 ðGeV=cÞ 2 , are subjected to a resonance-model fit using Breit-Wigner amplitudes to simultaneously describe a subset of 14 selected waves using 11 isovector light-meson states with J PC ¼ 0 −þ , 1 þþ , 2 þþ , 2 −þ , 4 þþ , and spin-exotic 1 −þ quantum numbers. The model contains the well-known resonances πð1800Þ, a 1 ð1260Þ, a 2 ð1320Þ, π 2 ð1670Þ, π 2 ð1880Þ, and a 4 ð2040Þ. In addition, it includes the disputed π 1 ð1600Þ, the excited states a 1 ð1640Þ, a 2 ð1700Þ, and π 2 ð2005Þ, as well as the resonancelike a 1 ð1420Þ. We measure the resonance parameters mass and width of these objects by combining the information from the PWA results obtained in the 11 t 0 bins. We extract the relative branching fractions of the ρð770Þπ and f 2 ð1270Þπ decays of a 2 ð1320Þ and a 4 ð2040Þ, where the former one is measured for the first time. In a novel approach, we extract the t 0 dependence of the intensity of the resonances and of their phases. The t 0 dependence of the intensities of most resonances differs distinctly from the t 0 dependence of the nonresonant components. For the first time, we determine the t 0 dependence of the phases of the production amplitudes and confirm that the production mechanism of the Pomeron exchange is common to all resonances. We have performed extensive systematic studies on the model dependence and correlations of the measured physical parameters.

The COMPASS collaboration has collected the currently largest data set on diffractively produced π − π − π þ final states using a negative pion beam of 190 GeV=c momentum impinging on a stationary proton target. This data set allows for a systematic partial-wave analysis in 100 bins of three-pion mass, 0.5 < m 3π < 2.5 GeV=c 2 , and in 11 bins of the reduced four-momentum transfer squared, 0.1 < t 0 < 1.0 ðGeV=cÞ 2. This two-dimensional analysis offers sensitivity to genuine one-step resonance production, i.e. the production of a state followed by its decay, as well as to more complex dynamical effects in nonresonant 3π production. In this paper, we present detailed studies on selected 3π partial waves with J PC ¼ 0 −þ , 1 þþ , 2 −þ , 2 þþ , and 4 þþ. In these waves, we observe the well-known groundstate mesons as well as a new narrow axial-vector meson a 1 ð1420Þ decaying into f 0 ð980Þπ. In addition, we present the results of a novel method to extract the amplitude of the π − π þ subsystem with I G J PC ¼ 0 þ 0 þþ in various partial waves from the π − π − π þ data. Evidence is found for correlation of the f 0 ð980Þ and f 0 ð1500Þ appearing as intermediate π − π þ isobars in the decay of the known πð1800Þ and π 2 ð1880Þ.