Strange baryon production in heavy ion collisions

The rapidity distribution of Λ and ?Λ produced in nucleus-nucleus collisions at CERN energies is studied in the framework of an independent string model — with quark-antiquark as well as diquark-antidiquark pairs in the nucleon sea. It is shown that, besides the Λ-?Λ pair production resulting from the fragmentation of sea diquarks, final state interactions of co-moving secondaries π + N → K + Λ and ?N → K → ?Λ are needed in order to reproduce the data. Predictions for Pb-Pb collisions are presented.     

Exclusive c → s,d Semileptonic Decays of Spin-1/2 and Spin-3/2 cb Baryons

We present results for exclusive semileptonic decay widths of ground state spin-1/2 and spin-3/2  cb baryons corresponding to a c → s, d transition at the quark level. The relevance of hyperfine mixing in spin-1/2 cb baryons is shown. Our form factors are compatible with heavy quark spin symmetry constraints obtained in the infinite heavy quark mass limit.     

Isospin violating mass differences of baryons and hadronic loops

Isospin violating mass splittings of the ground state baryons are discussed within the frame-work of the unitarized quark model. It is shown that the long-distance, nonperturbative unitarity effects are important, and that a good agreement with the observed mass splittings can be retained. The importance of six mass sum rules which hold independently of dynamical assumptions is emphasized.     

Charmed Deuteron

Possible existence of bound states of a charmed baryon, Λ _c , Σ _c , Σ* _c with a nucleon, N, as well as two charmed baryons, Λ _c Λ _c , etc., are examined in the meson exchange potential approach. The heavy quark spin symmetry induces a strong tensor coupling between Λ _c N, Σ _c N and Σ* _c N states, which causes a bound state of Λ _c N (J = 0⁺ and 1⁺) states. Such a bound state is also seen in the spin-singlet Λ _c Λ _c channel, which resembles the H dibaryon in the strange sector.     

Baryons and dual unitarization

Processes involving baryons are discussed in the scheme of dual unitarization. In particular, the topological expansion is generalized to any hadronic S-matrix elements involving baryons and/or mesons. Our expansion is based on a model for the baryon propagator, which is a set of three planar Feynman diagrams joined at a junction line. The resulting expansion is a double expansion in 1/N (N= the number of quark flavours) and in the number of baryon loops. Based on this, several new observations are made in phenomenological problems, and a unifying point of view is stressed. The scheme is evidently crossing invariant, and unitarity constraints are imposed order by order in 1/N and in the baryon loop number.     

Static hyperon properties in a linearizedSU(3)-Chiral Bag model

We use a linearized Chiral Bag model to describe the strange octet and decuplet baryons. The approach is canonically extended to spontaneously broken chiral SU(3)_L × SU(3)_R, and the corresponding Goldstone Bosons are identified with the pseudoscalar meson octet. We include explicit symmetry breaking corrections both for baryons and mesons. The linearized quark-meson intraction is applied in a self-consistent calculation of the masses and, for Δ, Σ^* and Ξ^*, of the decay widths. Our special interest is in the influence of theK- andη-cloud (in addition to theπ) on hyperon static properties. We show results for radii, masses, decay widths and renormalization constants as obtained by a fit to the experimental hyperon spectra. The effects of theK- andη-mesons are found to be non-negligible, although supressed by symmetry breaking effects. The effective gluon coupling α is reduced in comparison to the SU(2)_L × SU(2)_R case. In addition, we discuss the dependence on the bag constantB. It turns out that the lightest hyperon states, Λ and Σ are well described and stable for B^1/4 < 130 MeV. The heavier strange baryons have stable solutions also for larger values ofB. The bag radii determined at the minimal energies are R₀?1.15 fm for the octet and R₀?1.25 fm for the decuplet baryons.     

