230 research outputs found
Mixing and Decay Constants of Pseudoscalar Mesons: The Sequel
We present further tests and applications of the new eta-eta' mixing scheme
recently proposed by us. The particle states are decomposed into orthonormal
basis vectors in a light-cone Fock representation. Because of flavor symmetry
breaking the mixing of the decay constants can be identical to the mixing of
particle states at most for a specific choice of this basis. Theoretical and
phenomenological considerations show that the quark flavor basis has this
property and allows, therefore, for a reduction of the number of mixing
parameters. A detailed comparison with other mixing schemes is also presented.Comment: 9 page
Experimental cross sections of Ho 165 (α,n) Tm 168 and Er 166 (α,n) Yb 169 for optical potential studies relevant for the astrophysical γ process
Background: Optical potentials are crucial ingredients for the prediction of nuclear reaction rates needed in simulations of the astrophysical γ process. Associated uncertainties are particularly large for reactions involving α particles. This includes (γ,α) reactions which are of special importance in the γ process. Purpose: The measurement of (α,n) reactions allows for an optimization of currently used α-nucleus potentials. The reactions Ho165(α,n) and Er166(α,n) probe the optical model in a mass region where γ process calculations exhibit an underproduction of p nuclei which is not yet understood. Method: To investigate the energy-dependent cross sections of the reactions Ho165(α,n) and Er166(α,n) close to the reaction threshold, self-supporting metallic foils were irradiated with α particles using the FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at the University of Notre Dame. The induced activity was determined afterwards by monitoring the specific β-decay channels. Results: Hauser-Feshbach predictions with a widely used global α potential describe the data well at energies where the cross sections are almost exclusively sensitive to the α widths. Increasing discrepancies appear towards the reaction threshold at lower energy. Conclusions: The tested global α potential is suitable at energies above 14 MeV, while a modification seems necessary close to the reaction threshold. Since the γ and neutron widths show non-negligible impact on the predictions, complementary data are required to judge whether or not the discrepancies found can be solely assigned to the α width. © 2014 American Physical Society.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Positron polarization in a mirror transition
The positron polarization in the mirror transition N13, a predominantly Fermi transition, has been measured by detecting the circular polarization of the annihilation-in-flight quanta. The results indicate complete polarization of the positrons parallel to their momentum, showing that Fermi coupling contributes significantly to the positron polarization in the same sense as the Gamow-Teller coupling
Heavy-to-light transition form factors and their relations in light-cone QCD sum rules
The improved light-cone QCD sum rules by using chiral current correlator is
systematically reviewed and applied to the calculation of all the
heavy-to-light form factors, including all the semileptonic and penguin ones.
By choosing suitable chiral currents, the light-cone sum rules for all the form
factors are greatly simplified and depend mainly on one leading twist
distribution amplitude of the light meson. As a result, relations between these
form factors arise naturally. At the considered accuracy these relations
reproduce the results obtained in the literature. Moreover, since the explicit
dependence on the leading twist distribution amplitudes is preserved, these
relations may be more useful to simulate the experimental data and extract the
information on the distribution amplitude.Comment: 1+16 pages, no figure
Hydro-physical processes at the plunge point: an analysis using satellite and in situ data
The plunge point is the main mixing point between river and epilimnetic reservoir water. Plunge point monitoring is essential for understanding the behavior of density currents and their implications for reservoir. The use of satellite imagery products from different sensors (Landsat TM band 6 thermal signatures and visible channels) for the characterization of the river-reservoir transition zone is presented in this study. It is demonstrated the feasibility of using Landsat TM band imagery to discern the subsurface river plumes and the plunge point. The spatial variability of the plunge point evident in the hydrologic data illustrates the advantages of synoptic satellite measurements over in situ point measurements alone to detect the river-reservoir transition zone. During the dry season, when the river-reservoir water temperature differences vanish and the river circulation is characterized by interflow-overflow, the river water inserts into the upper layers of the reservoir, affecting water quality. The results indicate a good agreement between hydrologic and satellite data and that the joint use of thermal and visible channel data for the operational monitoring of a plunge point is feasible. The deduced information about the density current from this study could potentially be assimilated into numerical models and hence be of significant interest for environmental and climatological research
