arXiv subjects

Misak M. Sargsian

Publications and source records attributed to Misak M. Sargsian.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Towards observation of three-nucleon short-range correlations in high Q^2 A(e, e')X reactions

We present a detailed study of kinematical and dynamical conditions necessary for probing highly elusive three-nucleon short range correlations~(3N-SRCs) in nuclei through inclusive electron scattering. The kinematic requirements that should be satisfied in order to isolate 3N-SRCs in inclusive processes are derived. We demonstrate that a sequence of two short-range NN interactions represents the main mechanism for 3N-SRCs in inclusive processes. Within this mechanism we predict a quadratic dependence of the inclusive cross section ratios of nuclei to $^3$He in the 3N-SRC region to the same ratio measured in 2N-SRC domain. The extended analysis of the available data satisfying the necessary 3N-SRC kinematical conditions is presented. This analysis provides tantalizing signatures of scaling associated with the onset of 3N-SRC dominance. The same data are also consistent with the prediction of the quadratic relation between the ratios measured in the 3N and 2N-SRC regions for nuclei ranging $4 \le A \le 197$. This agreement made it possible to extract $a_3(A)$, the probability of 3N-SRCs relative to the A=3 nucleus. We find $a_3(A)$ to be significantly larger in magnitude than the analogous parameter, $a_2(A)$, for 2N-SRCs.

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arXiv2023

Possible Universal Limit for Valence Parton Distributions

We report the observation of the existence of a possible universal limit for valence parton distributions that should exist once partonic degrees of freedom are relevant for high energy scattering from strongly interacting bound systems like a nucleon, meson or a few nucleon system at very short distances. Our observation is based on the notion that the Bjorken x weighted valence parton distribution function has a peak, $x_p$, that characterizes the average momentum fraction carried out by the valence quarks in the system. Within the residual mean-field model of the valence quark distribution we found that $x_p$ has an upper limit: $x_p \leq {1\over 2(n_V-1)}$, where $n_V$ is the number of valence quarks which can be considered in the cluster embedded in the strongly interacting environment of the bound system. The existence of such a limit imposes a new constraint on choosing the starting resolution scale $Q_0$ for PDFs. Our prediction for the nucleon is that $x_p\mid_{Q\to Q_0}\le{1\over 4}$, which is in agreement with all the available valence PDFs that employ the standard approach for selecting starting $Q_0$. We also demonstrate how the existence of this limit can be used to check the onset of quark-clusters in short range nucleon correlations in nuclei.

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arXiv2022

A New Structure in the Deuteron

We demonstrate that a paradigm shift from considering the deuteron as a system of bound proton and neutron to considering it as a pseudo-vector system in which we observe proton and neutron, results in a possibility of probing a new "incomplete" P-state like structure on the light-front (LF), at extremely large internal momenta, which can be achieved in high energy transfer electro-disintegration of the deuteron. Investigating the deuteron on the light-front, where the vacuum-fluctuations are suppressed, we found that this new structure, together with conventional S- and D- states, is a leading order in transferred energy of the reaction, thus it is not suppressed on the light-front.The incompleteness of the observed P-state results in a violation of angular condition which can happen only if deuteron contains non-nucleonic structures such as $Δ$$Δ$, $N^*N$ or hidden color components. We demonstrate that experimentally verifiable signatures of "incomplete" P-states are angular anisotropy of LF momentum distribution of the nucleon in the deuteron as well as an enhancement of the tensor polarization strength beyond the S- and D- wave predictions at large internal momenta in the deuteron.

