Singularity-free two-body equation with confining interactions in momentum space

We are developing a covariant model for all mesons that can be described as quark-antiquark bound states in the framework of the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) in Minkowski space. The kernel of the bound-state equation contains a relativistic generalization of a linear confining potential which is singular in momentum space and makes its numerical solution more difficult. The same type of singularity is present in the momentum-space Schr\"odinger equation, which is obtained in the nonrelativistic limit. We present an alternative, singularity-free form of the momentum-space Schr\"odinger equation which is much easier to solve numerically and which yields accurate and stable results. The same method will be applied to the numerical solution of the CST bound-state equations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, talk presented at the 22nd European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (EFB22), Krakow, Poland, 9 - 13 September 201

Covariant spectator theory of quark-antiquark bound states: Mass spectra and vertex functions of heavy and heavy-light mesons

We use the covariant spectator theory with an effective quark-antiquark interaction, containing Lorentz scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector contributions, to calculate the masses and vertex functions of, simultaneously, heavy and heavy-light mesons. We perform least-square fits of the model parameters, including the quark masses, to the meson spectrum and systematically study the sensitivity of the parameters with respect to different sets of fitted data. We investigate the influence of the vector confining interaction by using a continuous parameter controlling its weight. We find that vector contributions to the confining interaction between 0% and about 30% lead to essentially the same agreement with the data. Similarly, the light quark masses are not very tightly constrained. In all cases, the meson mass spectra calculated with our fitted models agree very well with the experimental data. We also calculate the mesons wave functions in a partial wave representation and show how they are related to the meson vertex functions in covariant form.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures. Minor corrections of previous version. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Application of the Covariant Spectator Theory to the study of heavy and heavy-light mesons

As an application of the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) we calculate the spectrum of heavy-light and heavy-heavy mesons using covariant versions of a linear confining potential, a one- gluon exchange, and a constant interaction. The CST equations possess the correct one-body limit and are therefore well-suited to describe mesons in which one quark is much heavier than the other. We find a good fit to the mass spectrum of heavy-light and heavy-heavy mesons with just three parameters (apart from the quark masses). Remarkably, the fit parameters are nearly unchanged when we fit to experimental pseudoscalar states only or to the whole spectrum. Because pseudoscalar states are insensitive to spin-orbit interactions and do not determine spin-spin interactions separately from central interactions, this result suggests that it is the covariance of the kernel that correctly predicts the spin-dependent quark-antiquark interaction

A covariant constituent-quark formalism for mesons

Using the framework of the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) [1] we are developing a covariant model formulated in Minkowski space to study mesonic structure and spectra. Treating mesons as effective $q\bar{q}$ states, we focused in [2] on the nonrelativistic bound-state problem in momentum space with a linear confining potential. Although integrable, this kernel has singularities which are difficult to handle numerically. In [2] we reformulate it into a form in which all singularities are explicitely removed. The resulting equations are then easier to solve and yield accurate and stable solutions. In the present work, the same method is applied to the relativistic case, improving upon the results of the one-channel spectator equation (1CSE) given in [3].Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Presented at EEF70, Workshop on Unquenched Hadron Spectroscopy: Non-Perturbative Models and Methods of QCD vs. Experimen

Quarkonia and heavy-light mesons in a covariant quark model

Preliminary calculations using the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) employed a scalar linear confining interaction and an additional constant vector potential to compute the mesonic mass spectra. In this work we generalize the confining interaction to include more general structures, in particular a vector and also a pseudoscalar part, as suggested by a recent study. A one-gluon-exchange kernel is also implemented to describe the short-range part of the interaction. We solve the simplest CST approximation to the complete Bethe-Salpeter equation, the one-channel spectator equation, using a numerical technique that eliminates all singularities from the kernel. The parameters of the model are determined through a fit to the experimental pseudoscalar meson spectra, with a good agreement for both quarkonia and heavy-light states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; 21st International Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, May 18 - 22, 2015, Chicago, US

Relativistic phenomenology of meson spectra with a covariant quark model in Minkowski space

In this work, we perform a covariant treatment of quark-antiquark systems. We calculate the spectra and wave functions using a formalism based on the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST). Our results not only reproduce very well the experimental data with a very small set of global parameters, but they also allow a direct test of the predictive power of covariant kernels

Quark mass function from a one-gluon-exchange-type interaction in Minkowski space

We present first results for the quark mass function in Minkowski space in both the spacelike and timelike regions calculated from the same quark-antiquark interaction kernel used in the latest meson calculations using the Gross equation. This kernel consists of a Lorentz vector effective one-gluon- exchange-type interaction, a vector constant, and a mixed scalar-pseudoscalar covariant linear confining interaction that does not contribute to the mass function. We analyze the gauge dependence of our results, prove the gauge independence of the constituent quark mass and mass gap equation, and identify the Yennie gauge as the appropriate gauge to be used in CST calculations. We compare our results in the spacelike region to lattice QCD data and find good agreement.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), U.S. Department of Energ

Towards self-organized service-oriented multi-agent systems

The demand for large-scale systems running in complex and even chaotic environments requires the consideration of new paradigms and technologies that provide flexibility, robustness, agility and responsiveness. Multiagents systems is pointed out as a suitable approach to address this challenge by offering an alternative way to design control systems, based on the decentralization of control functions over distributed autonomous and cooperative entities. However, in spite of their enormous potential, they usually lack some aspects related to interoperability, optimization in decentralized structures and truly self-adaptation. This paper discusses a new perspective to engineer adaptive complex systems considering a 3-layer framework integrating several complementary paradigms and technologies. In a first step, it suggests the integration of multi-agent systems with service-oriented architectures to overcome the limitations of interoperability and smooth migration, followed by the use of technology enablers, such as cloud computing and wireless sensor networks, to provide a ubiquitous and reconfigurable environment. Finally, the resulted service-oriented multi-agent system should be enhanced with biologically inspired techniques, namely self-organization, to reach a truly robust, agile and adaptive system