Pi pi scattering lengths at O(p^6) revisited

This article completes a former work where part of the O(p^6) low-energy constants entering in the pi pi scattering were estimated. Some resonance contributions were missed in former calculations and slight differences appeared with respect to our outcome. Here, we provide the full results for all the contributing O(p^6) couplings. We also perform a reanalysis of the hadronic inputs used for the estimation (resonance masses, widths...). Their reliability was checked together with the impact of the input uncertainties on the determinations of the chiral couplings and the scattering lengths a^I_J. Our outcome is found in agreement with former works though with slightly larger errors. However, the effect in the final values of the a^I_J is negligible after combining them with the other uncertainties. Based on this consistency, we conclude that the previous scattering length determinations seem to be rather solid and reliable, with the cO(p^6) low-energy constants quite under control. Nevertheless, the uncertainties found in the present work point out the limitation on further improvements unless the precision of the O(p^6) couplings is properly increased.Comment: 19 pages. Improved treatment of the a0 decay width and update of the numerical outcomes. Final version published in Phys. Rev. D (10.1103/PhysRevD.79.096006

Thin Ice Target for 16^{16}O(p,p') experiment

A windowless and self-supporting ice target is described. An ice sheet with a thickness of 29.7 mg/cm$^2$ cooled by liquid nitrogen was placed at the target position of a magnetic spectrometer and worked stably in the $^{16}$O$(p,p')$ experiment at $E_{p}=392$ MeV. Background-free spectra were obtained.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Nucl. Instr. & Meth. A (in press

Nuclear time-reversal violation and the Schiff moment of 225Ra

We present a comprehensive mean-field calculation of the Schiff moment of the nucleus 225Ra, the quantity which determines the static electric dipole moment of the corresponding atom if time-reversal (T) invariance is violated in the nucleus. The calculation breaks all possible intrinsic symmetries of the nuclear mean field and includes, in particular, both exchange and direct terms from the full finite-range T-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction, and the effects of short-range correlations. The resulting Schiff moment, which depends on three unknown T-violating pion-nucleon coupling constants, is much larger than in 199Hg, the isotope with the best current experimental limit on its atomic electric-dipole moment.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; this version (references added) to be published in PR

Corrections to Sirlin's Theorem in O(p6)O(p^6) Chiral Perturbation Theory

We present the results of the first two-loop calculation of a form factor in full $SU(3) \times SU(3)$ Chiral Perturbation Theory. We choose a specific linear combination of $\pi^+, K^+, K^0$ and $K\pi$ form factors (the one appearing in Sirlin's theorem) which does not get contributions from order $p^6$ operators with unknown constants. For the charge radii, the correction to the previous one-loop result turns out to be significant, but still there is no agreement with the present data due to large experimental uncertainties in the kaon charge radii.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 2 LaTeX figure