Radiative decays of decuplet hyperons

We calculate the radiative decay widths of decuplet hyperons in a chiral constituent quark model including electromagnetic exchange currents between quarks. Exchange currents contribute significantly to the E2 transition amplitude, while they largely cancel for the M1 transition amplitude. Strangeness suppression of the radiative hyperon decays is found to be weakened by exchange currents. Differences and similarities between our results and other recent model predictions are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 1 eps figure, revtex, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Low-Energy Compton Scattering of Polarized Photons on Polarized Nucleons

The general structure of the cross section of $\gamma N$ scattering with polarized photon and/or nucleon in initial and/or final state is systematically described and exposed through invariant amplitudes. A low-energy expansion of the cross section up to and including terms of order $\omega^4$ is given which involves ten structure parameters of the nucleon (dipole, quadrupole, dispersion, and spin polarizabilities). Their physical meaning is discussed in detail. Using fixed-t dispersion relations, predictions for these parameters are obtained and compared with results of chiral perturbation theory. It is emphasized that Compton scattering experiments at large angles can fix the most uncertain of these structure parameters. Predictions for the cross section and double-polarization asymmetries are given and the convergence of the expansion is investigated. The feasibility of the experimental determination of some of the struture parameters is discussed.Comment: 41 pages of text, 9 figures; minor revisions prior to publication in Phys. Rev.

Precision calculation of γd→π+nn\gamma d\to \pi^+ nn within chiral perturbation theory

The reaction $\gamma d\to \pi^+ nn$ is calculated up to order $\chi^{5/2}$ in chiral perturbation theory, where $\chi$ denotes the ratio of the pion to the nucleon mass. Special emphasis is put on the role of nucleon--recoil corrections that are the source of contributions with fractional power in $\chi$. Using the known near threshold production amplitude for $\gamma p\to \pi^+ n$ as the only input, the total cross section for $\gamma d\to \pi^+ nn$ is described very well. A conservative estimate suggests that the theoretical uncertainty for the transition operator amounts to 3 % for the computed amplitude near threshold.Comment: 28 page

Sum rule for the backward spin polarizability of the nucleon from a backward dispersion relation

A new sum rule for $\gamma_\pi$, the backward spin polarizability of the nucleon, is derived from a backward-angle dispersion relation. Taking into account single- and multi-pion photoproduction in the s-channel up to the energy 1.5 GeV and resonances in the t-channel with mass below 1.5 GeV, it is found for the proton and neutron that $[\gamma_\pi]_p$ = -39.5 +/- 2.4 and $[\gamma_\pi]_n$ = 52.5 +/- 2.4, respectively, in units of 10^{-4} fm^4.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, revtex. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

On the extraction of electromagnetic properties of the Delta(1232) excitation from pion photoproduction

Several methods for the treatment of pion photoproduction in the region of the Delta(1232) resonance are discussed, in particular the effective Lagrangian approach and the speed plot analysis are compared to a dynamical treatment. As a main topic, we discuss the extraction of the genuine resonance parts of the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole multipoles of the electromagnetic excitation of the resonance. To this end, we try to relate the various values for the ratio R_{EM} of the E2 to M1 multipole excitation strengths for the Delta(1232) resonance as extracted by the different methods to corresponding ratios of a dynamical model. Moreover, it is confirmed that all methods for extracting resonance properties suffer from an unitary ambiguity which is due to some phenomenological contributions entering the models.Comment: 22 pages revtex including 7 postscript figure

The P_33(1232) resonance contribution into the amplitudes M_{1+}^{3/2},E_{1+}^{3/2},S_{1+}^{3/2} from an analysis of the p(e,e'p)\pi^0 data at Q^2 = 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2 within dispersion relation approach

Within the fixed-t dispersion relation approach we have analysed the TJNAF and DESY data on the exclusive p(e,e'p)\pi^0 reaction in order to find the P_{33}(1232) resonance contribution into the multipole amplitudes M_{1+}^{3/2},E_{1+}^{3/2},S_{1+}^{3/2}. As an input for the resonance and nonresonance contributions into these amplitudes the earlier obtained solutions of the integral equations which follow from dispersion relations are used. The obtained values of the ratio E2/M1 for the \gamma^* N \to P_{33}(1232) transition are: 0.039\pm 0.029, 0.121\pm 0.032, 0.04\pm 0.031 for Q^2= 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2, respectively. The comparison with the data at low Q^2 shows that there is no evidence for the presence of the visible pQCD contribution into the transition \gamma N \to P_{33}(1232) at Q^2=3-4 GeV^2. The ratio S_{1+}^{3/2}/M_{1+}^{3/2} for the resonance parts of multipoles is: -0.049\pm 0.029, -0.099\pm 0.041, -0.085\pm 0.021 for Q^2= 2.8, 3.2, and 4 (GeV/c)^2, respectively. Our results for the transverse form factor G_T(Q^2) of the \gamma^* N \to P_{33}(1232) transition are lower than the values obtained from the inclusive data. With increasing Q^2, Q^4G_T(Q^2) decreases, so there is no evidence for the presence of the pQCD contribution here too

