Thermal production of ultrarelativistic right-handed neutrinos: Complete leading-order results

The thermal production of relativistic right-handed Majorana neutrinos is of importance for models of thermal leptogenesis in the early Universe. Right-handed neutrinos can be produced both by 1 2 decay or inverse decay and by 2 -> 2 scattering processes. In a previous publication, we have studied the production via 1 2 (inverse) decay processes. There we have shown that multiple scattering mediated by soft gauge boson exchange also contributes to the production rate at leading order, and gives a strong enhancement. Here we complete the leading order calculation by adding 2 -> 2 scattering processes involving either electroweak gauge bosons or third-generation quarks. We find that processes with gauge interactions give the most important contributions. We also obtain a new sum rule for the Hard Thermal Loop resummed fermion propagator.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures. Error in the matrix element for the (subdominant) subprocess with s-channel fermion exchange corrected. This changes the corresponding phase space integral and the constant c_V. Numerically it increases the total 2 -> 2 rate by about 2 percent and the complete rate by about 1 percent. The main results and conclusions are unaffecte

Expectation values of four-quark operators in pions

The values of four-quark operators averaged over pions are expressed through those averaged over vacuum. The specific values are obtained in the framework of the factorization assumption. For the condensates of the light quarks of the same flavour \bar q\Gamma q\bar q\Gamma q the scalar condensate is shown to be an order of magnitude larger than the other ones. The condensates containing the strange quarks \bar q q\bar s s appear to be only about twice smaller than those of the light quarks. The degeneracy of the ground state in the Nambu--Jona--Lasinio model is shown explicitly.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, typos correcte

Finite density QCD sum rules for nucleons

It is shown how the QCD sum rules can be applied for the investigation of the density dependence of the nucleon parameters. These characteristics can be expressed through the expectation values of QCD operators in nuclear matter. In certain approximations the expectation values are related to the observables. First applications of the approach reproduced some of the basic features of nuclear physics, providing also a new knowledge. The program of the future work is presented. The difficulties of the approach are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, Lecture at the International School on Nuclear Physics, Erice,200

Two- and Three-Point Functions in the Extended NJL Model

The two-point functions in generalized Nambu--Jona-Lasinio models are calculated to all orders in momenta and quark masses to leading order in $1/N_c$. The use of Ward identities and the heat-kernel expansion allows for a large degree of regularization independence. We also show how this approach works to the same order for three-point functions on the example of the vector-pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar three-point function. The inclusion of the chiral anomaly effects at this level is shown by calculating the pseudoscalar-vector-vector three-point function to the same order. Finally we comment on how (vector-)meson-dominance comes out in the presence of explicit chiral symmetry breaking in both the anomalous and the non-anomalous sectors.Comment: Latex, 42 pages, 3 latex figures, 7 postscript figures included, NORDITA 94/11 N,P. Improvement in the regularization procedure for the PVV three point functio

Lectures on Chiral Disorder in QCD

I explain the concept that light quarks diffuse in the QCD vacuum following the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry. I exploit the striking analogy to disordered electrons in metals, identifying, among others, the universal regime described by random matrix theory, diffusive regime described by chiral perturbation theory and the crossover between these two domains.Comment: Lectures given at the Cargese Summer School, August 6-18, 200

Low--Energy Behavior of Two--Point Functions of Quark Currents

We discuss vector, axial-vector, scalar and pseudoscalar two-point functions at low and intermediate energies. We first review what is known from chiral perturbation theory, as well as from a heat kernel expansion within the context of the extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (ENJL) model of ref. \cite{12}. In this work we derive then these two-point functions to all orders in the momenta and to leading order in $1/N_c$. We find an improved high-energy behaviour and a general way of parametrizing them that shows relations between some of the two-point functions, which are also valid in the presence of gluonic interactions. The similarity between the shape of the experimentally known spectral functions and the ones we derive, is greatly improved with respect to those predicted by the usual constituent quark like models. We also obtain the scalar mass $M_S = 2 M_Q$ independent of the regularization scheme. In the end, we calculate fully an example of a nonleptonic matrix element in the ENJL--model, the $\pi^+-\pi^0$ electromagnetic mass difference and find good agreement with the measured value.Comment: 37 pages + 6 uuencoded figures, CERN TH 6924/93, CPT-93/P.2917, NORDITA 93/43-N,

R^2 Corrections to Asymptotically Lifshitz Spacetimes

We study $R^{2}$ corrections to five-dimensional asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes by adding Gauss-Bonnet terms in the effective action. For the zero-temperature backgrounds we obtain exact solutions in both pure Gauss-Bonnet gravity and Gauss-Bonnet gravity with non-trivial matter. The dynamical exponent undergoes finite renormalization in the latter case. For the finite-temperature backgrounds we obtain black brane solutions perturbatively and calculate the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density $\eta/s$. The KSS bound is still violated but unlike the relativistic counterparts, the causality of the boundary field theory cannot be taken as a constraint.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, typos fixed, accepted by JHE

Common Origin of Soft mu-tau and CP Breaking in Neutrino Seesaw and the Origin of Matter

Neutrino oscillation data strongly support mu-tau symmetry as a good approximate flavor symmetry of the neutrino sector, which has to appear in any viable theory for neutrino mass-generation. The mu-tau breaking is not only small, but also the source of Dirac CP-violation. We conjecture that both discrete mu-tau and CP symmetries are fundamental symmetries of the seesaw Lagrangian (respected by interaction terms), and they are only softly broken, arising from a common origin via a unique dimension-3 Majorana mass-term of the heavy right-handed neutrinos. From this conceptually attractive and simple construction, we can predict the soft mu-tau breaking at low energies, leading to quantitative correlations between the apparently two small deviations \theta_{23} - 45^o and \theta_{13} - 0^o. This nontrivially connects the on-going measurements of mixing angle \theta_{23} with the upcoming experimental probes of \theta_{13}. We find that any deviation of \theta_{23} - 45^o must put a lower limit on \theta_{13}. Furthermore, we deduce the low energy Dirac and Majorana CP violations from a common soft-breaking phase associated with mu-tau breaking in the neutrino seesaw. Finally, from the soft CP breaking in neutrino seesaw we derive the cosmological CP violation for the baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis. We fully reconstruct the leptogenesis CP-asymmetry from the low energy Dirac CP phase and establish a direct link between the cosmological CP-violation and the low energy Jarlskog invariant. We predict new lower and upper bounds on the \theta_{13} mixing angle, 1^o < \theta_{13} < 6^o. In addition, we reveal a new hidden symmetry that dictates the solar mixing angle \theta_12 by its group-parameter, and includes the conventional tri-bimaximal mixing as a special case, allowing deviations from it.Comment: 60pp, JCAP in Press, v2: only minor stylistic refinements (added Daya Bay's future sensitivity in Figs.2+8, shortened some eqs, added new Appendix-A and some references), comments are welcome

Dilepton Spectra from Decays of Light Unflavored Mesons

The invariant mass spectrum of the $e^{+}e^{-}$ and $\mu ^{+}\mu ^{-}$ pairs from decays of light unflavored mesons with masses below the $\phi (1020)$-meson mass to final states containing along with a dilepton pair one photon, one meson, and two mesons are calculated within the framework of the effective meson theory. The results can be used for simulations of the dilepton spectra in heavy-ion collisions and for experimental searches of dilepton meson decays.Comment: 73 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables, REVTeX, new references adde