arXiv subjects

Andrea Bianconi

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Bianconi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Secondary beams at high-intensity electron accelerator facilities

The interaction of a high-current $O$(100~\textmu A), medium energy $O$(10\,GeV) electron beam with a thick target $O$(1m) produces an overwhelming shower of standard matter particles in addition to hypothetical Light Dark Matter particles. While most of the radiation (gamma, electron/positron, and neutron) is contained in the thick target, deep penetrating particles (muons, neutrinos, and light dark matter particles) propagate over a long distance, producing high-intense secondary beams. Using sophisticated Monte Carlo simulations based on FLUKA and GEANT4, we explored the characteristics of secondary muons and neutrinos and (hypothetical) dark scalar particles produced by the interaction of Jefferson Lab 11 GeV intense electron beam with the experimental Hall-A beam dump. Considering the possible beam energy upgrade, this study was repeated for a 20 GeV CEBAF beam.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2022

Compared analysis of time-like hyperon form factors

Data on hyperon form factors recently obtained from annihilation reactions are compared each other, and to proton and neutron form factors, in terms of two kinematical variables: the transferred momentum square, $q^2$, and the modulus $P$ of the relative momentum between the outgoing baryons. They are critically discussed in terms of possible correlated structures. The present status of the time-like form factor data for baryons is described and suggestions are given on the reactions and the kinematical range where data are desirable in order to clarify the arisen questions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

New fit of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors from $e^+e^-$ colliders

The data on the proton form factors in the time-like region from the BaBar, BESIII and CMD-3 Collaborations are examined to have coherent pieces of information on the proton structure. Oscillations in the annihilation cross section, previously observed, are determined with better precision. The moduli of the individual form factors, determined for the first time, their ratio and the angular asymmetry of the annihilation reaction $e^+e^-\to\bar p p$ are discussed. Fiits of the available data on the cross section, the effective form factor, and the form factor ratio, allow to propose a description of the electric and magnetic time-like form factors from the threshold up to the highest momenta.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Soft rescattering in the timelike proton form factor within a spacetime scheme

The annihilation of a lepton pair into a proton-antiproton pair, and the reverse process, allow for a measurement of the timelike proton form factors. This work aims at studying the corrections due to direct soft interactions between the proton and the antiproton before their annihilation or after their creation. The analysis is carried on in the spacetime formalism used by us in a series of recent works on timelike FFs. In particular the effect of $\bar{p}p$ annihilation into many-meson states is considered. We expect it to determine similar real and imaginary parts for the form factor near the $\bar{p}p$ channel threshold. We also discuss the possibility that the timelike FF differ by a phase in the hadron pair production and annihilation.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

The fourth dimension of the nucleon structure: spacetime analysis of the timelike electromagnetic proton form factors

As well known, spacelike proton form factors expressed in the Breit frame may be interpreted as the Fourier transform of static space distributions of electric charge and current. In particular, the electric form factor is simply the Fourier transform of the charge distribution $F(q)=\int e^{i\vec q \cdot \vec r} ρ(r)d^3r$. We don't have an intuitive interpretation of the same level of simplicity for the proton timelike form factor appearing in the reactions $e^+e^-\leftrightarrow \bar{p}p$. However, one may suggest that in the center of mass (CM) frame, where $q_μx^μ=qt$, a timelike electric form factor is the Fourier transform $F(q) =\int e^{iqt} R(t)dt$ of a function $R(t)$ expressing how the electric properties of the forming (or annihilating) proton-antiproton pair evolve in time. Here we analyze in depth this idea, show that the functions $ρ(r)$ and $R(t)$ can be formally written as the time and space integrals of a unique correlation function depending on both time and space coordinates.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Periodic interference structures in the time-like proton form factor

An intriguing and elusive feature of the timelike hadron form factor is the possible presence of an imaginary part associated to rescattering processes. We find evidence of that in the recent and precise data on the proton timelike form factor measured by the BABAR collaboration. By plotting these data as a function of the 3-momentum of the relative motion of the final proton and antiproton, a systematic sinusoidal modulation is highlighted in the near-threshold region. Our analysis attributes this pattern to rescattering processes at a relative distance of 0.7-1.5 fm between the centers of the forming hadrons. This distance implies a large fraction of inelastic processes in $\bar{p}p$ interactions, and a large imaginary part in the related $e^+e^- \rightarrow \bar{p}p$ reaction because of unitarity.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2014

Thorotrast and in vivo thorium dioxide: numerical simulation of 30 years of alpha radiation absorption by the tissues near a large compact source