Spin,helicity and flavour patterns in exclusive decays of bottom mesons into baryon-antibaryon pairs

I use the constituent quark model to calculate the exclusive decays of bottom mesons into ground state baryon-antibaryon pairs mediated by the weakb→c and b→u transitions. TheW-exchange contributions to these decays are found to be negligible. For theW-decay contributions I find that the simple colour-flavour structure of the 1/2⁺ and 3/2⁺ ground state baryons together with the current-current nonleptonic Hamiltonian leads to many simple and testable predictions. Notable among these is the predicted vanishing of decays involving 3/2⁺ baryons as in \(\overline {B^0 } (B^ - ) \to 3/2^ + \overline {1/2^ + } \) and \(\overline {B^0 } (B^ - ) \to 3/2^ + \overline {3/2^ + } \) . An experimental verification of these selection rules would test the chirality of the basicb→c andb→u transitions. I also derive predictions for the polarization of the final state baryons depending on the assumed mechanism of quark pair creation. These predictions can be checked in the cases where the final state baryons are weakly decaying spin 1/2 hyperons and charmed baryons.     

Large charmless yield inB decays and inclusiveB decay puzzles

In recent studies of inclusiveB decays, it has been suggested that eitherB mesons decay much more copiously to final states with no open charm than currently assumed, orB(D ⁰ → K^?π⁺) has to be reduced significantly. This note takes the experimentalB(D ⁰ → K^?π⁺) at its face value and estimatesB(b → no open charm) using complementary methods: one accounts for thec quark inb → c transitions, the other accounts for the c quark inb → ccs transitions. Through cancellation of errors, the average gives our best estimate ofB(b → no open charm), and the difference measures the consistency. The results of the methods are consistent with each other, strongly suggesting a much enhancedB(b → no open charm). This observation indicates that non-perturbative QCD effects are probably causing a sizable fraction of theb → ccs transitions to be seen as charmlessb → s processes, contrary to smaller traditional expectations. This mechanism has generally been overlooked and may explain the existing experimental data within the framework of the standard model. We then briefly discuss implications on baryon production governed byb → ccs processes, rare hadronicB decays and CP violation studies.     

K− absorption reactions from rest in deuterium

Quantitative agreement with the data on K⁻ d → NΛπ and NΣπ relative rates and spectra is found by solving a system of twelve Faddeev equations. The data imply that there is no stable bound state (second sheet pole above ΔN threshold) in the (ΣN, ΛN) system but do require a virtual state (fourth sheet pole) near the ΣN threshold.     

Parity violating effects in Σ→Λγ and Σ→Λe t>+ e − decays

Parity violating effects in Σ→Λγ are calculated in non relativistic quark model usingW, Z and gluon exchanges. These effects are found to give dominant contribution to the parity violating effects in Σ→Λe ⁺⁺ e ^? decay as compared to the neutral current effects.     

Phenomenological sizes of confinement regions in baryons

Standard order of magnitude estimates from QCD indicate that the radius of the quarkgluon core in the nucléon is Λ _QCD ^?1 ?1 fm. However, in work with the chiral bag model, we have found that the effective confinement size for low energy reactions can be as small as ～ 1/2 fm or smaller. This shrinking of the effective confinement size has been attributed to the pressure of the pion cloud surrounding the quark core. The concept of confinement size is evidently subtle in light-quark systems, due to the chiral vacuum structure. This is indicated by the “Cheshire Cat” phenomenon, in which physical observables tend to be insensitive to the bag radiusR. In four dimensions, no exact Cheshire Cat principle has yet been established but it is likely to involve infinitely many mesons. We suggest that when strange quarks are present, a qualitative change occurs in the Cheshire Cat picture; in particular, we propose that strangeness provides an obstruction to this picture. We present a phenomenological indication that when strange quarks are present, the bag radiusR is frozen at a value substantially larger than 0.5 fm by as much as a factor of two. Roughly speaking, the Cheshire Cat picture emerges from a near cancellation between repulsive quark kinetic and attractive pion-cloud energies in the case of the nucleon. In theΛ andΣ particles, however, replacement of one up or down quark by a strange quark removes ～ 1/N_c of the attraction from the coupling of the quarks to the pion cloud. This upsets the balance needed for the Cheshire Cat phenomenon and makes larger strange baryons more favorable energetically than the 0.5 fm ones appropriate for pureu- andd-systems. Since the above argument is crude, we appeal strongly to phenomenology. We find that magnetic moments of strange baryons favor a bag radius R?1.1 fm. We find that the excited states of theΛ-hyperons favor similarly large bag radii. Somewhat less convincingly, we argue that — due to perturbative effects — the bag radius appropriate to the Δ(1232) lies intermediate between that of the nucleon and of the strange baryons.     

