Production of light vector mesons in heavy-ion nuclear collisions at RHIC,measured by the PHENIX spectrometer

The production cross sections of ω and ? mesons in p + p, d + Au, and Au + Au collisions at energies √S _NN = 63 and 200 GeV have been measured in the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. The results of the measurements in different hadronic and dielectron decay channels are in agreement within the measurement error. The nuclear modification factors R _AA measured for both mesons are consistent with the results previously obtained for light neutral mesons. The position and width of the meson mass peaks reconstructed in hadronic decay channels are in agreement with the results of measurements in vacuum.     

The effect of Lorentz-like force on collective flows of <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript> in Au+Au collisions at 1.5 GeV/nucleon

Producing kaon mesons in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies below their threshold energy is an important way to investigate the properties of dense nuclear matter. In this study, based on the newly updated version of the ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics model, we introduce the kaon-nucleon (KN) potential, including both the scalar and vector (also dubbed Lorentz-like) aspects. We revisit the influence of the KN potential on the collective flow of K⁺ mesons produced in Au+Au collisions at E_lab = 1.5 GeV/nucleon and find that the contribution of the newly included Lorentz-like force is very important, particulary for describing the directed flow of K⁺. Finally, the corresponding KaoS data of both directed and elliptic flows can be simultaneously reproduced well.     

Measurement of light scalar mesons in many-body decays in the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider

The unique design of the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider allows one to detect neutral and charged particles produced in high-energy collisions of heavy ions. This circumstance made it possible to measure many-particle decays of light mesons, such as K _S ⁰ →π⁰π⁰, η→π⁰π^?π⁺, and η→γγ in p + p, d + Au and Au + Au collisions at the energy \(\sqrt {S_{NN} }\) = 200 GeV. The latest results of measuring the differential production cross sections, ratios of particle yields (K _S ⁰ /π⁰ and η/π⁰), and the nuclear modification factors (\(R_{dA}^{K_S }\), R _dA ^η , R _AA ^η ) in a wide range of transverse momenta (from 2 to 12 GeV s^?1) are reported.     

Successes and failures with hard probes

The two major pillars of searches for the Quark Gluon Plasma have been: J/Ψ suppression, proposed in 1986, and observed at both SPS fixed target energies and at RHIC; and, more recently, the suppression of π ⁰ with p _T ≥3 GeV/c by a factor ～5 in Au+Au central collisions, observed at RHIC in 2001, which had been predicted in advance as a consequence of Landau-Pomeranchuck-Migdal coherent (gluon) bremsstrahlung by the outgoing hard-scattered partons traversing the medium. However, new effects were discovered and the quality of the measurements greatly improved so that the clarity of the original explanations has become obscured. For instance: J/Ψ suppression is the same at SpS and RHIC. Is it the QGP, comovers, something else? QCD provides beautiful explanations of π ⁰ and direct γ measurements in p–p collisions but precision fits of the best theories of π ⁰ suppression barely agree with the Au+Au data. Better data are needed for 10<p _T <20 GeV/c, systematic errors are needed in theory calculations, the values of parameters of the medium such as \(\langle\hat{q}\rangle\) derived from precision fits are the subject of controversy. Baryons are much less suppressed than mesons, leading to an anomalous \(\bar{p}/\pi\) ratio for 2≤p _T ≤4.5 GeV/c, but beautiful theoretical explanations of the effect such as recombination do not work in detail. Heavy quarks seem to be suppressed the same as the light quarks, naively arguing against the bremsstrahlung explanation and suggesting exotic, possible transformational explanations. Di-hadron correlations reveal a trigger side ridge, possible Mach cones on the away side, vanishing and reappearance of away jets, both wide and normal jet correlations with and without apparent loss of energy. Can this all be explained consistently? Preliminary results of direct γ production in Au+Au appear to indicate a suppression approaching that of π ⁰ for p _T ≈20 GeV/c and a possibly thermal component for 1≤p _T ≤ 3 GeV/c. What are the implications? Are fragmentation photons a problem? Regeneration of direct γ by outgoing partons is predicted, leading to negative v ₂—is there evidence for or against it? STAR and PHENIX have different observations relevant to the existence of monojets in d+Au collisions. Will new data clarify the situation? When? etc. These and other issues will be discussed with a view to identify which conclusions are firm and where further progress towards real understanding is required.     