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arXiv2021

A Novel Feature of Valence Quark Distributions in Hadrons

Examining the evolution of the maximum of valence quark distribution weighted by Bjorken x, $h(x,t)\equiv xq_V(x,t)$, we observe that $h(x,t)$ at the peak should become a one parameter function; $h(x_p,t)=Φ(x_p(t))$, where $x_p$ is the position of the peak and $t= \log{Q^2}$. This observation is used to derive a new model independent relation which connects the partial derivative of the valence parton distribution functions (PDFs) in $x_p$ to the QCD evolution equation through the $x_p$-derivative of the logarithm of the function $Φ(x_p(t))$. A numerical analysis of this relation using empirical PDFs results in a observation of the exponential form of the $Φ(x_p(t)) = h(x_p,t) = Ce^{D x_p(t)}$ for leading to next-to-next leading order approximations of PDFs for the all $Q^2$ range covering four orders in magnitude. The exponent, $D$, of the observed "height-position" correlation function converges with the increase of the order of approximation. This result holds for all PDF sets considered. A similar relation is observed also for pion valence quark distribution, indicating that the obtained relation may be universal for any non-singlet partonic distribution. The observed "height - position" correlation is used also to indicate that no finite number exchanges can describe the analytic behavior of the valence quark distribution at the position of the peak at fixed $Q^2$.

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arXiv2019

Searching for three-nucleon short-range correlations

Three nucleon short range correlations~(SRCs) are one of the most elusive structures in nuclei. Their observation and the subsequent study of their internal makeup will have a significant impact on our understanding of the dynamics of super-dense nuclear matter which exists at the cores of neutron stars. We discuss the kinematic conditions and observables that are most favorable for probing 3N-SRCs in inclusive electro-nuclear processes and make a prediction for a quadratic dependence of the probabilities of finding a nucleon in 2N- and 3N- SRCs. We demonstrate that this prediction is consistent with the limited high energy experimental data available, suggesting that we have observed, for the first time, 3N-SRCs in electro-nuclear processes. Our analysis enables us to extract $a_3(A,Z)$, the probability of finding 3N-SRCs in nuclei relative to the A=3 system.

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arXiv2019

QCD Evolution of Superfast Quarks

Recent high-precision measurements of nuclear deep inelastic scattering at high x and moderate 6 < Q$^2$ < 9GeV$^2$ give a rare opportunity to reach the quark distributions in the {\it superfast} region, in which the momentum fraction of the nucleon carried by its constituent quark is larger than the total fraction of the nucleon at rest, x>1. We derive the leading-order QCD evolution equation for such quarks with the goal of relating the moderate-Q$^2$ data to the two earlier measurements of superfast quark distributions at large 60 < Q$^2$ < 200~GeV$^2$. Since the high-Q$^2$ measurements gave strongly contradictory estimates of the nuclear effects that generate superfast quarks, relating them to the high-precision, moderate-Q$^2$ data through QCD evolution allows us to clarify this longstanding issue. Our calculations indicate that the moderate-Q$^2$ data at $x\lesssim 1.05$ are in better agreement with the high-Q$^2$ data measured in (anti)neutrino-nuclear reactions which require substantial high-momentum nuclear effects in the generation of superfast quarks. Our prediction for the high-Q$^2$ and x>1.1 region is somewhat in the middle of the neutrino-nuclear and muon-nuclear scattering data.

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arXiv2018

Electron scattering from a deeply bound nucleon on the light-front

We calculate the cross section of the electron scattering from a bound nucleon within light-front approximation. The advantage of this approximation is the possibility of systematic account for the off-shell effects which become essential in high energy electro-nuclear processes aimed at probing the nuclear structure at small distances. We derive a new dynamical parameter which allows to control the extent of the "off-shellness" of electron - bound-nucleon electromagnetic current for different regions of momentum transfer and initial light-cone momenta of the bound nucleon. The derived cross section is compared with the results of other approaches in treating the off-shell effects in electron-nucleon scattering.

