1,045 research outputs found
The order of the Roberge-Weiss endpoint (finite size transition) in QCD
We consider the endpoint of the Roberge-Weiss (RW) first order transition
line present for imaginary baryon chemical potentials. We remark that it
coincides with the finite size transition relevant in the context of large
QCD and study its order in the theory with two degenerate flavors. The RW
endpoint is first order in the limit of large and small quark masses, while it
weakens for intermediate masses where it is likely in the Ising 3d universality
class. Phenomenological implications and further speculations about the QCD
phase diagram are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures. Version accepted for publication in Physical
Review D (R
Phase diagram of QCD with two degenerate staggered quarks
We present preliminary results about the critical line of QCD with two
degenerate staggered quarks at nonzero temperature and chemical potential,
obtained by the method of analytic continuation. As in our previous studies
with different numbers of colors and flavors, we find deviations from a simple
quadratic dependence on the chemical potential. We comment on the shape of the
critical line at real chemical potential and give an estimate of the curvature
of the critical line, both for quark chemical potential and isospin chemical
potential.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, talk presented at Lattice 2011, The XXIX
International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe,
California, USA, July 11-16, 201
The critical line of two-flavor QCD at finite isospin or baryon densities from imaginary chemical potentials
We determine the (pseudo)critical lines of QCD with two degenerate staggered
fermions at nonzero temperature and quark or isospin density, in the region of
imaginary chemical potentials; analytic continuation is then used to prolongate
to the region of real chemical potentials. We obtain an accurate determination
of the curvatures at zero chemical potential, quantifying the deviation between
the case of finite quark and of finite isospin chemical potential. Deviations
from a quadratic dependence of the pseudocritical lines on the chemical
potential are clearly seen in both cases: we try different extrapolations and,
for the case of nonzero isospin chemical potential, confront them with the
results of direct Monte Carlo simulations. Finally we find that, as for the
finite quark density case, an imaginary isospin chemical potential can
strengthen the transition till turning it into strong first order.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 4 table
An exploratory study of heavy domain wall fermions on the lattice
We report on an exploratory study of domain wall fermions (DWF) as a lattice
regularisation for heavy quarks. Within the framework of quenched QCD with the
tree-level improved Symanzik gauge action we identify the DWF parameters which
minimise discretisation effects. We find the corresponding effective 4
overlap operator to be exponentially local, independent of the quark mass. We
determine a maximum bare heavy quark mass of , below which the
approximate chiral symmetry and O(a)-improvement of DWF are sustained. This
threshold appears to be largely independent of the lattice spacing. Based on
these findings, we carried out a detailed scaling study for the heavy-strange
meson dispersion relation and decay constant on four ensembles with lattice
spacings in the range . We observe very mild
scaling towards the continuum limit. Our findings establish a sound basis for
heavy DWF in dynamical simulations of lattice QCD with relevance to Standard
Model phenomenology.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure
Electrical Characterization of SiPM as a Function of Test Frequency and Temperature
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) represent a promising alternative to
classical photomultipliers, for instance, for the detection of photons in high
energy physics and medical physics. In the present work, electrical
characterizations of test devices - manufactured by ST Microelectronics - are
presented. SiPMs with an area of 3.5x3.5 micron^2 and a cell pitch of 54 micron
were manufactured as arrays of 64x64 cells and exhibiting a fill factor of 31%.
The capacitance of SiPMs was measured as a function of reverse bias voltage at
frequencies ranging from from 20 Hz up to 1 MHz and temperatures from 300 K
down to 85 K. While leakage currents were measured at temperatures from 400 K
down to 85 K. Thus, the threshold voltage - i.e., voltage corresponding to that
at which the multiplication regime for the leakage current begins - could be
determined as a function of temperature. Finally, an electrical model suited to
reproduce the dependence of the frequency dependence of capacitance is
presented.Comment: To appear on the Proceedings of the 13th ICATPP Conference on
Astroparticle, Particle, Space Physics and Detectors for Physics
Applications, Villa Olmo (Como, Italy), 3-7 October, 2011, to be published by
World Scientific (Singapore
Average up/down, strange and charm quark masses with Nf=2 twisted mass lattice QCD
We present a high precision lattice calculation of the average up/down,
strange and charm quark masses performed with Nf=2 twisted mass Wilson
fermions. The analysis includes data at four values of the lattice spacing and
pion masses as low as ~270 MeV, allowing for accurate continuum limit and
chiral extrapolation. The strange and charm masses are extracted by using
several methods, based on different observables: the kaon and the eta_s meson
for the strange quark and the D, D_s and eta_c mesons for the charm. The quark
mass renormalization is carried out non-perturbatively using the RI-MOM method.
