Precursor of Color Superconductivity in Hot Quark Matter

We investigate possible precursory phenomena of color superconductivity in quark matter at finite temperature T with use of a simple Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. It is found that the fluctuating pair field exists with a prominent strength even well above the critical temperature T_c. We show that the collective pair field has a complex energy located in the second Riemann sheet, which approaches the origin as T is lowered to T_c. We discuss the possible relevance of the precursor to the observables to be detected in heavy ion collisions.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev. D. Discussions are enlarged on the physical origin of the large fluctuation of the pair field and its phenomenological consequences. References are adde

Chiral and Color-superconducting Phase Transitions with Vector Interaction in a Simple Model (Addenda)

In the preceding paper(Prog.Theor.Phys.108(2002)929 or hep-ph/0207255), we have shown that the critical line of the first order chiral transition of QCD can have two endpoints. In this addendum, we elucidate the mechanism to realize the two-endpoint structure in the QCD phase diagram and argue the robustness for the appearance of such an interesting phase structure

Spin 3/2 Penta-quarks in anisotropic lattice QCD

A high-precision mass measurement for the pentaquark (5Q) Theta^+ in J^P=3/2^{\pm} channel is performed in anisotropic quenched lattice QCD using a large number of gauge configurations as N_{conf}=1000. We employ the standard Wilson gauge action at beta=5.75 and the O(a) improved Wilson (clover) quark action with kappa=0.1210(0.0010)0.1240 on a 12^3 \times 96 lattice with the renormalized anisotropy as a_s/a_t = 4. The Rarita-Schwinger formalism is adopted for the interpolating fields. Several types of the interpolating fields with isospin I=0 are examined such as (a) the NK^*-type, (b) the (color-)twisted NK^*-type, (c) a diquark-type. The chiral extrapolation leads to only massive states, i.e., m_{5Q} \simeq 2.1-2.2 GeV in J^P=3/2^- channel, and m_{5Q} = 2.4-2.6 GeV in J^P=3/2^+ channel. The analysis with the hybrid boundary condition(HBC) is performed to investigate whether these states are compact 5Q resonances or not. No low-lying compact 5Q resonance states are found below 2.1GeV.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 4 table

Precursor of Color Superconductivity

We investigate possible precursory phenomena of color superconductivity at finite temperature $T$ with an effective theory of QCD. It is found that the fluctuation of the diquark pair field exists with a prominent strength even well above the critical temperature $T_c$. We show that such a fluctuaiton forms a collective mode, the corresponding pole of which approaches the origin as $T$ is lowered to $T_c$ in the complex energy plane. We discuss the possible relevance of the precursor to the observables to be detected in heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Talk presented at the XVIth International Conference on Particles and Nuclei (PANIC02), Osaka, Japan, Sep.30 - Oct.4, 2002, Uses espcrc1.st

Protein-crystal growth experiment (planned)

To evaluate the effectiveness of a microgravity environment on protein crystal growth, a system was developed using 5 cubic feet Get Away Special payload canister. In the experiment, protein (myoglobin) will be simultaneously crystallized from an aqueous solution in 16 crystallization units using three types of crystallization methods, i.e., batch, vapor diffusion, and free interface diffusion. Each unit has two compartments: one for the protein solution and the other for the ammonium sulfate solution. Compartments are separated by thick acrylic or thin stainless steel plates. Crystallization will be started by sliding out the plates, then will be periodically recorded up to 120 hours by a still camera. The temperature will be passively controlled by a phase transition thermal storage component and recorded in IC memory throughout the experiment. Microgravity environment can then be evaluated for protein crystal growth by comparing crystallization in space with that on Earth