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arXiv2017

Hard Photodisintegration of 3He into pd pair

The recent measurements of high energy photodisintegration of the $^3He$ nucleus to the $pd$ pair at $90^0$ center of mass demonstrated an energy scaling consistent with the quark counting rule with unprecedentedly large exponent of $s^{-17}$. To understand the underlying mechanism of this process we extended the theoretical formalism of hard rescattering mechanism to calculate the $γ^3He\rightarrow pd$ reaction. In HRM the incoming high energy photon strikes a quark from one of the nucleons in the target which subsequently undergoes hard rescattering with the quarks from the other nucleons generating hard two-body system in the final state of the reaction. Within the HRM we derived the parameter free expression for the differential cross section of the reaction, which is expressed through the $^3He\rightarrow pd$ transition spectral function, cross section of hard $pd\rightarrow pd$ scattering and the effective charge of the quarks being interchanged during the hard rescattering process. The numerical estimates of all these factors resulted in the magnitude of the cross section which is surprisingly in a good agreement with the data.

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arXiv2016

Multi-Nucleon Short-Range Correlation Model for Nuclear Spectral Functions: I. Theoretical Framework

We develop a theoretical approach for nuclear spectral functions at high missing momenta and removal energies based on the multi-nucleon short-range correlation~(SRC) model. The approach is based on the effective Feynman diagrammatic method which allows to account for the relativistic effects important in the SRC domain. In addition to two-nucleon SRC with center of mass motion we derive also the contribution of three-nucleon SRCs to the nuclear spectral functions. The latter is modeled based on the assumption that 3N SRCs are a product of two sequential short range NN interactions. This approach allowed us to express the 3N SRC part of the nuclear spectral function as a convolution of two NN SRCs. Thus the knowledge of 2N SRCs allows us to model both two- and three-nucleon SRC contributions to the spectral function. The derivations of the spectral functions are based on the two theoretical frameworks in evaluating covariant Feynman diagrams: In the first, referred as virtual nucleon approximation, we reduce Feynman diagrams to the time ordered noncovariant diagrams by evaluating nucleon spectators in the SRC at their positive energy poles, neglecting explicitly the contribution from vacuum diagrams. In the second approach, referred as light-front approximation, we formulate the boost invariant nuclear spectral function in the light-front reference frame in which case the vacuum diagrams are generally suppressed and the bound nucleon is described by its light-cone variables such as momentum fraction, transverse momentum and invariant mass.

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arXiv2016

High x Structure Function of the Virtually Free Neutron

The pole extrapolation method is applied to the semi-inclusive inelastic electron scattering off the deuteron with tagged spectator protons to extract the high-x structure function of the neutron. This approach is based on the extrapolation of the measured cross sections at different momenta of the spectator proton to the non-physical pole of the bound neutron in the deuteron. The advantage of the method is in the possibility of suppression of the nuclear effects in a maximally model-independent way. The neutron structure functions obtained in this way demonstrate a surprising x dependence at $x\ge 0.6$ and $1.6 \leq Q^2 \leq 3.38$ GeV$^2$, indicating a possible rise of the neutron to proton structure function ratio. If the observed rise is valid in the true deep inelastic region then it may indicate new dynamics in the generation of high-x quarks in the nucleon. One such mechanism we discuss is the possible dominance of short-range isosinglet quark-quark correlations that can enhance the d-quark distribution in the proton.

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arXiv2015

Probing superfast quarks in nuclei through dijet production at the LHC

We investigate dijet production from proton-nucleus collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as a means for observing superfast quarks in nuclei with Bjorken $x>1$. Kinematically, superfast quarks can be identified through directly measurable jet kinematics. Dynamically, their description requires understanding several elusive properties of nuclear QCD, such as nuclear forces at very short distances, as well as medium modification of parton distributions in nuclei. In the present work, we develop a model for nuclear parton distributions at large $x$ in which the nuclear dynamics at short distance scales are described by two- and three-nucleon short range correlations (SRCs). Nuclear modifications are accounted for using the color screening model, and an improved description of the EMC effect is reached by using a structure function parametrization that includes higher-twist contributions. We apply QCD evolution at the leading order to obtain nuclear parton distributions in the kinematic regime of the LHC, and based on the obtained distributions calculate the cross section for dijet production. We find not only that superfast quarks can be observed at the LHC, but also that they provide sensitivity to the practically unexplored three-nucleon SRCs in nuclei. Additionally, the LHC can extend our knowledge of the EMC effect to large $Q^2$ where higher-twist effects are negligible.