The results for the quark masses in the MSbar scheme read: m_ud(2 GeV)= 3.6(2)
MeV, m_s(2 GeV)=95(6) MeV and m_c(m_c)=1.28(4) GeV. We also obtain the ratios
m_s/m_ud=27.3(9) and m_c/m_s=12.0(3).Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. Typos corrected in eqs. (15)-(17). Version
published in Phys. Rev.
Quark masses with Nf=2 twisted mass lattice QCD
We present the results of the recent high precision lattice calculation of
the average up/down, strange and charm quark masses performed by ETMC with Nf=2
twisted mass Wilson fermions. The analysis includes data at four values of the
lattice spacing and pion masses as low as ~270 MeV, allowing for accurate
continuum limit and chiral extrapolation. The strange and charm masses are
extracted by using several methods, based on different observables: the kaon
and the eta_s meson for the strange quark and the D, D_s and eta_c mesons for
the charm. The quark mass renormalization is carried out non-perturbatively
using the RI-MOM method. The results for the quark masses in the MSbar scheme
read: m_ud(2 GeV)= 3.6(2) MeV, m_s(2 GeV)=95(6) MeV and m_c(m_c)=1.28(4) GeV.
We have also obtained the ratios m_s/m_ud=27.3(9) and m_c/m_s=12.0(3).
Moreover, we provide the updated result for the bottom quark mass,
m_b(m_b)=4.3(2) GeV, obtained using the method presented in 0909.3187
[hep-lat].Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, talk given at the XXVIII International Symposium
on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2010), June 14-19 2010, Villasimius, Ital
CT attenuation analysis of carotid intraplaque hemorrhage
Background and Purpose: Intraplaque hemorrhage is considered a leading parameter of carotid plaque vulnerability. Our purpose was to assess the CT characteristics of intraplaque hemorrhage with histopathologic correlation to identify features that allow for confirming or ruling out the intraplaque hemorrhage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 91 patients (67 men; median age, 657 years; age range, 41-83 years) who underwent CT angiography and carotid endarterectomy from March 2010 to May 2013. Histopathologic analysis was performed for the tissue characterization and identification of intraplaque hemorrhage. Two observers assessed the plaque's attenuation values by using an ROI (≤1 and ≥2 mm2). Receiver operating characteristic curve, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 169 slices were assessed (59 intraplaque hemorrhage, 63 lipid-rich necrotic core, and 47 fibrous); the average values of the intraplaque hemorrhage, lipid-rich necrotic core, and fibrous tissue were 17.475 Hounsfield units (HU) and 18.407 HU, 39.476 HU and 48.048 HU, and 91.66 HU and 93.128 HU, respectively, before and after the administration of contrast medium. The Mann-Whitney test showed a statistically significant difference of HU values both in basal and after the administration of contrast material phase. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed a statistical association between intraplaque hemorrhage and low HU values, and a threshold of 25 HU demonstrated the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.22% and 92.73%, respectively. The Wilcoxon test showed that the attenuation of the plaque before and after administration of contrast material is different (intraplaque hemorrhage, lipid-rich necrotic core, and fibrous tissue had P values of .006, .0001, and .018, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this preliminary study suggest that CT can be used to identify the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage according to the attenuation. A threshold of 25 HU in the volume acquired after the administration of contrast medium is associated with an optimal sensitivity and specificity. Special care should be given to the correct identification of the ROI
K^0-\bar{K}^0 mixing in the Standard Model from Nf=2+1+1 Twisted Mass Lattice QCD
We present preliminary results at {\beta} = 1.95 (a = 0.077 fm) on the first
unquenched N_f=2+1+1 lattice computation of the B_K parameter which controls
the neutral kaon oscillations in the Standard Model. Using N_f=2+1+1 maximally
twisted sea quarks and Osterwalder-Seiler valence quarks we achieve O(a)
improvement and a continuum-like renormalization pattern for the four-fermion
operator. Our results are extrapolated/interpolated to the physical
light/strange quark mass but not yet to the continuum limit. The computation of
the relevant renormalization constants is performed non perturbatively in the
RI'-MOM scheme using dedicated simulations with N_f=4 degenerate sea quark
flavours produced by the ETM collaboration.
We get B_K^{RGI} (a = 0.077) = 0.747(18), which when compared to our previous
unquenched N_f=2 determination and most of the existing results, suggests a
rather weak B_K^{RGI} dependence on the number of dynamical flavours. We are at
the moment analysing lattice data at two additional {\beta} values which will
allow us to perform an extrapolation to the continuum limit.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of Lattice 2011, XXIX International
Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, Californi
- …