Probing the QCD critical point by higher moments of net-proton multiplicity distributions at STAR

Higher moments (kurtosis (??), skewness (S) and variance (?? ²)) of multiplicity distributions are sensitive to the correlation length and can be used to search for the QCD critical point. The moment products ??? ² and S ?? of net-proton distributions, which are also related to volume independent baryon number susceptibility ratios, can be compared with Lattice QCD and Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) model calculations. We discuss the recent progress in the higher moments analysis of net-protons multiplicity distributions.     

Angular distributions in quasi-fission reactions

Angular distributions for fission-like fragments were measured in the systems ⁵⁰Ti, ⁵⁶Fe + ²⁰⁸Pb by applying an off-line K X-ray activation technique. The distributions d²σ/dθdZ exhibit forward-backward asymmetries that are strongly Z-dependent. They result from a process (quasi-fission) which yields nearly symmetric masses in times comparable to the rotational period of the composite system. A method for obtaining the variance of the tilting angular momentum, K₀², from these skewed, differential angular distributions is described. The results indicate that the tilting mode is not fully excited in quasi-fission reactions. The results are compared to the sum of the variances of all statistical spin components, measured via γ-multiplicities. Integration of the angular distributions d²σ/dθdZ over all values of Z yields the integral angular distributions dσ/dθ and dσ/dΩ symmetric around 90°. The associated unusually large anisotropies do not at all provide an adequate basis for tests or modifications of the transition-state theory. A deconvolution of d²σ/dθdZ is performed with gaussian distributions depending on rotational angles Δθ extending over a range of up to 540°. From the mean values 〈Δθ〉 a time scale for the evolution of K₀ is calculated.     

Pionic parton distributions

The gluon and sea distributions of the pion are uniquely determined by the requirement of avalence-like structure of the input parton distributions at some low resolution scale. These (dynamical) results are obtained with practically no free parameters, just using the experimentally determined pionic valence distribution combined with the constraints for the pionic gluon distribution provided by direct-γ data. Simple parametrizations of the resulting parton distributions are presented in the range 10^?5?x<1 and 0.3?Q ²?10⁸ GeV² as obtained from the leading-and higher-order evolution equations.     

Radiatively generated parton distributions for high energy collisions

The gluon and antiquark distributions of the nucleon are generated radiatively using the assumption that at some low resolution scale the nucleon consists entirely of valence quarks and valence-like gluons. The agreement between the uniquely predicted gluon and sea distributions and the available data on deep inelastic structure functions (including also recent low-Q ² measurements) and direct-photon production is demonstrated and discussed in detail. Simple parametrizations of the resulting (positive definite!) parton distributions are presented in the range 10^?4?x≦1 and 0.2?Q ²?10⁶ GeV² as obtained according to the leading- and higher-order renormalization group evolution equations.     

The gluon distributions in the smallx region beyond the leading order

The gluon distributions in a proton are calculated in the region of smallx (10^?4?x?10^?2) and largeQ ² taking into account the corrections which correspond to the sum of the leading powers of log 1/x beyond the leading logQ ² approximation. It is shown that they become significant for very small values ofx only provided however that the non-leading terms in the limit of smallx are also consistently included. The leading log 1/x approximation gives the gluon distributions which can differ by a factor of 2 from their leading logQ ² counterpart.     

Electron impact induced fluorescence of dissociating fragments from jet-cooled methane,methanol and ethanol

Dissociation fragments, following 20 keV electron impact on supersonic jet targets of methane, methanol and ethanol, have been analysed to determine rotational temperatures. The intensities of individual rotational lines of the CH A² Δ-X²Π, CH B²∑^- -X²Π and CH⁺A¹ Π-X¹∑⁺ transitions were measured and fitted to Boltzmann distributions. The temperatures obtained were about 4000 K for the CH A-X, 2000 K for the B-X and 1650 K for the CH⁺A-X transitions. The recorded spectra showed distributions at single temperatures. The intensities were also fitted to theoretical distributions in order to obtain excess energies. Possible fragmentation mechanisms are discussed.     

Inclusive\bar K^{0*} (892) andK 0*(892) production on silicon by 200 GeVK − andπ −

The production of the neutralK ^? (892) resonances by 200 GeVK ^? andπ ^? has been studied over the kinematic range 0.0<x _f<1.0 andp _t ² <5.0 GeV². Longitudinal and transverse momentum distributions are presented. In addition the decay angular distributions inK ^? fragmentation to \(\bar K^{0*} \) have been investigated.     