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arXiv2014

Inclusive and Exclusive Scatterings from Tensor Polarized Deuteron

The possibility of using a tensor polarized deuteron target in electroproduction reactions creates new opportunities for studying different phenomena related to the short-range hadronic and nuclear physics. The use of tensor polarized deuteron allows to isolate smaller than average inter-nucleon distances for the bound two-nucleon system. In this report we consider several of high $Q^2$ reactions which are particularly sensitive to the short-range two-nucleon configurations in the deuteron. The one is the relativistic dynamics of electron-bound-nucleon scattering which can be studied in both inclusive and exclusive reactions, other is the strong final state interaction in close proximity of two nucleons that can be used as a sensitive probe for color-transparency phenomena.

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arXiv2014

New Properties of High Momentum Distribution of Nucleons in Asymmetric Nuclei

Based on the recent experimental observations of the dominance of tensor interaction in the ~250-600~MeV/c momentum range of nucleons in nuclei, the existence of two new properties for high-momentum distribution of nucleons in asymmetric nuclei is suggested. The first property is the approximate scaling relation between proton and neutron high-momentum distributions weighted by their relative fractions in the nucleus. The second property is the inverse proportionality of the strength of the high-momentum distribution of protons and neutrons to the same relative fractions. Based on these two properties the high-momentum distribution function for asymmetric nuclei has been modeled and demonstrated that it describes reasonably well the high-momentum characteristics of light nuclei. However, the most surprising result is obtained for neutron rich nuclei with large A, for which a substantial relative abundance of high-momentum protons as compared to neutrons is predicted. For example, the model predicts that in Au the relative fraction of protons with momenta above $k_{F} \sim 260$~MeV/c is 50% more than that of neutrons. Such a situation may have many implications for different observations in nuclear physics related to the properties of a proton in neutron rich nuclei.

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arXiv2013

Protons in High Density Neutron Matter

We discuss the possible implication of the recent predictions of two new properties of high momentum distribution of nucleons in asymmetric nuclei for neutron star dynamics. The first property is about the approximate scaling relation between proton and neutron high momentum distributions weighted by their relative fractions ($x_p$ and $x_n$) in the nucleus. The second is the existence of inverse proportionality of the high momentum distribution strength of protons and neutrons to $x_{p/n}$. Based on these predictions we model the high momentum distribution functions for asymmetric nuclei and demonstrate that it describes reasonably well the high momentum characteristics of light nuclei. We also extrapolate our results to heavy nuclei as well as infinite nuclear matter and calculate the relative fractions of protons and neutrons with momenta above $k_{F}$. Our results indicate that for neutron stars starting at {\em three} nuclear saturation densities the protons with $x_p = {1\over 9}$ will populate mostly the high momentum tail of the momentum distribution while only $2\%$ of the neutrons will do so. Such a situation may have many implications for different observations of neutron stars which we discuss.

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arXiv2013

Probing Vector Mesons in Deuteron Break-up Reactions

We study vector meson photoproduction from the deuteron at high momentum transfer, accompanied by break-up of the deuteron into a proton and neutron. The large $-t$ involved allows one of the nucleons to be identified as struck, and the other as a spectator to the $γN\rightarrow VN$ subprocess. Corrections to the plane wave impulse approximation involve final state interactions (FSIs) between the struck nucleon or the vector meson, either of which is energetic, with the slow spectator nucleon. In this regime, the eikonal approximation is valid, so is employed to calculate the cross-section for the reaction. Due to the high-energy nature of the FSIs, the maxima of the rescatterings are located at nearly transverse directions of the fast hadrons. This results in two peaks in the angular distribution of the spectator nucleon, each corresponding to either the $V$-$N$ or the $p$-$n$ rescattering. The $V$-$N$ peak provides a new means of probing the $V$-$N$ interaction. This is checked for near-threshold $ϕ$ and $J/Ψ$ photoproduction reactions which demonstrate that the $V$-$N$ peak can be used to extract the largely unknown amplitudes of $ϕ$-$N$ and $J/Ψ$-$N$ interactions. Two additional phenomena are observed when extending the calculation of $J/Ψ$ photoproduction to the sub-threshold and high-energy domains. In the first case we observe overall suppression of FSI effects due to a restricted phase space for sub-threshold production in the rescattering amplitude. In the second, we observe cancellation of the $V$-$N$ rescattering amplitudes for vector mesons produced off of different nucleons in the deuteron.

