Deuteron Electromagnetic Form Factors in the Intermediate Energy Region

Based on a Perturbative QCD analysis of the deuteron form factor, a model for the reduced form factor is suggested. The numerical result is consistent with the data in the intermediate energy region.Comment: 9 pages, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Dynamical overlap fermions, results with hybrid Monte-Carlo algorithm

We present first, exploratory results of a hybrid Monte-Carlo algorithm for dynamical, n_f=2, four-dimensional QCD with overlap fermions. As expected, the computational requirements are typically two orders of magnitude larger for the dynamical overlap formalism than for the more conventional (Wilson or staggered) formulations.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Angular Conditions,Relations between Breit and Light-Front Frames, and Subleading Power Corrections

We analyze the current matrix elements in the general collinear (Breit) frames and find the relation between the ordinary (or canonical) helicity amplitudes and the light-front helicity amplitudes. Using the conservation of angular momentum, we derive a general angular condition which should be satisfied by the light-front helicity amplitudes for any spin system. In addition, we obtain the light-front parity and time-reversal relations for the light-front helicity amplitudes. Applying these relations to the spin-1 form factor analysis, we note that the general angular condition relating the five helicity amplitudes is reduced to the usual angular condition relating the four helicity amplitudes due to the light-front time-reversal condition. We make some comments on the consequences of the angular condition for the analysis of the high-$Q^2$ deuteron electromagnetic form factors, and we further apply the general angular condition to the electromagnetic transition between spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 systems and find a relation useful for the analysis of the N-$\Delta$ transition form factors. We also discuss the scaling law and the subleading power corrections in the Breit and light-front frames.Comment: 24 pages,2 figure

Modulational instability of two pairs of counter-propagating waves and energy exchange in two-component media

The dynamics of two pairs of counter-propagating waves in two-component media is considered within the framework of two generally nonintegrable coupled Sine-Gordon equations. We consider the dynamics of weakly nonlinear wave packets, and using an asymptotic multiple-scales expansion we obtain a suite of evolution equations to describe energy exchange between the two components of the system. Depending on the wave packet length-scale vis-a-vis the wave amplitude scale, these evolution equations are either four non-dispersive and nonlinearly coupled envelope equations, or four non-locally coupled nonlinear Schroedinger equations. We also consider a set of fully coupled nonlinear Schroedinger equations, even though this system contains small dispersive terms which are strictly beyond the leading order of the asymptotic multiple-scales expansion method. Using both the theoretical predictions following from these asymptotic models and numerical simulations of the original unapproximated equations, we investigate the stability of plane-wave solutions, and show that they may be modulationally unstable. These instabilities can then lead to the formation of localized structures, and to a modification of the energy exchange between the components. When the system is close to being integrable, the time-evolution is distinguished by a remarkable almost periodic sequence of energy exchange scenarios, with spatial patterns alternating between approximately uniform wavetrains and localized structures.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figure

QCD Factorized Drell-Yan Cross Section at Large Transverse Momentum

We derive a new factorization formula in perturbative quantum chromodynamics for the Drell-Yan massive lepton-pair cross section as a function of the transverse momentum $Q_T$ of the pair. When $Q_T$ is much larger than the pair's invariant mass $Q$, this factorization formula systematically resums the logarithmic contributions of the type $\alpha_s^m \ln^m(Q_T^2/Q^2)$ to all orders in the strong coupling $\alpha_s$. When $Q_T\sim Q$, our formula yields the same Drell-Yan cross section as conventional fixed order QCD perturbation theory. We show that resummation is important when the collision energy $\sqrt{S}$ is large enough and $Q_T\gg Q$, and we argue that perturbative expansions are more stable and reliable in terms of the modified factorization formula.Comment: 36 pages, latex, including 16 figure

Effects of azimuth-symmetric acceptance cutoffs on the measured asymmetry in unpolarized Drell-Yan fixed target experiments

Fixed-target unpolarized Drell-Yan experiments often feature an acceptance depending on the polar angle of the lepton tracks in the laboratory frame. Typically leptons are detected in a defined angular range, with a dead zone in the forward region. If the cutoffs imposed by the angular acceptance are independent of the azimuth, at first sight they do not appear dangerous for a measurement of the cos(2\phi)-asymmetry, relevant because of its association with the violation of the Lam-Tung rule and with the Boer-Mulders function. On the contrary, direct simulations show that up to 10 percent asymmetries are produced by these cutoffs. These artificial asymmetries present qualitative features that allow them to mimic the physical ones. They introduce some model-dependence in the measurements of the cos(2\phi)-asymmetry, since a precise reconstruction of the acceptance in the Collins-Soper frame requires a Monte Carlo simulation, that in turn requires some detailed physical input to generate event distributions. Although experiments in the eighties seem to have been aware of this problem, the possibility of using the Boer-Mulders function as an input parameter in the extraction of Transversity has much increased the requirements of precision on this measurement. Our simulations show that the safest approach to these measurements is a strong cutoff on the Collins-Soper polar angle. This reduces statistics, but does not necessarily decrease the precision in a measurement of the Boer-Mulders function.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure

