NICA at JINR: New prospects for exploration of quark-gluon matter

A new scientific program is proposed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna aimed at studies of hot and dense baryonic matter in the wide energy range from 2 GeV/u kinetic energy in fixed target experiments to $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 4 - 11$ GeV/u in the collider mode. To realize this program the development of the JINR accelerator facility in high-energy physics (HEP) has been started. This facility is based on the existing superconducting synchrotron??the Nuclotron. The program foresees both experiments at the beams extracted from the Nuclotron, and the construction of a heavy-ion collider??the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) which is designed to reach the required parameters with an average luminosity of L = 10²⁷ cm^?2 s^?1.     

Breeding of antideuterons in the AIC at FAIR

We present here a proposal to make use of the antiproton ion collider AIC of FAIR to breed cold antideuterons using the pionic fusion reactions $\overline{pp} \to \overline{d}\pi^{-}$ . An antideuteron yield of 1.4% per pair of antiprotons is reached. With a luminosity L?=?5.2×10²⁸ cm^???2 s^???1 the expected antideuteron production rate is 23 s^???1. Methods for improving the antideuteron yield and production rate are indicated.     

Feasibility of a low-voltage discharge in pure molecular hydrogen

The feasibility of initiating a low-voltage discharge in pure (free of readily ionizable impurity) molecular hydrogen is studied theoretically. A discharge with cathode fall φ₁ = 10 V, interelectrode gap L = 2 cm, and total hydrogen concentration \(N_{H_2 }^{(0)} = 2 \times 10^{15}\) cm^?3 is considered by way of example. The plasma parameters, including concentration \(N_{H^ - }\) of negative hydrogen ions H^?, are calculated. The concentration of H^? ions is maximal in the near-anode plasma and may reach \(\left( {N_{H^ - } } \right)_{\max } = 0.5 \times 10^{12}\) cm^?3. Concentration \(N_{H^ - }\) can be increased severalfold by introducing a small amount of cesium into the discharge, \(N_{Cs}^{(0)} \leqslant 10^{13}\) cm^?3. Cesium ionizes completely and concentrates in narrow near-electrode layers, which are depleted with the plasma in the purely hydrogen discharge. The discharge modifications studied in this work may be of interest as low-voltage volume plasma sources of H^? ions under conditions when a high concentration of cesium in the source plasma is undesirable.     

Single decay-lepton angular distributions in polarizede + e − →\overline {tt} and simple angular asymmetries as a measure of CP-violating top dipole couplingsand simple angular asymmetries as a measure of CP-violating top dipole couplings

In the presence of an electric dipole coupling of $\overline {tt} $ to a photon, and an analogous ‘weak’ dipole coupling to the Z, CP violation in the process e⁺e^? → $\overline {tt} $ results in modified polarization of the top and the anti-top. This polarization can be analyzed by studying the angular distributions of decay charged leptons when the top or anti-top decays leptonically. Analytic expressions are presented for these distributions when eithert or $\overline t $ decays leptonically, including $\mathcal{O}$ (α_s) QCD corrections in the soft-gluon approximation. The angular distributions are insensitive to anomalous interactions in top decay. Two types of simple CP-violating polar-angle asymmetries and two azimuthal asymmetries, which do not need the full reconstruction of thet or $\overline t $ , are studied. Independent 90% CL limits that may be obtained on the real and imaginary parts of the electric and weak dipole couplings at a linear collider operating at √ s = 500 GeV with integrated luminosity 500 fb^? and also at √s = 1000 GeV with integrated luminosity 1000 fb^? have been evaluated. The effect of longitudinal electron and/or positron beam polarizations has been included.     

Multi-strange baryon elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 2.76 TeV measured with the ALICE detector

We present the results on elliptic flow with multi-strange baryons produced in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 2.76 TeV. The analysis is performed with the ALICE detector at LHC. Multi-strange baryons are reconstructed via their decay topologies and the v ₂ measurements are analyzed with the two-particle scalar product method. The p _T differential v ₂ values are compared to the viscous hydrodynamical (VISH2+1) model calculation and to the STAR measurements in Au-Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 200 GeV. We found that the model describes ?? and ??v ₂ measurements within uncertainties. The differential v ₂ of ?? and ?? is similar to the STAR measurements at 200 GeV in Au-Au collisions.     