Charged current weak electroproduction of Delta resonance

We study the weak production of $\Delta$ (i.e. $e^{-} + p \to \Delta^{0}+ \nu_{e}$ and $e^{+} + p \to \Delta^{++} + \bar{\nu}_{e}$) in the intermediate energy range corresponding to the Mainz and TJNAF electron accelerators. The differential cross sections $\sigma(\theta)$ are found to be of the order of $10^{-39}$ cm$^2$/sr, over a range of angles which increases with energy. The possibility of observing these reactions with the high luminosities available at these accelerators, and studying the weak N-$\Delta$ transition form factors through these reactions is discussed. The production cross section of N$^*(1440)$ in the kinematic region of $\Delta$ production is also estimated and found to be small.Comment: 19 pages, REVTEX, 4 figure

Green tea polyphenol treatment is chondroprotective, anti-inflammatory and palliative in a mouse posttraumatic osteoarthritis model

Introduction Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol present in green tea, was shown to exert chondroprotective effects in vitro. In this study, we used a posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) mouse model to test whether EGCG could slow the progression of OA and relieve OA-associated pain. Methods C57BL/6 mice were subjected to surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) or sham surgery. EGCG (25 mg/kg) or vehicle control was administered daily for 4 or 8 weeks by intraperitoneal injection starting on the day of surgery. OA severity was evaluated using Safranin O staining and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scores, as well as by immunohistochemical analysis to detect cleaved aggrecan and type II collagen and expression of proteolytic enzymes matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) and A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5 (ADAMTS5). Real-time PCR was performed to characterize the expression of genes critical for articular cartilage homeostasis. During the course of the experiments, tactile sensitivity testing (von Frey test) and open-field assays were used to evaluate pain behaviors associated with OA, and expression of pain expression markers and inflammatory cytokines in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was determined by real-time PCR. Results Four and eight weeks after DMM surgery, the cartilage in EGCG-treated mice exhibited less Safranin O loss and cartilage erosion, as well as lower OARSI scores compared to vehicle-treated controls, which was associated with reduced staining for aggrecan and type II collagen cleavage epitopes, and reduced staining for MMP-13 and ADAMTS5 in the articular cartilage. Articular cartilage in the EGCG-treated mice also exhibited reduced levels of Mmp1, Mmp3, Mmp8, Mmp13,Adamts5, interleukin 1 beta (Il1b) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (Tnfa) mRNA and elevated gene expression of the MMP regulator Cbp/p300 interacting transactivator 2 (Cited2). Compared to vehicle controls, mice treated with EGCG exhibited reduced OA-associated pain, as indicated by higher locomotor behavior (that is, distance traveled). Moreover, expression of the chemokine receptor Ccr2 and proinflammatory cytokines Il1b and Tnfa in the DRG were significantly reduced to levels similar to those of sham-operated animals. Conclusions This study provides the first evidence in an OA animal model that EGCG significantly slows OA disease progression and exerts a palliative effect. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13075-014-0508-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Approach to Perturbative Results in the N-Delta Transition

We show that constraints from perturbative QCD calculations play a role in the nucleon to Delta(1232) electromagnetic transition even at moderate momentum transfer scales. The pQCD constraints, tied to real photoproduction data and unseparated resonance response functions, lead to explicit forms for the helicity amplitudes wherein the E2/M1 ratio remains small at moderately large momentum transfer.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, ReVTe

Measurement of the recoil polarization in the p (\vec e, e' \vec p) pi^0 reaction at the \Delta(1232) resonance

The recoil proton polarization has been measured in the p (\vec e,e'\vec p) pi^0 reaction in parallel kinematics around W = 1232 MeV, Q^2 = 0.121 (GeV/c)^2 and epsilon = 0.718 using the polarized c.w. electron beam of the Mainz Microtron. Due to the spin precession in a magnetic spectrometer, all three proton polarization components P_x/P_e = (-11.4 \pm 1.3 \pm 1.4) %, P_y = (-43.1 \pm 1.3 \pm 2.2) %, and P_z/P_e = (56.2 \pm 1.5 \pm 2.6) % could be measured simultaneously. The Coulomb quadrupole to magnetic dipole ratio CMR = (-6.4\pm 0.7_{stat}\pm 0.8_{syst}) % was determined from P_x in the framework of the Mainz Unitary Isobar Model. The consistency among the reduced polarizations and the extraction of the ratio of longitudinal to transverse response is discussed.Comment: 5 pages LaTeX, 1 table, 2 eps figure