A relativistic quark model for mesons with an instanton-induced interaction

We present new results of a relativistic quark model based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation in its instantaneous approximation. Assuming a linearly rising confinement potential with an appropriate spinorial structure in Dirac space and adopting a residual interaction based on instanton effects, we can compute masses of the light mesons up to highest observed angular momenta with a natural solution of the U _A(1) problem. The calculated ground states masses and the radial excitations describe the experimental results well. In this paper, we will also discuss our results concerning numerous meson decay properties. For processes like π⁺/K ⁺↦e ⁺υ_eγ and 0^-↦γγ at various photon virtualities, we find a good agreement with experimental data. We will also comment on the form factors of the K _?3 decay and on the decay constants of the π, K and η mesons. For the sake of completeness, we will furthermore present the electromagnetic form factors of the charged π and K mesons as well as a comparison of the radiative meson decay widths with the most recent experimental data. Received: 28 August 2000 / Accepted: 12 September 2000     

The semileptonic form factors of B and D mesons in the Quark Confinement Model

The form factors of the weak currents, which appear in the semileptonic decays of the heavy pseudoscalar mesons are calculated within the quark confinement model by taking into account, for the first time, the structure of heavy-meson vertex and the finite quark mass contribution in the heavy-quark propagators. The results are in quite good agreement with the experimental data. Received: 9 June 2000 / Accepted: 15 August 2000     

Dispersion approach to quark-binding effects in weak decays of heavy mesons

The dispersion approach based on the constituent quark picture and its applications to weak decays of heavy mesons are reviewed. Meson interaction amplitudes are represented within this approach as relativistic spectral integrals over the mass variables in terms of the meson wave functions and spectral densities of the corresponding Feynman diagrams. Various applications of this approach are discussed:Relativistic spectral representations for meson elastic and transition form factors at spacelike momentum transfers are constructed. Form factors at q² > 0 are obtained by the analytical continuation. As a result of this procedure, form factors are given in the full q² range of the weak decay in terms of the wave functions of the participating mesons.The 1/m_Q expansion of the obtained spectral representations for the form factors for the particular limits of the heavy-to-heavy and heavy-to-light transitions are analysed. Their full consistency with the constraints provided by QCD for these limits is demonstrated.Predictions for form factors for B_(s) and D_(s) decays to light mesons are given.The B → γℓν decay and the weak annihilation in rare radiative decays are considered. Nonfactorizable corrections to the B⁰ mixing are calculated.Inclusive weak B decays are analysed and the differential distributions are obtained in terms of the B meson wave function.     

Weak decay constants of light and heavy pseudoscalar mesons

We investigate the weak leptonic decays of light and heavy pseudoscalar mesons in a relativistic quark model of independent quarks. We perform a static calculation of the decay constantf _M purely on grounds of simplicity. In order to minimize the possible uncertainty in the static calculation, we estimate the ratios of the decay constants which are found to be in good agreement, in the heavy flavor sector, with the predictions of other models available in the literature and existing experimental data. However, there is a noticeable discrepancy in the current prediction for pion decay constant which demonstrates the inherent limitations of the static approximation in the study of non-strange light mesons.     

Scalar mesons in a chiral quark model with glueball

Ground-state scalar isoscalar mesons and a scalar glueball are described in a U(3)×U(3) chiral quark model of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) type with 't Hooft interaction. The latter interaction produces singlet-octet mixing in the scalar and pseudoscalar sectors. The glueball is introduced into the effective meson Lagrangian as a dilaton on the base of scale invariance. The mixing of the glueball with scalar isoscalar quarkonia and amplitudes of their decays into two pseudoscalar mesons are shown to be proportional to current quark masses, vanishing in the chiral limit. Mass spectra of the scalar mesons and the glueball and their main modes of strong decay are described. Received: 14 July 2000 / Accepted: 31 July 2000     

Long-range Coulomb forces in DIS: missed radiative corrections?

The Born approximation, one photon exchange, used for DIS (deep inelastic scattering) is subject to virtual radiative corrections which are related to the long-range Coulomb forces. They may be sizeable for heavy nuclei since Zα is not a small parameter. So far, these corrections are known only for two processes, elastic scattering and bremsstrahlung on the Coulomb field of a point-like target. While the former amplitude acquires only a phase, in the latter case also the cross-section is modified. Although the problem of Coulomb corrections for DIS on nuclei is extremely difficult, it should be challenged rather than “swept under the carpet”. The importance of these radiative corrections is questioned in the present paper. We show that, in the simplest case of a constant hadronic current, the Coulomb corrections provide a phase to the Born amplitude, therefore the cross-section remains the same. Inclusion of more realistic hadronic dynamics changes this conclusion. The example of coherent production of vector mesons off nuclei reveals large effects. So far a little progress has been made deriving lepton wave functions in the Coulomb field of an extended target. Employing available results based on the first-order approximation in Zα, we conclude that the Coulomb corrections are still important for heavy nuclei. We also consider an alternative approach for extended nuclear targets, the eikonal approximation, which we demonstrate to reproduce the known exact results for Coulomb corrections. Calculating electroproduction of vector mesons, we again arrive at a large deviation from the Born approximation. We conclude that one should accept with caution the experimental results for nuclear effects in DIS based on analyses done in the Born approximation. Received: 16 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 July 2001     