Quarkonium Physics at a Fixed-Target Experiment using the LHC Beams

We outline the many quarkonium-physics opportunities offered by a multi-purpose fixed-target experiment using the p and Pb Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beams extracted by a bent crystal. This provides an integrated luminosity of 0.5 fb^?1 per year on a typical 1?cm-long target. Such an extraction mode does not alter the performance of the collider experiments at the LHC. With such a high luminosity, one can analyse quarkonium production in great details in pp, pd and pA collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{NN}}\simeq 115}$ GeV and at ${\sqrt{s_{NN}}\simeq 72}$ GeV in PbA collisions. In a typical pp (pA) run, the obtained quarkonium yields per unit of rapidity are 2–3 orders of magnitude larger than those expected at RHIC and about, respectively, 10(70) times larger than for ALICE. In PbA, they are comparable. By instrumenting the target-rapidity region, the large negative-x _F domain can be accessed for the first time, greatly extending previous measurements by Hera-B and E866. Such analyses should help resolving the quarkonium-production controversies and clear the way for gluon PDF extraction via quarkonium studies. The nuclear target-species versatility provides a unique opportunity to study nuclear matter and the features of the hot and dense matter formed in PbA collisions. A polarised proton target?allows the study of transverse-spin asymmetries in J/ψ and ${\Upsilon}$ production, providing access to the gluon and charm Sivers functions.     

Evidence for a resonance in positron-electron scattering at 810 keV centre-of-mass Energy

A monoenergetic positron (e ⁺) beam (ΔT/T<5·10^?4) from the Stuttgart pelletron accelerator and a 4.6 mg/cm² Be target has been employed to investigatee ⁺ e ^?scattering in the MeV region in a large solid angle with high statistics by means of a novel positionsensitive detector system. Superimposed on the Bhabha scattering, a structure has been found at ane ⁺ kinetic energy of 2263 keV (810 keV excitation energy in thee ⁺ e ^?rest frame). From the energy-integrated resonance cross-section of \(\sigma _{res} \cdot \Gamma _{res}^{e^ + e^ - } \) ?30 b·eV (c.m.) and the standard resonance cross-section we estimate partial resonance widths \(\Gamma _{res}^{e^ + e^ - } \) ?72 meV or 24 meV for total angular momenta J=0 or J=1, respectively. The structure, which has not been predicted within the framework of quantum electrodynamics, coincides with one of the sum energies of the correlatede ⁺ e ^?lines observed in heavy-ion collisions.     

Measurement of longitudinal single spin asymmetry of W ± → μ± at forward/backward rapidities with PHENIX at √s = 500–510 GeV polarized p + p collisions

The PHENIX experiment has collected about 25 pb^?1 longitudinally polarized p + p collisions at √s = 500 GeV in 2011 run for probing antiquark polarization. In this talk the first preliminary result of A _L ^μ± is presented.     

Measurement of the masses and lifetimes of the charmed mesonsD 0,D + andD s +

We present the final results on the measurement of the masses and lifetimes of the mesonsD ⁰,D ⁺ andD _s ⁺ in the NA32 experiment at the CERN SPS, using silicon microstrip detectors and charge-coupled devices for vertex reconstruction. We measure the following lifetimes: \(\tau _{D^0 } = 3.88 \pm _{0.21}^{0.23} \cdot 10^{ - 13} s\) using a sample of 479D°→K ^?π⁺π^?π⁺ and 162D°→K ^?π⁺ decays; \(\tau _{D^ + } = 10.5 \pm _{0.72}^{0.77} \cdot 10^{ - 13} s\) with a sample of 317D ⁺→K ^?π⁺π⁺ decays; \(\tau _{D_s^ + } = 4.69 \pm _{0.86}^{1.02} \cdot 10^{ - 13} s\) with a sample of 54D _s ⁺ →K ⁺ K ^?π⁺ decays. We measure the following masses:m _D ⁰=1864.6±0.3±1.0 MeV,m _D ⁺=1870.0±0.5±1.0 MeV and \(m_{D_s^ + } \) =1967.0±1.0±1.0 MeV.     

