768 research outputs found
Interpretation of Recent SPS Dilepton Data
We summarize our current theoretical understanding of in-medium properties of
the electromagnetic current correlator in view of recent dimuon data from the
NA60 experiment in In(158 AGeV)-In collisions at the CERN-SPS. We discuss the
sensitivity of the results to space-time evolution models for the hot and dense
partonic and hadronic medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and
the contributions from different sources to the dilepton-excess spectra.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 19th International Conference on
Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2006) v2:
references added, minor typos correcte
Physical Activity and Adiposity Markers at Older Ages: Accelerometer Vs Questionnaire Data
Physical activity is critically important for successful aging, but its effect on adiposity markers at older ages is unclear as much of the evidence comes from self-reported data on physical activity. We assessed the associations of questionnaire-assessed and accelerometer-assessed physical activity with adiposity markers in older adults
Heavy-Quark Diffusion, Flow and Recombination at RHIC
We discuss recent developments in assessing heavy-quark interaction in the
Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). While induced gluon radiation is expected to be the
main energy-loss mechanism for fast-moving quarks, we focus on elastic
scattering which prevails toward lower energies, evaluating both perturbative
(gluon-exchange) and nonperturbative (resonance formation) interactions in the
QGP. The latter are treated within an effective model for D- and B-meson
resonances above T_c as motivated by current QCD lattice calculations.
Pertinent diffusion and drag constants, following from a Fokker-Planck
equation, are implemented into an expanding fireball model for Au-Au collisions
at RHIC using relativistic Langevin simulations. Heavy quarks are hadronized in
a combined fragmentation and coalescence framework, and resulting
electron-decay spectra are compared to recent RHIC data. A reasonable
description of both nuclear suppression factors and elliptic flow up to momenta
of ~5 GeV supports the notion of a strongly interacting QGP created at RHIC.
Consequences and further tests of the proposed resonance interactions are
discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 14 figures, contribution to the proceedings for the
"International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter 2006
Quantum state of a free spin-1/2 particle and the inextricable dependence of spin and momentum under Lorentz transformations
We revise the Dirac equation for a free particle and investigate Lorentz
transformations on spinors. We study how the spin quantization axis changes
under Lorentz transformations, and evince the interplay between spin and
momentum in this context.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, published as a Review in the IJQ
Theory and Phenomenology of Heavy Flavor at RHIC
We review the problem of heavy-quark diffusion in the Quark-Gluon Plasma and
its ramifications for heavy-quark spectra in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. In
particular, we attempt to reconcile underlying mechanisms of several seemingly
different approaches that have been put forward to explain the large
suppression and elliptic flow of non-photonic electron spectra. We also
emphasize the importance of a quantitative description of the bulk medium
evolution to extract reliable values for the heavy-quark diffusion coefficient.Comment: 8 pages latex, including 10 eps figures; plenary talk at SQM08,
Beijing (China), Oct. 06-10, 200
Effective degrees of freedom of the Quark-Gluon Plasma
The effective degrees of freedom of the Quark-Gluon Plasma are studied in the
temperature range . Employing lattice results for the pressure
and the energy density, we constrain the quasiparticle chiral invariant mass to
be of order 200 MeV and the effective number of bosonic resonant states to be
at most of order . The chiral mass and the effective number of bosonic
degrees of freedom decrease with increasing temperature and at
only quark and gluon quasiparticles survive. Some remarks regarding the role of
the gluon condensation and the baryon number-strangeness correlation are also
presented.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Renormalization in Self-Consistent Approximations schemes at Finite Temperature I: Theory
Within finite temperature field theory, we show that truncated
non-perturbative self-consistent Dyson resummation schemes can be renormalized
with local counter-terms defined at the vacuum level. The requirements are that
the underlying theory is renormalizable and that the self-consistent scheme
follows Baym''s -derivable concept. The scheme generates both, the
