Energy loss of fast quarks in nuclei

We report an analysis of the nuclear dependence of the yield of Drell-Yan dimuons from the 800 GeV/c proton bombardment of 2H, C, Ca, Fe, and W targets. Employing a new formulation of the Drell-Yan process in the rest frame of the nucleus, this analysis examines the effect of initial-state energy loss and shadowing on the nuclear-dependence ratios versus the incident proton's momentum fraction and dimuon effective mass. The resulting energy loss per unit path length is -dE/dz = 2.32+/-0.52+/-0.5 GeV/fm. This is the first observation of a nonzero energy loss of partons traveling in a nuclear environment.     

Long-range Coulomb forces in DIS: missed radiative corrections?

The Born approximation, one photon exchange, used for DIS (deep inelastic scattering) is subject to virtual radiative corrections which are related to the long-range Coulomb forces. They may be sizeable for heavy nuclei since Zα is not a small parameter. So far, these corrections are known only for two processes, elastic scattering and bremsstrahlung on the Coulomb field of a point-like target. While the former amplitude acquires only a phase, in the latter case also the cross-section is modified. Although the problem of Coulomb corrections for DIS on nuclei is extremely difficult, it should be challenged rather than “swept under the carpet”. The importance of these radiative corrections is questioned in the present paper. We show that, in the simplest case of a constant hadronic current, the Coulomb corrections provide a phase to the Born amplitude, therefore the cross-section remains the same. Inclusion of more realistic hadronic dynamics changes this conclusion. The example of coherent production of vector mesons off nuclei reveals large effects. So far a little progress has been made deriving lepton wave functions in the Coulomb field of an extended target. Employing available results based on the first-order approximation in Zα, we conclude that the Coulomb corrections are still important for heavy nuclei. We also consider an alternative approach for extended nuclear targets, the eikonal approximation, which we demonstrate to reproduce the known exact results for Coulomb corrections. Calculating electroproduction of vector mesons, we again arrive at a large deviation from the Born approximation. We conclude that one should accept with caution the experimental results for nuclear effects in DIS based on analyses done in the Born approximation. Received: 16 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 July 2001     

Characteristic predictions of topological soliton models

Characteristic predictions of the chiral soliton models (the Skyrme model and its extensions) are discussed. The chiral soliton model predictions of low-lying dibaryon states qualitatively agree with recent evidence for the existence of narrow dibaryons in reactions of the inelastic proton scattering on deuterons and the double photon radiation pp→ppγγ. The connection between magnetic moment operators and inertia tensors valid for arbitrary SU(2) skyrmion configurations allows us to estimate the electromagnetic decay width of some states of interest. Predictions of a different type are multibaryons with a nontrivial flavor (strangeness, charm, or bottom), which can be found, in particular, in high-energy heavy ion collisions. It is shown that the large-B multiskyrmions given by the rational map ansatz can be described within the domain-wall approximation or as a spherical bag with the energy and the baryon number density concentrated at the boundary.     

Gasless combustion of a mixture with an extremely low caloricity under heat loss conditions

The gasless combustion of a mixture with an extremely low caloric value in a cylindrical channel is numerically simulated. Because of an intense heat loss, on the surface of the reaction front emerge waves, which lead to cyclic changes in the chemical reaction rate, which acquire axial symmetry in the steady-state regime. In the ignition stage, a ring of reaction sites arises at the lateral surface of the sample. In the stage of depression, combustion persists on circular protrusions of the front, whereas a site of products is formed is the central part of the sample.     

Restriction on the neutron-antineutron oscillations from the SNO data on the deuteron stability

Restriction on the neutron-antineutron oscillation time in vacuum is obtained from the latest SNO data on the deuteron stability, τ _D > 3.01 × 10³¹ yr. Calculation performed within the quantum field theory based diagram technique reproduces satisfactorily results of the potential approach previously developed. The dependence of the obtained restriction on the total spin structure of the annihilating N[(N)\tilde]N\tilde N system and the deuteron wavefunction modifications is discussed.     

Direct photons at forward rapidities in high-energy pp collisions

We investigate direct photon production in pp collisions at the energies of RHIC, CDF and LHC, at different rapidities employing various color-dipole models. The cross section peaks at forward rapidities due to the Abelian dynamics of photon radiation. This opens new opportunities for measurement of direct photons at forward rapidities, where the background from radiative hadronic decays is strongly suppressed. Our model calculations show that photon production is sensitive to the gluon saturation effects, and strongly depends on the value of the anomalous dimension.     

Critical examination of the “field-theoretical approach” to the neutron–antineutron oscillations in nuclei

We demonstrate that so called “infrared divergences” which have been discussed in some publications during several years, do not appear within the correct treatment of analytical properties of the transition amplitudes, in particular, of the second order pole structure of the amplitudes describing the n– $\bar{n}$ transition in nuclei. Explicit calculation with the help of the Feynman diagram technique shows that the neutron–antineutron oscillations are strongly suppressed in the deuteron, as well as in heavier nuclei, in comparison with the oscillations in vacuum. General advantages and some difficulties of the field theoretical methods applied in nuclear theory are reminded for of the particular example of the parity violating np→d γ capture amplitude.     

Selected problems of baryon spectroscopy: Chiral soliton versus quark models

The inconsistency between the rigid rotator and bound state models at an arbitrary number of colors, the rigid rotator—soft rotator dilemma, and some other problems of baryon spectroscopy are discussed in the framework of the chiral soliton approach (CSA). Consequences of the comparison of CSA results with simple quark models are considered and the 1/N _c expansion for the effective strange antiquark mass is presented, as it follows from the CSA. Strong dependence of the effective strange antiquark mass on the SU(3) multiplet is required to fit the CSA predictions. The difference between “good” and “bad” diquark masses, which is about 100 MeV, is in reasonable agreement with other estimates. Multibaryons (hypernuclei) with strangeness are described and some states of interest are also predicted within the CSA. The article is published in the original.     

Jet lag effect and leading hadron production

We propose a solution for the long standing puzzle of a too steeply falling fragmentation function for a quark fragmenting into a pion, calculated by Berger [E.L. Berger, Phys. Lett. B 89 (1980) 241] in the Born approximation. Contrary to the simple anticipation that gluon resummation worsens the problem, we find good agreement with data. Higher quark Fock states slow down the quark, an effect which we call jet lag. It can be also expressed in terms of vacuum energy loss. As a result, the space–time development of the jet shrinks and the z-dependence becomes flatter than in the Born approximation. The space–time pattern is also of great importance for in-medium hadronization.     

Effect of inititiator on the molecular weight distribution in dispersion polymerization of styrene

Dispersion polymerization of styrene in the particle size range of 10 μ with lauroyl peroxide as initiator results in a double-peak molecular weight (MW) distribution. The high-MW fraction was due to emulsion polymerization. The same phenomenon also exists in AIBN and benzoyl peroxide initiation, although it is less obvious. The kinetics of the reaction for dispersion polymerization was dependent on the concentration of the dispersing agent and the nature of the initiator.