Meson Effect in the Proto Neutron Star PSR J0348+0432

The effect of mesons f ₀(975) (named as f), ?(1020) (named as ?) and δ on the moment of inertia of the PNS PSR J0348+0432 is examined in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory considering the baryon octet. It is found that the energy density ε and pressure p will increase considering the mesons δ whereas will decrease as the mesons f and ? being considered. When the mesons f,? and δ are considered, the energy density and pressure will all decrease. It is also found that the contribution of mesons f, ? and δ to the central energy density is only the central energy density’s 0.06 ～0.6% whereas the contribution of mesons f, ? and δ to the central pressure is the central pressure’s 4 ～7%. For the radius, it will decrease when the contributions of mesons f, ? and δ are considered. The moment of inertia I will increase considering the mesons δ whereas will decrease as the mesons f and ? being considered. When the mesons f, ? and δ are all considered, the moment of inertia will decrease. It is found that the contribution of mesons f and ? to moment of inertia is 4 ～9 times larger than that of mesons δ. Our results show that the mesons f, ? and δ contribute to the moment of inertia’s 2 ～5%.     

Photoproduction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J/ψ</Emphasis> mesons at high energies within the parton model and in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis><Subscript>T</Subscript>-factorization approach

The photoproduction of J/ψ mesons is considered on the basis of the parton model and in the k_T-factorization approach in the leading order in α _s . It is shown that, at specific values of the charmed-quark mass and the J/ψ-meson wave function at the origin, the predictions of the two approaches for the total cross section and z spectra of J/ψ mesons nearly coincide and agree with experimental data obtained at the HERA ep collider. At the same time, the parton model and the theory of semihard processes predict significantly different p_T spectra of J/ψ mesons and significantly different transverse-momentum dependences of the ratio of the cross sections for the production of longitudinally and transversely polarized J/ψ mesons. It is expected that nontrivial effects of low-x physics will clearly manifest themselves in experimentally testing this fact.     

Hadron production at forward rapidity in nuclear collisions at RHIC

The main experimental results obtained by the BRAHMS experiment at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) for Au+Au collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) =62.4, 200 GeV and d+Au collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) = 200GeV are presented. The m _T spectra and the Gaussian-like rapidity densities of produced pions and kaons in Au+Au central collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) = 200 are GeV shown, and their rapidity densities are compared with results from models. The net-proton yield in the same system is compared with that from AGS and SPS energies to study the high energy collision scenario-transparency and stopping. The rapidity, energy and centrality dependence of the nuclear modification factors in both systems are compared with models to differentiate between the initial and final state effect.     

Tevatron and LHC potential for observing <Emphasis Type="Italic">χ</Emphasis><Subscript>b</Subscript>

Results of recent studies that indicate that allowance for the relative motion of quarks in mesons leads to an increase in the cross sections for the process e ⁺ e ^? → J/ψη _c are confirmed. It is shown that the same effect also leads to an increase in the width of scalar and tensor mesons with respect to their decay to two vector mesons, so that the decays χ _b0,2 → 2J/ψ can be used to observe these mesons at the Tevatron collider and LHC.     

Near-threshold <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis>-meson photoproduction on nuclei

On the basis of the first-collision model that relies on the nuclear spectral function and which includes incoherent processes involving charmonium production in proton–nucleon collisions, the photoproduction of J/ψ mesons on nuclei is considered at energies close to the threshold for their production on a nucleon. The absorption of final J/ψ mesons, their formation length, and the binding and Fermi motion of target nucleons are taken into account in this model along with the effect of the nuclear potential on these processes. The A dependences of the absolute and relative charmonium yields are calculated together with absolute and relative excitation functions under various assumptions on the magnitude of the cross section for J/ψN absorption, the J/ψ-meson formation length, and their inmedium modification. It is shown that, at energies above the threshold, these features are virtually independent of the formation length and the change in the J/ψ-meson mass in nuclear matter but are rather highly sensitive to the cross section for J/ψN interaction. The calculations performed in the present study can be used to determine the unknown cross section for J/ψ-meson absorption in nuclei from a comparison of their results with data expected from experiments in the Hall C of the CEBAF (USA) facility upgraded to the energy of 12 GeV. It is also shown that the absolute and relative excitation functions for J/ψ mesons in photon–nucleus reactions at subthreshold energies are sensitive to the change in the meson mass and, hence, carry information about the properties of charmonium in nuclear matter.     