Semileptonic decays of baryons in a relativistic quark model

We calculate semileptonic decays of light and heavy baryons in a relativistically covariant constituent quark model. The model is based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation in instantaneous approximation. It generates satisfactory mass spectra for mesons and baryons up to the highest observable energies. Without introducing additional free parameters we compute on this basis helicity amplitudes of electronic and muonic semileptonic decays of baryons. We thus obtain form factor ratios and decay rates in good agreement with experiment.     

Covariant tensor formalism for partial-wave analyses of ψ decay to mesons

J/ψ and decays to mesons are a good place to look for glueballs, hybrids and for extracting strange and non-strange components in mesons. Abundant J/ψ and events have been collected at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC). More data will be collected at upgraded BEPC and CLEO-C. Here we provide explicit PWA formulae for many interesting channels in the covariant tensor formalism. Received: 29 November 2002 / Accepted: 20 December 2002 / Published online: 25 March 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: zoubs@mail.ihep.ac.cn Communicated by V.V. Anisovich     

Scalar mesons and glueball in a quark model allowing for gluon anomalies

This paper is a sequel of a previous one (Scalar mesons in a chiral quark model with glueball, Eur. Phys. J. A 8, 567 (2000)) where an attempt to construct an effective U(3)×U(3)-symmetric meson Lagrangian with a scalar glueball was made. The glueball was introduced by using the dilaton model on the base of scale invariance. The scale invariance breaking because of current quark masses and the scale anomaly of QCD, reproduced by the dilaton potential, was taken into account. However, in the previous paper, the scale invariance breaking because of the terms like h _φφ² and h _σ , where φ and are the pseudoscalar and scalar isosinglets, was not taken into account. These terms are produced by the part of the 't Hooft interaction that is connected with gluon anomalies. Allowing for the scale invariance breaking by these terms has a decisive effect on the quarkonium-glueball mixing and noticeably changes the widths of glueball strong decays. Taking account of this additional source of the scale invariance breaking and its implications are the subject of the present work. It is also shown that in the decay of a glueball into four pions, the channel with two ρ-resonances dominates. Received: 11 January 2001 / Accepted: 25 January 2001     

Radiative transitions in mesons in a non-relativistic quark model

In the framework of the non-relativistic quark model, an exhaustive study of radiative transitions in mesons is performed. Emphasis is placed on several points. Some traditional approximations (long-wavelength limit, non-relativistic phase space, dipole approximation for E1 transitions, Gaussian wave functions) are analyzed and their effects commented. A complete treatment using three different types of realistic quark-antiquark potential is made. The overall agreement with experimental data is quite good, but some improvements are suggested. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 18 December 2001     

Spectra of baryons containing two heavy quarks

Doubly heavy baryons, i.e., the baryons containing two heavy quarks are treated in the adiabatic approximation, considering the motion of the light quark as a relativistic motion. The binding energy and mass spectra of doubly heavy baryons are calculated solving the two-center Dirac equation the one-centre Schr?dinger equation for Coulomb plus linear potential. The binding energy of the light quark as a function of the distance between heavy quarks is found. Received: 16 January 2002 / Accepted: 7 February 2002     

Electroweak form factors of non-strange baryons

We compute electroweak form factors of the nucleon and photon transition form factors of non-strange baryon resonances up to the third resonance region in a model with instanton-induced interaction. The calculation is based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation for three light constituent quarks and is fully relativistic (U. L?ring et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 10, 309 (2001)). Static nucleon properties and photon resonance couplings are in good agreement with experiment and the Q² behaviour of the experimentally known form factors up to large momentum transfer is accounted for. Received: 4 April 2002 / Accepted: 2 May 2002     

