arXiv subjects

J. Segovia

Publications and source records attributed to J. Segovia.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

A diffusion Monte Carlo calculation of fully heavy pentaquarks

Using a diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm, we calculated the spectra of all possible $S$-wave fully heavy pentaquarks within the framework of the quark model. Our aim was to compare the masses of different spin-color configurations corresponding to the same spatial wavefunction for each quark composition. In particular, we computed the masses of the configuration with the maximum number of undistinguishable quarks and those of all the possible baryon+meson splittings compatible with the total number of $b$'s and $c$'s for a given pentaquark. What we found was that, in all cases, compact baryon+meson configurations had lower masses than their more symmetric counterparts. Moreover, those "molecular" associations were unstable (with larger masses) that their infinitely separated non-interacting pieces except int the case of $(ccb)(c\bar{b})$ and $(bbc)(b\bar{c})$ pentaquarks. In any case, even for unstable arrangements, the excess masses are so small ($\sim$20-60 MeV) as to make those compact molecular structures serious candidates to be experimentally detected.

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arXiv2024

A chiral quark model analysis of the $\bar KN$ interaction

In this work we analyze the $\bar KN$ interaction in the framework of a constituent quark model. The near-threshold elastic and charge exchange cross sections are evaluated, finding a good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, the possible existence of $\bar KN$ bound states are explored, finding two poles in the isoscalar $J^P=\frac{1}{2}^-$ sector that can be interpreted as the experimental $Λ(1405)$ state.

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arXiv2024

Charge distributions of pseudo-scalar and vector mesons from Dyson-Schwinger equations

We combine the Dyson-Schwinger/Bethe-Salpeter equations framework with modern numerical reconstruction methods to derive the three-dimensional and transverse two-dimensional charge distribution of an array of ground-state pseudoscalar and vector mesons from their elastic electromagnetic form factor in the low-momentum region. The charge radii obtained by averaging over the reconstructed charge distributions have been checked to be consistent with those calculated from the slope of the elastic electromagnetic form factor at zero transferred momentum. The capability of the reconstruction procedure for capturing a reliable low-distance charge distribution is discussed and argued to work down to distances of around 0.1 fm, such that it might be potentially applied to extract, {\it e.g.}, mass densities from gravitational form factors.

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arXiv2024

Exploring doubly-heavy tetraquarks in constituent-quark-model based meson-meson coupled-channels approach

The LHCb Collaboration announced in 2021 the discovery of a new tetraquark-like state, named $T_{cc}^+$, with minimum quark content $cc\bar u\bar d$, close to the $D^0D^{*+}$ threshold. This has motivated countless theoretical works trying to identify the dynamics which is responsible of the formation of such state; in particular, the one performed by us in Ref. \cite{Ortega:2022efc}, where a $D^0D^{*+}$ molecular candidate whose mass, width, scattering length and effective ranges are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements. We explore herein the possibility of having $T_{cc}^+$ partners in all doubly-heavy tetraquark sectors, considering doubly represented light antiquarks $u$, $d$ or $s$, and taking into account all possible spin-parity quantum numbers. The computation is done using a constituent-quark-model based meson-meson coupled-channels framework which has been tested many times in the last fifteen years describing conventional heavy mesons and baryons, their coupling with hadron-hadron thresholds but also in exploring its application to compact multiquark structures. The advantage of using an approach with such a relatively large history is that it allows us to make predictions because all the parameters have already been constrained from our previous works. Then, from this perspective, we present a parameter-free model-dependent prediction of doubly-heavy tetraquarks that may be partners of the discovered $T_{cc}^+$ state.

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arXiv2024

Detailed derivation of the $\mathbf{^3P_0}$ strong decay model applied to baryons

We provide an in-detail derivation through the $^3P_0$ pair creation model of the transition matrix for a baryon decaying into a meson-baryon system. The meson's analysis was conducted in Ref. [1] and we extend the same formalism to the baryon sector, focusing on the $Δ(1232)\to πN$ strong decay width because all hadrons involved in the reaction are very well established, the two hadrons in the final state are stable, avoiding further analysis, all quarks are light and so equivalent, and the decay width of the process is relatively well measured. Taking advantage of a Gaussian expansion method for the hadron's radial wave functions, the expression of the invariant matrix element can be related with the mean-square radii of hadrons involved in the decay. We use their experimental measures in such a way that only the strength of the quark-antiquark pair creation from the vacuum is a free parameter. This is then taken from our previous study of strong decay widths in the meson sector, obtaining a quite compatible result with experiment for the calculated $Δ(1232)\to πN$ decay width.