Mixing of <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>0</Superscript> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis><Superscript>0</Superscript> neutral mesons within the minimum supersymmetry model

Mixing of K ⁰ and B ⁰ mesons is studied in the scope of the minimum supersymmetry model (MSSM) with a type II Yukawa sector and explicit violation of CP invariance in the Higgs potential. The mixing parameters Δm _LS and ? are calculated in the limit of the low-energy four-fermion approximation with a charged Higgs boson exchange. It is shown that supersymmetric effects are very small for K ⁰ mesons and may be quite significant for B _s ⁰ and B _d ⁰ mesons, which imposes constraints on the MSSM parameter space.     

Scaling of semi-inclusive events in <Emphasis Type="Italic">pp</Emphasis> interactions

The normalized single-particle semi-inclusive double-differential spectrum of π^t- mesons from pp interactions at 6.6–400 GeV/c and the relative concentration of π⁰ and K _S ⁰ mesons in such events of fixed multiplicity of π^? mesons are completely determined by specifying any feature of this spectrum—for example, 〈y²〉 _n or 〈E〉 _n . Therefore, a two-parameter sample of semi-inclusive events that depends on the energy and the multiplicity reduces to a one-parameter sample.     

Investigation of the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov dynamics of gluon distributions in the inelastic production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J/ψ</Emphasis> mesons at the HERA collider

The inelastic photo-and electroproduction of J/ψ mesons at the HERA collider are considered within the semihard (k _T -factorization) QCD approach and the color-singlet model. The total, differential, and double-differential cross sections for the inelastic production of J/ψ mesons are investigated versus the Pomeron intercept Δ, which is the basic parameter of low-x physics; also studied here is the spin alignment parameter α versus the square of the transverse momentum, p _ψT ² , and the variable z. The theoretical results obtained in the present study are compared with the latest experimental data of the H1 and ZEUS Collaborations. It is shown that experimental investigations of the polarization properties of J/ψ mesons at the HERA collider for Q²<1 GeV² may provide an additional test of the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov dynamics of gluon distributions.     

Subthreshold <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>−</Superscript>-meson production in proton-nucleus reactions revisited

The inclusive K^?-meson production in proton-nucleus collisions in the subthreshold energy regime is studied in the framework of an appropriate spectral function approach for incoherent primary proton-nucleon and secondary pion-nucleon production processes, which takes properly into account the nuclear mean-field potential effects on these processes as well as the final state interaction (FSI) among the outgoing nucleons participating in the one-step antikaon creation process. A detailed comparison of the model calculations of the K^? differential cross sections is given for the reactions p + ⁹Be, p + ⁶³Cu, and p + ¹⁹⁷Au at subthreshold energies with the currently available experimental data obtained recently at the ITEP proton synchrotron and at SIS/GSI. It is found that the calculations with inclusion of the influence of both the nuclear density-dependent mean-field potentials and the elementary NN-FSI effects on the K^? production from direct mechanism are able to reproduce, contrary to previous estimates based on the use only of the density-dependent mean fields in calculating the K^? yield from this mechanism, the energy dependences of the invariant differential cross sections for “hard” antikaon creation in p⁹Be and p⁶³Cu collisions. It is further shown that the NN-FSI effects play a minor role in describing the data on the spectrum of relatively soft K^? mesons from p¹⁹⁷Au interactions at incident energy of 2.5 GeV. It is also shown that the relative strength of the proton-and pion-induced reaction channels in the subthreshold energy regime is governed by the kinematics of the experiment under consideration. The influence of the nucleon, kaon, and antikaon mean-field potentials on the K^? yield is explored. It is demonstrated that, in line with previous findings, the K^? optical potential has a strong effect on this yield at low antikaon momenta, which is greater than those from nucleon and kaon effective potentials. At high antikaon momenta, the K^? yield is found to be mainly determined, along with the elementary NN-FSI effects, by the nucleon mean field and the scenario with zero K⁺ potential is favorable.     

