222 research outputs found
Hadron widths in mixed-phase matter
We derive classically an expression for a hadron width in a two-phase region
of hadron gas and quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The presence of QGP gives hadrons
larger widths than they would have in a pure hadron gas. We find that the
width observed in a central Au+Au collision at
GeV/nucleon is a few MeV greater than the width in a pure hadron gas. The part
of observed hadron widths due to QGP is approximately proportional to
.Comment: 8 pages, latex, no figures, KSUCNR-002-9
Point interactions in one dimension and holonomic quantum fields
We introduce and study a family of quantum fields, associated to
delta-interactions in one dimension. These fields are analogous to holonomic
quantum fields of M. Sato, T. Miwa and M. Jimbo. Corresponding field operators
belong to an infinite-dimensional representation of the group SL(2,\Rb) in
the Fock space of ordinary harmonic oscillator. We compute form factors of such
fields and their correlation functions, which are related to the determinants
of Schroedinger operators with a finite number of point interactions. It is
also shown that these determinants coincide with tau functions, obtained
through the trivialization of the -bundle over a Grassmannian
associated to a family of Schroedinger operators.Comment: 17 page
Hadronic freeze-out following a first order hadronization phase transition in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions
We analyze the hadronic freeze-out in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions
at RHIC in a transport approach which combines hydrodynamics for the early,
dense, deconfined stage of the reaction with a microscopic non-equilibrium
model for the later hadronic stage at which the hydrodynamic equilibrium
assumptions are not valid. With this ansatz we are able to self-consistently
calculate the freeze-out of the system and determine space-time hypersurfaces
for individual hadron species. The space-time domains of the freeze-out for
several hadron species are found to be actually four-dimensional, and differ
drastically for the individual hadrons species. Freeze-out radii distributions
are similar in width for most hadron species, even though the Omega-baryon is
found to be emitted rather close to the phase boundary and shows the smallest
freeze-out radii and times among all baryon species. The total lifetime of the
system does not change by more than 10% when going from SPS to RHIC energies.Comment: 11 pages, 4 eps-figures included, revised versio
Auxiliary fields and hadron dynamics
The relations existing between the auxiliary field (einbein field) formalism
and the spinless Salpeter equation are studied in the case of two particles
with the same mass, interacting via a confining potential. The problem of
non-orthogonality for radial excited states in the auxiliary field formalism is
discussed and found to be non-crucial. It is shown that the classical equations
of motion of the rotating string model, derived from the QCD lagrangian, reduce
exactly to the classical equations of motion of the phenomenological
semirelativistic flux tube model, provided all auxiliary fields are eliminated
correctly from the rotating string hamiltonian
Lattice Study of the Decay B^0-bar -> rho^+ l^- nu_l-bar: Model-Independent Determination of |V_{ub}|
We present results of a lattice computation of the vector and axial-vector
current matrix elements relevant for the semileptonic decay B^0-bar -> rho^+
l^- nu_l-bar. The computations are performed in the quenched approximation of
lattice QCD on a 24^3 x 48 lattice at beta = 6.2, using an O(a) improved
fermionic action. Our principal result is for the differential decay rate,
dGamma/dq^2, for the decay B^0-bar -> rho^+ l^- nu_l-bar in a region beyond the
charm threshold, allowing a model-independent extraction of |V_{ub}| from
experimental measurements. Heavy quark symmetry relations between radiative and
semileptonic decays of B-bar mesons into light vector mesons are also
discussed.Comment: 22 pages LaTeX-209 (dependent on settings in a4.sty), 23 PostScript
figures included with epsf.sty. Complete PostScript file including figures
available at http://wwwhep.phys.soton.ac.uk/hepwww/papers/shep9518
On the Thermodynamics of Hot Hadronic Matter
The equation of state of hot hadronic matter is obtained, by taking into
account the contribution of the massive states with the help of the resonance
spectrum justified by the authors in previous papers. This
equation of state is in agreement with that provided by the low-temperature
expansion for the pion intracting gas. It is shown that in this picture the
deconfinement phase transition is absent, in agreement with lattice gauge
calculations which show the only phase transition of chiral symmetry
restoration. The latter is modelled with the help of the restriction of the
number of the effective degrees of freedom in the hadron phase to that of the
microscopic degrees of freedom in the quark-gluon phase, through the
corresponding truncation of the hadronic resonance spectrum, and the decrease
of the effective hadron masses with temperature, predicted by Brown and Rho.