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arXiv2024

Unraveling Generalized Parton Distributions Through Lorentz Symmetry and Partial DGLAP Knowledge

Relying on the polynomiality property of generalized parton distributions, which roots on Lorentz covariance, we prove that it is enough to know them at vanishing- and low-skewness within the DGLAP region to obtain a unique extension to their entire support up to a D-term. We put this idea in practice using two methods: Reconstruction using artificial neural networks and finite-elements methods. We benchmark our results against standard models for generalized parton distributions. In agreement with the formal expectation, we obtain a very accurate reconstructions for a maximal value of the skewness as low as 20% of the longitudinal momentum fraction. This result might be relevant for reconstruction of generalized parton distribution from experimental and lattice QCD data, where computations are for now, restricted in skewness.

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arXiv2024

Heavy multiquark systems as clusters of smaller units -- a diffusion Monte Carlo calculation --

Multiquark systems appear less frequently than mesons and baryons despite the enormous world-wide experimental effort that has been made during the last two decades. In this work, we will propose a possible explanation for that fact, restricting ourselves to the case of sets including only $c$ and $\bar{c}$ quarks. We will show that those multiquarks can be thought as different combinations of smaller units that associate together to produce colorless assemblies with a definite value of the total spin. For instance, for the $cccccc$ hexaquark with $S=0$, we have three possibilities: a set of six undistinguishable $c$ quarks, an association of two $ccc$ baryons, or a set of three $cc$ diquarks close together. This means we can have three different values for the mass of an open-charm hexaquark with $S=0$. Using the diffusion Monte Carlo method, we calculate all possible combinations compatible with tetraquark $cc \bar{c} \bar{c}$, pentaquark $cccc \bar{c}$, open-charm $cccccc$ and hidden-charm $ccc \bar{c} \bar{c} \bar{c}$ hexaquark structures with the minimum value of total spin ($S=0$ or $S=1/2$). We consider compact structures with radial wave functions including interactions between all the quarks in the cluster. We find that, in all cases, the mass of the multiquark decreases with the number of small units that conform the set of quarks. For instance, an open charm hexaquark made up of three diquarks has a smaller mass than a set of six of $c$ undistinguishable units. When the pieces that conform the multiquark are themselves colorless with a definite value of the total spin, the cluster splits into those smaller units that separate infinitely from each other.

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arXiv2024

An assessment of $\mathbfΥ$-states above $\mathbf{B\bar B}$-threshold using a constituent-quark-model based meson-meson coupled-channels framework

The $Υ(10753)$ state has been recently observed by the Belle and Belle~II collaborations with enough global significance to motivate an assessment of the high-energy spectrum usually predicted by any reasonable \emph{naïve} quark model. In the framework of a constituent quark model which satisfactorily describes a wide range of properties of conventional hadrons containing heavy quarks, the quark-antiquark and meson-meson degrees of freedom have been incorporated with the goal of elucidating the influence of open-bottom meson-meson thresholds into the $Υ$ states whose masses are within the energy range of the $Υ(10753)$'s mass. It is well known that such effects could be relevant enough as to generate dynamically new states and thus provide a plausible explanation of the nature of the $Υ(10753)$ state. In particular, we have performed a coupled-channels calculation in which the bare states $Υ(4S)$, $Υ(3D)$, $Υ(5S)$ and $Υ(4D)$ are considered together with the threshold channels $B\bar{B}$, $B\bar{B}^\ast$, $B^\ast \bar{B}^\ast$, $B_s\bar{B}_s$, $B_s\bar{B}_s^\ast$ and $B_s^\ast \bar{B}_s^\ast$. Among the results we have described, the following conclusions are of particular interest: (i) a richer complex spectrum is gained when thresholds are present and bare bound states are sufficiently non-relativistic; (ii) those poles obtained in the complex energy plane do not have to appear as simple peaks in the relevant cross sections; and (iii) the $Υ(10750)$ candidate is interpreted as a dressed hadronic resonance whose structure is an equally mixture of a conventional $b\bar b$ state and $B^\ast \bar B^\ast$ molecule.