Production and Parity Determination of Ξ Baryons

To understand the structure of hadrons and their production mechanisms, it is very important to be able to identify their quantum numbers. For investigating the spin and parity quantum numbers of Ξ and Ω, in particular, it is very important to understand strong interactions in the strangeness sector. At present, such quantum numbers are known for only a few of the Ξ baryons, and even the parity of the ground state Ξ(1318) has never been measured. In this article, we present a novel, model-independent way to determine the parity of Ξ baryons solely based on symmetry considerations for the hadronic reaction K? N → K Ξ.     

Mass spectra of heavy baryons in the relativistic quark model

The mass spectra of the ground state and excited heavy baryons consisting of two light (u, d, s) and one heavy (c, b) quarks are calculated. The heavy-quark-light-diquark picture is used within the relativistic quark model. An overall good agreement of the obtained predictions with available experimental data is found. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Elastic and Transition Form Factors of the Δ(1232)

Predictions obtained with a confining, symmetry-preserving treatment of a vector ? vector contact interaction at leading-order in a widely used truncation of QCD’s Dyson–Schwinger equations are presented for Δ and Ω baryon elastic form factors and the γN → Δ transition form factors. This simple framework produces results that are practically indistinguishable from the best otherwise available, an outcome which highlights that the key to describing many features of baryons and unifying them with the properties of mesons is a veracious expression of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in the hadron bound-state problem. The following specific results are of particular interest. The Δ elastic form factors are very sensitive to m _Δ. Hence, given that the parameters which define extant simulations of lattice-regularised QCD produce Δ-resonance masses that are very large, the form factors obtained therewith are a poor guide to properties of the Δ(1232). Considering the Δ-baryon’s quadrupole moment, whilst all computations produce a negative value, the conflict between theoretical predictions entails that it is currently impossible to reach a sound conclusion on the nature of the Δ-baryon’s deformation in the infinite momentum frame. Results for analogous properties of the Ω baryon are less contentious. In connection with the N → Δ transition, the Ash-convention magnetic transition form factor falls faster than the neutron’s magnetic form factor and nonzero values for the associated quadrupole ratios reveal the impact of quark orbital angular momentum within the nucleon and Δ; and, furthermore, these quadrupole ratios do slowly approach their anticipated asymptotic limits.     

The spectrum of theP-wave baryons and hadronic loops

In current QCD inspired analyses of the hadron spectrum nonperturbative quark loops are generally neglected. We study the validity of this assumption by estimating mass splittings and mixings induced by hadronic mass renormalization to the (70,1^?) baryon multiplet. All intermediate states in the loop composed of a ground state meson (0^?+, 1^??) and a ground state baryon (1/2⁺, 3/2⁺) are included. We use a³ P ₀ type model for the partial decay widths and spectral functions. Using unitarity and analyticity one finds a definite prediction for the masses and mixings, in good agreement with experiment, even when the perturbative one-gluon exchange is completely ignored. Our result thus allows for a smaller one-gluon exchange overall contribution, which would resolve the difficulty of the apparent smallness of the observed spin-orbit coupling. In particular if one adds the (nonperturbative) unitarity corrections to the one-gluon exchange contribution the gluon coupling constant can be reduced by a factor of 3 giving a reasonable value α_s≈0.3.     

