Distribution of valence quarks in hadrons at small x in QCD

Valence u- and d-quark distributions in nucleons and pions at small x corresponding to ? and ω Regge pole exchanges have been obtained on the basis of the QCD sum rule method.     

Anisotropic flows from initial state of a fast nucleus

We analyze azimuthal anisotropy in heavy-ion collisions related to the reaction plane in terms of the standard reggeon approach and find that it is non-zero even when the final-state interaction is switched off. This effect can be interpreted in terms of the partonic structure of the colliding nuclei. We use a Feynman diagram analysis to describe the details of this mechanism. The main qualitative features of the appropriate azimuthal correlations are discussed.     

Structure functions of nuclei for all x and Q 2

We propose a modified version of the quark cluster model to describe the structure functions of nuclei over the complete kinematical region of the variables x = Q ²/2m _N ν and Q ². The model accounts for shadowing effects at very small x and anti-shadowing in the region 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.3. The experimental observation that the ratio of structure functions F ₂ ^A /F ₂ ^D is less than unity in the region x ? 0.5 is related to the influence of multiquark clusters. The model agrees with all available data on nuclear structure fuctions for a large variety of nuclei, and can be used to make predictions for kinematical regions not yet studied experimentally.     

On the role of the final-state interactions in rare <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis> decays

The effects of final-state interactions (FSI) in hadronic B decays are investigated. The model for FSI, based on Regge phenomenology of high-energy hadronic interactions, is proposed. It is shown that this model explains the pattern of phases in matrix elements of B → ππ and B → ρρ decays. These phases play an important role for CP violation in B decays. The most precise determination of the unitarity triangle angle α from B _d → ρπ decays is performed. The relation between CP asymmetries in B → Kπ decays is discussed. It is emphasized that the large-distance FSI can explain the structure of polarizations of the vector mesons in B decays and other puzzles like a very large branching ratio of the B decay to $ \bar \Xi $ \bar \Xi _c Λ _c .     

Elliptical flows in Reggeon theory

A new mechanism for the generation of an azimuthal anisotropy of particles produced in heavy-ion collisions is analyzed. An analysis is performed within Reggeon theory and is general. The resulting effect can be interpreted in terms of the partonic structure of a fast nucleus. This mechanismcan contribute significantly to the observed value of the elliptic flow υ ₂. The dynamics in question differs significantly from a standard mechanism of the collective motion of a hadron medium after a collision.

     

Ultra-high energy neutrino-nucleon and neutrino-electron cross-sections in the standard model,in supersymmetric and superstring models

The neutrino-nucleon cross-section is calculated for energies up to 10¹⁵ GeV in the framework of the standard model assuming that the nucleon structure functionF ₂(x, Q ²) goes like ln²(a/x) asx→0. The cross-sections forv _μ e ^?(v _e e ^?)-interactions rise linearly with energy up toE _ν～10⁷ GeV and amount at this energy to ～10% of the neutrino-nucleon cross-section. The νN-cross-sections with production of supersymmetric particles in the framework of a supersymmetric model with minimal particle content are estimated. Photino-nucleon and photino-electron interactions are considered for masses of the squarks and sleptons in the range of 80–300 GeV. In superstring inspired unified models an estimation is made of the νN-interaction with an exchange of light leptoquarks.     

Central exclusive diffractive production as a spin-parity analyser: from hadrons to Higgs

We present the general rules for double-Reggeon production of objects with different spins and parities. The existing experimental information on resonance production in these central exclusive diffractive processes is discussed. The absorptive corrections are calculated and found to depend strongly on the quantum numbers of the produced states. The central exclusive diffractive production of 0 ⁺ and 0^- Higgs bosons is studied as an illustrative topical example of the use of the general rules. The signal for diffractive 0 ⁺ and 0^- Higgs production at the LHC is evaluated using, as an example, the minimal supersymmetric model, with large .Received: 7 July 2003, Revised: 8 August 2003, Published online: 24 October 2003     

Gluon shadowing and unitarity effects

New data from HERA experiment on deep inelastic scattering have been used to parametrize nucleon and Pomeron structure functions. Within the Gribov theory, the parameterizations were employed to calculate gluon shadowing for various heavy ions. The latter was compared with predictions from other models. Calculations of multiplicity reduction due to gluon shadowing for d+Au collisions at forward rapidities at √s _NN =200 GeV are in good agreement with BRAHMS data on the nuclear modification factor.     

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.     

Probabilities of rapidity gaps in high energy interactions

We show that high energy hadronic reactions which contain a rapidity gap and a hard subprocess have a specific dependence on the kinematic variables, which results in a characteristic behaviour of the survival probability of the gap. We incorporate this mechanism in a two-channel eikonal model to make an essentially parameter-free estimate of diffractive dijet production at the Tevatron, given the diffractive structure functions measured at HERA. The estimates are in surprising agreement with the measurements of the CDF collaboration. We briefly discuss the application of the model to other hard processes with rapidity gaps. Received: 16 May 2001 / Revised version: 12 July 2001 / Published online: 10 August 2001