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arXiv2023

An algebraic model to study the internal structure of pseudo-scalar mesons with heavy-light quark content

The internal structure of all lowest-lying pseudo-scalar mesons with heavy-light quark content is studied in detail using an algebraic model that has been applied recently, and successfully, to the same physical observables of pseudo-scalar and vector mesons with hidden-flavor quark content, from light to heavy quark sectors. The algebraic model consists on constructing simple and evidence-based \emph{ansätze} of the meson's Bethe-Salpeter amplitude (BSA) and quark's propagator in such a way that the Bethe-Salpeter wave function (BSWF) can then be readily computed algebraically. Its subsequent projection onto the light front yields the light front wave function (LFWF) whose form allows us a simple access to the valence-quark Parton Distribution Amplitude (PDA) by integrating over the transverse momentum squared. We exploit our current knowledge of the PDAs of lowest-lying pseudo-scalar heavy-light mesons to compute their Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) through the overlap representation of LFWFs. From these three dimensional knowledge, different limits/projections lead us to deduce the related Parton Distribution functions (PDFs), Electromagnetic Form Factors (EFFs), and Impact parameter space GPDs (IPS-GPDs). When possible, we make explicit comparisons with available experimental results and earlier theoretical predictions.

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arXiv2023

Unraveling the nature of the novel $\mathbf{T_{cs}}$ and $\mathbf{T_{c\bar s}}$ tetraquark candidates

Using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies $7$, $8$, and $13$ TeV, with a total integrated luminosity of $9\,\text{fb}^{-1}$, the LHCb collaboration has performed amplitude analyses of the $B^+\to D^+D^-K^+$, $B^+\to D^- D_s^+ π^+$ and $B^0\to \bar{D}^0 D_s^+ π^-$ decays, observing that new $T_{cs}$ and $T_{c\bar s}$ resonances are required in order to explain the experimental data. These signals could be the first observation of tetraquark candidates that do not contain a heavy quark-antiquark pair; in fact, they consist of four different flavours of quarks, one of which is a doubly charged open-charm state. We present herein an analysis of the $T_{cs}$ and $T_{c\bar s}$ states, which is an extension of our recently published study of similar $T_{cc}^+$ exotic candidates. Our theoretical framework is a constituent-quark-model-based coupled-channels calculation of $qq^\prime \bar s \bar c$ and $cq\bar s\bar q^{\prime}$ tetraquark sectors for $T_{cs}$ and $T_{c\bar s}$ structures, respectively. We explore the nature, and pole position, of the singularities that appear in the scattering matrix with spin-parity quantum numbers: $J^P=0^\pm$, $1^\mp$, and $2^\pm$. The constituent quark model has been widely used in the heavy quark sector, and thus all model parameters are already constrained from previous works. This makes our predictions robust and parameter-free. We find many singularities in the solution of various scattering-matrix problems which are either virtual states or resonances, but not bound states. Some of them fit well with the experimental observations of the spin-parity, mass and width of $T_{cs}$ and $T_{c\bar s}$ candidates, and thus tentative assignments are made; however, with caution, because the experimental Breit-Wigner parameters are related to the pole characteristics.

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arXiv2023

Light-front Wave Functions of Vector Mesons in an Algebraic Model

Inspired by the recent development of an algebraic model which provides an adequate and unified description of the internal structure of the lowest-lying pseudo-scalar mesons, belonging both to the light quarks sector and to the one of heavy quarks, we perform its first extension to the vector-meson case. The algebraic model describes meson's structure in terms of the spectral density function that appears in a Nakanishi integral representation of the covariant quark-antiquark bound-state amplitude, \emph{i.e.}, the Bethe-Salpeter amplitude. We compute the leading-twist light-front wave functions of the $ρ(770)$, $ϕ(1020)$, $J/ψ$ and $Υ(1S)$ mesons through their connection with the parton distribution amplitudes. Among the results we present, the following are of particular interest: (i) transverse light-front wave functions can be obtained algebraically from the corresponding parton distribution amplitudes, whereas that is not the case for longitudinal light-front wave functions, which requires an intermediate step where a spectral density function must be derived from the particular parton distribution amplitude; (ii) the derived spectral density functions show marked differences between light and heavy vector mesons, the latter being narrower as compared to the former; these are also non-positive definite, although the integral over the entire curve is larger than zero as expected; and (iii) the longitudinal and transverse light-front wave functions of vector mesons with light quark content exhibit steep $x$- and $p_\perp^2$-dependence, while those of the $J/ψ$ and $Υ(1S)$ mesons are characterized by narrow distributions in the $x$-range but, comparatively, much more gradual fall-offs with respect to the $p_\perp^2$-range depicted.

