Baryon Number Fluctuation and the Quark-Gluon Plasma

We show that $\omega_B$ or $\omega_{\bar B}$, the squared baryon or antibaryon number fluctuation per baryon or antibaryon, is a possible signature for the quark-gluon plasma that is expected to be created in relativistic heavy ion collisions, as it is a factor of three smaller than in an equilibrated hadronic matter due to the fractional baryon number of quarks. Using kinetic equations with exact baryon number conservation, we find that their values in an equilibrated matter are half of those expected from a Poisson distribution. Effects due to finite acceptance and non-zero net baryon number are also studied.Comment: discussion and references added, version to appear in PR

BAs and boride III-V alloys

Boron arsenide, the typically-ignored member of the III-V arsenide series BAs-AlAs-GaAs-InAs is found to resemble silicon electronically: its Gamma conduction band minimum is p-like (Gamma_15), not s-like (Gamma_1c), it has an X_1c-like indirect band gap, and its bond charge is distributed almost equally on the two atoms in the unit cell, exhibiting nearly perfect covalency. The reasons for these are tracked down to the anomalously low atomic p orbital energy in the boron and to the unusually strong s-s repulsion in BAs relative to most other III-V compounds. We find unexpected valence band offsets of BAs with respect to GaAs and AlAs. The valence band maximum (VBM) of BAs is significantly higher than that of AlAs, despite the much smaller bond length of BAs, and the VBM of GaAs is only slightly higher than in BAs. These effects result from the unusually strong mixing of the cation and anion states at the VBM. For the BAs-GaAs alloys, we find (i) a relatively small (~3.5 eV) and composition-independent band gap bowing. This means that while addition of small amounts of nitrogen to GaAs lowers the gap, addition of small amounts of boron to GaAs raises the gap (ii) boron ``semi-localized'' states in the conduction band (similar to those in GaN-GaAs alloys), and (iii) bulk mixing enthalpies which are smaller than in GaN-GaAs alloys. The unique features of boride III-V alloys offer new opportunities in band gap engineering.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables, 61 references. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B. Scheduled to appear Oct. 15 200

Partonic effects on the elliptic flow at relativistic heavy ion collisions

The elliptic flow in heavy ion collisions at RHIC is studied in a multiphase transport model. By converting the strings in the high energy density regions into partons, we find that the final elliptic flow is sensitive to the parton scattering cross section. To reproduce the large elliptic flow observed in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt s=130A$ GeV requires a parton scattering cross section of about 6 mb. We also study the dependence of the elliptic flow on the particle multiplicity, transverse momentum, and particle mass.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, revtex, text added to detail the procedure for conversions between hadrons and parton

Spin-Polarized Transport Across an La0.7_{0.7}Sr0.3_{0.3}MnO3_{3}/YBa2_{2}Cu3_{3}O7_{7} Interface: Role of Andreev Bound States

Transport across an La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}MnO$_{3}/YBa$_{2}Cu$_{3}$O$_{7}$(LSMO/YBCO), interface is studied as a function of temperature and surface morphology. For comparison, control measurements are performed in non-magnetic heterostructures of LaNiO$_{3}$/YBCO and Ag/YBCO. In all cases, YBCO is used as bottom layer to eliminate the channel resistance and to minimize thermal effects. The observed differential conductance re ects the role of Andreev bound states in a-b planes, and brings out for the first time the suppression of such states by the spin-polarized transport across the interface. The theoretical analysis of the measured data reveals decay of the spin polarization near the LSMO surface with temperature, consistent with the reported photoemission data.Comment: 5 pages LaTeX, 3 eps figures included, accepted by Physical Review

J/psi production in relativistic heavy ion collisions from a multi-phase transport model

Using A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) model, we study J/psi production from interactions between charm and anti-charm quarks in initial parton phase and between D and Dbar mesons in final hadron phase of relativistic heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Including also the inverse reactions of J/psi absorption by gluons and light mesons, we find that the net number of J/psi from the parton and hadron phases is smaller than that expected from the superposition of initial nucleon-nucleon collisions, contrary to the J/psi enhancement predicted by the kinetic formation model. The production of J/psi is further suppressed if one includes the color screening effect in the parton phase. We have also studied the dependence of J/psi production on the charm quark mass and the effective charm meson mass.Comment: Figures redone with better statistic