Determination of coupling constants from superconvergence sum rules in vector meson — Vector meson scattering

Dynamical relations between masses and coupling constants have been studied using the superconvergent sum rule technique in vector meson — vector meson scattering. Unessential complications due to the spin have been removed by defining a set of 25 KSF invariant amplitudes. Commonly accepted analyticity properties and asymptotics estimated arguing along the line of unitarity then lead to superconvergent sum rules for three amplitudes. Their saturation by one-intermediate-particle contributions in the processesωρ→ ωρ, ωB→ωB andωA ₁→ωA ₁ results in a system of nine coupled equations which have been approximately solved for coupling constants and aρ-ω-B- A ₁ mass sum rule.     

Octet-decuplet baryon mass splittings from self-consistent one-loop perturbation theory

The bag model of confined relativistic quarks in chiral-invariant interaction with scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, and pseudovector mesons, as well as gluons, is used to calculate the masses and wave functions of the spin-1/2 baryon octet and spin-3/2 decuplet, using selfconsistent Brillouin-Wigner bound state perturbation theory. Chiral symmetry breaking is invoked with the sigma model. SU (6) and SU (3) symmetries are broken by the experimental meson spectrum, and a strange quark mass. Mass corrections are calculated to one loop order, limited to the baryons of the octet and decuplet and the lowest lying mesons. Encouraging results are obtained, especially for theΔ — N and theΣ — Λ splittings. Convergence and stability have not been demonstrated, but are evidently improved by the self-consistency requirement. An initial parameter tuning gives a fit to all the octet and decuplet masses within ≦0.02 GeV, at the price of choosing the bag radius, the non-strange baryon input bag mass, and the strange quark mass. Even these small discrepancies can be dramatically reduced by fine-tuning the vector meson coupling and including an instanton contribution peculiar to theΛ.     

Glueball spectrum from N_f=2 lattice QCD study on anisotropic lattices

The lowest-lying glueballs are investigated in lattice QCD using N_f = 2 clover Wilson fermions on anisotropic lattices. We simulate at two different and relatively heavy quark masses, corresponding to physical pion masses of mπ～938 MeV and 650 MeV. The quark mass dependence of the glueball masses has not been investigated in the present study. Only the gluonic operators built from Wilson loops are utilized in calculating the corresponding correlation functions. In the tensor channel, we obtain the ground state mass to be 2.363(39) GeV and 2.384(67)GeV at mπ～938 MeV and 650 MeV, respectively. In the pseudoscalar channel, when using the gluonic operator whose continuum limit has the form of ∈_ijkTrB_iD_jB_k, we obtain the ground state mass to be 2.573(55) GeV and 2.585(65) GeV at the two pion masses. These results are compatible with the corresponding results in the quenched approximation. In contrast, if we use the topological charge density as field operators for the pseudoscalar, the masses of the lowest state are much lighter(around 1 GeV) and compatible with the expected masses of the flavor singlet qq meson. This indicates that the operator ∈ijk TrBiDjBk and the topological charge density couple rather differently to the glueball states and qq mesons. The observation of the light flavor singlet pseudoscalar meson can be viewed as the manifestation of effects of dynamical quarks. In the scalar channel, the ground state masses extracted from the correlation functions of gluonic operators are determined to be around 1.4-1.5 GeV, which is close to the ground state masses from the correlation functions of the quark bilinear operators. In all cases, the mixing between glueballs and conventional mesons remains to be further clarified in the future.     

Covariant quark model for the baryons

A family of simply solvable covariant quark models for the baryons is presented. With optimal parameter choices the models reproduce the empirical spectra of the baryons in all flavor sectors to an accuracy of a few percent. Complete spectra are obtained for all states of the strange, charm and beauty hyperons with L ⩽2. The magnetic moments and axial coupling constants of the ground state baryons correspond to those of conventional quark models. We construct current-density operators tjat are consistent with empirical nucleon form factors at low and medium momenta.