Form factors of heavy-light systems in point-form relativistic quantum mechanics: the Isgur-Wise function

We investigate electromagnetic and weak form factors of heavy-light mesons in the context of point-form relativistic quantum mechanics. To this aim we treat the physical processes from which such electroweak form factors are extracted by means of a coupled channel approach which accounts for the dynamics of the intermediate gauge bosons. It is shown that heavy-quark symmetry is respected by this formulation. A simple analytical expression is obtained for the Isgur-Wise function in the heavy-quark limit. Breaking of heavy-quark symmetry due to realistic values of the heavy-quark mass are studied numerically.Comment: Presented at the 21st European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Salamanca, Spain, 30 August - 3 September 201

Point-form quantum field theory and meson form factors

We shortly review point-form quantum field theory, i.e. the canonical quantization of a relativistic field theory on a Lorentz-invariant surface of the form $x_\mu x^\mu = \tau^2$. As an example of how point-form quantum field theory may enter the framework of relativistic quantum mechanics we discuss the calculation of the electromagnetic form factor of a confined quark-antiquark pair (e.g. the pion).Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Based on a talk presented by W. Schweiger at the 20th European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, September 10-14 2007, Pisa, Ital

Comparison of Different Boost Transformations for the Calculation of Form Factors in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

The effect of different boost expressions, pertinent to the instant, front and point forms of relativistic quantum mechanics, is considered for the calculation of the ground-state form factor of a two-body system in simple scalar models. Results with a Galilean boost as well as an explicitly covariant calculation based on the Bethe-Salpeter approach are given for comparison. It is found that the present so-called point-form calculations of form factors strongly deviate from all the other ones. This suggests that the formalism which underlies them requires further elaboration. A proposition in this sense is made.Comment: Invited talk given at the 18th European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Bled, Slovenia, 8-14 Sep 2002. Submitted to Few Body Syst.Supp

Relativistic quantum mechanics: A Dirac's point-form inspired approach

This paper describes a tentative relativistic quantum mechanics approach inspired by Dirac's point-form, which is based on the physics description on a hyperboloid surface. It is mainly characterized by a non-standard relation of the constituent momenta of some system to its total momentum. Contrary to instant- and front-form approaches, where it takes the form of a 3-dimensional delta function, the relation is given here by a Lorentz-scalar constraint. Thus, in the c.m. frame, the sum of the constituent momenta, which differs from zero off-energy shell, has no fixed direction, in accordance with the absence of preferred direction on a hyperboloid surface. To some extent, this gives rise to an extra degree of freedom entering the description of the system of interest. The development of a consistent formalism within this picture is described. Comparison with other approaches is made.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, to be submitte

Vector mesons in a relativistic point-form approach

We apply the point form of relativistic quantum mechanics to develop a Poincare invariant coupled-channel formalism for two-particle systems interacting via one-particle exchange. This approach takes the exchange particle explicitly into account and leads to a generalized eigenvalue equation for the Bakamjian-Thomas type mass operator of the system. The coupling of the exchange particle is derived from quantum field theory. As an illustrative example we consider vector mesons within the chiral constituent quark model in which the hyperfine interaction between the confined quark-antiquark pair is generated by Goldstone-boson exchange. We study the effect of retardation in the Goldstone-boson exchange by comparing with the commonly used instantaneous approximation. As a nice physical feature we find that the problem of a too large $\rho$-$\omega$ splitting can nearly be avoided by taking the dynamics of the exchange meson explicitly into account.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Electromagnetic meson form factor from a relativistic coupled-channel approach

Point-form relativistic quantum mechanics is used to derive an expression for the electromagnetic form factor of a pseudoscalar meson for space-like momentum transfers. The elastic scattering of an electron by a confined quark-antiquark pair is treated as a relativistic two-channel problem for the $q\bar{q}e$ and $q\bar{q}e\gamma$ states. With the approximation that the total velocity of the $q\bar{q}e$ system is conserved at (electromagnetic) interaction vertices this simplifies to an eigenvalue problem for a Bakamjian-Thomas type mass operator. After elimination of the $q\bar{q}e\gamma$ channel the electromagnetic meson current and form factor can be directly read off from the one-photon-exchange optical potential. By choosing the invariant mass of the electron-meson system large enough, cluster separability violations become negligible. An equivalence with the usual front-form expression, resulting from a spectator current in the $q^+=0$ reference frame, is established. The generalization of this multichannel approach to electroweak form factors for an arbitrary bound few-body system is quite obvious. By an appropriate extension of the Hilbert space this approach is also able to accommodate exchange-current effects.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

The experiences of children with disabilities and primary caregivers on the social inclusion of children with disabilities in Ethiopia

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study on the social inclusion of children with disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and how this affects their achievement of valued life goals. The study is based on focus group discussions with children with disabilities and primary caregivers of such children. The thematic analysis is based on family quality of life and the capability approach, which are used to explain the effects of social inclusion (and exclusion) on children with disabilities and their families in three areas of quality of life: being, belonging, and becoming. The study also looked at how the social inclusion of children with disabilities can be actualised. The results of the study confirm the existence of considerable challenges to the social inclusion of children with disabilities in Addis Ababa, which is reflected in their capabilities. The results suggest that children with disabilities need assistance and support to achieve a good quality of life. They also indicate the need for the involvement of the wider community to support children with disabilities and their families to enhance the capability of such children, and so improve their family quality of life

Faddeev approach to confined three-quark problems

We propose a method that allows for the efficient solution of the three-body Faddeev equations in the presence of infinitely rising confinement interactions. Such a method is useful in calculations of nonrelativistic and especially semirelativistic constituent quark models. The convergence of the partial wave series is accelerated and possible spurious contributions in the Faddeev components are avoided. We demonstrate how the method works with the example of the Goldstone-boson-exchange chiral quark model for baryons.Comment: 6 page