Transverse-momentum dependence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> shadowing effects

We present a new approach to estimate the effect of gluon shadowing in nucleus + nucleus collisions and its consequences on the J/ψ production yield. Using kinematical information available from the measured J/ψ production in proton + proton collisions at  GeV, we build a Glauber Monte Carlo code which takes into account shadowing in two alternative ways: multiple-scattering corrections or Q ² evolution of parton densities. We exploit the dependence of these different parameterizations to the J/ψ transverse momentum and we give the first predictions on the resulting p _T dependence of the nuclear modification factor in deuteron + gold collisions at the same energy.     

Inclusive <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> photoproduction and polarization at HERA in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript>-factorization approach

We investigate the inclusive photoproduction of J/ψ mesons at HERA within the framework of the k _T -factorization QCD approach. Our study is based on the color singlet model supplemented with the relevant off-shell matrix elements and the CCFM and KMR unintegrated gluon densities in a proton and in a photon. Both the direct and resolved photon contributions are taken into account. Our predictions are compared with the recent experimental data taken by the H1 and ZEUS collaborations. Special attention is put on the J/ψ polarization parameters λ and ν, which are sensitive to the production dynamics.     

Final state interactions in the decays <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis>→<Emphasis Type="Italic">VPP</Emphasis>

We investigate the interplay between crossed channel final state interactions and the constraints from two-particle unitarity for the reactions J/ψ→V π π and VK[`(K)]VK\bar{K} , where V is either ω or φ. Using a model where the parameters are largely constrained by other sources, we find that, although small, crossed channel final state interaction can influence the amplitudes considerably, in special areas of phase space. These results cast doubt on the inapplicability of unitarity constraints on production amplitudes as recently claimed in the literature.     

Contribution of final-state interaction to the branching ratio of <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis>→<Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis>

To test the validity of perturbative QCD (pQCD) and investigate its range of application, one should look for a suitable process. B→J/ψ D is a promising candidate. The linear momentum of the products is relatively small, so that there may exist a region where exchanged gluons are soft and the perturbative treatment may fail, so that the non-perturbative effect would be significant. We attribute such non-perturbative QCD effects to the long-distance final-state interaction (FSI) which is estimated in this work. We find that the contribution from the FSI to the branching ratio is indeed sizable and may span the rather wide range of 10⁻⁶∼10⁻⁵ and cover a region where the pQCD prediction is of the same order. A more accurate measurement of its branching ratio may provide important information about the application region of pQCD and help to clarify the picture of inelastic rescattering (i.e. FSI), which is generally believed to play an important role in B decays.     

Global analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> suppression in cold nuclear matter

Interpreting the J/ψ suppression reported in nucleus–nucleus collisions at SPS and RHIC requires a quantitative understanding of cold nuclear-matter effects, such as the inelastic rescattering of J/ψ states in nuclei or the nuclear modification of parton densities. With respect to our former Glauber analysis, we include in the present work the new PHENIX d–Au measurements, and we analyze as well all existing data using the EPS08 nuclear parton densities recently released. The largest suppression reported in the new PHENIX analysis leads in turn to an increase of σ _J/ψN from 3.5±0.3 to 5.4±2.5 mb using the PDF of the proton. The stronger x-dependence of the G ^A /G ^p ratio in EPS08 as compared to e.g. EKS98 shifts the cross section towards larger values at fixed-target energies (x ₂∼0.1), while decreasing somehow the value extracted at RHIC (x ₂∼10⁻²).     

Probing unparticle theory via lepton-flavor violating process <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis>→<Emphasis Type="Italic">ll</Emphasis>′ at BESIII

The lepton-flavor violating process J/ψ→ll′(l≠l′) serves as an ideal place to probe the unparticle theory. Such a process can only occur at loop level in the Standard model (SM), so that should be very suppressed; by contrast, in the unparticle scenario, it happens at tree level and its contribution may be sizable for practical measurement. Moreover, the BESIII will offer the largest database on J/ψ, which makes more accurate measurements possible. Furthermore, for such purely leptonic decays the background is relatively low and the signal would be cleaner. Our work carefully investigates the possibility of observing such processes from both theoretical and experimental aspects.     

Transverse-momentum distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> mesons produced in proton-nucleus and lead-lead interactions

The transverse-momentum and transverse-mass distributions of J/ψ mesons produced in proton-nucleus and lead-lead interactions at 400 GeV and 158 GeV/nucleon, respectively, were measured in the NA50 experiment. The change in these distributions with increasing centrality is studied for various interaction energies. Data obtained in the NA38 experiment for collisions of light nuclei at 200 GeV per nucleon is also used in the present analysis. Investigation of the transverse-momentum and transverse-mass distributions of J/ψ particles can provide additional information about the properties of the phase transition of ordinary nuclear matter to quark-gluon plasma.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> suppression and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> spectra in RHIC and LHC energy collisions