Characteristics of charged particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Inclusive spectra of charged particles at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV and 200 GeV were measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. The measured mean transverse momentum 〈p _T 〉 shows a characteristic dependence on charged particle multiplicity and beam energy in Au+Au collisions that is distinctly different from pp, $p\bar p$ and e⁺e^? collisions. A 32%±3%(syst) increase in 〈p _T 〉 from pp to Au+Au collisions was observed at 200 GeV. While the charged multiplicity was found to increase by 19%±5%(syst) from $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV to 200 GeV, no significant difference in 〈p _T 〉 was found between the two energies. A comparison with model predictions is discussed.     

The effectiveg s factor for the odd proton153Sm nucleus determined by the internal conversion processes

TheK/L ₃,L ₁/L ₃,L ₁/L ₂ andL ₂/L ₃ conversion ratios for the 103 keV transition in¹⁵³Sm were measured by means of a high-resolution π√2 electron spectrometer. The values of theM1 conversion penetration parameter λ=5.0 _?0.7 ^+0.6 and the mixing ratio δ²=0.144±0.006 are deduced. By comparing the experimental penetration parameter with the value obtained from Nilsson model calculations the effective spin gyromagnetic ratio is found to be $$g_s^{eff} = \left( {3.7\begin{array}{*{20}c} { + 0.4} \\ { - 0.5} \\ \end{array} } \right)\mu _n .$$      

Probing scalar particle and unparticle couplings in e^{+}e^{-}\to t\bar{t} with transversely polarized beams

In searching for indications of new-physics scalar particle and unparticle couplings in $e^{+}e^{-}\to t\bar{t}$ , we consider the role of transversely polarized initial beams at e ⁺ e ^? colliders. By using a general relativistic spin density matrix formalism for describing the particles spin states, we find analytical expressions for the differential cross section of the process with t or $\bar{t}$ polarization measured, including the anomalous coupling contributions. Thanks to the transversely polarized initial beams these contributions are first order anomalous coupling corrections to the Standard Model (SM) contributions. We present and analyze the main features of the SM and anomalous coupling contributions. We show how differences between SM and anomalous coupling contributions provide means to search for anomalous coupling manifestations at future e ⁺ e ^? linear colliders.     

Scaling multiplicities of h-p collisions toe + e −→π±+... by the Fermi-Landau law

The similarity of rapidity distributions of hadrons frompp and $\bar p$ p withe ⁺ e ^?→π^±+... implies a scaling forE _cm, reflecting the quark-quark interaction of particle production by $\bar p$ /p+p. This scaling relates the meson multiplicity fromh+p→m $\bar m$ +... to the Fermi-Landau law $n_{ch} = a\sqrt {E_{cm} } $ fore ⁺ e ^? collisions, without free-parameters, threshold energy being taken into account including the mass of quarks constituent of the projectile and the target, the coefficient behaves like bremsstrahlung a～1/m ².     

On the Quasi-linear Elliptic PDE {-\nabla \cdot ( \nabla{u}/ \sqrt{1-| \nabla{u} |^2}) = 4 \pi \sum_k a_k \delta_{s_k}} in Physics and Geometry

It is shown that for each finite number N of Dirac measures ${\delta_{s_n}}$ supported at points ${s_n \in {\mathbb R}^3}$ with given amplitudes ${a_n \in {\mathbb R} \backslash\{0\}}$ there exists a unique real-valued function ${u \in C^{0, 1}({\mathbb R}^3)}$ , vanishing at infinity, which distributionally solves the quasi-linear elliptic partial differential equation of divergence form ${-\nabla \cdot ( \nabla{u}/ \sqrt{1-| \nabla{u} |^2}) = 4 \pi \sum_{n=1}^N a_n \delta_{s_n}}$ . Moreover, ${u \in C^{\omega}({\mathbb R}^3\backslash \{s_n\}_{n=1}^N)}$ . The result can be interpreted in at least two ways: (a) for any number N of point charges of arbitrary magnitude and sign at prescribed locations s _n in three-dimensional Euclidean space there exists a unique electrostatic field which satisfies the Maxwell-Born-Infeld field equations smoothly away from the point charges and vanishes as |s| ?? ??; (b) for any number N of integral mean curvatures assigned to locations ${s_n \in {\mathbb R}^3 \subset{\mathbb R}^{1, 3}}$ there exists a unique asymptotically flat, almost everywhere space-like maximal slice with point defects of Minkowski spacetime ${{\mathbb R}^{1, 3}}$ , having lightcone singularities over the s _n but being smooth otherwise, and whose height function vanishes as |s| ?? ??. No struts between the point singularities ever occur.     

