Core polarisation effects in inelastic pion-nucleus scattering

Pion-nucleus inelastic processes are analysed within the framework of Glauber theory and the possibility of expressing the effects of core polarisation by means of a renormalising constant is explored. Estimates are made of the size of the polarisation effects and the results are used to interpret the recent data of ¹⁸O(π^±, π^±)¹⁸O(2⁺.     

Charmed hadrons in nuclear medium

We study the properties of charmed hadrons in dense matter within a coupled-channel approach which accounts for Pauli blocking effects and meson self-energies in a self-consistent manner. We analyze the behaviour in this dense environment of dynamically-generated baryonic resonances as well as the open-charm meson spectral functions. We discuss the implications of the in-medium properties of open-charm mesons on the DsO(2317) and the predicted X(3700) scalar resonances.     

Prediction of narrow N* and Λ* resonances with hidden charm above 4 GeV

The interaction between various charmed mesons and charmed baryons is studied within the framework of the coupled-channel unitary approach with the local hidden gauge formalism. Several meson-baryon dynamically generated narrow N* and Λ* resonances with hidden charm are predicted with mass above 4 GeV and width smaller than 100 MeV. The predicted new resonances definitely cannot be accommodated by quark models with three constituent quarks and can be looked for in the forthcoming PANDA/FAIR experiments.     

Chiral symmetry amplitudes in the S-wave isoscalar and isovector channels and the σ, f0(980), a0(980) scalar mesons

We use a non-perturbative approach which combines coupled channel Lippmann-Schwinger equations with meson-meson potentials provided by the lowest order chiral Lagrangian. By means of one parameter, a cut off in the momentum of the loop integrals, which results of the order of 1 GeV, we obtain singularities in the S-wave amplitudes corresponding to the σ, f₀ and a₀ resonances. The ππ → ππ, phase shifts and inelasticities in the T = 0 scalar channel are well reproduced as well as the π⁰η and mass distributions in the T = 1 channel. Furthermore, the total and partial strong decay widths of the f₀ and a₀ resonances are properly reproduced. The results seem to indicate that chiral symmetry constraints at low energy and unitarity in coupled channels is the basic information contained in the meson-meson interaction below GeV.     

Charmed hadrons in nuclear medium

We study the properties of charmed hadrons in dense matter within a coupled-channel approach which accounts for Pauli blocking effects and meson self-energies in a self-consistent manner.We analyze the behaviour in this dense environment of dynamically-generated baryonic resonances as well as the open-charm meson spectral functions.We discuss the implications of the in-medium properties of open-charm mesons on the D s0 （2317） and the predicted X（3700） scalar resonances.     

Meson loops in the f0(980) and a0(980) radiative decays into ρ , ω

We calculate the radiative decay widths of the a ₀(980) and f ₀(980) scalar mesons into ργ and ωγ considering the dynamically generated nature of these scalar resonances within the realm of the chiral unitary approach. The main ingredient in the evaluation of the radiative width of the scalar mesons are the loops coming from the decay into their constituent pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar components and the subsequent radiation of the photon. The dominant diagrams with only pseudoscalar mesons in the loops are found to be convergent while the divergence of those with a vector meson in the loop are written in terms of the two-meson loop function easily regularizable. We provide results for all the possible charge channels and obtain results, with uncertainties, which differ significantly from quark loops models and some version of vector meson dominance.     

Meson-exchange currents in pion-nucleus double-charge-exchange reactions

The scattering of pions by virtual mesons in the nuclear medium is analysed and its contribution to the process of double-charge exchange in pion-nucleus scattering compared to the conventional mechanism which involves charge exchange in the scattering of the pions with two different nucleons. It is shown that at forward angles the cross section is decreased by about 50% around pion energies T ≈ 130 MeV and increased by a similar amount at energies above the resonance, T ≈ 250 MeV. At large angles the meson-exchange contribution changes the cross section appreciably and can become the dominant mechanism.