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F. Piccinini

Publications and source records attributed to F. Piccinini.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The ideal relativistic spinning gas: polarization and spectra

We study the physics of the ideal relativistic rotating gas at thermodynamical equilibrium and provide analytical expressions of the momentum spectra and polarization vector for the case of massive particles with spin 1/2 and 1. We show that the finite angular momentum J entails an anisotropy in momentum spectra, with particles emitted orthogonally to J having, on average, a larger momentum than along its direction. Unlike in the non-relativistic case, the proper polarization vector turns out not to be aligned with the total angular momentum with a non-trivial momentum dependence.

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Angular momentum conservation in heavy ion collisions at very high energy

The effects of angular momentum conservation in peripheral heavy ion collisions at very high energy are investigated. It is shown that the initial angular momentum of the quark-gluon plasma should enhance the azimuthal anisotropy of particle spectra (elliptic flow) with respect to the usual picture where only the initial geometrical eccentricity of the nuclear overlap region is responsible for the anisotropy. In hydrodynamical terms, the initial angular momentum entails a non trivial dependence of the initial longitudinal flow velocity on the transverse coordinates. This gives rise to a non-vanishing vorticity in the equations of motion which enhances the expansion rate of the supposedly created fluid compensating for the possible quenching effect of viscosity. A distinctive signature of the vorticity in the plasma is the generation of an average polarization of the emitted hadrons, for which we provide analytical expressions. These phenomena might be better observed at LHC, where the initial angular momentum density will be larger and where we envisage an increase of the elliptic flow coefficient v_2 with respect to RHIC energies.

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Photon pair production at flavour factories with per mille accuracy

We present a high-precision QED calculation, with 0.1% theoretical accuracy, of two photon production in $e^+ e^-$ annihilation, as required by more and more accurate luminosity monitoring at flavour factories. The accuracy of the approach, which is based on the matching of exact next-to-leading order corrections with a QED Parton Shower algorithm, is demonstrated through a detailed analysis of the impact of the various sources of radiative corrections to the experimentally relevant observables. The calculation is implemented in the latest version of the event generator BabaYaga, available for precision simulations of photon pair production at $e^+ e^-$ colliders of moderately high energies.

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A complete one-loop description of associated tW production at LHC and an estimate of possible genuine supersymmetric effects

We compute, in the MSSM framework, the sum of the one-loop electroweak and of the total QED radiation effects for the process $pp \to t W+X$, initiated by the parton process $bg\to tW$. Combining these terms with the existing NLO calculations of SM and SUSY QCD corrections, we analyze the overall one-loop supersymmetric effects on the partial rates of the process, obtained by integrating the differential cross section up to a final variable invariant mass. We conclude that, for some choices of the SUSY parameters and for relatively small final invariant masses, they could reach the relative ten percent level, possibly relevant for a dedicated experimental effort at LHC.

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Comparative study of various algorithms for the merging of parton showers and matrix elements in hadronic collisions

We compare different procedures for combining fixed-order tree-level matrix-element generators with parton showers. We use the case of W-production at the Tevatron and the LHC to compare different implementations of the so-called CKKW and MLM schemes using different matrix-element generators and different parton cascades. We find that although similar results are obtained in all cases, there are important differences.

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Vector-Boson Production of Light Higgs Pairs in 2-Higgs Doublet Models

At the Large Hadron Collider, we prove the feasibility to detect pair production of the lightest CP-even Higgs boson $h$ of Type II 2-Higgs Doublet Models through $q q^{(')}\to q q^{(')} {hh}$ (vector-boson fusion). We also show that, through the $hh\to 4b$ decay channel in presence of heavy-flavour tagging, further exploiting forward/backward jet sampling, one has direct access to the $λ_{Hhh}$ triple Higgs coupling -- which constrains the form of the Higgs potential.

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Matching perturbative and Parton Shower corrections to Bhabha process at flavour factories

We report on a high-precision calculation of the Bhabha process in Quantum Electrodynamics, of interest for precise luminosity determination of electron-positron colliders involved in R measurements in the region of hadronic resonances. The calculation is based on the matching of exact next-to-leading order corrections with a Parton Shower algorithm. The accuracy of the approach is demonstrated in comparison with existing independent calculations and through a detailed analysis of the main components of theoretical uncertainty, including two-loop corrections, hadronic vacuum polarization and light pair contributions. The calculation is implemented in an improved version of the event generator BABAYAGA with a theoretical accuracy of the order of 0.1%. The generator is now available for high-precision simulations of the Bhabha process at flavour factories.

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Matrix elements and Parton Shower in the event generator BABAYAGA

A new version of the event generator BABAYAGA is presented, which is based on an original matching of the Parton Shower approach with the complete exact O(alpha) matrix element for the inclusion of the QED radiative corrections to the Bhabha process at flavour factories. The theoretical accuracy of the improved generator is conservatively estimated to be 0.2%, by comparison with independent calculations. The generator is a useful tool for precise luminosity determination at flavour factories, for center of mass energies below 10 GeV.

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Matching Parton Shower and matrix elements in QED

We report on a high-precision calculation of the Bhabha process in QED, of interest for precise luminosity determination of low-energy electron-positron colliders. The calculation is based on the matching of exact next-to-leading order corrections with a Parton Shower algorithm. The structure of the algorithm (implemented in an improved version of the event generator BABAYAGA) is illustrated, with a discussion on the resulting theoretical uncertainty, of the order of 0.1 %.