The results are in agreement with lattice gauge data and show a smooth
crossover in the thermodynamic variables in a temperature range MeV.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, 3 postscript figure
Electromagnetic superconductivity of vacuum induced by strong magnetic field
The quantum vacuum may become an electromagnetic superconductor in the
presence of a strong external magnetic field of the order of 10^{16} Tesla. The
magnetic field of the required strength (and even stronger) is expected to be
generated for a short time in ultraperipheral collisions of heavy ions at the
Large Hadron Collider. The superconducting properties of the new phase appear
as a result of a magnetic-field-assisted condensation of quark-antiquark pairs
with quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. We discuss
similarities and differences between the suggested superconducting state of the
quantum vacuum, a conventional superconductivity and the Schwinger pair
creation. We argue qualitatively and quantitatively why the superconducting
state should be a natural ground state of the vacuum at the sufficiently strong
magnetic field. We demonstrate the existence of the superconducting phase using
both the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and an effective bosonic model based on the
vector meson dominance (the rho-meson electrodynamics). We discuss various
properties of the new phase such as absence of the Meissner effect, anisotropy
of superconductivity, spatial inhomogeneity of ground state, emergence of a
neutral superfluid component in the ground state and presence of new
topological vortices in the quark-antiquark condensates.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly
interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K.
Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye
Genome-wide association analysis of susceptibility and clinical phenotype in multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disorder of the central nervous system and common cause of neurological disability in young adults, is characterized by moderate but complex risk heritability. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study performed in a 1000 prospective case series of well-characterized individuals with MS and group-matched controls using the SentrixÂź HumanHap550 BeadChip platform from Illumina. After stringent quality control data filtering, we compared allele frequencies for 551 642 SNPs in 978 cases and 883 controls and assessed genotypic influences on susceptibility, age of onset, disease severity, as well as brain lesion load and normalized brain volume from magnetic resonance imaging exams. A multi-analytical strategy identified 242 susceptibility SNPs exceeding established thresholds of significance, including 65 within the MHC locus in chromosome 6p21.3. Independent replication confirms a role for GPC5, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, in disease risk. Gene ontology-based analysis shows a functional dichotomy between genes involved in the susceptibility pathway and those affecting the clinical phenotyp
Atomic dynamics of the i-ScZnMg and its 1/1 approximant phase: experiment and simulation
International audienceQuasicrystals are long range ordered materials which lack translational invariance so that the study of their physical properties remains a challenging problem. In order to study the respective influence of the local order and of the long range order (periodic or quasiperiodic) on lattice dynamics, we have carried out inelastic x-ray and neutron scattering experiments on single grain samples of the Zn-Mg-Sc icosahedral quasicrystal and of the Zn-Sc periodic cubic 1/1 approximant. Besides the overall similarities and the existence of a pseudo gap in the transverse dispersion relation, marked differences are observed, the pseudo gap being larger and better defined in the approximant than in the quasicrystal. This can be qualitatively explained using the concept of pseudo Brillouin zone in the quasicrystal. These results are compared to simulations on atomic models and using oscillating pair potentials which have been fitted against ab-initio data. The simulated response function reproduces both the dispersion relation but also the observed intensity distribution in the measured spectra. The partial vibrational density of states, projected on the cluster shells, is computed from this model
Arteriopathy diagnosis in childhood arterial ischemic stroke: results of the vascular effects of infection in pediatric stroke study.
Background and purposeAlthough arteriopathies are the most common cause of childhood arterial ischemic stroke, and the strongest predictor of recurrent stroke, they are difficult to diagnose. We studied the role of clinical data and follow-up imaging in diagnosing cerebral and cervical arteriopathy in children with arterial ischemic stroke.MethodsVascular effects of infection in pediatric stroke, an international prospective study, enrolled 355 cases of arterial ischemic stroke (age, 29 days to 18 years) at 39 centers. A neuroradiologist and stroke neurologist independently reviewed vascular imaging of the brain (mandatory for inclusion) and neck to establish a diagnosis of arteriopathy (definite, possible, or absent) in 3 steps: (1) baseline imaging alone; (2) plus clinical data; (3) plus follow-up imaging. A 4-person committee, including a second neuroradiologist and stroke neurologist, adjudicated disagreements. Using the final diagnosis as the gold standard, we calculated the sensitivity and specificity of each step.ResultsCases were aged median 7.6 years (interquartile range, 2.8-14 years); 56% boys. The majority (52%) was previously healthy; 41% had follow-up vascular imaging. Only 56 (16%) required adjudication. The gold standard diagnosis was definite arteriopathy in 127 (36%), possible in 34 (9.6%), and absent in 194 (55%). Sensitivity was 79% at step 1, 90% at step 2, and 94% at step 3; specificity was high throughout (99%, 100%, and 100%), as was agreement between reviewers (Îș=0.77, 0.81, and 0.78).ConclusionsClinical data and follow-up imaging help, yet uncertainty in the diagnosis of childhood arteriopathy remains. This presents a challenge to better understanding the mechanisms underlying these arteriopathies and designing strategies for prevention of childhood arterial ischemic stroke
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