Possible parametrization of parton distributions incorporating singular smallx behaviour implied by QCD and its phenomenological implications for HERA

The gluon and quark distributions of the nucleon are evaluated using the Altarelli-Parisi equations with the input distributions atQ ₀ ² =5 GeV² for seaquarks and gluons modified by the factor (ax ^?0.5+b). The new parametrization is constrained to satisfy the momentum sum rule and after backward evolution (fromQ ₀ ² =5 GeV² toQ ²=1 GeV²) it is also constrained to give approximately 1/x behaviour of the sea-quark and gluon distributions in the limited region of smallx (10^?3<x<10^?2 or so). The theoretical predictions relevant for HERA for structure functionsF ₂(x, Q ²) andF _L (x, Q ²) in the region of very smallx(10^?4<x<10^?2) and largeQ ² and for the cross-sectionσ(γ^* p→ΨX) are presented. Distributions of heavy quarks (c,b,t) are also discussed.     

Differential cross sections of proton compton scattering at photon laboratory energies between 700 and 1000 MeV

Differential cross sections of proton Compton scattering have been measured at the Bonn 2.5 GeV synchrotron. 78 data points are presented as angular distributions at photon lab energies of 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, and 950MeV. The c.m. scattering angle ranges from 40°–130°, corresponding to a variation of the four momentum transfer squared betweent=?0.10 tot=?0.96 GeV² at 700 and 950 MeV, respectively. Two additional differential cross sections have been measured at 1000MeV, 35.6° and 47.4°. The angular distributions show forward peaks whose extrapolations to 0° are consistent with calculated forward cross sections taken from literature. The small angle data (|t| ?0.2 GeV²) together with the calculated cross sections at 0° are also consistent with the assumption of a slope parameterB of 5 GeV^?2. For the first time a rerise of the angular distributions towards backward angles has been observed. It becomes less steep with increasing energy. The most interesting feature of the angular distributions is a sharp structure which appears betweent=?0.55 GeV² at 700MeV andt=?0.72 GeV² at 950 MeV. Such a rapid varation of the differential cross section witht has never been ovserved in elastic hadron-hadron scattering or photoproduction processes. It indicates the existence of a dynamical mechanism which could be a peculiarity of Compton scattering.     

On the mechanism of the (n, 2n) reaction with 14MeV projectiles on127I and209Bi

The angular and spectral distributions of coincident neutrons from the reactions¹²⁷I(n, 2n)¹²⁶I and²⁰⁹Bi(n, 2n)²⁰⁸Bi have been measured with two time-of-flight detectors at the incident energy 14.1 MeV. Neutron emission has been studied for reaction anglesθ _lab between 10° and 150° (relative angles from 60° to 270°). Energy spectra, angular distributions and coincidence yields are compared with statistical model calculations including preequilibrium decay modes, and nuclear level density and spin cut off parameters are derived.     

Rotational distribution in simultaneously excited electronic states of CH

A²Δ, B²Σ^? and C²Σ⁺ states of CH were excited in discharges through flowing C₂H₂ and C₂H₄ and in flames of C₂H₂. The rotational distributions in these states were determined from the measured integrated intensities of rotational lines for bands of A²Δ → X²Π, B²Σ^? → X²Π and C²Σ⁺ → X²Π. The A²Δ state exhibits a non-Maxwellian distribution while the B²Σ^? and C²Σ⁺ states show Maxwellian distributions. The non-Maxwellian distribution of the A²Δ state and the different rotational distributions in the three states are discussed.     

Reactions of excited atoms and molecules with atoms and molecules

Penning electron distributions arising from the ionization of Na and K by He (1s 2s ^1,3 S)-metastables in thermal collisions, as well as the absolute cross section for Penning ionization of Na by He (2³ S) and relative cross sections for ionization of Na and K by He(2¹ S) and He(2³ S) are measured. It is shown that under fairly general conditions the well depth ε* of the interaction potential between the metastable and the target particle can be obtained directly from the measured electron distributions. ε*-values are reported for the moleules He(1s 2s ^1,3 S)-Na(² S), K(² S) (^2,2Ω), and for He(1s 2s ^1,3 S)-Hg(¹ S)(^1,3Ω). These latter values are obtained from previously published measurements and are to be considered preliminary. Further, additional evidence is given, that Penning ionization with metastables is an electron exchange process.     

Estimate of the screening corrections to gluon distributions in the smallx region

The screening corrections to gluon distributions in a proton corresponding to the triple gluonic ladder diagram are estimated. They are found to be relatively small: their values does not exceed 10% of the leading order QCD gluon distribution forx?10^?4 andQ ² ?100 GeV².     

Higher moments of net-proton multiplicity distributions

Higher moments of event-by-event net-proton multiplicity distributions have been applied to search for the QCD critical point. Model results are used to provide a baseline for this search. The measured moment products, ??? ² and S?? of net-proton distributions, which are directly connected to the thermodynamical baryon number susceptibility ratio in Lattice QCD and Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) model, are compared to the transport and thermal model results. We argue that a non-monotonic dependence of ??? ² and S?? as a function of beam energy can be used to search for the QCD critical point.     

Theoretical analysis of photoelectron angular distributions in hydrogen chloride

Multiple-scattering calculations for the ≈X² II and ≈A²Σ⁺ ionizations of HCl are analysed by a partitioning procedure to explain the angular distributions around the Cooper minima. A formal analogy to resonances is pointed out. The Cooper minima in the valence ionizations of Cl₂ are discussed qualitatively.     

Formalism and applications of electrofission and photofission fragment angular distributions

A formalism for the joint analysis of angular distributions of electro- and photofission fragments is presented, utilizing the vitual-photon spectrum technique in DWBA. This formalism is applied to the study of angular distributions for the electrofission of ²³⁸U, measured near the fission barrier, to obtain information about the low-lying levels (J^π, K) of the transition nucleus. The (2⁺, 0), (1^?, 0), and (1^?, 1) levels, previously detected in photofission experiments, were confirmed. Evidences of a significant contributions of (1⁺, 1), (2⁺, 1)and (2⁺, 2) levels are also presented.     

Dynamically generated parton distributions for high energy collisions

The parton distributions of the nucleon are evaluated dynamically using the assumption that at some low resolution scale the nucleon consists entirely of valence quarks. A simple parametrization of the resulting gluon distribution is presented, forx? 10^?5 up toQ ²?10⁶ GeV². This gluon distribution is predicted dicted to be much steeper and larger in the very smallx region (x<10^?2) than usually assumed. Applications to deep inelastic scaling violations and heavy quark (c, b, t) contribution are discussed and presented as well as hadronic heavy quark production at SSC/LHC energies. For example, the \(b\bar b\) production rate at 40 TeV is predicted to be about an order of magnitude larger than that estimated with other gluon distributions so far.     

Complete angular analysis of the decay cascadeB→D ** (→D *(→Dπ)+π+W(→lv)

We develop a general algorithm for describing angular decay distributions in cascade decay chains of arbitrary length. The general algorithm is used to study joint angular decay distributions for the cascade decayB→D ^**(→D ^*(→Dπ)+W(→lv) where theD ^** is a genericP-wave charm meson state. Lepton mass effects are fully incorporated. The joint angular decay distribution depend on 43 independently measurable decay parameters if the spin parity of theD ^** is 1⁺ and on 48 decay parameters if the spin parity of theD ^** is 2⁺. We give expressions for these decay parameters in terms of the helicity amplitudes of the two-body decay processes. An absolute prediction for all the parameters is presented in the framework of the heavy quark effective theory. A method for obtaining the helicity amplitudes from measured joint angular distributions is suggested.     

γγ-Tripelkorrelationsmessungen am Fe56 bei (pp′ γγ)-Reaktionen

The investigations ofγγ-triple correlations following (pp′)-reactions are used to determine the spins of the second and third excited level in Fe⁵⁶ and theE2/M1 mixing ratio of the transition from the third to the first excited level. The population numbers of the substates are also determined. AtE _p =4.9 MeV the correlation associated with the second level was measured. AtE _p =5.5 MeV the correlations associated with the second and third level and the angular distributions of the photons were investigated. The spin series of 0^ü, 2^ü, 4^ü, 2^ü and a mixing ratio ofδ=0.20 was obtained. The results of the angular distributions and the correlations are compared. They agree well with experimental results of other authors, obtained by various methods of measurement, and with theoretical predictions.