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Positive Parity Scalar Mesons in the 1-2 GeV Mass Range

Based on the observation that K_0(1430) is lighter than its SU_3 counterpart, a_0(1450), we examine the possibility that these particles, together with f_0(1370), f_0(1500) and f_0(1710), fill a tetraquark recurrence of the sub-GeV 0^{++} nonet mixed with a glueball state. We find the picture to be consistent with the known data about the three f_0 resonances, more than the q-qbar hypothesis. Conventional spin-orbit coupling suggests the q-qbar, P-wave, nonet to lie around 1200 MeV. We review possible experimental indications of a scalar isovector resonance at 1.29 GeV, first observed by OBELIX in p-pbar annihilation.

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Monte Carlo studies of the jet activity in Higgs + 2 jet events

Tree-level studies have shown in the past that kinematical correlations between the two jets in Higgs+2-jet events are direct probes of the Higgs couplings, e.g. of their CP nature. In this paper we explore the impact of higher-order corrections on the azimuthal angle correlation of the two leading jets and on the rapidity distribution of extra jets. Our study includes matrix-element and shower MC effects, for the two leading sources of Higgs plus two jet events at the CERN LHC, namely vector-boson and gluon fusion. We show that the discriminating features present in the previous leading-order matrix element studies survive.

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Les Houches Physics at TeV Colliders 2005, Standard Model and Higgs working group: Summary report

This Report summarises the activities of the "SM and Higgs" working group for the Workshop "Physics at TeV Colliders", Les Houches, France, 2-20 May, 2005. On the one hand, we performed a variety of experimental and theoretical studies on standard candles (such as W, Z, and ttbar production), treating them either as proper signals of known physics, or as backgrounds to unknown physics; we also addressed issues relevant to those non-perturbative or semi-perturbative ingredients, such as Parton Density Functions and Underlying Events, whose understanding will be crucial for a proper simulation of the actual events taking place in the detectors. On the other hand, several channels for the production of the Higgs, or involving the Higgs, have been considered in some detail. The report is structured into four main parts. The first one deals with Standard Model physics, except the Higgs. A variety of arguments are treated here, from full simulation of processes constituting a background to Higgs production, to studies of uncertainties due to PDFs and to extrapolations of models for underlying events, from small-$x$ issues to electroweak corrections which may play a role in vector boson physics. The second part of the report treats Higgs physics from the point of view of the signal. In the third part, reviews are presented on the current status of multi-leg, next-to-leading order and of next-to-next-to-leading order QCD computations. Finally, the fourth part deals with the use of Monte Carlos for simulation of LHC physics.

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e+e- --> e+e- pi0 pi0 at Daphne

The production of the sigma(500) meson in gamma gamma --> pi0 pi0 is studied. In particular, the KLOE data collected during the DAPHNE run at sqrt(s)= 1 GeV are appropriate to this purpose because of the strong reduction of Kaon backgrounds.

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Impact of QED corrections to Higgs decay into four leptons at the LHC

At the LHC a precise measurement of the Higgs boson mass (if discovered), at the level of 0.1-1%, will be possible through the channel g g --> H --> 4l for a wide range of Higgs mass values. To match such an accuracy, the systematic effects induced by QED corrections need to be investigated. In the present study the calculation of O(alpha) and higher order QED corrections is illustrated as well as their impact on the Higgs mass determination, once realistic event selection criteria for charged leptons and photons are considered.

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X & Y

The 4-quark interpretation of the recently discovered X(3872) and Y(4260) resonances is briefly discussed.

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Four-Quark Mesons in Non-leptonic B Decays--Could They Resolve Some Old Puzzles?

We point out that non-leptonic B decays driven by b-->ccbar s should provide a favourable environment for the production of hidden charm diquark-antidiquark bound states that have been suggested to explain the resonances with masses around 4 GeV recently observed by BaBar and BELLE. Studying their relative abundances in non-leptonic B decays can teach us novel lessons about their structure and the strong interactions. Through their decay into psi they can provide a natural explanation of the excess of B-->psi X observed for p_psi < 1 GeV. Other phenomenological consequences are mentioned as well.

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Correlating Strangeness Enhancement and J/psi Suppression in Heavy Ion Collisions at sqrt(s)_NN = 17.2 GeV

It is shown that the strangeness enhancement and the J/psi anomalous suppression patterns observed in heavy ion collisions at top SPS energy, sqrt(s)_NN = 17.2 GeV, exhibit an interesting correlation if studied as a function of the transverse size of the interaction region. The onset of both phenomena seems to occur when the size exceeds \approx 4 fm. Strangeness enhancement is defined in terms of the strangeness undersaturation factor gamma_S and J/psi anomalous suppression in terms of the deviation from the absorption expected in a purely hadronic scenario.

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Heavy Quarkonium Physics

This report is the result of the collaboration and research effort of the Quarkonium Working Group over the last three years. It provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in heavy-quarkonium theory and experiment, covering quarkonium spectroscopy, decay, and production, the determination of QCD parameters from quarkonium observables, quarkonia in media, and the effects on quarkonia of physics beyond the Standard Model. An introduction to common theoretical and experimental tools is included. Future opportunities for research in quarkonium physics are also discussed.

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