Nucleon form factors from a covariant quark core: Limits in their description

In treating the relativistic 3-quark problem, a dressed-quark propagator parameterization is used which is compatible with recent lattice data and pion observables. Furthermore 2-quark correlations are modeled as a series of quark loops in the scalar and axialvector channel. The resulting reduced Faddeev equations are solved for nucleon and delta. Nucleon electromagnetic form factors are calculated in a fully covariant and gauge-invariant scheme. Whereas the proton electric form factor G _E and the nucleon magnetic moments are described correctly, the neutron electric form factor and the ratio G _E/G _M for the proton appear to be quenched. The influence of vector mesons on the form factors is investigated which amounts to a 25% modification of the electromagnetic proton radii within this framework. Received: 16 April 2002 / Accepted: 29 August 2002 / Published online: 17 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"Supported by a Feodor-Lynen fellowship of the Alexander-von-Humboldt foundation and the Australian Research Council. RID="b" ID="b"Address after April 30: MPI für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstr. 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. RID="c" ID="c"e-mail: Reinhard.Alkofer@uni-tuebingen.de Communicated by A. Sch?fer     

A role of the axial-vector mesons on the photon production in heavy-ion collisions and their relevant decays

A role of the axial-vector mesons, such as K₁ and a₁, on the emitted-photon spectrum in hot hadronic matter is studied through the channels πρ→a ₁→πγ and Kρ→K ₁→Kγ. Both channels could be dominant over the region lower than E _γ∼ 0.5 GeV, while the role of the K₁ meson is diminished in the higher E _γ region. This study is carried out with an SU _L(3) ⊗SU _R(3) effective chiral Lagrangian which includes vector and axial-vector mesons systematically and explains well their hadronic and radiative decays simultaneously. Received: 8 August 2001 / Accepted: 4 February 2002     

Recent STAR results on heavy-flavor correlation measurements using leading electrons

In this contribution a first STAR measurement on two heavy-flavor particle correlations in p+p collisions at RHIC is presented. Heavy-flavor (charm and bottom) events are identified and separated on a statistical basis by the azimuthal correlation of their decay electrons and open charm mesons, which provide decisive information about the underlying production process. The azimuthal correlation distribution exhibits a two-peak structure which can be attributed to B decays on the near side and predominantly charm pair production on the away side. These assumptions are supported by dedicated simulations using PYTHIA and MC@NLO event generators. This new correlation method has the potential for comprehensive energy loss measurements of heavy quarks in heavy-ion collisions. Original article based on material presented at HADRON 2007.     

Neutrino-nucleon scattering rate in proto-neutron star matter

We present a calculation of the neutrino-nucleon scattering cross-section which takes into account the nuclear correlations in the relativistic random phase approximation (RPA). Our approach is based on a quantum-hadrodynamics model with exchange of σ, ω, π, ρ and δ mesons. In view of applications to neutrino transport in the final stages of supernova explosion and proto-neutron star cooling, we study the evolution of the neutrino mean free path as a function of density, proton-neutron asymmetry and temperature. Special attention was paid to the issues of renormalization of the Dirac sea, residual interactions in the tensor channel, coupling to the delta-meson and meson mixing. In contrast with the results of other authors, we find that the neutral-current process is not sensitive to the strength g' of the residual contact interaction. As a consequence, it is found that RPA corrections with respect to the mean-field approximation amount to only 10% to 15% at high density. Received: 27 June 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002     

Propagation of mesons in asymmetric nuclear matter in a density-dependent coupling model

We study the propagation of the light mesons σ,ω,ρ, and a₀(980) in dense hadronic matter in an extended derivative scalar coupling model. Within the scheme proposed it is possible to unambiguously define effective density-dependent couplings at the Lagrangian level. We first apply the model to study asymmetric nuclear matter with fixed isospin asymmetry, and then we pay particular attention to hypermatter in β-equilibrium. The equation of state and the potential contribution to the symmetry coefficient arising from the mean-field approximation are investigated. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 10 January 2002     

Heavy to light transitions in the heavy quark limit and the determination of |V UB |

We discuss semileptonic decays of heavy mesons into light pseudoscalar and vector mesons. Exploiting the symmetries arising in the heavy quark limit we use the known data on semileptonicD decays to predict the corresponding rates for semileptonicB decays. These consideration may serve as a model independent way to extract theub matrix element of the CKM matrix.Supported by a grant of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft     

Three-body decays of light nuclei: 6Be, 8Li, 9Be, 12O, 16Ne, and 17Ne

The theoretical approach to the two-proton radioactivity and three-body decays developed in (L.V. Grigorenko, R.C. Johnson, I.G. Mukha, I.J. Thompson, M.V. Zhukov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 22 (2000) and to be published in Phys. Rev. C) is applied to the range of light nuclear systems. We study nuclear structures, widths, and momentum correlations for the decay fragments. Strong contradictions with experiment, as well as effects of special interest, are found in ¹²O and ¹⁶Ne nuclei. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: l.grigorenko@surrey.ac.uk