Mesons and the Structure of Nucleons

The role of mesons, particularly the pion, in the structure of nucleons is reviewed and investigated. Since quark-antiquark pairs are likely to ``transform" into mesons at large distances, mesons are expected to contribute to nucleon structure. Their effects on the Gottfried sum rule, on the strangeness content of the nucleon, and on the spin of the nucleon are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, TeX file followed by 3 uuencoded PostScript figures (optional), DOE/ER/40427-08-N9

The Weak Parity-Violating Pion-Nucleon Coupling (Revised)

We use QCD sum rules to obtain the weak parity-violating pion-nucleon coupling constant $f_{\pi NN}$. We find that $f_{\pi NN}\approx 2\times 10^{-8}$, about an order of magnitude smaller than the ``best estimates'' based on quark models. This result follows from the cancellation between perturbative and nonperturbative QCD processes not found in quark models, but explicit in the QCD sum rule method. Our result is consistent with the experimental upper limit found from $^{18}$F parity-violating measurements.Comment: 13 pages, uses LaTex; figures can be obtained from any of the authors: [email protected], Kisslinger@kelvin. phys.cmu.edu, [email protected]

Phonon-phason coupling in icosahedral quasicrystals

From relaxation simulations of decoration-based quasicrystal structure models using microscopically based interatomic pair potentials, we have calculated the (usually neglected) phonon-phason coupling constant. Its sign is opposite for the two alloys studied, i-AlMn and i-(Al,Cu)Li; a dimensionless measure of its magnitude relative to the phonon and phason elastic constants is of order 1/10, suggesting its effects are small but detectable. We also give a criterion for when phonon-phason effects are noticeable in diffuse tails of Bragg peaks.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, uses Europhys Lett macros (included

Method of fabricating an object with a thin wall having a precisely shaped slit

A method is described for making a structure with a cavity and a thin wall with a precisely shaped slit. An object with a cavity having two openings, one of which is to be closed by a thin wall with a slit, is placed on the surface of a fixture. The fixture surface has a slot conforming to the size and shape of the slit to be formed in the thin wall

Properties of Resonating-Valence-Bond Spin Liquids and Critical Dimer Models

We use Monte Carlo simulations to study properties of Anderson's resonating-valence-bond (RVB) spin-liquid state on the square lattice (i.e., the equal superposition of all pairing of spins into nearest-neighbor singlet pairs) and compare with the classical dimer model (CDM). The latter system also corresponds to the ground state of the Rokhsar-Kivelson quantum dimer model at its critical point. We find that although spin-spin correlations decay exponentially in the RVB, four-spin valence-bond-solid (VBS) correlations are critical, qualitatively like the well-known dimer-dimer correlations of the CDM, but decaying more slowly (as $1/r^a$ with $a \approx 1.20$, compared with $a=2$ for the CDM). We also compute the distribution of monomer (defect) pair separations, which decay by a larger exponent in the RVB than in the CDM. We further study both models in their different winding number sectors and evaluate the relative weights of different sectors. Like the CDM, all the observed RVB behaviors can be understood in the framework of a mapping to a "height" model characterized by a gradient-squared stiffness constant $K$. Four independent measurements consistently show a value $K_{RVB} \approx 1.6 K_{CDM}$, with the same kinds of numerical evaluations of $K_{CDM}$ give results in agreement with the rigorously known value $K_{CDM}=\pi/16$. The background of a nonzero winding number gradient $W/L$ introduces spatial anisotropies and an increase in the effective K, both of which can be understood as a consequence of anharmonic terms in the height-model free energy, which are of relevance to the recently proposed scenario of "Cantor deconfinement" in extended quantum dimer models. We also study ensembles in which fourth-neighbor (bipartite) bonds are allowed, at a density controlled by a tunable fugacity, resulting (as expected) in a smooth reduction of K.Comment: 26 pages, 21 figures. v3: final versio

First-principles prediction of a decagonal quasicrystal containing boron

We interpret experimentally known B-Mg-Ru crystals as quasicrystal approximants. These approximant structures imply a deterministic decoration of tiles by atoms that can be extended quasiperiodically. Experimentally observed structural disorder corresponds to phason (tile flip) fluctuations. First-principles total energy calculations reveal that many distinct tilings lie close to stability at low temperatures. Transfer matrix calculations based on these energies suggest a phase transition from a crystalline state at low temperatures to a high temperature state characterized by tile fluctuations. We predict B$_{38}$Mg$_{17}$Ru$_{45}$ forms a decagonal quasicrystal that is metastable at low temperatures and may be thermodynamically stable at high temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Determination of flavor asymmetry for Σ±\Sigma^{\pm} by the Drell-Yan process

Flavor asymmetries for the valence and sea quarks of the $\Sigma^{\pm}$ can be obtained from Drell-Yan experiments using charged hyperon beams on proton and deuteron targets. A large, measurable difference in sea quark asymmetries is predicted between SU(3) and pseudoscalar meson models. The latter predict that in $\Sigma^{+}$, $\bar{u}/\bar{d} \leq 1/2$, whereas the former predict $\bar{u}/\bar{d} \approx 4/3$. Estimates of valence quark asymmetries based on quark models also show large deviations from SU(3) predictions, which should be measurable.Comment: 15 pages, latex. Figures available from [email protected]. To be published in Phys. Lett.