Charge Symmetry Breaking in the Valence Quark Distributions of the Nucleon

Using a quark model, we study the effect of charge symmetry breaking on the valence quark distributions of the nucleon. The effect due to quark mass differences and the Coulomb interaction of the electrically charged quarks is calculated and, in contrast to recent claims, found to be small. In addition, we investigate the effect of charge symmetry breaking in the confining interaction, and in the perturbative evolution equations used to relate the quark model distributions to experiment. We find that both these effects are small, and that the strong charge symmetry breaking effect included in the scalar confining interactions may be distinguishable from that generated by quark mass differences.Comment: 10 pages, LaTEX, 5 Postscript figure

A Quantum-Mechanical Equivalent-Photon Spectrum for Heavy-Ion Physics

In a previous paper, we calculated the fully quantum-mechanical cross section for electromagnetic excitation during peripheral heavy-ion collisions. Here, we examine the sensitivity of that cross section to the detailed structure of the projectile and target nuclei. At the transition energies relevant to nuclear physics, we find the cross section to be weakly dependent on the projectile charge radius, and to be sensitive to only the leading momentum-transfer dependence of the target transition form factors. We exploit these facts to derive a quantum-mechanical ``equivalent-photon spectrum'' valid in the long-wavelength limit. This improved spectrum includes the effects of projectile size, the finite longitudinal momentum transfer required by kinematics, and the response of the target nucleus to the off-shell photon.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Time-dependent embedding: surface electron emission

An embedding method for solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation is developed using the Dirac-Frenkel variational principle. Embedding allows the time-evolution of the wavefunction to be calculated explicitly in a limited region of space, the region of physical interest, the embedding potential ensuring that the wavefunction satisfies the correct boundary conditions for matching on to the rest of the system. This is applied to a study of the excitation of electrons at a metal surface, represented by a one-dimensional model potential for Cu(111). Time-dependent embedding potentials are derived for replacing the bulk substrate, and the image potential and vacuum region outside the surface, so that the calculation of electron excitation by a surface perturbation can be restricted to the surface itself. The excitation of the Shockley surface state and a continuum bulk state is studied, and the time-structure of the resulting currents analysed. Non-linear effects and the time taken for the current to arrive outside the surface are discussed. The method shows a clear distinction between emission from the localized surface state, where the charge is steadily depleted, and the extended continuum state where the current emitted into the vacuum is compensated by current approaching the surface from the bulk.Comment: 15 figure

Microscopic description of Coulomb and nuclear excitation of multiphonon states in 40^{40}Ca + 40^{40}Ca collisions

We calculate the inelastic scattering cross sections to populate one- and two-phonon states in heavy ion collisions with both Coulomb and nuclear excitations. Starting from a microscopic approach based on RPA, we go beyond it in order to treat anharmonicities and non-linear terms in the exciting field. These anharmonicities and non-linearities are shown to have important effects on the cross sections both in the low energy part of the spectrum and in the energy region of the Double Giant Quadrupole Resonance. By properly introducing an optical potential the inelastic cross section is calculated semiclassically by integrating the excitation probability over all impact parameters. A satisfactory agreement with the experimental results is obtained.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, revtex, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Valence Quark Distribution in A=3 Nuclei

We calculate the quark distribution function for 3He/3H in a relativistic quark model of nuclear structure which adequately reproduces the nucleon approximation, nuclear binding energies, and nuclear sizes for small nuclei. The results show a clear distortion from the quark distribution function for individual nucleons (EMC effect) arising dominantly from a combination of recoil and quark tunneling effects. Antisymmetrization (Pauli) effects are found to be small due to limited spatial overlaps. We compare our predictions with a published parameterization of the nuclear valence quark distributions and find significant agreement.Comment: 18pp., revtex4, 4 fig

Charge symmetry violation in the parton distributions of the nucleon

We point out that charge symmetry violation in both the valence and sea quark distributions of the nucleon has a non-perturbative source. We calculate this non-perturbative charge symmetry violation using the meson cloud model, which has earlier been successfully applied to both the study of SU(2) flavour asymmetry in the nucleon sea and quark-antiquark asymmetry in the nucleon. We find that the charge symmetry violation in the valence quark distribution is well below 1%, which is consistent with most low energy tests but significantly smaller than the quark model prediction about 5%-10%. Our prediction for the charge symmetry violation in the sea quark distribution is also much smaller than the quark model calculation.Comment: RevTex, 26 pages, 6 PostScript figure

Shadowing in neutrino deep inelastic scattering and the determination of the strange quark distribution

We discuss shadowing corrections to the structure function $F_2$ in neutrino deep-inelastic scattering on heavy nuclear targets. In particular, we examine the role played by shadowing in the comparison of the structure functions $F_2$ measured in neutrino and muon deep inelastic scattering. The importance of shadowing corrections in the determination of the strange quark distributions is explained.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

Mutual heavy ion dissociation in peripheral collisions at ultrarelativistic energies

We study mutual dissociation of heavy nuclei in peripheral collisions at ultrarelativistic energies. Earlier this process was proposed for beam luminosity monitoring via simultaneous registration of forward and backward neutrons in zero degree calorimeters at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Electromagnetic dissociation of heavy ions is considered in the framework of the Weizsacker-Williams method and simulated by the RELDIS code. Photoneutron cross sections measured in different experiments and calculated by the GNASH code are used as input for the calculations of dissociation cross sections. The difference in results obtained with different inputs provides a realistic estimation for the systematic uncertainty of the luminosity monitoring method. Contribution to simultaneous neutron emission due to grazing nuclear interactions is calculated within the abrasion model. Good description of CERN SPS experimental data on Au and Pb dissociation gives confidence in predictive power of the model for AuAu and PbPb collisions at RHIC and LHC.Comment: 46 pages with 7 tables and 13 figures, numerical integration accuracy improved, next-to-leading-order corrections include