Combining exclusive semi-leptonic and hadronic B decays to measure |V_ub|
The Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element |V_ub| can be extracted from the
rate for the semi-leptonic decay B -> pi + l + antineutrino_l, with little
theoretical uncertainty, provided the hadronic form factor for the B -> pi
transition can be measured from some other B decay. In here, we suggest using
the decay B -> pi J\psi. This is a color suppressed decay, and it cannot be
properly described within the usual factorization approximation; we use instead
a simple and very general phenomenological model for the b d J\psi vertex. In
order to relate the hadronic form factors in the B -> pi J\psi and B -> pi + l
+ antineutrino_l decays, we use form factor relations that hold for
heavy-to-light transitions at large recoil.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, no figure
Measurement of the 58Ni(α, γ) 62Zn reaction and its astrophysical impact
Funding Details: PHY 08-22648, NSF, National Science Foundation; PHY 0969058, NSF, National Science Foundation; PHY 1102511, NSF, National Science FoundationCross section measurements of the 58Ni(α,γ)62Zn reaction were performed in the energy range Eα=5.5to9.5 MeV at the Nuclear Science Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame, using the NSCL Summing NaI(Tl) detector and the γ-summing technique. The measurements are compared to predictions in the statistical Hauser-Feshbach model of nuclear reactions using the SMARAGD code. It is found that the energy dependence of the cross section is reproduced well but the absolute value is overestimated by the prediction. This can be remedied by rescaling the α width by a factor of 0.45. Stellar reactivities were calculated with the rescaled α width and their impact on nucleosynthesis in type Ia supernovae has been studied. It is found that the resulting abundances change by up to 5% when using the new reactivities. © 2014 American Physical Society.Peer reviewe
Rare exclusive semileptonic b -> s transitions in the Standard Model
We study long-distance effects in rare exclusive semileptonic decays B -> (K,
K*) (l+ l-, nu bar{nu}) and analyze dilepton spectra and asymmetries within the
framework of the Standard Model. The form factors, describing the meson
transition amplitudes of the effective Hamiltonian are calculated within the
lattice-constrained dispersion quark model: the form factors are given by
dispersion representations through the wave functions of the initial and final
mesons, and these wave functions are chosen such that the B -> K* transition
form factors agree with the lattice results at large q**2. We calculate
branching ratios of semileptonic B -> K, K* transition modes and study the
sensitivity of observables to the long-distance contributions. The shape of the
forward-backward asymmetry and the longitudinal lepton polarization asymmetry
are found to be independent of the long-distance effects and mainly determined
by the values of the Wilson coefficients in the Standard Model.Comment: revtex, 17 pp., 5 figures with epsfig.st
Comments on Diquarks, Strong Binding and a Large Hidden QCD Scale
We present arguments regarding diquarks possible role in low-energy hadron
phenomenology that escaped theorists' attention so far. Good diquarks, i.e. the
states of two quarks, are argued to have a two-component structure with
one of the components peaking at distances several times shorter than a typical
hadron size (a short-range core). This can play a role in solving two old
puzzles of the 't Hooft 1/N expansion: strong quark mass dependence of the
vacuum energy density and strong violations of the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka (OZI)
rule in the quark-antiquark channels. In both cases empiric data defy
't Hooft's 1/N suppression. If good diquarks play a role at an intermediate
energy scale they ruin 't Hoofts planarity because of their mixed-flavor
composition. This new scale associated with the good diquarks may be related to
a numerically large scale discovered in [V. Novikov, M. Shifman, A. Vainshtein
and V. Zakharov, Nucl. Phys. B 191, 301 (1981)] in a number of phenomena mostly
related to vacuum quantum numbers and glueball channels. If SU(3) of bona fide QCD is replaced by SU(2), diquarks become
well-defined gauge invariant objects. Moreover, there is an exact symmetry
relating them to pions. In this limit predictions regarding good diquarks are
iron-clad. If passage from SU(2) to SU(3) does not
lead to dramatic disturbances, these predictions remain qualitatively valid in
bona fide QCD.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures; journal version, minor change
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