Relativistic hydrodynamics with strangeness production

The relativistic hydrodynamic approach is used to describe production of strangeness and/or heavy quarks in ultrarelativistic heavy ion reactions. Production processes are important ingredients of dissipative effects in the hadronic liquid. Beyond viscosity also chemo- and thermo-diffusion processes are considered. This also allows to specify chemical and thermal freeze-out conditions.Comment: v.2 with minor editorial corrections, 7 pages, talk given on the SQM2007 conference, Levoca, June 24-29, 2007. To appear in the proceceeding: Journal of Physics

Probability distributions in statistical ensembles with conserved charges

The probability distributions for charged particle numbers and their densities are derived in statistical ensembles with conservation laws. It is shown that if this limit is properly taken then the canonical and grand canonical ensembles are equivalent. This equivalence is proven on the most general, probability distribution level.Comment: 5 pages. A little bit shorter version due to some editorial and language changes. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Pion Number Fluctuations and Correlations in the Statistical System with Fixed Isospin

The statistical system of pions with zero total isospin is studied. The suppression effects for the average yields due to isospin conservation are the same for $\pi^0$, $\pi^+$ and $\pi^-$. However, a behavior of the corresponding particle number fluctuations are different. For neutral pions there is the enhancement of the fluctuations, whereas for charged pions the isospin conservation suppresses fluctuations. The correlations between the numbers of charged and neutral pions are observed for finite systems. This causes a maximum of the total pion number fluctuations for small systems. The thermodynamic limit values for the scaled variances of neutral and charged pions are calculated. The enhancements of the fluctuations due to Bose statistics are found and discussed

The canonical partition function for relativistic hadron gases

Particle production in high-energy collisions is often addressed within the framework of the thermal (statistical) model. We present a method to calculate the canonical partition function for the hadron resonance gas with exact conservation of the baryon number, strangeness, electric charge, charmness and bottomness. We derive an analytical expression for the partition function which is represented as series of Bessel functions. Our results can be used directly to analyze particle production yields in elementary and in heavy ion collisions. We also quantify the importance of quantum statistics in the calculations of the light particle multiplicities in the canonical thermal model of the hadron resonance gas.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures; submitted for publication in EPJ

The Prognostic Value of a Single, Randomly Timed Circulating Tumor DNA Measurement in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma

Simple Summary In this study, we investigated the associations of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), measured at a random time point during the patient’s treatment, with tumor progression and routine blood markers (protein S100, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and C-reactive protein (CRP)) in a cohort of patients with metastatic melanoma. Detectable ctDNA was associated with the presence of extracerebral disease, tumor progression, and poorer overall survival (OS). Elevated S100 and CRP was correlated with detectable ctDNA, whereas LDH was not. Our results further support the use of ctDNA in the clinical management of patients with metastatic melanoma. Abstract Melanoma currently lacks validated blood-based biomarkers for monitoring and predicting treatment efficacy. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), originating from tumor cells and detectable in plasma, has emerged as a possible biomarker in patients with metastatic melanoma. In this retrospective, single-center study, we collected 129 plasma samples from 79 patients with stage IIIB–IV melanoma as determined by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC, 8th edition). For the determination of ctDNA levels, we used eight different assays of droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) to detect the most common hotspot mutations in the BRAF and NRAS genes. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of the detectability of ctDNA at a non-prespecified time point in a patient’s treatment with tumor progression, and to correlate ctDNA with commonly used biomarkers (protein S100, LDH, and CRP). Patients with detectable ctDNA progressed more frequently in PET-CT within 12 months than those without detectable ctDNA. Detectability of ctDNA was associated with shorter OS in univariate and multivariate analyses. ctDNA was detectable in a statistically significantly larger proportion of patients with distant metastases (79%) than in patients with no distant metastases or only intracranial metastases (32%). Elevated protein S100 and CRP correlated better with detectable ctDNA than LDH. This study supports the potential of ctDNA as a prognostic biomarker in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, additional prospective longitudinal studies with quantitative assessments of ctDNA are necessary to investigate the limitations and strengths of ctDNA as a biomarker. Keywords: ctDNA; melanoma; tumor progression; PET-CT; S100; biomarke

