Azimuthal Asymmetry of Prompt Photons in Nuclear Collisions

The azimuthal elliptic asymmetry v2 observed in heavy ion collisions, is usually associated with properties of the medium created in the final state. We compute the azimuthal asymmetry which is due to multiple interactions of partons at the initial stage of nuclear collisions, and which is also present in $pA$ collisions. In our approach the main source of azimuthal asymmetry is the combination of parton multiple interactions with the steep variation of the nuclear density at the edge of nuclei. We apply the light-cone dipole formalism to compute the azimuthal asymmetry of prompt photons yield from parton-nucleus, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at the RHIC energy.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Eq.(4) corrected, figures and references updated. The version to appear in Nucl. Phys.

Anomaly and Condensate in the Light-Cone Schwinger Model

The axial anomaly and fermion condensate in the light cone Schwinger model are studied following path integral methods. This formalism allows for a simple and direct calculation for these and other vacuum dependent phenomena.Comment: 10pp, Revte

Light-Cone Representation of the Spin and Orbital Angular Momentum of Relativistic Composite Systems

The matrix elements of local operators such as the electromagnetic current, the energy momentum tensor, angular momentum, and the moments of structure functions have exact representations in terms of light-cone Fock state wavefunctions of bound states such as hadrons. We illustrate all of these properties by giving explicit light-cone wavefunctions for the two-particle Fock state of the electron in QED, thus connecting the Schwinger anomalous magnetic moment to the spin and orbital momentum carried by its Fock state constituents. We also compute the QED one-loop radiative corrections for the form factors for the graviton coupling to the electron and photon. Although the underlying model is derived from elementary QED perturbative couplings, it in fact can be used to simulate much more general bound state systems by applying spectral integration over the constituent masses while preserving all of the Lorentz properties, giving explicit realization of the spin sum rules and other local matrix elements. The role of orbital angular momentum in understanding the "spin crisis" problem for relativistic systems is clarified. We also prove that the anomalous gravitomagnetic moment B(0) vanishes for any composite system. This property is shown to follow directly from the Lorentz boost properties of the light-cone Fock representation and holds separately for each Fock state component. We show how the QED perturbative structure can be used to model bound state systems while preserving all Lorentz properties. We thus obtain a theoretical laboratory to test the consistency of formulae which have been proposed to probe the spin structure of hadrons.Comment: Version to be published in Nuclear Physics B. Includes illustrations of graviton-lepton form factors at one loop in QE

Nucleon Generalized Parton Distributions and Holographic Models

Using ideas from Light Front Holography, we discuss the calculation of the nucleon helicity-independent generalized parton distributions of quarks in the zero skewness case.Comment: Prepared for LIGHTCONE 2011, 23 - 27 May, 2011, Dalla

Parameterization of the quark-quark correlator of a spin-1/2 hadron

The general parameterization of the quark-quark correlation function for a spin-1/2 hadron is considered. The presence of the Wilson line ensuring color gauge invariance of the correlator induces structures that were not given explicitly in the existing literature. In particular, the general form of the transverse momentum dependent correlator entering various hard scattering processes is derived. In this case two new time-reversal odd parton distributions appear at the twist-3 level.Comment: 8 page

Initial-State Interactions and Single-Spin Asymmetries in Drell-Yan Processes

We show that the initial-state interactions from gluon exchange between the incoming quark and the target spectator system lead to leading-twist single-spin asymmetries in the Drell-Yan process. The QCD initial-state interactions produce a $T-$odd spin-correlation between the target spin and the virtual photon production plane which is not power-law suppressed in the Drell-Yan scaling limit. The origin of the single-spin asymmetry in $\pi p^\uparrow \to \ell^+ \ell^- X$ is a phase difference between two amplitudes coupling the proton target with $J^z_p = \pm {1\over 2}$ to the same final-state, the same amplitudes which are necessary to produce a nonzero proton anomalous magnetic moment. The calculation requires the overlap of target light-front wavefunctions differing by one unit of orbital angular momentum projection $L_z;$ thus the SSA in the Drell-Yan reaction provides a direct measure of orbital angular momentum in the QCD bound state. The single-spin asymmetry predicted for the Drell-Yan process $\pi p^\uparrow \to \ell^+ \ell^- X$ is similar to the single-spin asymmetries in deep inelastic semi-inclusive leptoproduction $\ell p^\uparrow \to \ell' \pi X$ which arises from the final-state rescattering of the outgoing quark.Comment: LaTex, 15 pages, 2 figure

Transverse single-spin asymmetries in gauge boson production

Transverse single-spin asymmetries (SSA) in inclusive reactions are now considered to be directly related to the transverse momentum $k_{T}$ of the fundamental partons involved in the process. Several possible leading-twist QCD mechanisms have been proposed to explain the available data, in particular the Sivers effect which was resurrected recently. We show that from the measurement of transverse SSA in inclusive production of gauge bosons, one can learn more about the Sivers functions and possibly to achieve a reliable flavor separation.Comment: 7 pages, latex, no figures, to be published in Phys.Lett.

Single Hadronic-Spin Asymmetries in Weak Interaction Processes

We show that measurements of single-spin asymmetries (SSAs) in charged current weak interaction processes such as deep inelastic neutrino scattering on a polarized target and inclusive $W$ production in polarized hadron-hadron collisions discriminate between the two fundamental QCD mechanisms (the Sivers and Collins effects) which have been proposed to explain such time-reversal-odd asymmetries. It has recently been shown that QCD final-state interactions due to gluon exchange between the struck quark and the proton spectators in semi-inclusive deep inelastic lepton scattering will produce non-zero Sivers-type single-spin asymmetries which survive in the Bjorken limit. We show that this QCD final-state interaction produces identical SSAs in charged and neutral current reactions. Furthermore, the contribution of each quark to the SSA from this mechanism is proportional to the contribution of that quark to the polarized baryon's anomalous magnetic moment. In contrast, the Collins effect contribution to SSAs depends on the transversity distribution of quarks in the polarized target. Since the charged current only couples to quarks of one chirality, it cannot sense the transversity distribution of the target, and thus it gives no Collins-type contribution to single-spin correlations.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Deglacial Tropical Atlantic Subsurface Warming Links Ocean Circulation Variability to the West African Monsoon

Multiple lines of evidence show that cold stadials in the North Atlantic were accompanied by both reductions in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and collapses of the West African Monsoon (WAM). Although records of terrestrial change identify abrupt WAM variability across the deglaciation, few studies show how ocean temperatures evolved across the deglaciation. To identify the mechanism linking AMOC to the WAM, we generated a new record of subsurface temperature variability over the last 21 kyr based on Mg/Ca ratios in a sub-thermocline dwelling planktonic foraminifera in an Eastern Equatorial Atlantic (EEA) sediment core from the Niger Delta. Our subsurface temperature record shows abrupt subsurface warming during both the Younger Dryas (YD) and Heinrich Event 1. We also conducted a new transient coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulation across the YD that better resolves the western boundary current dynamics and find a strong negative correlation between AMOC strength and EEA subsurface temperatures caused by changes in ocean circulation and rainfall responses that are consistent with the observed WAM change. Our combined proxy and modeling results provide the first evidence that an oceanic teleconnection between AMOC strength and subsurface temperature in the EEA impacted the intensity of the WAM on millennial time scales