572 research outputs found
Bound state approach to the QCD coupling at low energy scales
We exploit theoretical results on the meson spectrum within the framework of
a Bethe-Salpeter (BS) formalism adjusted for QCD, in order to extract an
``experimental'' coupling \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) below 1 GeV by comparison with
the data. Our results for \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) exhibit a good agreement with the
infrared safe Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT) coupling from 1 GeV down to
200 MeV. As a main result, we claim that the combined BS-APT theoretical scheme
provides us with a rather satisfactory correlated understanding of very high
and low energy phenomena.Comment: Revised version, to appear on Physical Review Letters. 7 pages, 2
figures, Revte
QCD coupling below 1 GeV from quarkonium spectrum
In this paper we extend the work synthetically presented in Ref.[1] and give
theoretical details and complete tables of numerical results. We exploit
calculations within a Bethe-Salpeter (BS) formalism adjusted for QCD, in order
to extract an ``experimental'' strong coupling \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) below 1 GeV
by comparison with the meson spectrum. The BS potential follows from a proper
ansatz on the Wilson loop to encode confinement and is the sum of a
one-gluon-exchange and a confinement terms. Besides, the common perturbative
strong coupling is replaced by the ghost-free expression \alpha_E(Q^2)
according to the prescription of Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT). The
agreement of \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) with the APT coupling \alpha_E(Q^2) turns out
to be reasonable from 1 GeV down to the 200 MeV scale, thus confirming
quantitatively the validity of the APT prescription. Below this scale, the
experimental points could give a hint on the vanishing of \alpha_s(Q^2) as Q
approaches zero. This infrared behaviour would be consistent with some lattice
results and a ``massive'' generalization of the APT approach. As a main result,
we claim that the combined BS-APT theoretical scheme provides us with a rather
satisfactory correlated understanding of very high and rather low energy
phenomena from few hundreds MeV to few hundreds GeV.Comment: Preliminary revision. Typos corrected, comments and references adde
The momentum distribution of J/psi in B decays
The discrepancy between theory and data in the momentum distribution of slow
J/psi in B decays has been several times addressed as a puzzle. Using the most
recent results on exclusive B decays into J/psi and heavy kaons or exotic
mesons and reconsidering the non-relativistic-QCD calculation of the color
octet fragmentation component, we show that an improvement in the comparison
between data and theory can be obtained. There is still room for a better fit
to data and this may imply that new exotic mesons of the XYZ kind have yet to
be discovered.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. To appear in Physical Review
Application of a comprehensive methodology for the evaluation of social innovations in rural communities
open4noThis project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No. 677622 (H2020 SIMRA–Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas–Project).Despite the growing interest in social innovation (SI) in agriculture, the literature lacks validated tools for evaluating such initiatives. This paper provides an empirical application of the evaluation approach developed within the H2020 SIMRA project to a pilot experience conducted in a rural area of Southern Italy. The value added by this case study is the application of the five types of criteria used by the OECD for the evaluation of development programs, which are commonly referred to as REEIS: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. This experiment demonstrates the adequacy of the evaluation framework in identifying strengths and weaknesses of the initiative, according to a multifaceted perspective. The overall evaluation proves that most indicators fall under the high (48%) and medium categories (36%), and only few indicators are low (16%). The usefulness of the evaluation results is manifold. First, this evaluation highlights relevant arguments to support the communication strategy addressed at civil society, therefore reinforcing the civic engagement of the initiative, which is the distinctive feature of SI. Second, it supports project managers in addressing interventions to face emerging weaknesses. Finally, the evaluation provides factual evidence to policy makers to perform cost-effective analysis of rural development policies.openBaselice A.; Prosperi M.; Marini Govigli V.; Lopolito A.Baselice A.; Prosperi M.; Marini Govigli V.; Lopolito A
A novel integral representation for the Adler function
New integral representations for the Adler D-function and the R-ratio of the
electron-positron annihilation into hadrons are derived in the general
framework of the analytic approach to QCD. These representations capture the
nonperturbative information encoded in the dispersion relation for the
D-function, the effects due to the interrelation between spacelike and timelike
domains, and the effects due to the nonvanishing pion mass. The latter plays a
crucial role in this analysis, forcing the Adler function to vanish in the
infrared limit. Within the developed approach the D-function is calculated by
employing its perturbative approximation as the only additional input. The
obtained result is found to be in reasonable agreement with the experimental
prediction for the Adler function in the entire range of momenta .Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Radioactive contamination of ZnWO4 crystal scintillators
The radioactive contamination of ZnWO4 crystal scintillators has been
measured deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the
INFN in Italy with a total exposure 3197 kg x h. Monte Carlo simulation,
time-amplitude and pulse-shape analyses of the data have been applied to
estimate the radioactive contamination of the ZnWO4 samples. One of the ZnWO4
crystals has also been tested by ultra-low background gamma spectrometry. The
radioactive contaminations of the ZnWO4 samples do not exceed 0.002 -- 0.8
mBq/kg (depending on the radionuclide), the total alpha activity is in the
range: 0.2 - 2 mBq/kg. Particular radioactivity, beta active 65Zn and alpha
active 180W, has been detected. The effect of the re-crystallization on the
radiopurity of the ZnWO4 crystal has been studied. The radioactive
contamination of samples of the ceramic details of the set-ups used in the
crystals growth has been checked by low background gamma spectrometry. A
project scheme on further improvement of the radiopurity level of the ZnWO4
crystal scintillators is briefly addressed.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables, submitted for publicatio
Quantum simulations of strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma
A strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) of heavy constituent
quasiparticles is studied by a path-integral Monte-Carlo method, which improves
the corresponding classical simulations by extending them to the quantum
regime. It is shown that this method is able to reproduce the lattice equation
of state and also yields valuable insight into the internal structure of the
QGP. The results indicate that the QGP reveals liquid-like rather than gas-like
properties. At temperatures just above the critical one it was found that bound
quark-antiquark states still survive. These states are bound by effective
string-like forces. Quantum effects turned out to be of prime importance in
these simulations.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, revised version of the contribution to
proceedings of "Int. Workshop on High Density Nuclear Matter", Cape Town,
5-10 Apr., 201
Model independent result on possible diurnal effect in DAMA/LIBRA-phase1
The results obtained in the search for possible diurnal effect in the
single-hit low energy data collected by DAMA/LIBRA-phase1 (total exposure: 1.04
ton x yr) deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the
I.N.F.N. are presented. At the present level of sensitivity the presence of any
significant diurnal variation and of diurnal time structures in the data can be
excluded for both the cases of solar and sidereal time. In particular, the
diurnal modulation amplitude expected, because of the Earth diurnal motion, on
the basis of the DAMA Dark Matter annual modulation results is below the
present sensitivity.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; in publication on Eur. Phys. J.
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