Scattering in the PT-symmetric Coulomb potential

Scattering on the ${\cal PT}$-symmetric Coulomb potential is studied along a U-shaped trajectory circumventing the origin in the complex $x$ plane from below. This trajectory reflects ${\cal PT}$ symmetry, sets the appropriate boundary conditions for bound states and also allows the restoration of the correct sign of the energy eigenvalues. Scattering states are composed from the two linearly independent solutions valid for non-integer values of the 2L parameter, which would correspond to the angular momentum in the usual Hermitian setting. Transmission and reflection coefficients are written in closed analytic form and it is shown that similarly to other ${\cal PT}$-symmetric scattering systems the latter exhibit handedness effect. Bound-state energies are recovered from the poles of the transmission coefficients.Comment: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical 42 (2009) to appea

Reflectionless PT-symmetric potentials in the one-dimensional Dirac equation

We study the one-dimensional Dirac equation with local PT-symmetric potentials whose discrete eigenfunctions and continuum asymptotic eigenfunctions are eigenfunctions of the PT operator, too: on these conditions the bound-state spectra are real and the potentials are reflectionless and conserve unitarity in the scattering process. Absence of reflection makes it meaningful to consider also PT-symmetric potentials that do not vanish asymptotically.Comment: 24 pages, to appear in J. Phys. A : Math. Theor; one acknowledgement and one reference adde

New approach to (quasi)-exactly solvable Schrodinger equations with a position-dependent effective mass

By using the point canonical transformation approach in a manner distinct from previous ones, we generate some new exactly solvable or quasi-exactly solvable potentials for the one-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation with a position-dependent effective mass. In the latter case, SUSYQM techniques provide us with some additional new potentials.Comment: 11 pages, no figur

Open Charm Enhancement in Pb+Pb Collisions at SPS

The statistical coalescence model for the production of open and hidden charm is considered within the canonical ensemble formulation. The data for the J/\psi multiplicity in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A GeV are used for the model prediction of the open charm yield. We find a strong enhancement of the open charm production, by a factor of about 2--4, over the standard hard-collision model extrapolation from nucleon-nucleon to nucleus-nucleus collisions. A possible mechanism of the open charm enhancement in A+A collisions at the SPS energies is proposed.Comment: 4 pages, Late

Parton coalescence and antiproton/pion anomaly at RHIC

Coalescence of minijet partons with the partons from the quark-gluon plasma formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions is suggested as the mechanism for production of hadrons with intermediate transverse momentum. The resulting enhanced antiproton and pion yields at intermediate transverse momentum gives a plausible explanation for the observed large antiproton to pion ratio. With further increasing momentum, the ratio is predicted to decrease and approach the small value given by independent fragmentations of minijet partons after their energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Quantum Hamilton-Jacobi analysis of PT symmetric Hamiltonians

We apply the quantum Hamilton-Jacobi formalism, naturally defined in the complex domain, to a number of complex Hamiltonians, characterized by discrete parity and time reversal (PT) symmetries and obtain their eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Examples of both quasi-exactly and exactly solvable potentials are analyzed and the subtle differences, in the singularity structures of their quantum momentum functions, are pointed out. The role of the PT symmetry in the complex domain is also illustrated.Comment: 11 page

Jets and produced particles in pp collisions from SPS to RHIC energies for nuclear applications

Higher-order pQCD corrections play an important role in the reproduction of data at high transverse momenta in the energy range 20 GeV $\leq \sqrt{s} \leq 200$ GeV. Recent calculations of photon and pion production in $pp$ collisions yield detailed information on the next-to-leading order contributions. However, the application of these results in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions is not straightforward. The study of nuclear effects requires a simplified understanding of the output of these computations. Here we summarize our analysis of recent calculations, aimed at handling the NLO results by introducing process and energy-dependent $K$ factors.Comment: 4 pages with 5 eps figures include

Motion of a spin 1/2 particle in shape invariant scalar and magnetic fields

We study the motion of a spin 1/2 particle in a scalar as well as a magnetic field within the framework of supersymmetric quantum mechanics(SUSYQM). We also introduce the concept of shape invariant scalar and magnetic fields and it is shown that the problem admits exact analytical solutions when such fields are considered.Comment: 14 page

Pseudo-Hermiticity and some consequences of a generalized quantum condition

We exploit the hidden symmetry structure of a recently proposed non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and of its Hermitian equivalent one. This sheds new light on the pseudo-Hermitian character of the former and allows access to a generalized quantum condition. Special cases lead to hyperbolic and Morse-like potentials in the framework of a coordinate-dependent mass model.Comment: 10 pages, no figur