Production of K−K^--mesons in proton-proton and proton-nucleus interactions at various energies

The experimental data on the production of $K^-$-mesons in pp-collisions are analyzed and a method of the unified description of these data in a broad energy range for primary protons is proposed. The $K^-$-mesons production in pA-collisions is considered. The simple formulas for inclusive cross sections of the $K^-$ production in these collisions are given. The results of the calculations by these formulas are compared with the available experimental data.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, uses ws-art.sty. Figures can be requested from [email protected] or looked up in the article abov

Subthreshold K+ Meson Production in Proton-Nucleus Reactions

The inclusive K+ mesons production in proton-nucleus collisions in the near threshold and subthreshold energy regimes is analyzed with respect to the one-step (pN->K+YN, Y=Lambda,Sigma) and the two-step (pN->NNpi, NN2pi; piN->K+Y) incoherent production processes on the basis of an appropriate new folding model, which takes properly into account the struck target nucleon removal energy and momentum distribution (nucleon spectral function), extracted from recent quasielastic electron scattering experiments and from many-body calculations with realistic models of the NN interaction. Comparison of the model calculations of the K+ double differential cross sections for the reaction p+C at 1.2, 1.5 and 2.5 GeV beam energies with the existing experimental data from the SATURNE experiment is given, illustrating both the relative role of the primary and secondary production channels at considered incident energies and those features of the cross sections which are sensitive to the high momentum and high removal energy part of the nucleon spectral function that is governed by nucleon-nucleon short-range and tensor correlations. In--medium modifications of the available for pion and hyperon production invariant energies squared due to the respective optical potentials are needed to account for the experimental data on K+ production in the energy region under consideration.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, uses revtex.st

Subthreshold K+K^+ Production on Nuclei by π+\pi^+ Mesons

The inclusive $K^+$ mesons production in $\pi^+$--nucleus reactions in the subthreshold energy regime is analyzed with respect to the one--step ($\pi^+n\to K^+\Lambda$) and the two--step ($\pi^+n\to \eta p_1,~ \eta p_2\to K^+\Lambda$) incoherent production processes on the basis of an appropriate folding model, which allows one to take into account the various forms of an internal nucleon momentum distribution as well as on-- and off--shell propagation of the struck target nucleon. Contrary to proton--nucleus reactions primary reaction channel is found to be significant practically at all considered energies. Detailed predictions for the $K^+$ total and invariant differential cross sections from \piC-- and \piPb--collisions at subthreshold energies are provided.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, uses ws-art.sty, gzip+uuencoded postscript. Figures are available by request from [email protected]

Star complexes and stellar populations in NGC 6822 - Comparison with the Magellanic Clouds

The star complexes (large scale star forming regions) of NGC 6822 were traced and mapped and their size distribution was compared with the size distribution of star complexes in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). Furthermore, the spatial distributions of different age stellar populations were compared with each other. The star complexes of NGC 6822 were determined by using the isopleths, based on star counts, of the young stars of the galaxy, using a statistical cutoff limit in density. In order to map them and determine their geometrical properties, an ellipse was fitted to every distinct region satisfying this minimum limit. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test was used to study possible patterns in their size distribution. Isopleths were also used to study the stellar populations of NGC 6822. The star complexes of NGC 6822 were detected and a list of their positions and sizes was produced. Indications of hierarchical star formation, in terms of spatial distribution, time evolution and preferable sizes were found in NGC 6822 and the MCs. The spatial distribution of the various age stellar populations has indicated traces of an interaction in NGC 6822, dated before 350 +/- 50 Myr.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&A; minor typeface correction

Effects of Non-Circular Motions on Azimuthal Color Gradients

Assuming that density waves trigger star formation, and that young stars preserve the velocity components of the molecular gas where they are born, we analyze the effects that non-circular gas orbits have on color gradients across spiral arms. We try two approaches, one involving semi-analytical solutions for spiral shocks, and another with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation data. We find that, if non-circular motions are ignored, the comparison between observed color gradients and stellar population synthesis models would in principle yield pattern speed values that are systematically too high for regions inside corotation, with the difference between the real and the measured pattern speeds increasing with decreasing radius. On the other hand, image processing and pixel averaging result in systematically lower measured spiral pattern speed values, regardless of the kinematics of stellar orbits. The net effect is that roughly the correct pattern speeds are recovered, although the trend of higher measured $\Omega_p$ at lower radii (as expected when non-circular motions exist but are neglected) should still be observed. We examine the Martinez-Garcia et al. (2009) photometric data and confirm that this is indeed the case. The comparison of the size of the systematic pattern speed offset in the data with the predictions of the semi-analytical and MHD models corroborates that spirals are more likely to end at Outer Lindblad Resonance, as these authors had already found.Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures, accepted to Ap

Hierarchical Star-Formation in M33: Fundamental properties of the star-forming regions

Star-formation within galaxies appears on multiple scales, from spiral structure, to OB associations, to individual star clusters, and often sub-structure within these clusters. This multitude of scales calls for objective methods to find and classify star-forming regions, regardless of spatial size. To this end, we present an analysis of star-forming groups in the local group spiral galaxy M33, based on a new implementation of the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) method. Unlike previous studies which limited themselves to a single spatial scale, we study star-forming structures from the effective resolution limit (~20pc) to kpc scales. We find evidence for a continuum of star-forming group sizes, from pc to kpc scales. We do not find a characteristic scale for OB associations, unlike that found in previous studies, and we suggest that the appearance of such a scale was caused by spatial resolution and selection effects. The luminosity function of the groups is found to be well represented by a power-law with an index, -2, similar to that found for clusters and GMCs. Additionally, the groups follow a similar mass-radius relation as GMCs. The size distribution of the groups is best described by a log-normal distribution and we show that within a hierarchical distribution, if a scale is selected to find structure, the resulting size distribution will have a log-normal distribution. We find an abrupt drop of the number of groups outside a galactic radius of ~4kpc, suggesting a change in the structure of the star-forming ISM, possibly reflected in the lack of GMCs beyond this radius. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, accepted MNRA

Old and new parton distribution and fragmentation functions

A short review of problems with parton distribution functions in nucleons, non-polarized and polarized, is given. The main part is devoted to the transversity distribution its possible measurement and its first experimental probe via spin asymmetry in semi-inclusive DIS. It is argued that the proton transversity distribution could be successfully measured in future DIS experiments with {\it longitudinally} polarized target.Comment: 9 pages, latex, czjphys2.sty, 4 eps figures. Submitted at 35-th Rancontre de Moriond, March 2000 and at Praha-SPIN-2000, July 2000. To be published in Czechoslovak J. Phys. (Suppl) 51 (2001