On the Existence of Heavy Pentaquarks: The large Nc and Heavy Quark Limits and Beyond

We present a very general argument that the analogue of a heavy pentaquark (a state with the quantum numbers of a baryon combined with an additional light quark and a heavy antiquark) must exist as a particle stable under strong interactions in the combined heavy quark and large Nc limits of QCD. Moreover, in the combined limit these heavy pentaquark states fill multiplets of SU(4)xO(8)xSU(2). We explore the question of whether corrections in the combined 1/Nc and 1/mQ expansions are sufficiently small to maintain this qualitative result. Since no model-independent way is known to answer this question, we use a class of ``realistic'' hadronic models in which a pentaquark can be formed via nucleon-heavy meson binding through a pion-exchange potential. These models have the virtue that they necessarily yield the correct behavior in the combined limit, and the long-distance parts of the interactions are model independent. If the long-distance attraction in these models were to predict bound states in a robust way (i.e., largely insensitive to the details of the short-range interaction), then one could safely conclude that heavy pentaquarks do exist. However, in practice the binding does depend very strongly on the details of the short-distance physics, suggesting that the real world is not sufficiently near the combined large Nc, mQ limit to use it as a reliable guide. Whether stable heavy pentaquarks exist remains an open question.Comment: 11 pages; references adde

Radiative Corrections for Pion Polarizability Experiments

We use the semi-analytical program RCFORGV to evaluate radiative corrections to one-photon radiative emission in the high-energy scattering of pions in the Coulomb field of a nucleus with atomic number Z. It is shown that radiative corrections can simulate a pion polarizability effect. The average effect was estimated for pion energies 40-600 GeV. We also study the range of applicability of the equivalent photon approximation in describing one-photon radiative emission.Comment: 11 pages (LaTex), 6 figures, 1 table. No changes in the paper. New submission because old files are corrupted in arXi

π+\pi^+ and π0\pi^0 Polarizabilities from {γγ→ππ\gamma\gamma\rightarrow\pi\pi} Data on the Base of S-Matrix Approach

We suggest the most model-independent and simple description of the $\gamma\gamma\rightarrow\pi\pi$ process near threshold in framework of S-matrix approach. The amplitudes contain the pion polarizabilities and rather restricted information about $\pi \pi$ interaction. Application of these formulae for description of MARK-II \cite{M2} and Crystal Ball \cite{CB} data gives: $(\alpha-\beta)^{C}=(6.0\pm 1.2)\cdot 10^{-42} {\rm cm}^{3}$, $(\alpha-\beta)^{N}=(-1.4\pm 2.1)\cdot 10^{-42} cm^3$ (in units system $e^2 = 4 \pi \alpha$) at the experimental values of $\pi \pi$ scattering lengths. Both values are compartible with current algebra predictions.Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages plus 6 figures (not included, available upon request) , ISU-IAP.Th93-03, Irkuts

First Measurement of pi e -> pi e gamma Pion Virtual Compton Scattering

Pion Virtual Compton Scattering (VCS) via the reaction pi e --> pi e gamma was observed in the Fermilab E781 SELEX experiment. SELEX used a 600 GeV/c pi- beam incident on target atomic electrons, detecting the incident pi- and the final state pi-, electron and gamma. Theoretical predictions based on chiral perturbation theory are incorporated into a Monte Carlo simulation of the experiment and are compared to the data. The number of reconstructed events (9) and their distribution with respect to the kinematic variables (for the kinematic region studied) are in reasonable accord with the predictions. The corresponding pi- VCS experimental cross section is sigma=38.8+-13 nb, in agreement with the theoretical expectation sigma=34.7 nb.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, 25 references, SELEX home page is http://fn781a.fnal.gov/, revised July 21, 2002 in response to journal referee Comment

A-dependence of phi-meson production in p+A collisions

A systematic analysis of the A-dependence of phi-meson production in proton-nucleus collisions is presented. We apply different formalisms for the evaluation of the phi-meson distortion in nuclei and discuss the theoretical uncertainties of the data analysis. The corresponding results are compared to theoretical predictions. We also discuss the interpretation of the extracted results with respect to different observables and provide relations between frequently used definitions. The perspectives of future experiments are evaluated and estimates based on our systematical study are given.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure