Scale of corrections to the t-channel pole approximation in quasielastic pion knockout from a nucleon by high-energy electrons

An investigation of a dominant role of the simplest t-channel pole diagrams in pion electroproduction on nucleons for quasielastic-knockout kinematics at an electron energy of a few GeV is completed-namely, the competition between the t-channel pion and rho-meson pole amplitudes, on one hand, and the s-channel pole amplitude (tree diagram), on the other hand, is considered. When the virtual-photon mass is sufficiently large [Q ²>2(GeV/c)²], the last amplitude does not make significant contributions to relevant cross sections, either the longitudinal (dσ _L/dt) or the transverse (dσ _T/dt) one. At Q ²=0.7(GeV/c)², the term associated with the interference between the t-channel pion-pole amplitude and the s-channel pole amplitude is still noticeable in the longitudinal cross section. The vertex functions g _ρ NN(t) as obtained from the cross section for the quasielastic knockout of rho mesons and from the cross section for pion photoproduction are compared. Their disagreement must give impetus to a further development of the gauge-invariant theory of pion photoproduction.     

Pionic degrees of freedom in atomic nuclei and quasielastic knockout of pions by high-energy electrons

The microscopic mechanism of the identical bands in odd-odd nucleus ¹⁹⁴Tl and its neighbor odd-A nuclei ^193,195Tl is investigated using the particle-number-conserving (PNC) method for treating the cranked shell model with monopole and quadrupole pairing interactions. It is found that the blocking effect of the high-j intruder orbital plays an important role in the variation of moments of inertia (J⁽¹⁾ and J⁽²⁾) with rotational frequency for the superdeformed bands and identical bands. The variation of the occupation probability of each cranked orbital and the contributions to moment of inertia from each cranked orbital are presented.     

Quark microscopic picture for vector and pseudoscalar mesons in the nucleon and their quasielastic knockout by high-energy electrons

A technique for projecting a multiquark wave function in the microscopic model of a ³P⁰ scalar fluctuation onto the virtual-decay channels N → N + ρ and N → N + π is formulated (at a more general level for the latter than previously). The amplitude for the electromagnetic transition ρ + γ _T ^* → π in electron-induced quasielastic rho-meson knockout followed by rho-meson conversion to a pion is considered. Theoretical results obtained in this way are contrasted against available experimental data, and reasonable agreement is found for cross-section values. This confirms a universal character of the ³P₀ model. The precision of relevant experiments is as yet insufficient for comparing the momentum distribution of the rho meson from the channel N → N + ρ with its theoretical counterpart.     

Magnetic monopole interactions: Shell structure of meson and baryon states

It is suggested that a low-mass magnetic monopole of Dirac chargeg=(137/2)e may be interacting with ac-quark's magnetic dipole moment to produce Zeeman splitting of meson states. The massM ₀=2397 MeV of the monopole is in contrast to the 10¹⁶-GeV monopoles of grand unification theories (GUT). It is shown that shell structure of energyE _n =M ₀+1/4nM ₀+ exists for meson states. The presence of symmetric meson states leads to the identification of the shell structure. The possible existence of the 2397-MeV magnetic monopole is shown to quantize quark masses in agreement with calculations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). From the shell structure of meson states, the existence of two new mesons is predicted:(1814±50 MeV) withI ^G(J ^PC =0⁺(0^–+) and _c (3907±100 MeV) withJ ^PC =0^–+. The presence of shell structure for baryon states is shown.     

Possibilities of revealing collective pion degrees of freedomin nuclei by means of quasielastic pion knockout by high-energy electrons

The kinematics of quasielastic pion knockout by longitudinal virtual photons in the electroproduction process is presented. The possibility of directly investigating pion momentum distributions in specific channels owing to pole-amplitude dominance is considered. It is shown that, taking into account the final-state interaction of the knock-on pion and the nucleus involved, one can reveal the existence of a pion condensate in nuclei, since the momentum distribution of collective pions has a pronounced maximum at a momentum in excess of 0.3 GeV/c and since the excitation spectrum of the final recoil nucleus is concentrated in the low-energy region E* ≈ K ²/(2AM _N ) ≤ 1 MeV. The picture of pion knockout from meson clouds of individual nucleons is totally different. The analogous rho-mesonmomentum distributions for the process ρ + γT* → π are also presented.     

Microscopics of mesonic degrees of freedom in nucleons and mesons in nuclei: Quasielastic meson knockout by high-energy electrons

The following questions are considered: (i) that of what quasielastic-knockout reactions are; (ii) that of what experience has been gained in measuring, in various channels, the momentum distributions and spectroscopic factors of nucleons and clusters in nuclei and of electrons in atoms, molecules, and solid-state bodies; (iii) that of how it is possible to introduce the concept of quasielastic knockout in the theory of meson-electroproduction processes p(e, e′m)B at beam energies of a few GeV and at moderate values of the square of the virtual-photon 4-momentum, Q ² = 2–4 (GeV/c)²; and (iv) that of how the momentum distributions of mesons in various channels of virtual proton decay, p → B + π, p → B + ρ, and p → Y + K, are predicted on the basis of the microscopic model of a fluctuation of the QCD vacuum in a nucleon. Proposals for relevant experiments are formulated. It is indicated that quasielastic-knockout processes like (e, e′π) provide the best way to study the problem of a scalar pion condensate in nuclei. In conclusion, it is emphasized that quasielastic processes ²H(e, e′p)B involving various spectator baryons B are of great value for determining the composition of multiquark configurations in nucleon-nucleon systems.     

On the existence of exotic and non-exotic multiquark meson states

To obtain an exact solution of a four-body system containing two quarks and two antiquarks interacting through two-body terms is a cumbersome task that has been tackled with more or less success during the last decades. We present an exact method for the study of four-quark systems based on the hyperspherical harmonics formalism that allows us to solve it without resorting to further approximations, like for instance the existence of diquark components. We apply it to systems containing two heavy and two light quarks using different quark-quark potentials. While $QQ{\bar n} {\bar n}$ states may be stable in nature, the stability of $Q\overline{Q}n {\bar n}$ states would imply the existence of quark correlations not taken into account by simple quark dynamical models.     

Searching for exotic cluster structure in the absorption of pions by the 11B nucleus

Correlation measurements of the reaction of stopped pion absorption ¹¹B(π^?, tt)X are made with a semiconductor double-arm charged particle spectrometer on a low-energy pion beam at the LAMPF meson factory. Analysis of a two-dimensional Dalitz plot and the momentum distribution of the residual nucleus allows us to identify the absorption of pions in a 6Li intranuclear cluster and demonstrate the configuration ⁶Li + ⁵He_g.s is present in the ¹¹B nucleus.     

Potential of the ATLAS detector for studying high-energy solar cosmic rays

The ATLAS detector is intended for testing the Standard Model and for seeking new physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In addition, it permits detecting cosmic-ray muons. At the same time, unusual bursts of the muon intensity that correlate with powerful solar flares were recorded and investigated earlier at the Baksan underground scintillation telescope in the period spanning 1981 and 2006 (2.5 solar cycles). The nature of these muon bursts and their relation to solar cosmic rays have so far remained not quite clear. The ATLAS detector possesses an excellent muon system that allows searches for similar muon bursts. Within the next few years, when the LHC and ATLAS should start operating, one expects an increase in the solar activity in the new 24th cycle. Owing to this, the probability of observing muon bursts may become higher.     

Photoproduction of pions and properties of baryon resonances from a Bonn-Gatchina partial-wave analysis

Masses, widths and photocouplings of baryon resonances are determined in a coupled-channel partial-wave analysis of a large variety of data. The Bonn-Gatchina partial-wave formalism is extended to include a decomposition of t and u exchange amplitudes into individual partial waves. The multipole transition amplitudes for $ \gamma$ p $ \rightarrow$ p $ \pi^{0}_{}$ and $ \gamma$ p $ \rightarrow$ n $ \pi^{+}_{}$ are given and compared to results from other analyses.     

Potential energy curves for excited states of the hydrogen-antihydrogen system

The potential energy curves for the hydrogen-antihydrogen (HH) system in states with a leptonic orbital angular momentum projection Lambda=0, 1, 2, 6, and 30 are presented. Within the framework of the adiabatic picture, explicitly correlated Gaussians are used as basis functions which describe accurately the hydrogen-antihydrogen interaction. The critical internuclear distances where the system transforms into positronium and protonium atoms are found. Adiabatic corrections to the potential energy curves are also estimated.     

The role of coincidence experiments in studying the nuclear continuum with high-energy electrons and protons

The Lee model of π-nucleon interactions is very simple, and, in a certain case, an exact solution of the problem of a meson scattering on two “nucleons” can be obtained. However, graphs involving crossed pions are absent in that solution. Because such crossed graphs are crucial in determining the form and character of the physical π-nucleus scattering solution, the Lee model should not be used in testing field theories of the pion-nucleus interaction.     

New possibilities for studying nucleon resonances in the production of π + π − pairs by polarized electrons on an unpolarized proton

The difference of the cross sections for double charged-pion production in the scattering of opposite-helicity electrons on an unpolarized proton is evaluated within the phenomenological model developed previously. The electromagnetic nucleon-resonance form factors and the parameters of nonresonance processes were taken from a fit to the latest data of the CLAS Collaboration on double charged-pion electroproduction. The effect of the longitudinal excitations of the P ₁₁(1440) and D ₁₃(1520) states on the difference of the helicity components of the cross section is studied. The sensitivity of this observable to the nucleon-resonance contribution opens the possibility of employing it both in extracting the Coulomb form factors and in seeking new baryon states. Signals from one of these states were possibly observed in the latest data of the CLAS Collaboration.     

Quasielastic knockout of light fragments from 12C and 16O nuclei by intermediate-energy pions

Quasielastic deuteron and triton knockout from ¹²C and ¹⁶O nuclei has been studied infull kinematics using a 0.72-GeV/c pion beam. The momentum distributions of the intranuclear quasideuteron motion, excitation-energy spectra of the residual nuclei, and the effective numbers N _d ^eff of quasideuterons are determined. The parameters of the quasideuteron intranuclear motion are in reasonable agreement with the results obtained in other beams. The N _d ^eff in the nuclei from ⁶Li to ¹⁶O measured in full kinematics are virtually independent of the atomic number in contrast to the analogous values in the inclusive deuteron-knockout reaction induced by protons. The phenomenon of triton knockout from these nuclei is observed, which makes possible estimation of the cross section of backward pion-triton elastic scattering in yet unexplored regions of energy and momentum transfer.     

Observation of high-energy electrons from a metal target irradiated by protons with a mean energy of 25 keV

Electrons with abnormally high energies of up to 16 keV are detected from an iron target irradiated by ions (H⁺, Fe⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺) with energies ranging from 20 to 100 keV from the plasma of a high-power femtosecond laser pulse with an intensity of 10¹⁶ J/(s cm²). These electrons indicate that the energy of an incident ion is almost completely transferred to an electron knocked out of the target. In a range of 6–16 keV, the spectrum of electrons knocked out of the K shell of iron atoms by protons with an energy of 22 ± 2 keV is quasi-exponential with an exponent of 4 keV. For 8-keV electrons, the double differential cross section for ionization by such protons is estimated as 10^?7 b/(eV sr).