K S 0 , Λ and ≡ production at intermediate to high pT from Au+Au collisions at \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 39, 11.5 and 7.7 GeV

We report on the p _T dependence of nuclear modification factors (R _CP) for K _S ⁰ , ??, ?? and the $\bar NK_S^0 $ ratios at mid-rapidity from Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 39, 11.5 and 7.7 GeV. At $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 39 GeV, the R _CP data show a baryon/meson separation at intermediate p _T and a suppression for K _S ⁰ for p _T up to 4.5 GeV/c; the $\bar \Lambda K_S^0 $ shows baryon enhancement in the most central collisions. However, at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 11.5 and 7.7 GeV, R _CP shows less baryon/meson separation and $\bar NK_S^0 $ shows almost no baryon enhancement. These observations indicate that the matter created in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 11.5 or 7.7 GeV might be distinct from that created at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 39 GeV.     

Structure of some FeII − III hydroxysalt green rusts (carbonate, oxalate, methanoate) from Mössbauer spectroscopy

The abundances of Fe^II and Fe^III environments within green rusts one, GR1s, that intercalate carbonate, oxalate and methanoate (formate) anions are found from Mössbauer spectra for compositions corresponding to [Fe $^{\rm II}_{6}$ Fe $^{\rm III}_{2}$ (OH)₁₆]^2?+??[CO $_{3}^{2-}$ ?5H₂O]^2???, [Fe $^{\rm II}_{4}$ Fe $^{\rm III}_{2}$ (OH)₁₂]^2?+??[CO $_{3}^{2-}$ ?3H₂O]^2???, [Fe $^{\rm II}_{6}$ Fe $^{\rm III}_{2}$ (OH)₁₆]^2?+??[C₂O $_{4}^{2-}$ ?4H₂O]^2??? and [Fe $^{\rm II}_{5}$ Fe $^{\rm III}_{2}$ (OH)₁₄]^2?+??[2HCOO^????3H₂O]^2???. These formulae correspond to orders α, β and γ where cation distances are (2 × a ₀), ( $\surd 3$ × a ₀) or a mixture of both leading to (7 × a ₀), where ratio x = {[Fe^III]/[Fe_total]} = 1/4, 1/3 and 2/7, respectively. Anion distributions within interlayers are also devised and long-range orders determined accordingly.     

Search for critical fluctuations of the proton density in central A+A collisions at maximum SPS energy

We performed an intermittency analysis of the proton density fluctuations in transverse momentum space for the collisions Si+A (A=Al,Si,P) and C+A (A=C,N) at maximum SPS energy $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ ?? 17 GeV). In our analysis we used exclusively proton tracks in the midrapidity region (|y _CM | ?? 0.75). For the Si+A system we find signature of power-law distributed density fluctuations quantified by the intermittency index ? ₂ which approaches in size the predictions of critical QCD [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 032002 (2006)]. This result supports further the recent findings of power-law fluctuations in the density of (?? ⁺, ?? ^?) pairs with invariant mass close to their production threshold for the Si+Si at the same energy, reported in [Phys. Rev. C 81, 064907 (2010)].     

Leading/nonleading charm-production asymmetry in Σ− p interactions

The asymmetry between the spectra of leading and nonleading charmed mesons that was measured in Σ^? A interactions at p _L=340 GeV/c in the WA89 experiment is described within the Model of Quark-Gluon Strings (QGS model also known as QGSM) under the assumption that there is a fraction of charmed sea quark-antiquark pairs (intrinsic charm) in an interacting hyperon. It is shown that the asymmetries between D ^?-and D ⁺-meson spectra and between D _s ^? -and D _s ⁺ -meson spectra can be approximated by QGSM curves obtained with the same string-fragmentation parameter, a ₁=10, and the same intrinsic-charm fraction, $\delta _{c,\bar c} = 0.01$ , as those that were used in describing D _s ^? /D _s ⁺ -meson asymmetry of π^? A experiments in previous studies. The asymmetry between the spectra of Λ_c and $\bar \Lambda _c $ that was measured in Σ^? A collisions at p _L=600 GeV/c in the E781 experiment is also described within this scheme. The QGSM results are compared with the results of the calculations in the next-to-leading approximation of perturbative QCD that were performed by other authors.