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John F. Donoghue

Publications and source records attributed to John F. Donoghue.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Final state rescattering as a contribution to $B \to ργ$

We provide a new estimate of the long-distance component to the radiative transition $B \to ργ$. Our mechanism involves the soft-scattering of on-shell hadronic products of nonleptonic $B$ decay, as in the chain $B \to ρρ\to ργ$. We employ a phenomenological fit to scattering data to estimate the effect. The specific intermediate states considered here modify the $B \to ργ$ decay rate at roughly the $5 \to 8%$ level, although the underlying effect has the potential to be larger. Contrary to other mechanisms of long distance physics which have been discussed in the literature, this yields a non-negligible modification of the $B^0 \to ρ^0 γ$ channel and hence will provide an uncertainty in the extraction of $V_{td}$. This mechanism also affects the isospin relation between the rates for $B^- \to ρ^-γ$ and $B^0 \to ρ^0 γ$ and may generate CP asymmetries at experimentally observable levels.

hep-ph↗

The Quantum Theory of General Relativity at Low Energies

In quantum field theory there is now a well developed technique, effective field theory, which allows one to obtain low energy quantum predictions in ``non-renormalizable'' theories, using only the degrees of freedom and interactions appropriate for those energies. Whether or not general relativity is truly fundamental, at low energies it is automatically described as a quantum effective field theory and this allows a consistent framework for quantum gravity at ordinary energies. I briefly describe the nature and limits of the technique.

gr-qc↗

Dispersion Relations and Effective Field Theory

The techniques of dispersion relations match very well with those of effective field theory. I describe the techniques for using dispersion relations effectively, and give some pedagogical examples to illustrate the range of applications.

hep-ph↗

Final State Interactions in the Decays of Heavy Quarks

I discuss some recent results on the systematic behavior of final state rescattering which makes use of the limit of a heavy B meson. The results suggest that soft final state interactions do not disappear in the large $m_B$ limit. Soft and hard final state phases can both contribute to CP violating asymmetries in B decay. The way that the soft phases occur is interesting theoretically and suggests the violation of local quark-hadron duality.

hep-ph↗

Systematics of soft final state interactions in $B$ decay

By using very general and well established features of soft strong interactions we show, contrary to conventional expectations, that (i) soft final state interactions (FSI) do not disappear for large $m_B$, (ii) inelastic rescattering is expected to be the main source of soft FSI phases, and (iii) flavor off-diagonal FSI are suppressed by a power of $m_B$, but are quite likely to be significant at $m_B\simeq 5$~GeV. We briefly discuss the influence of these interactions on tests of CP-violation and on theoretical calculations of weak decays.

hep-ph↗

Gravity and Effective Field Theory: A Talk for Phenomenologists

I briefly summarized some recent work which uses the techniques of effective field theory to make quantum predictions in general relativity. In contrast to conventional expectations, these are in fact well behaved. The leading quantum correction to the interaction of two heavy masses is used as a specific example.

hep-ph↗

Is $B \to X_s γ$ equal to $b \to s γ$ ? Spectator contributions to rare inclusive B decays

In $B \to X_s γ$ there are perturbative $QCD$ corrections at order $α_s$ not only to the single quark line process $ b \to s γ$ but also coming from a set of diagrams where the weak interaction vertex involves a gluon which interacts with the spectator quark in the B hadron. We discuss the impact of the full set of these diagrams. These can influence the decay rate and also the line shape of the photon spectrum as they favor a softer photon energy than does the pure spectator decay $b \to s γ$. A subset of these diagrams generate differences in the decay rates for charged and neutral B's , $B^+ \to X_s γ$ vs. $B^0 \to X_s γ$ which can be searched for experimentally, although our calculation indicates that the effect will be hard to observe. Bound state effects turn out to be required to give rise to spectator corrections to the decay rate at order $α_s$. The resulting contribution to the total rate is rather small (of about $5 \% $ ), although the effect is somewhat larger on portions of the photon spectrum.

