Transverse Deformation of Parton Distributions and Transversity Decomposition of Angular Momentum

Impact parameter dependent parton distributions are transversely distorted when one considers transversely polarized nucleons and/or quarks. This provides a physical mechanism for the T-odd Sivers effect in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering. The transverse distortion can also be related to Ji's sum rule for the angular momentum carried by the quarks. The distortion of chirally odd impact parameter dependent parton distributions is related to chirally odd GPDs. This result is used to provide a decomposition of the quark angular momentum w.r.t. quarks of definite transversity. Chirally odd GPDs can thus be used to determine the correlation between quark spin and quark angular momentum in unpolarized nucleons. Based on the transverse distortion, we also suggest a qualitative connection between chirally odd GPDs and the Boer-Mulders effect.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, version to appear in PR

Comparison of Relativistic Nucleon-Nucleon Interactions

We investigate the difference between those relativistic models based on interpreting a realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction as a perturbation of the square of a relativistic mass operator and those models that use the method of Kamada and Gl\"ockle to construct an equivalent interaction to add to the relativistic mass operator. Although both models reproduce the phase shifts and binding energy of the corresponding non-relativistic model, they are not scattering equivalent. The example of elastic electron-deuteron scattering in the one-photon-exchange approximation is used to study the sensitivity of three-body observables to these choices. Our conclusion is that the differences in the predictions of the two models can be understood in terms of the different ways in which the relativistic and non-relativistic $S$-matrices are related. We argue that the mass squared method is consistent with conventional procedures used to fit the Lorentz-invariant cross section as a function of the laboratory energy.Comment: Revtex 13 pages, 5 figures, corrected some typo

The B_c Meson Lifetime in the Light--Front Constituent Quark Model

We present an investigation of the total decay rate of the (ground state) B_c meson within the framework of the relativistic constituent quark model formulated on the light-front (LF). The exclusive semileptonic (SL) and nonleptonic (NL) beauty and charm decays of the B_c meson are described through vector and axial hadronic form factors, which are calculated in terms of a constituent quark model LF wave functions. The latter ones are derived via the Hamiltonian LF formalism using as input the update versions of the constituent quark model. The inclusive SL and NL partial rates are calculated within a convolution approach inspired by the partonic model and involving the same B_c wave function which is used for evaluation of the exclusive modes. The framework incorporates systematically 84 exclusive and 44 inclusive partial rates corresponding to the underlying \bar{b}\to\bar{c} and c\to s quark decays. Based on our approach we find\tau_{B_c}=0.59 \pm 0.06 ps where the theoretical uncertainty is dominated by the uncertainty in the choice of LF wave functions and the threshold values for the hadron continuum. For the branching fractions of the B^+_c \to J/\psi\mu^+\nu_{\mu} and B_c^+\to J/\psi\pi^+ decays we obtain 1.6 % and 0.1 %, respectively.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 1 ps figur

A light-front coupled cluster method

A new method for the nonperturbative solution of quantum field theories is described. The method adapts the exponential-operator technique of the standard many-body coupled-cluster method to the Fock-space eigenvalue problem for light-front Hamiltonians. This leads to an effective eigenvalue problem in the valence Fock sector and a set of nonlinear integral equations for the functions that define the exponential operator. The approach avoids at least some of the difficulties associated with the Fock-space truncation usually used.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; to appear in the proceedings of LIGHTCONE 2011, 23-27 May 2011, Dalla

Quantitative Relativistic Effects in the Three-Nucleon Problem

The quantitative impact of the requirement of relativistic invariance in the three-nucleon problem is examined within the framework of Poincar\'e invariant quantum mechanics. In the case of the bound state, and for a wide variety of model implementations and reasonable interactions, most of the quantitative effects come from kinematic factors that can easily be incorporated within a non-relativistic momentum-space three-body code.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure

Vacuum Structures in Hamiltonian Light-Front Dynamics

Hamiltonian light-front dynamics of quantum fields may provide a useful approach to systematic non-perturbative approximations to quantum field theories. We investigate inequivalent Hilbert-space representations of the light-front field algebra in which the stability group of the light-front is implemented by unitary transformations. The Hilbert space representation of states is generated by the operator algebra from the vacuum state. There is a large class of vacuum states besides the Fock vacuum which meet all the invariance requirements. The light-front Hamiltonian must annihilate the vacuum and have a positive spectrum. We exhibit relations of the Hamiltonian to the nontrivial vacuum structure.Comment: 16 pages, report \# ANL-PHY-7524-TH-93, (Latex

Spin in relativistic quantum theory

We discuss the role of spin in Poincar\'e invariant formulations of quantum mechanics.Comment: 54 page

A novel technique for selective NF-kappa B inhibition in Kupffer cells: contrary effects in fulminant hepatitis and ischaemia-reperfusion.