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arXiv2022

Kaon spectrum revisited

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has recently approved a world-unique QCD facility in which an updated version of the external M2 beam line of the CERN SPS in conjunction with a universal spectrometer of the COMPASS experiment is used. One of its main goals is to use highly intense and energetic kaon beams to map out the complete spectrum of excited kaons with an unprecedented precision; having a broad impact not only on low-energy QCD phenomenology, but also on many high-energy particle processes where excited kaons appear, such as the study of CP violation in heavy-meson decays studied at LHCb and Belle~II. In support of the experimental effort, the kaon spectrum is computed herein using a constituent quark model which has been successfully applied to a wide range of hadronic observables, from light to heavy quark sectors, and thus the model parameters are completely constrained. The model's prediction can be used as a template against which to compare the already collected data and future experimental findings, in order to distinguish between conventional and exotic kaon states. We also compare our results with those available in the literature in order to provide some general statements, common to all calculations.

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arXiv2022

The $\mathbf{X(3872)}$'s excitation and its connection with production at hadron colliders

The LHCb collaboration has found that the production rate of $X(3872)$ in proton-proton collisions decreases as final state particle multiplicity increases. Moreover, the ALICE experiment at CERN has observed that the number of deuterons produced increases with multiplicity, a behavior that is qualitatively different from that of the $X(3872)$. These experimental findings may point to a compact structure for the $X(3872)$ or, at least, that its hadronization could proceed through a charm-anticharm core. We have recently used a diffusion Monte Carlo method to solve the many-body Schrödinger equation that describes the $X(3872)$ as a $c \bar c q \bar q$ tetraquark system with quantum numbers $I^G(J^{PC})=0^+(1^{++})$ and $1^-(1^{++})$. According to our structural analysis, the quark--(anti-)quark correlations resemble light-meson--heavy-meson molecules of type $ωJ/ψ$ and $ρJ/ψ$, rather than the most extended $D\bar D^{\ast}$ interpretation. It was argued that this fact may be the key to make compatible the molecular features of the $X(3872)$ with its production observables. The same formalism allows us to compute the first color excited $c \bar c q \bar q$ tetraquark state with either $I^G(J^{PC})=0^+(1^{++})$ or $1^-(1^{++})$. A bound-state is found in each channel, their masses are around 4.0 GeV which is an energy region where many new exotic candidates have been collected by the Particle Data Group. Concerning their structural properties, these states cluster in a compact diquark-antidiquark arrangement which matches perfectly with a so-called Born-Oppenheimer tetraquark configuration. The promptly production rates of these states in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions should fall off equal to or even faster than those of the $X(3872)$.

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arXiv2022

Towards the discovery of novel $B_c$ states: radiative and hadronic transitions

The properties of the $B_c$-meson family ($c\bar b$) are still not well determined experimentally because the specific mechanisms of formation and decay remain poorly understood. Unlike heavy quarkonia, i.e. the hidden heavy quark-antiquark sectors of charmonium ($c\bar c$) and bottomonium ($b\bar b$), the $B_c$-mesons cannot annihilate into gluons and they are, consequently, more stable. The excited $B_c$ states, lying below the lowest strong-decay $BD$-threshold, can only undergo through radiative decays and hadronic transitions to the $B_c$ ground state, which then decays weakly. As a result of this, a rich spectrum of narrow excited states below the $BD$-threshold appear, whose total widths are two orders of magnitude smaller than those of the excited levels of charmonium and bottomonium. In a different article, we determined bottom-charmed meson masses using a non-relativistic constituent quark model which has been applied to a wide range of hadron physical observables, and thus the model parameters are completely constrained. Herein, continuing to our study of the $B_c$ sector, we calculate the relevant radiative decay widths and hadronic transition rates between $c\bar b$ states which are below $BD$-threshold. This shall provide the most promising signals for discovering excited $B_c$ states that are below the lowest strong-decay $BD$-threshold. Finally, our results are compared with other models to measure the reliability of the predictions and point out differences.