Background: The epidemiology of the slightly radioactive contrast agent named Thorotrast presents a very long latency period between the injection and the development of the related pathologies. It is an example of the more general problem posed by a radioactive internal contaminant whose effects are not noteworthy in the short term but become dramatic in the long period. A point that is still to be explored is fluctuations (in space and time) in the localized absorption of radiation by the tissues. Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation code has been developed to study over a 30 year period the daily absorption of alpha radiation by micrometer sized portions of tissue placed at a distance of 0-100 micrometers from a model source, that approximates a compact thorium dioxide source in liver or spleen whose size is larger or equal to 20 micrometers. The biological depletion of the daughter nuclei of the thorium series is taken into account. The initial condition assumes chemically purified natural thorium. Results: Most of the absorbed dose is concentrated in a 25 micrometer thick layer of tissue, adjacent to the source boundary. Fluctuations where a target region with a volume of 1 cube micrometer is hit by 3-5 alpha particles in a day or in a shorter period of time are relevant in a 1-10 micrometer thick layer of tissue adjacent to the source boundary, where their frequency is larger than the Poisson law prediction.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2011

Inserting physics associated with the transverse polarization of the quarks into a standard Monte Carlo generator, without touching the code itself

The transverse polarization of a quark is a degree of freedom that is not taken into account in the most commonly used Monte Carlo generators. For the case "e^+e^- -> hadrons" I show that it is possible to use these generators to simulate processes where the parent quark and antiquark are transversely polarized and the fragmentation process is affected by this polarization. The key point is that it is possible to obtain this without touching the generator code at all. One only works on the parton-level and hadron-level outputs that the Monte Carlo code has produced, modifying them in a correlated way. A group of techniques is presented to obtain this, matching the most obvious needs of a user (in particular: reproducing a pre-assigned final distribution). As an example these methods are applied to modify Pythia-generated events to obtain a nonzero Collins function and a consequent cos(Phi1+Phi2)-asymmetry of pion pairs.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Azimuthal asymmetries in exclusive four-particle "Drell-Yan" events, with lepton-antilepton plus proton-antiproton detection, in proton-antiproton scattering

I study hard collisions between unpolarized protons and antiprotons where a lepton-antilepton pair is detected in coincidence with a final proton-antiproton pair, and no more particles are produced, in the regime 10 GeV^2 << s << 1000 GeV^2, M > 4 GeV, q_T < 3 GeV/c. The present work is centered on azimuthal asymmetries. Because of momentum conservation, a Boer-Mulders term in the momentum distribution of a quark implies a balancing effect in the momentum distribution of some spectators. This produces azimuthal asymmetries of the final hadrons. To analyze this, I have organized a parton-level MonteCarlo generator where a standard cos(2phi)-asymmetry of the dilepton distribution is produced, thanks to a soft rescattering process between an active quark coming from a hadron and a spectator anti-diquark coming from the other hadron. This produces cos(2phi)-asymmetries of the final hadron pair. Hadron and lepton asymmetries have the same size.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Suppression of contributions from large-parton-number Fok states to T-odd distribution functions in Drell-Yan scattering involving small-x annihilating quark and antiquark

T-odd distributions like Sivers and Boer-Mulders functions are normally modeled using few-body models. In the present work I want to follow the completely opposite point of view, and study a high-energy proton-proton Drell-Yan where both the annihilating partons are wee, and one (at least) comes from a high-order Fok state of the parent proton, i.e. a state where a large number N of partons is present. I show that rescattering between active and spectator partons is modified, with suppression of those terms that are needed to build T-odd parton distributions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

At the borderline between exclusive and inclusive physics: Study of Drell-Yan fragments in the PANDA experiment (A preliminary simulation)

Here a preliminary study is presented concerning the detection of the normally unseen Drell-Yan fragments, possible in the PANDA experiment. To work as a multi-purpose apparatus, this experiment will record all the particles produced in the collisions between the antiproton beam and the target, with a rather wide acceptance. So detecting Drell-Yan dileptons with or without analyzing the other fragments is just a matter of applying cutoffs in the data analysis stage. The distribution of the products of 50,000 typical Drell-Yan events is here simulateded using a well-known generator code (Pythia-8). The resulting distributions are inserted within the PANDA acceptance region, to analyze the chances of missing some searched fragment combinations, or of confusing different sets of particles. The most interesting result is that, due to the reduced phase space, the produced states are much simpler than one could imagine: (i) almost 50 % of the events just consist of a dilepton plus a nucleon-antinucleon pair; (ii) practically all events present a nucleon-antinucleon pair; (iii) the number of light particles (photons over an infrared cutoff and pions) is pretty small. The presented simulations show that it is possible to study experimentally some, or some aspects, of the most relevant final states, with good statistics and precision.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Extraction of finite-energy contributions to the Sivers asymmetry from the analysis of exclusive proton-proton scattering