renormalized self-consistent equations of motion and the closed equations for
the infinite set of counter terms. At the same time the corresponding
2PI-generating functional and the thermodynamical potential can be
renormalized, in consistency with the equations of motion. This guarantees the
standard -derivable properties like thermodynamic consistency and exact
conservation laws also for the renormalized approximation schemes to hold. The
proof uses the techniques of BPHZ-renormalization to cope with the explicit and
the hidden overlapping vacuum divergences.Comment: 22 Pages 1 figure, uses RevTeX4. The Revision concerns the correction
of some minor typos, a clarification concerning the real-time contour
structure of renormalization parts and some comments concerning symmetries in
the conclusions and outloo
Global column‐averaged methane mixing ratios from 2003 to 2009 as derived from SCIAMACHY: Trends and variability
After a decade of stable or slightly decreasing global methane concentrations, ground-based in situ data show that CH_4 began increasing again in 2007 and that this increase continued through 2009. So far, space-based retrievals sensitive to the lower troposphere in the time period under consideration have not been available. Here we report a long-term data set of column-averaged methane mixing ratios retrieved from spectra of the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) instrument onboard Envisat. The retrieval quality after 2005 was severely affected by degrading detector pixels within the methane 2ν_3 absorption band. We identified the most crucial problems in SCIAMACHY detector degradation and overcame the problem by applying a strict pixel mask as well as a new dark current characterization. Even though retrieval precision after the end of 2005 is invariably degraded, consistent methane retrievals from 2003 through 2009 are now possible. Regional time series in the Sahara, Australia, tropical Africa, South America, and Asia show the methane increase in 2007–2009, but we cannot yet draw a firm conclusion concerning the origin of the increase. Tropical Africa even seems to exhibit a negative anomaly in 2006, but an impact from changes in SCIAMACHY detector degradation cannot be excluded yet. Over Assakrem, Algeria, we observed strong similarities between SCIAMACHY measurements and ground-based data in deseasonalized time series. We further show long-term SCIAMACHY xCH_4 averages at high spatial resolution that provide further insight into methane variations on regional scales. The Red Basin in China exhibits, on average, the highest methane abundance worldwide, while other localized features such as the Sudd wetlands in southern Sudan can also be identified in SCIAMACHY xCH_4 averages
Hard gluon damping in hot QCD
The gluon collisional width in hot QCD plasmas is discussed with emphasis on
temperatures near , where the coupling is large. Considering its effect on
the entropy, which is known from lattice calculations, it is argued that the
width, which in the perturbative limit is given by , should be sizeable at intermediate temperatures but has to be small close
to . Implications of these results for several phenomenologically relevant
quantities, such as the energy loss of hard jets, are pointed out.Comment: uses RevTex and graphic
Nonequilibrium evolution of Phi**4 theory in 1+1 dimensions in the 2PPI formalism
We consider the out-of-equilibrium evolution of a classical condensate field
and its quantum fluctuations for a Phi**4 model in 1+1 dimensions with a
symmetric and a double well potential. We use the 2PPI formalism and go beyond
the Hartree approximation by including the sunset term. In addition to the mean
field phi= the 2PPI formalism uses as variational parameter a time
dependent mass M**2(t) which contains all local insertions into the Green
function. We compare our results to those obtained in the Hartree
approximation. In the symmetric Phi**4 theory we observe that the mean field
shows a stronger dissipation than the one found in the Hartree approximation.
The dissipation is roughly exponential in an intermediate time region. In the
theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking, i.e., with a double well potential,
the field amplitude tends to zero, i.e., to the symmetric configuration. This
is expected on general grounds: in 1+1 dimensional quantum field theory there
is no spontaneous symmetry breaking for T >0, and so there should be none at
finite energy density (microcanonical ensemble), either. Within the time range
of our simulations the momentum spectra do not thermalize and display
parametric resonance bands.Comment: 14 pages, 18 encapsulated postscript figures; v2 minor changes, new
appendix, accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.
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