The Angular Momentum and g_1^p Sum Rules for the Proton

The gauge invariant operator formulation of the angular momentum sum rule ${1\over2} = J_q + J_g$ for the proton is presented and contrasted with the sum rule for the first moment of the polarised structure function $g_1^p$. The decoupling of the axial charge $a^0$ from the angular momentum sum rule is highlighted and the possible QCD field-theoretic basis for an angular momentum sum rule of the form {1\over2} = {1\over2}\D q + \D g + L_q + L_g is critically discussed.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, uses espcrc2.sty; invited talk at QCD00, Montpellier, July 200

The effects of an extra U(1) axial condensate on the radiative decay eta' --> gamma gamma at finite temperature

Supported by recent lattice results, we consider a scenario in which a U(1)-breaking condensate survives across the chiral transition in QCD. This scenario has important consequences on the pseudoscalar-meson sector, which can be studied using an effective Lagrangian model. In particular, generalizing the results obtained in a previous paper (where the zero-temperature case was considered), we study the effects of this U(1) chiral condensate on the radiative decay eta' --> gamma gamma at finite temperature.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX fil

A Local Effective Action for Photon-Gravity Interactions

Quantum phenomena such as vacuum polarisation in curved spacetime induce interactions between photons and gravity with quite striking consequences, including the violation of the strong equivalence principle and the apparent prediction of `superluminal' photon propagation. These quantum interactions can be encoded in an effective action. In this paper, we extend previous results on the effective action for QED in curved spacetime due to Barvinsky, Vilkovisky and others and present a new, local effective action valid to all orders in a derivative expansion, as required for a full analysis of the quantum theory of high-frequency photon propagation in gravitational fields.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, harvmac Te

Radiatively-induced gravitational leptogenesis

AbstractWe demonstrate how loop effects in gravitational backgrounds lead to a difference in the propagation of matter and antimatter, and show this is forbidden in flat space due to CPT and translation invariance. This mechanism, which is naturally present in beyond the standard model (BSM) theories exhibiting C and CP violation, generates a curvature-dependent chemical potential for leptons in the low-energy effective Lagrangian, allowing a matter–antimatter asymmetry to be generated in thermodynamic equilibrium, below the BSM scale

Target independence of the `proton spin' effect

Recent work by the author in collaboration with S. Narison and G. Veneziano on the EMC-SMC-SLAC `proton spin' effect is reviewed. This uses a novel approach to deep inelastic scattering in which the matrix elements arising from the OPE are factorised into composite operator propagators and proper vertices. For polarised $\mu p$ scattering, the composite operator propagator is equated to the square root of the first moment of the QCD topological susceptibility, $\sqrt{\chi^\prime(0)}$. We evaluate $\chi^\prime(0)$ using QCD spectral sum rules and find a significant suppression relative to its OZI expectation. This is identified as the source of the violation of the Ellis-Jaffe sum rule for the first moment of the polarised proton structure function $g_1^p$. Our predictions, $\int_0^1 dx g_1^p(x;Q^2=10GeV^2) = 0.143\pm 0.005$ and $\Delta\Sigma =0.353\pm 0.052$, are in excellent agreement with the new SMC data. This supports our earlier conjecture that the suppression in the flavour singlet component of the first moment of $g_1^p$ is a target-independent feature of QCD related to the $U(1)$ anomaly and is not a special property of the proton structure.Comment: 6 pages, SWAT 94-4

Radiative η′\eta' Decays, the Topological Susceptibility and the Witten-Veneziano Mass Formula

The formulae describing the radiative decays \eta'(\eta)\rta\c\c in QCD beyond the chiral limit are derived. The modifications of the conventional PCAC formulae due to the gluonic contribution to the axial anomaly in the flavour singlet channel are precisely described. The decay constants are found to satisfy a modified Dashen formula which generalises the Witten--Veneziano formula for the mass of the $\eta'$. Combining these results, it is shown how the topological susceptibility in QCD with massive, dynamical quarks may be extracted from measurements of \eta'(\eta)\rta\c\c.Comment: TeX, 21 pages, no figures, uses harvma