First measurement of direct f0(980)f_0(980) photoproduction on the proton

We report on the results of the first measurement of exclusive $f_0(980)$ meson photoproduction on protons for $E_\gamma=3.0 - 3.8$ GeV and $-t = 0.4-1.0$ GeV$^2$. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The resonance was detected via its decay in the $\pi^+ \pi^-$ channel by performing a partial wave analysis of the reaction $\gamma p \to p \pi^+ \pi^-$. Clear evidence of the $f_0(980)$ meson was found in the interference between $P$ and $S$ waves at $M_{\pi^+ \pi^-}\sim 1$ GeV. The $S$-wave differential cross section integrated in the mass range of the $f_0(980)$ was found to be a factor of 50 smaller than the cross section for the $\rho$ meson. This is the first time the $f_0(980)$ meson has been measured in a photoproduction experiment

Extraction of the Neutron Magnetic Form Factor from Quasi-Elastic 3He(pol)(e(pol),e') at Q^2 = 0.1 - 0.6 (GeV/c)^2

We have measured the spin-dependent transverse asymmetry, A_T', in quasi-elastic inclusive electron scattering from polarized 3He with high precision at Q^2 = 0.1 to 0.6 (GeV/c)^2. The neutron magnetic form factor, GMn, was extracted at Q^2 = 0.1 and 0.2 (GeV/c)^2 using a non-relativistic Faddeev calculation that includes both final-state interactions (FSI) and meson-exchange currents (MEC). In addition, GMn was extracted at Q^2 = 0.3 to 0.6 (GeV/c)^2 using a Plane Wave Impulse Approximation calculation. The accuracy of the modeling of FSI and MEC effects was tested and confirmed with a precision measurement of the spin-dependent asymmetry in the breakup threshold region of the 3He(pol)(e(pol),e') reaction. The total relative uncertainty of the extracted GMn data is approximately 3%. Close agreement was found with other recent high-precision GMn data in this Q^2 range.Comment: Archival paper, 17 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, submitted to Physical Review C. v2: shortened considerably, updated comparison to theor

Modified structure of protons and neutrons in correlated pairs

The atomic nucleus is made of protons and neutrons (nucleons), which are themselves composed of quarks and gluons. Understanding how the quark–gluon structure of a nucleon bound in an atomic nucleus is modified by the surrounding nucleons is an outstanding challenge. Although evidence for such modification—known as the EMC effect—was first observed over 35 years ago, there is still no generally accepted explanation for its cause1,2,3. Recent observations suggest that the EMC effect is related to close-proximity short-range correlated (SRC) nucleon pairs in nuclei4,5. Here we report simultaneous, high-precision measurements of the EMC effect and SRC abundances. We show that EMC data can be explained by a universal modification of the structure of nucleons in neutron–proton SRC pairs and present a data-driven extraction of the corresponding universal modification function. This implies that in heavier nuclei with many more neutrons than protons, each proton is more likely than each neutron to belong to an SRC pair and hence to have distorted quark structure. This universal modification function will be useful for determining the structure of the free neutron and thereby testing quantum chromodynamics symmetry-breaking mechanisms and may help to discriminate between nuclear physics effects and beyond-the-standard-model effects in neutrino experiments

First measurement of Xi(-) polarization in photoproduction

Despite decades of studies of the photoproduction of hyperons, both their production mechanisms and their spectra of excited states are still largely unknown. While the parity-violating weak decay of hyperons offers a means of measuring their polarization, which could help discern their production mechanisms and identify their excitation spectra, no such study has been possible for doubly strange baryons in photoproduction, due to low production cross sections. However, by making use of the reaction γp→K+K+Ξ−, we have measured, for the first time, the induced polarization, P, and the transferred polarization from circularly polarized real photons, characterized by Cx and Cz, to recoiling Ξ−s. The data were obtained using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab for photon energies from just over threshold (2.4 GeV) to 5.45 GeV. These first-time measurements are compared, and are shown to broadly agree, with model predictions in which cascade photoproduction proceeds through the decay of intermediate hyperon resonances that are produced via relativistic meson exchange, offering a new step forward in the understanding of the production and polarization of doubly-strange baryons