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arXiv2021

Accessing the pion 3D structure at US and China Electron-Ion Colliders

We present in this letter the first systematic feasibility study of accessing generalised parton distributions of the pion at an electron-ion collider through deeply virtual Compton scattering at next-to-leading order. It relies on a state-of-the-art model, able to fulfil by construction all the theoretical constraints imposed on generalised parton distributions. Strikingly, our analysis shows that quarks and gluons interfere destructively and that gluon dominance could be spotted by a sign change of the DVCS beam spin asymmetry.

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arXiv2021

The structure of the X(3872) as explained by a Diffusion Monte Carlo calculation

Two decades after its unexpected discovery, the properties of the $X(3872)$ exotic resonance are still under intense scrutiny. In particular, there are doubts about its nature as an ensemble of mesons or having any other internal structure. We use a Diffusion Monte Carlo method to solve the many-body Schrödinger equation that describes this state as a $c \bar c n \bar n$ ($n=u$ or $d$ quark) system. This approach accounts for multi-particle correlations in physical observables avoiding the usual quark-clustering assumed in other theoretical techniques. The most general and accepted pairwise Coulomb$\,+\,$linear-confining$\,+\,$hyperfine spin-spin interaction, with parameters obtained by a simultaneous fit of around 100 masses of mesons and baryons, is used. The $X(3872)$ contains light quarks whose masses are given by the mechanism responsible of the dynamical breaking of chiral symmetry. The same mechanisms gives rise to Goldstone-boson exchange interactions between quarks that have been fixed in the last 10-20 years reproducing hadron, hadron-hadron and multiquark phenomenology. It appears that a meson-meson molecular configuration is preferred but, contrary to the usual assumption of $D^0\bar{D}^{\ast0}$ molecule for the $X(3872)$, our formalism produces $ωJ/ψ$ and $ρJ/ψ$ clusters as the most stable ones, which could explain in a natural way all the observed features of the $X(3872)$.

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arXiv2020

Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations of fully-heavy (multiquark) bound states

We use a diffusion Monte Carlo method to solve the many-body Schrödinger equation describing fully-heavy tetraquark systems. This approach allows to reduce the uncertainty of the numerical calculation at the percent level, accounts for multi-particle correlations in the physical observables, and avoids the usual quark-clustering assumed in other theoretical techniques applied to the same problem. The interaction between particles was modeled by the most general and accepted potential, i.e. a pairwise interaction including Coulomb, linear-confining and hyperfine spin-spin terms. This means that, in principle, our analysis should provide some rigorous statements about the mass location of the all-heavy tetraquark ground states, which is particularly timely due to the very recent observation made by the LHCb collaboration of some enhancements in the invariant mass spectra of $J/ψ$-pairs. Our main results are: (i) the $cc\bar c\bar c$, $cc\bar b\bar b$ ($bb\bar c\bar c$) and $bb\bar b \bar b$ lowest-lying states are located well above their corresponding meson-meson thresholds; (ii) the $J^{PC}=0^{++}$ $cc\bar c\bar c$ ground state with preferred quark-antiquark pair configurations is compatible with the enhancement(s) observed by the LHCb collaboration; (iii) our results for the $cc\bar c\bar b$ and $bb\bar c\bar b$ sectors seem to indicate that the $0^+$ and $1^+$ ground states are almost degenerate with the $2^+$ located around $100\,\text{MeV}$ above them; (iv) smaller mass splittings for the $cb\bar c\bar b$ system are predicted, with absolute mass values in reasonable agreement with other theoretical works; (v) the $1^{++}$ $cb\bar c\bar b$ tetraquark ground state lies at its lowest $S$-wave meson-meson threshold and it is compatible with a molecular configuration.

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arXiv2020

Diquark Correlations in Hadron Physics: Origin, Impact and Evidence

The last decade has seen a marked shift in how the internal structure of hadrons is understood. Modern experimental facilities, new theoretical techniques for the continuum bound-state problem and progress with lattice-regularised QCD have provided strong indications that soft quark+quark (diquark) correlations play a crucial role in hadron physics. For example, theory indicates that the appearance of such correlations is a necessary consequence of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, viz. a corollary of emergent hadronic mass that is responsible for almost all visible mass in the universe; experiment has uncovered signals for such correlations in the flavour-separation of the proton's electromagnetic form factors; and phenomenology suggests that diquark correlations might be critical to the formation of exotic tetra- and penta-quark hadrons. A broad spectrum of such information is evaluated herein, with a view to consolidating the facts and therefrom moving toward a coherent, unified picture of hadron structure and the role that diquark correlations might play.

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