High-energy physics with particles carrying non-zero orbital angular momentum

Thanks to progress in optics in the past two decades, it is possible to create photons carrying well-defined non-zero orbital angular momentum (OAM). Boosting these photons into high-energy range preserving their OAM seems feasible. Intermediate energy electrons with OAM have also been produced recently. One can, therefore, view OAM as a new degree of freedom in high-energy collisions and ask what novel insights into particles' structure and interactions it can bring. Here we discuss generic features of scattering processes involving particles with OAM in the initial state. We show that they make it possible to perform a Fourier analysis of a plane wave cross section with respect to the azimuthal angles of the initial particles, and to probe the autocorrelation function of the amplitude, a quantity inaccessible in plane wave collisions.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, talk given at the workshop "30 years of strong interactions", Spa, Belgium, 6-8 April 201

Electroweak instantons as a solution to the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray puzzle

We propose a scenario in which a simple power-like primary spectrum for protons with sources at cosmological distances leads to a quantitative description of all the details of the observed cosmic ray spectrum for energies from 10^{17} eV to 10^{21} eV. As usual, the ultrahigh energy protons with energies above E_{GZK} ~ 4 x 10^{19} eV loose a large fraction of their energies by the photoproduction of pions on the cosmic microwave background, which finally decay mainly into neutrinos. In our scenario, these so-called cosmogenic neutrinos interact with nucleons in the atmosphere through Standard Model electroweak instanton-induced processes and produce air showers which are hardly distinguishable from ordinary hadron-initiated air showers. In this way, they give rise to a second contribution to the observed cosmic ray spectrum -- in addition to the one from above mentioned protons -- which reaches beyond E_{GZK}. Since the whole observed spectrum is uniquely determined by a single primary injection spectrum, no fine tuning is needed to fix the ratio of the spectra below and above E_{GZK}. The statistical analysis shows an excellent goodness of this scenario. Possible tests of it range from observations at cosmic ray facilities and neutrino telescopes to searches for QCD instanton-induced processes at HERA.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Dilepton-tagged jets in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions: A case study

We study the A+B -> l+ l- + jet +X process in nucleus-nucleus collisions at relativistic energies. The dilepton as well as the jet will pass through the matter produced in such collisions. The recoiling dilepton will carry information about the kinematical features of the jet, and will thus prove to be a very effective tool in isolating in-medium effects such as energy-loss and fragmentation function modifications. We estimate the contributions due to correlated charm and bottom decay and we identify a window where they are small as compared to pairs from the NLO Drell-Yan process.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures Two figures modified, references adde

Perturbative QCD and factorization of coherent pion photoproduction on the deuteron

We analyze the predictions of perturbative QCD for pion photoproduction on the deuteron, gamma D -> pi^0 D, at large momentum transfer using the reduced amplitude formalism. The cluster decomposition of the deuteron wave function at small binding only allows the nuclear coherent process to proceed if each nucleon absorbs an equal fraction of the overall momentum transfer. Furthermore, each nucleon must scatter while remaining close to its mass shell. Thus the nuclear photoproduction amplitude, M_{gamma D -> pi^0 D}(u,t), factorizes as a product of three factors: (1) the nucleon photoproduction amplitude, M_{gamma N_1 -> pi^0 N_1}(u/4,t/4), at half of the overall momentum transfer, (2) a nucleon form factor, F_{N_2}(t/4), at half the overall momentum transfer, and (3) the reduced deuteron form factor, f_d(t), which according to perturbative QCD, has the same monopole falloff as a meson form factor. A comparison with the recent JLAB data for gamma D -> pi^0 D of Meekins et al. [Phys. Rev. C 60, 052201 (1999)] and the available gamma p -> pi^0 p data shows good agreement between the perturbative QCD prediction and experiment over a large range of momentum transfers and center of mass angles. The reduced amplitude prediction is consistent with the constituent counting rule, p^11_T M_{gamma D -> pi^0 D} -> F(theta_cm), at large momentum transfer. This is found to be consistent with measurements for photon lab energies E_gamma > 3 GeV at theta_cm=90 degrees and \elab > 10 GeV at 136 degrees.Comment: RevTeX 3.1, 17 pages, 6 figures; v2: incorporates minor changes as version accepted by Phys Rev