Background and aims: The transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) has risen as a promising target for anti-inflammatory therapeutics. In the liver, however, NFkB inhibition mediates both damaging and protective effects. The outcome is deemed to depend on the liver cell type addressed. Recent gene knock-out studies focused on the role of NF-kB in hepatocytes, whereas the role of NF-kB in Kupffer cells has not yet been investigated in vivo. Here we present a novel approach, which may be suitable for clinical application, to selectively target NF-kB in Kupffer cells and analyse the effects in experimental models of liver injury. Methods: NF-kB inhibiting decoy oligodeoxynucleotides were loaded upon gelatin nanoparticles (D-NPs) and their in vivo distribution was determined by confocal microscopy. Liver damage, NF-kB activity, cytokine levels and apoptotic protein expression were evaluated after lipopolysaccharide (LPS), D-galactosamine (GalN)/LPS, or concanavalin A (ConA) challenge and partial warm ischaemia and subsequent reperfusion, respectively. Results: D-NPs were selectively taken up by Kupffer cells and inhibited NF-kB activation. Inhibition of NF-kB in Kupffer cells improved survival and reduced liver injury after GalN/LPS as well as after ConA challenge. While anti-apoptotic protein expression in liver tissue was not reduced, pro-apoptotic players such as cJun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were inhibited. In contrast, selective inhibition of NF-kB augmented reperfusion injury. Conclusions: NF-kB inhibiting decoy oligodeoxynucleotide- loaded gelatin nanoparticles is a novel tool to selectively inhibit NF-kB activation in Kupffer cells in vivo. Thus, liver injury can be reduced in experimental fulminant hepatitis, but increased at ischaemia–reperfusion

Vector mesons in a relativistic point-form approach

We apply the point form of relativistic quantum mechanics to develop a Poincare invariant coupled-channel formalism for two-particle systems interacting via one-particle exchange. This approach takes the exchange particle explicitly into account and leads to a generalized eigenvalue equation for the Bakamjian-Thomas type mass operator of the system. The coupling of the exchange particle is derived from quantum field theory. As an illustrative example we consider vector mesons within the chiral constituent quark model in which the hyperfine interaction between the confined quark-antiquark pair is generated by Goldstone-boson exchange. We study the effect of retardation in the Goldstone-boson exchange by comparing with the commonly used instantaneous approximation. As a nice physical feature we find that the problem of a too large $\rho$-$\omega$ splitting can nearly be avoided by taking the dynamics of the exchange meson explicitly into account.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Online k-taxi via Double Coverage and time-reverse primal-dual

We consider the online k-taxi problem, a generalization of the k-server problem, in which k servers are located in a metric space. A sequence of requests is revealed one by one, where each request is a pair of two points, representing the start and destination of a travel request by a passenger. The goal is to serve all requests while minimizing the distance traveled without carrying a passenger. We show that the classic Double Coverage algorithm has competitive ratio 2k−1 on HSTs, matching a recent lower bound for deterministic algorithms. For bounded depth HSTs, the competitive ratio turns out to be much better and we obtain tight bounds. When the depth is d≪k, these bounds are approximately kd/d! . By standard embedding results, we obtain a randomized algorithm for arbitrary n-point metrics with (polynomial) competitive ratio O(kcΔ1/clogΔn), where Δ is the aspect ratio and c≥1 is an arbitrary positive integer constant. The previous known bound was O(2klogn). For general (weighted) tree metrics, we prove the competitive ratio of Double Coverage to be Θ(kd) for any fixed depth d, and in contrast to HSTs it is not bounded by 2k−1. We obtain our results by a dual fitting analysis where the dual solution is constructed step-by-step backwards in time. Unlike the forward-time approach typical of online primal-dual analyses, this allows us to combine information from both the past and the future when assigning dual variables. We believe this method can also be useful for other problems. Using this technique, we also provide a dual fitting proof of the k-competitiveness of Double Coverage for the k-server problem on trees