Diffractive Photoproduction of Eta_c

Diffractive photoproduction of $\eta_c$ is an important process to study the effect of Odderon, whose existence is still not confirmed in experiment. A detailed interpretation of Odderon in QCD, i.e., in terms of gluons is also unclear.Taking charm quarks as heavy quarks, we can use NRQCD and take $\eta_c$ as a $c\bar c$ bound state. Hence, in the production of $\eta_c$a free $c\bar c$ pair is first produced and this pair is transformed into $\eta_c$ subsequently.In the forward region of the kinematics, the $c\bar c$ pair interacts with initial hadron through exchanges of soft gluons. This interaction can be studied with HQET, which provides a systematic expansion in the inverse of the $c$-quark mass $m_c$. We find that the calculation of the $S$-matrix element in the forward region can be formulated as the problem of solving a wave function of a $c$-quark propagating in a background field of soft gluons. At leading order we find that the differential cross-section can be expressed with four functions, which are defined with a twist-3 operator of gluons. The effect of exchanging a Odderon can be identified with this operator in our case. We discuss our results in detail and compare them with those obtained in previous studies. Our results and those from other studies show that the differential cross-section is very small in the forward region. We also show that the production through photon exchange is dominant in the extremely forward region, hence the effect of Odderon exchange can not be identified in this region.For completeness we also give results for diffractive photoproduction of $J/\Psi$.Comment: 20 pages with 3 figures. Text improve

Direct J/psi and psi' hadroproduction via fragmentation in the collinear parton model and k_T-factorization approach

The p_T-spectra for direct J/psi and psi' in hadroproduction at Tevatron energy have been calculated based on NRQCD formalism and fragmentation approximation in the collinear parton model and k_T-factorization approach. We have described the CDF data and obtained a good agreement between the predictions obtained in the parton model and k_T-factorization approach. We performed the calculations using the relevant leading order in alpha_s hard amplitudes and the equal values of the color-octet long-distance matrix elements for the both models.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 4 eps figures, epsfig.sty, graphics.st

Quarkonium Production at High-Energy Colliders

The theoretical description of heavy quarkonium production at high-energy p-pbar and e-p colliders is reviewed. Predictions based on non-relativistic QCD factorisation are confronted with recent charmonium and bottomonium data from the Tevatron and HERA. Potential shortcomings of the present theoretical analyses are discussed, and the prospects for quarkonium physics at the upgraded Tevatron and HERA colliders and at the LHC are summarised.Comment: 61 pages, 20 figures. To be published in Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vol. 47, issue

Odderon in baryon-baryon scattering from the AdS/CFT correspondence

Based on the AdS/CFT correspondence, we present a holographic description of various C-odd exchanges in high energy baryon-baryon and baryon-antibaryon scattering, and calculate their respective contributions to the difference in the total cross sections. We predict that, due to the warp factor of AdS_5, the total cross section in pp collisions is larger than in p\bar{p} collisions at asymptotically high energies.Comment: 23 pages, v2: minor changes, to be published in JHE

Heavy Flavour Production at Tevatron and Parton Shower Effects

We present hadron-level predictions from the Monte Carlo generator Cascade and numerical calculations of charm and beauty production at the Fermilab Tevatron within the framework of the $k_T$-factorization QCD approach. Our consideration is based on the CCFM-evolved unintegrated gluon densities in a proton. The performed analysis covers the total and differential cross sections of open charm and beauty quarks, $B$ and $D$ mesons (or rather muons from their semileptonic decays) and the total and differential cross sections of $b \bar b$ di-jet hadroproduction. We study the theoretical uncertainties of our calculations and investigate the effects coming from parton showers in initial and final states. Our predictions are compared with the recent experimental data taken by the D0 and CDF collaborations. Special attention is put on the specific angular correlations between the final-state particles. We demonstrate that the final state parton shower plays a crucial role in the description of such observables. The decorrelated part of angular separations can be fully described, if the process $gg^*\rightarrow gg$ is included.Comment: Fig 8,9 10 replaced, small corrections in text A discussion of the delta phi results is adde

The Spin Structure of the Nucleon

We present an overview of recent experimental and theoretical advances in our understanding of the spin structure of protons and neutrons.Comment: 84 pages, 29 figure

Dynamic Spatial Coding within the Dorsal Frontoparietal Network during a Visual Search Task

To what extent are the left and right visual hemifields spatially coded in the dorsal frontoparietal attention network? In many experiments with neglect patients, the left hemisphere shows a contralateral hemifield preference, whereas the right hemisphere represents both hemifields. This pattern of spatial coding is often used to explain the right-hemispheric dominance of lesions causing hemispatial neglect. However, pathophysiological mechanisms of hemispatial neglect are controversial because recent experiments on healthy subjects produced conflicting results regarding the spatial coding of visual hemifields. We used an fMRI paradigm that allowed us to distinguish two attentional subprocesses during a visual search task. Either within the left or right hemifield subjects first attended to stationary locations (spatial orienting) and then shifted their attentional focus to search for a target line. Dynamic changes in spatial coding of the left and right hemifields were observed within subregions of the dorsal front-parietal network: During stationary spatial orienting, we found the well-known spatial pattern described above, with a bilateral hemifield representation in the right hemisphere and a contralateral preference in the left hemisphere. However, during search, the right hemisphere had a contralateral preference and the left hemisphere equally represented both hemifields. This finding leads to novel perspectives regarding models of visuospatial attention and hemispatial neglect

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in Scotland: research design and methodology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) is a potentially blinding condition and a common cause of ocular morbidity. Establishing an accurate estimate of disease incidence and distribution is an important first step in assessing the healthcare burden related to this condition and in subsequent planning and provision of treatment strategies. The aim of this study is to obtain a first estimate incidence of RRD in Scotland, to estimate the incidence of familial RRD and to describe the known associations of RRD within the study population.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>We have established a national prospective observational study seeking to identify and recruit all incident cases of RRD in the Scottish population over a 2 year period. After fully informed consent, all participants will have a blood sample taken and a full medical history and clinical examination performed including visual acuity, refraction, slit-lamp examination, intra-ocular pressure measurement and detailed fundal examination. We describe the study design and protocol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study will provide the first estimate of the annual incidence of RRD in Scotland. The findings of this study will be important in estimating the burden of disease and in the planning of future health care policy related to this condition. This study will also establish a genetic resource for a genome wide association study to investigate if certain genetic variants predispose to RRD.</p

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair