News from Cosmic Gamma-ray Line Observations

The measurement of gamma rays at MeV energies from cosmic radioactivities is one of the key tools for nuclear astrophysics, in its study of nuclear reactions and how they shape objects such as massive stars and supernova explosions. Additionally, the unique gamma-ray signature from the annihilation of positrons falls into this same astronomical window, and positrons are often produced from radioactive beta decays. Nuclear gamma-ray telescopes face instrumental challenges from penetrating gamma rays and cosmic-ray induced backgrounds. But the astrophysical benefits of such efforts are underlined by the discoveries of nuclear gamma~rays from the brightest of the expected sources. In recent years, both thermonuclear and core-collapse supernova radioactivity gamma~rays have been measured in spectral detail, and complement conventional supernova observations with measurements of origins in deep supernova interiors, from the decay of $^{56}$Ni, $^{56}$Co, and $^{44}$Ti. The diffuse afterglow in gamma rays of radioactivity from massive-star nucleosynthesis is analysed on the large (galactic) scale, with findings important for recycling of matter between successive stellar generations: From $^{26}$Al gamma-ray line spectroscopy, interstellar cavities and superbubbles have been recognised in their importance for ejecta transport and recycling. Diffuse galactic emissions from radioactivity and positron-annihilation $\gamma$~rays should be connected to nucleosynthesis sources: Recently new light has been shed on this connection, among others though different measurements of radioactive $^{60}$Fe, and through spectroscopy of positron annihilation gamma~rays from a flaring microquasar and from different parts of our Galaxy.Comment: Invited talk at the international symposium "Nuclei in the Cosmos XIV", June 2016, at Niigata, Japan. Six pages, two figures. Accepted for publication in JPS (Japan Physical Society) Conference Proceedings (http://jpscp.jps.jp/

Double parton scattering theory overview

The dynamics of double hard scattering in proton-proton collisions is quite involved compared with the familiar case of single hard scattering. In this contribution, we review our theoretical understanding of double hard scattering and of its interplay with other reaction mechanisms.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures. Prepared for: Multiple Parton Interactions at the LHC, Eds. P. Bartalini and J. R. Gaunt, World Scientific, Singapor

Timelike Compton scattering: exclusive photoproduction of lepton pairs

We investigate the exclusive photoproduction of a heavy timelike photon which decays into a lepton pair, gamma p -> l+ l- p. This can be seen as the analog of deeply virtual Compton scattering, and we argue that the two processes are complementary for studying generalized parton distributions in the nucleon. In an unpolarized experiment the angular distribution of the leptons readily provides access to the real part of the Compton amplitude. We estimate the possible size of this effect in kinematics where the Compton process should be dominated by quark exchange.Comment: 31 pages, 17 figure

The Overlap Representation of Skewed Quark and Gluon Distributions

Within the framework of light-cone quantisation we derive the complete and exact overlap representation of skewed parton distributions for unpolarised and polarised quarks and gluons. Symmetry properties and phenomenological applications are discussed.Comment: LaTex, 36 pages. v2: incorrect paper attached originally. v3: erratum adde

Probing the evolving massive star population in Orion with kinematic and radioactive tracers

We assemble a census of the most massive stars in Orion, then use stellar isochrones to estimate their masses and ages, and use these results to establish the stellar content of Orion's individual OB associations. From this, our new population synthesis code is utilized to derive the history of the emission of UV radiation and kinetic energy of the material ejected by the massive stars, and also follow the ejection of the long-lived radioactive isotopes 26Al and 60Fe. In order to estimate the precision of our method, we compare and contrast three distinct representations of the massive stars. We compare the expected outputs with observations of 26Al gamma-ray signal and the extent of the Eridanus cavity. We find an integrated kinetic energy emitted by the massive stars of 1.8(+1.5-0.4)times 10^52 erg. This number is consistent with the energy thought to be required to create the Eridanus superbubble. We also find good agreement between our model and the observed 26Al signal, estimating a mass of 5.8(+2.7-2.5) times 10^-4 Msol of 26Al in the Orion region. Our population synthesis approach is demonstrated for the Orion region to reproduce three different kinds of observable outputs from massive stars in a consistent manner: Kinetic energy as manifested in ISM excavation, ionization as manifested in free-free emission, and nucleosynthesis ejecta as manifested in radioactivity gamma-rays. The good match between our model and the observables does not argue for considerable modifications of mass loss. If clumping effects turn out to be strong, other processes would need to be identified to compensate for their impact on massive-star outputs. Our population synthesis analysis jointly treats kinematic output and the return of radioactive isotopes, which proves a powerful extension of the methodology that constrains feedback from massive stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 10 page

CEN A observation at MeV-energies

During a balloon flight with the MPI Compton telescope from Uberaba/Brasil gamma-ray emission from the direction of Cen A was observed at MeV-energies. The observed flux connects to the X-ray spectrum of Cen A beyond 0.7 MeV and has a statistical significance of 4.1. The extension beyond 3 MeV has a significance of 3.8. Possible interpretations of the energy spectrum are discussed

Renormalized field theory and particle density profile in driven diffusive systems with open boundaries

We investigate the density profile in a driven diffusive system caused by a plane particle source perpendicular to the driving force. Focussing on the case of critical bulk density $\bar{c}$ we use a field theoretic renormalization group approach to calculate the density $c(z)$ as a function of the distance from the particle source at first order in $\epsilon=2-d$ ($d$: spatial dimension). For $d=1$ we find reasonable agreement with the exact solution recently obtained for the asymmetric exclusion model. Logarithmic corrections to the mean field profile are computed for $d=2$ with the result $c(z)-\bar{c} \sim z^{-1} (\ln(z))^{2/3}$ for $z \rightarrow \infty$.Comment: 32 pages, RevTex, 4 Postscript figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The Off-forward Quark-Quark Correlation Function

The properties of the non-forward quark-quark correlation function are examined. We derive constraints on the correlation function from the transformation properties of the fundamental fields of QCD occurring in its definition. We further develop a method to construct an ansatz for this correlator. We present the complete leading order set of generalized parton distributions in terms of the amplitudes of the ansatz. Finally we conclude that the number of independent generalized parton helicity changing distributions is four.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Double parton scattering in the ultraviolet: addressing the double counting problem

In proton-proton collisions there is a smooth transition between the regime of double parton scattering, initiated by two pairs of partons at a large relative distance, and the regime where a single parton splits into a parton pair in one or both protons. We present a scheme for computing both contributions in a consistent and practicable way.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the proeceedings of MPI@LHC 2015, Trieste, Italy, 23-27 November 201