Thermodynamic limit and semi--intensive quantities

The properties of statistical ensembles with abelian charges close to the thermodynamic limit are discussed. The finite volume corrections to the probability distributions and particle density moments are calculated. Results are obtained for statistical ensembles with both exact and average charge conservation. A new class of variables (semi--intensive variables) which differ in the thermodynamic limit depending on how charge conservation is implemented in the system is introduced. The thermodynamic limit behavior of these variables is calculated through the next to leading order finite volume corrections to the corresponding probability density distributions.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures In v2 figures are added and corresponding editorial changes are done. Paper will be published in Journal of Physics

Exact solution (by algebraic methods) of the lattice Schwinger model in the strong-coupling regime

Using the monomer--dimer representation of the lattice Schwinger model, with $N_f =1$ Wilson fermions in the strong--coupling regime ($\beta=0$), we evaluate its partition function, $Z$, exactly on finite lattices. By studying the zeroes of $Z(k)$ in the complex plane $(Re(k),Im(k))$ for a large number of small lattices, we find the zeroes closest to the real axis for infinite stripes in temporal direction and spatial extent $S=2$ and 3. We find evidence for the existence of a critical value for the hopping parameter in the thermodynamic limit $S\rightarrow \infty$ on the real axis at about $k_c \simeq 0.39$. By looking at the behaviour of quantities, such as the chiral condensate, the chiral susceptibility and the third derivative of $Z$ with respect to $1/2k$, close to the critical point $k_c$, we find some indications for a continuous phase transition.Comment: 22 pages (6 figures

Partition Functions in Statistical Mechanics, Symmetric Functions, and Group Representations

Partition functions for non-interacting particles are known to be symmetric functions. It is shown that powerful group-theoretical techniques can be used not only to derive these relationships, but also to significantly simplify calculation of the partition functions for particles that carry internal quantum numbers. The partition function is shown to be a sum of one or more group characters. The utility of character expansions in calculating the partition functions is explored. Several examples are given to illustrate these techniques.Comment: 16 pages of RevTe

Patterns of radiological response to tebentafusp in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma

Metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) is a rare type of melanoma with poor outcomes. The first systemic treatment to significantly prolong overall survival (OS) in patients with mUM was tebentafusp, a bispecific protein that can redirect T-cells to gp-100 positive cells. However, the objective response rate according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) may underestimate the clinical impact of tebentafusp. As metabolic response assessed by PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST) has been reported to better correlate with clinical outcome, we here compared the patterns of radiological and morphological responses in HLA-A*02:01-positive patients with mUM treated with tebentafusp. In the 19 enrolled patients, RECIST showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 10%, median progression-free survival of 2.8 months (95% CI 2.5–8.4), and median OS (mOS) of 18.8 months. In 10 patients, where both RECIST and PERCIST evaluation was available, the ORR was 10% for both; however, the PFS was longer for PERCIST compared to RECIST, 3.1 and 2.4 months, respectively. A poor agreement between the criteria was observed at all assessments (Cohen’s kappa ≤0), yet they differed significantly only at the first on-treatment imaging (P = 0.037). Elevated baseline LDH and age were associated with an increased risk for RECIST progression, while lymphocyte decrease after the first infusions correlated to reduced risk of RECIST progression. Detectable ctDNA at baseline did not correlate with progression. Early response to tebentafusp may be incompletely captured by conventional imaging, leading to a need to consider both tumor morphology and metabolism

Thermal description of hadron production in e+e- collisions revisited

We present a comprehensive analysis of hadron production in e+e- collisions at different center-of-mass energies in the framework of the statistical model of the hadron resonance gas. The model is formulated in the canonical ensemble with exact conservation of all relevant quantum numbers. The parameters of the underlying model were determined using a fit to the average multiplicities of the latest measurements at $\sqrt{s}$ = 10, 29-35, 91 and 130-200 GeV. The results demonstrate that, within the accuracy of the experiments, none of the data sets is satisfactorily described with this approach, calling into question the notion that particle production in e+e- collisions is thermal in origin.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; v2: final version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.