Exclusive glueball production in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions

The cross sections for the glueball candidates production in quasi-real photon-photon collisions and on central diffraction processes, i.e. double Pomeron exchange, in heavy ion interactions at RHIC and LHC are computed. The rates for these distinct production channels are compared and they may be a fruitful approach to the investigation of glueballs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 tables. Final version to be published in Physical Review

An Introduction to Breakdown Phenomena in Disordered Systems

The rupture of a medium under stress typifies breakdown phenomena. More generally, the latter encompass the dynamics of systems of many interacting elements governed by the interplay of a driving force with a pinning disorder, resulting in a macroscopic transition. A simple mean-field formalism incorporating these features is presented and applied to systems representative of fracture phenomena, social dilemmas, and magnets out of equilibrium. The similarities and differences in the corresponding mathematical structures are emphasized. The solutions are best obtained from a graphical method, from which very general conclusions may be drawn. In particular, the various classes of disorder distribution are treated without reference to a particular analytical or numerical form, and are found to lead to qualitatively different transitions. Finally, the notion of effective (or phenomenological) theory is introduced and illustrated for non-equilibrium disordered magnets.Comment: Pedagogical article published as part of a special issue on thermodynamics and statistical physics; 20 page

A photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50 parsecs of the Sun: I. Atmospheric parameters and color similarity to the Sun

Solar twins and analogs are fundamental in the characterization of the Sun's place in the context of stellar measurements, as they are in understanding how typical the solar properties are in its neighborhood. They are also important for representing sunlight observable in the night sky for diverse photometric and spectroscopic tasks, besides being natural candidates for harboring planetary systems similar to ours and possibly even life-bearing environments. We report a photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50 pc of the Sun. Hipparcos absolute magnitudes and (B-V)_Tycho colors were used to define a 2 sigma box around the solar values, where 133 stars were considered. Additional stars resembling the solar UBV colors in a broad sense, plus stars present in the lists of Hardorp, were also selected. All objects were ranked by a color-similarity index with respect to the Sun, defined by uvby and BV photometry. Moderately high-resolution, high-S/N spectra were used for a subsample of equatorial-southern stars to derive Teff, log g, and [Fe/H] with average internal errors better than 50 K, 0.20 dex, and 0.08 dex, respectively. Ages and masses were estimated from theoretical HR diagrams. The color-similarity index proved very successful. We identify and rank new excellent solar analogs, which are fit to represent the Sun in the night sky. Some of them are faint enough to be of interest for moderately large telescopes. We also identify two stars with near-UV spectra indistinguishable from the Sun's. We present five new "probable" solar twin stars, besides five new "possible" twins. Masses and ages for the best solar twin candidates lie very close to the solar values, but chromospheric activity levels range somewhat. We propose that the solar twins be emphasized in the ongoing searches for extra-solar planets and SETI searches.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, 14 table

Pion distribution amplitude from holographic QCD and the electromagnetic form factor F_pi(Q2)

The holographic QCD prediction for the pion distribution amplitude (DA) $\phi_{hol}(u)$ is used to compute the pion spacelike electromagnetic form factor $F_{\pi}(Q^2)$ within the QCD light-cone sum rule method. In calculations the pion's renormalon-based model twist-4 DA, as well as the asymptotic twist-4 DA are employed. Obtained theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data and with results of the holographic QCD