hep-ph↗

Global anomalies and the gauge-boson equivalence theorem

We discuss the various resolutions which have been suggested in the literature for the way that the equivalence theorem can be satisfied in theories with global anomalies. We provide a model-independent proof for the resolution originally suggested in the context of a toy model by Kilgore.

hep-ph↗

On the Marriage of Chiral Perturbation Theory and Dispersion Relations

I describe the methodology for the use of dispersion relations in connection with chiral perturbation theory. The conditions for matching the two formalisms are given at $O(E^2)$ and $O(E^4)$. The two have several complementary features, as well as some limitations, and these are described by the use of examples, which include chiral sum rules related to the Weinberg sum rules, form factors, and a more complicated reaction, $γγ\rightarrow ππ$. (Invited talk presented at the International Workshop on Chiral Dynamics in Hadrons and Nuclei, Feb 6-10, 1995, Seoul, Korea)

hep-ph↗

The ideas of gravitational effective field theory

I give a very brief introduction to the use of effective field theory techniques in quantum calculations of general relativity. The gravitational interaction is naturally organized as a quantum effective field theory and a certain class of quantum corrections can be calculated.

hep-th↗

General relativity as an effective field theory: The leading quantum corrections

I describe the treatment of gravity as a quantum effective field theory. This allows a natural separation of the (known) low energy quantum effects from the (unknown) high energy contributions. Within this framework, gravity is a well behaved quantum field theory at ordinary energies. In studying the class of quantum corrections at low energy, the dominant effects at large distance can be isolated, as these are due to the propagation of the massless particles (including gravitons) of the theory and are manifested in the nonlocal/nonanalytic contributions to vertex functions and propagators. These leading quantum corrections are parameter-free and represent necessary consequences of quantum gravity. The methodology is illustrated by a calculation of the leading quantum corrections to the gravitational interaction of two heavy masses.

gr-qc↗

Leading Quantum Correction to the Newtonian Potential

I argue that the leading quantum corrections, in powers of the energy or inverse powers of the distance, may be computed in quantum gravity through knowledge of only the low energy structure of the theory. As an example, I calculate the leading quantum corrections to the Newtonian gravitational potential.

gr-qc↗

Light Quark Masses and Mixing Angles

I review the present state of our knowledge about the masses and weak mixing elements of the u, d, s quarks. This is the written version of lectures given in the 1993 Theoretical Advanced Study Institute (TASI).

hep-ph↗

Anatomy of a Weak Matrix Element

Although the weak nonleptonic amplitudes of the Standard Model are notoriously difficult to calculate, we have produced a modified weak matrix element which can be analyzed using reliable methods. This hypothetical nonleptonic matrix element is expressible in terms of the isovector vector and axialvector spectral functions $ρ_{\rm V}(s)$ and $ρ_{\rm A}(s)$, which can be determined in terms of data from tau lepton decay and $e^+ e^-$ annihilation. Chiral symmetry and the operator product expansion are used to constrain the spectral functions respectively in the low energy and the high energy limits. The magnitude of the matrix element thus determined is compared with its `vacuum saturation' estimate, and in the future may be accessible with lattice calculations.

hep-ph↗

Chiral Sum Rules and Their Phenomenology

We present an analysis of four sum rules, each based on chiral symmetry and containing the difference $ρ_{\rm V}(s) - ρ_{\rm A}(s)$ of isovector vector and axialvector spectral functions. Experimental data from tau lepton decay and electron-positron scattering identify the spectral functions over a limited kinematic domain. We summarize the status of the existing database. However, a successful determination of the sum rules requires additional content, in the form of theoretical input. We show how chiral symmetry and the operator product expansion can be used to constrain the spectral functions in the low energy and the high energy limits and proceed to perform a phenomenological test of the sum rules.

hep-ph↗