In a hydrodynamic model, we have studied J/ψ production in Au+Au/Cu+Cu collisions at RHIC energy, GeV. At the initial time, J/ψ’s are randomly distributed in the fluid. As the fluid evolves in time, the free streaming J/ψ’s are dissolved if the local fluid temperature exceeds a threshold temperature T _J/ψ . Sequential melting of charmonium states (χ _c , ψ ^′ and J/ψ), with melting temperatures , T _J/ψ ≈2T _c and feed-down fraction F≈0.3, explains the PHENIX data on the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Au+Au collisions. J/ψ p _T spectra and the nuclear modification factor in Au+Au collisions are also well explained in the model. The model however overpredicts the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Cu+Cu collisions by 20–30%. The J/ψ p _T spectra are underpredicted by 20–30%. The model predicts that in central Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energy,  GeV, J/ψ’s are suppressed by a factor of ∼10. The model predicted a J/ψ p _T distribution in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC is similar to that in Au+Au collisions at RHIC.     

An overview of <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> production in heavy ion collisions at PHENIX

This is an overview of the PHENIX J/ψ results in hot nuclear matter from heavy ion collisions. Current results for R _AA and v ₂ in Au+Au collisions, as well as R _AA from Cu+Cu collisions are included and discussed. A comparison is also done to cold nuclear matter effects using R _dAu results.     

The cusp effect in <Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis>′→<Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis> decays

Strong final-state interactions create a pronounced cusp in η′→η π ⁰ π ⁰ decays. We adapt and generalize the non-relativistic effective field theory framework developed for the extraction of π π scattering lengths from K→3π decays to this case. The cusp effect is predicted to have an effect of more than 8% on the decay spectrum below the π ⁺ π ⁻ threshold.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-cluster and <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-binucleon states of 1<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-shell nuclei

States that exhibit the properties of an α-cluster or an α-binucleon condensate are studied in 1p-shell nuclei. The generalized Hamiltonian of the Elliott SU(3) model is used to classify these states and to calculate their spectra. The results of the calculations are found to be in good agreement with experimental data. States not observed so far in the cluster spectra of the ¹²C, ¹⁶O, ¹⁰Be, and ¹²Be nuclei are predicted.     

Study of in-medium <Emphasis Type="Italic">ω</Emphasis>-meson properties in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ap</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">pA</Emphasis> collisions

The possibility to investigate the in-medium properties of the vector ω mesons at normal nuclear density is considered. The folding model and simulations with the RQMD generator have been used for studying of the ω-resonance production in Ap and pA reactions and its ω → π ⁰ γ → 3γ decay. We show that measurements in the inverse Ap kinematics is an effective way to get information about the ω-meson mass modification especially in not yet explored range of small meson momenta relative to the projectile nuclei where the strength of the effect is expected to be most strong. The traditional pA kinematics appears to be more preferable for the investigation of the in-medium ω-meson width. Using of compact electromagnetic calorimeter provides the possibility to collect large statistics and study the momentum dependencies of both the ω-meson mass and width at the density of normal nuclei.     

Process <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>*<Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis> → <Emphasis Type="Italic">σ</Emphasis> at large virtuality of <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>*

The process γ*γ → σ is investigated in the framework of the SU(2)×SU(2) chiral NJL model. The form factor of the process is derived for arbitrary virtuality of γ* in the Euclidean kinematic domain. The asymptotic behavior of this form factor resembles the asymptotic behavior of the γ*γ → π form factor.     

Can the RHIC <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> puzzle(s) be settled at LHC?

One observes strong suppression effects for hard probes, e.g. the production of J/ψ or high-p _T particles, in nucleus–nucleus (AA) collisions at RHIC. Surprisingly, the magnitude of the suppression is quite similar to that at SPS. In order to establish whether these features arise due to the presence of a thermalized system of quarks and gluons formed in the course of the collision, one should investigate the impact of suppression mechanisms which do not explicitly involve such a state. We calculate shadowing for gluons in the Glauber–Gribov theory and propose a model invoking a rapidity-dependent absorptive mechanism motivated by energy-momentum conservation effects. Furthermore, final-state suppression due to interaction with comoving matter (hadronic or pre-hadronic) has been shown to describe the data at SPS. We extend this model by including the backward reaction channel, i.e. recombination of open charm, which is estimated directly from pp data at RHIC. Strong suppression of charmonium both in pA and AA collisions at LHC is predicted. This is in stark contrast with the predictions of models assuming QGP formation and thermalization of heavy quarks.     

Near-threshold η production in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">pd</Emphasis>→<Emphasis Type="Italic">pd</Emphasis>η reaction

The total cross section of the pd→pdη reaction has been measured at two energies near threshold by detecting the final proton and deuteron in a magnetic spectrometer. The values are somewhat larger than expected on the basis of two simple theoretical estimates. Received: 23 March 2000     

Screening and antiscreening effects in <Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/ψ production on nuclei

Nuclear effects in J/ψ hadro-and electroproduction on nuclei are considered in the framework of the reggeon approach. It is shown that the screening regime which holds for electroproduction at x _F ≥0.7 and for hadroproduction at x _F ≥?(0.2–0.4) changes with the antiscreening regime for smaller x _F values.