Axial exchange currents and nucleon spin

We calculate the hypercharge and flavor singlet axial couplings related to the spin of the nucleon in a constituent quark model. In addition to the standard one-body axial currents, the model includes two-body axial exchange currents. The latter are necessary to satisfy the Partial Conservation of Axial Current (PCAC) condition. For both axial couplings we find significant corrections to the standard quark model prediction. Exchange currents reduce the valence quark contribution to the nucleon spin and afford an interpretation of the missing nucleon spin as orbital angular momentum carried by nonvalence quark degrees of freedom.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Partial conservation of the axial current and axial exchange currents in the nucleon

We discuss the axial form factors of the nucleon within the context of the nonrelativistic chiral quark model. Partial conservation of the axial current (PCAC) imposed at the quark operator level enforces an axial coupling for the constituent quarks which is smaller than unity. This leads to an axial coupling constant of the nucleon $g_A$ in good agreement with experiment. PCAC also requires the inclusion of axial exchange currents. Their effects on the axial form factors are analyzed. We find only small exchange current contributions to $g_A$, which is dominated by the one-body axial current. On the other hand, axial exchange currents give sizeable contributions to the axial radius of the nucleon $r_A^2$, and to the non-pole part of the induced pseudoscalar form factor $g_P$. For the latter, the confinement exchange current is the dominant term.Comment: The formal part of the paper developped in sections III and IV has been clearly improved. The numerical results change slightly. A few new references added. Version accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics

24-Hour changes in circulating prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone in young male rats subjected to calorie restriction

This work analyzes the effect of calorie restriction on the 24 h variation of pituitary-testicular function in young male Wistar rats by measuring the circulating levels of prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone. Control animals were provided an equilibrium calorie diet and the experimental animals a calorie-restriction diet equivalent to 66% of food restriction for four weeks starting on day 35 of life. Different groups of control and experimental rats were killed at 6 h intervals around the clock, beginning 1 h after light on (HALO). Compared to the control animals, the mean secretion of prolactin was augmented and that of LH and testosterone decreased in calorie-restricted rats, whereas FSH release remained unchanged. Significant changes in the 24 h secretory pattern of circulating prolactin, LH, and testosterone occurred in the calorie-restricted rats. These include the appearance of a second maximum of plasma prolactin at 21 HALO, blunting of the LH peak seen at 13 HALO, and phase-shift of the testosterone peak from 13 HALO in controls to 17 HALO in calorie-restricted rats. The significant positive correlation between individual LH and testosterone levels found in controls was no longer observed in calorie-restricted rats. Availability of nutrients presumably affects the mechanisms that modulate the circadian variation of the pituitary-gonadal axis in growing male rats.Peer Reviewe