The `Proton Spin' Effect - Theoretical Status '97

The theoretical status of the `proton spin' effect is reviewed. The conventional QCD parton model analysis of polarised DIS is compared with a complementary approach, the composite operator propagator-vertex (CPV) method, each of which provides its own insight into the origin of the observed suppression in the first moment of $g_1^p$. The current status of both experiment and non-perturbative calculations is summarised. The future role of semi-inclusive DIS experiments, in both the current and target fragmentation regions, is described.Comment: Review talk at QCD97 Montpellier, July 1997. 12 pages, LaTeX, incl. 13 figures. Typo corrected in eq(36

Target Fragmentation in Semi-Inclusive DIS: Fracture Functions, Cut Vertices and the OPE

We discuss semi-inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) in the z -> 1 limit, in particular the relationship between fracture functions, generalised cut vertices and Green functions of the composite operators arising in the OPE. The implications, in the spin-polarised case, for testing whether the "proton spin" effect is target-independent are explored. Explicit calculations in (phi^3)_6 theory are presented which are consistent with our observations.Comment: 22 pages, 25 figures, LaTeX 2e; uses graphics packag

Pseudoscalar Meson Decay Constants and Couplings, the Witten-Veneziano Formula beyond large N_c, and the Topological Susceptibility

The QCD formulae for the radiative decays \eta,\eta'\to\c\c, and the corresponding Dashen--Gell-Mann--Oakes--Renner relations, differ from conventional PCAC results due to the gluonic $U(1)_A$ axial anomaly. This introduces a critical dependence on the gluon topological susceptibility. In this paper, we revisit our earlier theoretical analysis of radiative pseudoscalar decays and the DGMOR relations and extract explicit experimental values for the decay constants. This is our main result. The flavour singlet DGMOR relation is the generalisation of the Witten-Veneziano formula beyond large $N_c$, so we are able to give a quantitative assessment of the realisation of the $1/N_c$ expansion in the $U(1)_A$ sector of QCD. Applications to other aspects of $\eta'$ physics, including the relation with the first moment sum rule for the polarised photon structure function g_1^\c, are highlighted. The $U(1)_A$ Goldberger-Treiman relation is extended to accommodate SU(3) flavour breaking and the implications of a more precise measurement of the $\eta$ and $\eta'$-nucleon couplings are discussed. A comparison with the existing literature on pseudoscalar meson decay constants using large-$N_c$ chiral Lagrangians is also made.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure

Superluminality and UV Completion

The idea that the existence of a consistent UV completion satisfying the fundamental axioms of local quantum field theory or string theory may impose positivity constraints on the couplings of the leading irrelevant operators in a low-energy effective field theory is critically discussed. Violation of these constraints implies superluminal propagation, in the sense that the low-frequency limit of the phase velocity $v_{\rm ph}(0)$ exceeds $c$. It is explained why causality is related not to $v_{\rm ph}(0)$ but to the high-frequency limit $v_{\rm ph}(\infty)$ and how these are related by the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relation, depending on the sign of the imaginary part of the refractive index \Ima n(\w) which is normally assumed positive. Superluminal propagation and its relation to UV completion is investigated in detail in three theories: QED in a background electromagnetic field, where the full dispersion relation for n(\w) is evaluated numerically for the first time and the role of the null energy condition T_{\m\n}k^\m k^\n \ge 0 is highlighted; QED in a background gravitational field, where examples of superluminal low-frequency phase velocities arise in violation of the positivity constraints; and light propagation in coupled laser-atom \L-systems exhibiting Raman gain lines with \Ima n(\w) < 0. The possibility that a negative \Ima n(\w) must occur in quantum field theories involving gravity to avoid causality violation, and the implications for the relation of IR effective field theories to their UV completion, are carefully analysed.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figure