I study the effect of scalar and spin-orbit rescattering terms, in the production of a nonzero Sivers-like asymmetry in proton-proton collisions (nclusive production and Drell-Yan) at moderate center of mass energies $\sqrt{s}$ $<$ 15 GeV and transverse momentum up to 3 GeV/c. An ultrarelativistic generalization of the Glauber formalism is here used to (i) fit the scalar and spin-orbit interaction terms on proton-proton elastic scattering data, including analyzing power, (ii) transfer such information to inclusive proton-proton scattering. It is shown that the phenomenological interactions responsible for the nonzero analyzing power in proton-proton elastic scattering produce a relevant nonzero analyzing power in inclusive processes associated with proton-proton collisions. This could represent a relevant (possibly higher-twist) contribution to the Sivers asymmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

A scheme for fast exploratory simulation of azimuthal asymmetries in Drell-Yan experiments at intermediate energies. The DY_AB Monte Carlo event generator

In this note I report and discuss the physical scheme and the main approximations used by the event generator code DY\_AB. This Monte Carlo code is aimed at preliminary simulation, during the stage of apparatus planning, of Drell-Yan events characterized by azimuthal asymmetries, in experiments with moderate center of mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ $<<$ 100 GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2007

Partial restoration of factorization and universality in presence of factorization breaking interactions in hadronic hard scattering processes

Recent works have discussed the violation of factorization and universality in hadronic hard scattering processes aimed at measurements of T-odd distributions. We use simple arguments to show that it is possible to restore an approximate factorization involving T-odd contributions if the factorization breaking interactions present a frequency spectrum dominated by by a narrow and regular peak whose maximum value corresponds to a respected factorization.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Nucleon Spin Structure with hadronic collisions at COMPASS

In order to illustrate the capabilities of COMPASS using a hadronic beam, I review some of the azimuthal asymmetries in hadronic collisions, that allow for the extraction of transversity, Sivers and Boer-Mulders functions, necessary to explore the partonic spin structure of the nucleon. I also report on some Monte Carlo simulations of such asymmetries for the production of Drell-Yan lepton pairs from the collision of high-energy pions on a transversely polarized proton target.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

A simple nuclear-style mean field absorption/spin-orbit model for the Sivers function of the nucleon

I study the effect of scalar and spin-orbit absorption potentials, in the production of a nonzero Sivers-like asymmetry in hadron-hadron high energy collisions (Drell-Yan and single spin asymmetries). A basic model is built for the intrinsic state of a quark in the projectile hadron. S-wave and P-wave 2-component states are considered. Before the hard event, this quark is subject to absorbing scalar and spin-orbit local mean fields simulating interactions with a composite target. The relevant interaction terms are found to be the imaginary diagonal spin-orbit ones. Spin rotating terms, and scalar absorption, are not decisive. For $x$ $=$ 0 the found Sivers asymmetry vanishes, while at larger $x$ its qualitative dependence on $x$, $K_T$ follows the usual trends met in available models and parameterizations. Given the present-day knowledge of the considered phenomenological interactions, it is not possible to establish whether the related Sivers-like asymmetry is a leading twist one.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

T-odd distributions, breaking of long range correlations, and sudden entropy changes, in Drell-Yan high-energy processes

T-odd parton distribution functions in a Drell-Yan process are here studied by examining the evolution of the internal statistical properties of the interacting hadrons. T-odd functions are shown to be a signature of the irreversible process in which a hadronic state characterized by long range correlation properties (hadronic phase) decays to produce a cloud of independent partons (partonic phase) because of initial/final state interactions. The relevant considered variable is the rate of increase of the entropy of the hadronic system. This quantity is shown to be roughly equal to the decay rate of the hadronic state. Conditions for getting a leading twist T-odd effect are established on this basis. Last, the relevant case of a large entropy increase associated with transverse-dominated initial/final state interactions is analyzed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Effective role of unpolarized nonvalence partons in Drell-Yan single spin asymmetries

We perform numerical simulations of the Sivers effect from single spin asymmetries in Drell-Yan processes on transversely polarized protons. We consider colliding antiprotons and pions at different kinematic conditions of interest for the future planned experiments. We conventionally name "framework I" the results obtained when properly accounting for the various flavor dependent polarized valence contributions in the numerator of the asymmetry, and for the unpolarized nonvalence contribution in its denominator. We name "framework II" the results obtained when taking a suitable flavor average of the valence contributions and neglecting the nonvalence ones. We compare the two methods, also with respect to the input parametrization of the Sivers function which is extracted from data with approximations sometimes intermediate between frameworks I and II. Deviations between the two approaches are found to be small except for dilepton masses below 3 GeV. The Sivers effect is used as a test case; the arguments can be generalized to other interesting azimuthal asymmetries in Drell-Yan processes, such as the Boer-Mulders effect.

hep-ph↗