Transverse polarization of the lepton in the decay process <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis> → <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dlν</Emphasis><Subscript>l</Subscript> due to electromagnetic final-state interaction

The emergence of transverse polarization of the lepton in the decay processes B⁰ → D^?l⁺ν_l and \(B^ + \to \bar D^0 l + \nu _l \) for l = τ, μ is studied on the basis of the Standard Model in the leading approximation of heavy-quark effective theory. It is shown that a nonzero transverse polarization appears owing to electromagnetic final-state interactions at the one-loop level. Diagrams involving D and D* mesons in the intermediate state and making a nonzero contribution to the transverse polarization of the outgoing lepton are considered. If only these mesons are taken into account in evaluating the mean values of the τ-lepton polarization in the decays B⁰→D^?τ⁺ν_τ and \(B^ + \to \bar D^0 \tau ^ + \nu _\tau \), the results are 2.60×10^-3 and ?1.59×10^?3, respectively. The corresponding values of the transverse muon polarization averaged over the Dalitz plot are 2.97×10^?4 and-6.79×10^?4.     

37 Years with the light scalar mesons. The learned lessons

Attention is paid to the production mechanisms of light scalars that reveal their nature. We reveal the chiral shielding of the σ(600) meson. We show that the kaon loop mechanism of the ? radiative decays, ratified by experiment, is four-quark transition and points to the four-quark nature of light scalars. We show also that the light scalars are produced in the two photon collisions via four-quark transitions in contrast to the classic P wave tensor qq? mesons that are produced via two-quark transitions γγ → qq?. We study the mechanism of production of the light scalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → [σ(600) + f ₀(980)]e ⁺ν → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν, and compare it with the mechanism of production of the light pseudoscalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → (η/η′)e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → (η/η′)e ⁺ν. As a result we find support to four-quark nature of light scalars. In the end, we outline the future research program.     

Electroproduction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J/ψ</Emphasis> mesons within the semihard QCD approach and the color-singlet model

The deep-inelastic production of J/ψ mesons in electron-proton interactions at the HERA collider is considered within the semihard (k_T-factorization) QCD approach and within the color-singlet model. The dependence of the Q², p _T ² , z, y* and W distributions of J/ψ mesons on various sets of unintegrated gluon distributions and the dependence of the spin parameter α on p _T ² and Q² are investigated. The results of the calculations are compared with the latest experimental data obtained by the H1 and ZEUS Collaborations at the HERA collider. It is shown that experimental investigations of the polarization properties of J/ψ mesons over the kinematical region Q²<1 GeV² may provide an additional test of the statement that the dynamics of gluon distributions is governed by the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov equations.     

Production of heavy quarks on protons within the semihard QCD approach

The inclusive production of heavy quarks in p\(\bar p\) interactions at the Tevatron and LHC energies is considered within the semihard QCD approach. The dependence of the total and differential cross sections for the production of b quarks and B mesons (and of muons originating from the subsequent semileptonic decay B → μν _μ X) on various samples of unintegrated gluon distributions is studied. The results obtained by calculating azimuthal correlations between the transverse momenta of final particles are presented. The theoretical results are compared with the latest experimental data obtained by the D0 and CDF Collaborations at the Tevatron.     

Effects of Final State Interactions in Pure Annihilation Decay of B+ → D+K0*

The decay of the B ⁺ meson to the D ⁺ and K ⁰* mesons is a pure annihilation decay. For this reason, in the framework of the quantum chromodynamics factorization (QCDF) approach, this decay has a small amplitude and a small branching ratio. In this research we find that, before the D ⁺ and K ⁰* mesons are produced in the final states, pair mesons such as D _s ⁺* and D _s ⁺ρ⁰ are produced. The intermediate-state mesons via the exchange of K ⁰(K ⁰*) and D ⁺(D ⁺*) go to the D ⁺ and K ⁰* final state mesons. However we calculate the B ₊ → D ⁺ K ⁰* decay in two different frameworks. The first framework is the QCDF method and the second one is final state interaction (FSI). The experimental branching ratio of B ₊ → D ₊ K ⁰* decay is less than 3 × 10^–6, and our results obtained by the QCDF method and FSI are (0.35 ± 0.04) × 10^–6 and (2.94 ± 0.10) × 10^–6, respectively.     

Radiative parton energy loss and jet quenching in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

We study within the light-cone path integral approach [3] the effect of the induced gluon radiation on high-p _T hadrons in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The induced gluon spectrum is represented in a new form which is convenient for numerical simulations. For the first time, computations are performed with a realistic parameterization of the dipole cross section. The results are in reasonable agreement with the suppression of high-p _T hadrons in Au + Au collisions at \(\sqrt s = 200\)GeV observed at RHIC.