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arXiv2012

Off-Fermi Shell Nucleons in Superdense Asymmetric Nuclear Matter

Recent observations of the strong dominance of proton-neutron (pn) relative to pp and nn short-range correlations (SRCs) in nuclei indicate on possibility of unique new condition for asymmetric high density nuclear matter, in which the pp and nn interactions are suppressed while the pn interactions are enhanced due to tensor interaction. We demonstrate that for sufficiently asymmetric case and high densities the momentum distribution of the smaller p-component is strongly deformed with protons increasingly populating the momentum states beyond the Fermi surface. This result is obtained by extracting the probabilities of two-nucleon (2N) SRCs from the analysis of the experimental data on high momentum transfer inclusive electro-nuclear reactions. We fitted the extracted probabilities as a function of nuclear density and asymmetry and used the fit to estimate the fractions of the off-Fermi shell nucleons in the superdense nuclear matter relevant to neutron stars. Our results indicate that starting at three nuclear saturation densities the protons with fractional densities 1/9 will populate mostly the high momentum tail of the momentum distribution while only 2% of the neutrons will do so. We discuss the implications of this condition for neutron stars and emphasize that it may be characteristic to any asymmetric two component Fermi system with suppressed central and enhanced short-range tensor interactions between the two components.

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arXiv2011

Hard breakup of the deuteron into two Delta-isobars

We study high energy photodisintegration of the deuteron into two $Δ$-isobars at large center of mass angles within the QCD hard rescattering model (HRM). According to the HRM, the process develops in three main steps: the photon knocks the quark from one of the nucleons in the deuteron; the struck quark rescatters off a quark from the other nucleon sharing the high energy of the photon; then the energetic quarks recombine into two outgoing baryons which have large transverse momenta. Within the HRM, the cross section is expressed through the amplitude of $pn\rightarrow ΔΔ$ scattering which we evaluated based on the quark-interchange model of hard hadronic scattering. Calculations show that the angular distribution and the strength of the photodisintegration is mainly determined by the properties of the $pn\rightarrow ΔΔ$ scattering. We predict that the cross section of the deuteron breakup to $ Δ^{++}Δ^{-}$ is 4-5 times larger than that of the breakup to the $ Δ^{+}Δ^{0}$ channel. Also, the angular distributions for these two channels are markedly different. These can be compared with the predictions based on the assumption that two hard $Δ$-isobars are the result of the disintegration of the preexisting $ΔΔ$ components of the deuteron wave function. In this case, one expects the angular distributions and cross sections of the breakup in both $ Δ^{++}Δ^{-}$ and $ Δ^{+}Δ^{0}$ channels to be similar.

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arXiv2011

Scaling and Resonances in Elementary K^+ Lambda Photoproduction

Recent cross section data for the reaction gamma + p \to K^+ + Lambda are examined for evidence of scaling in both the low-t Regge domain and in the high \sqrt{s} and -t domain where constituent counting may apply. It is shown that the reaction does scale in both regimes. At large center of mass angles, s^{-7} scaling appears to hold at essentially all -t, but with angle-dependent oscillations. The scaled data show particularly strong evidence for s-channel resonances for -t below 2 GeV^2 and for W below about 2.3 GeV. The dominant contributions are consistent with an N^* S_{11} resonance at 1690 MeV, a P_{13} at 1920 MeV, and a D_{13} resonance at 2100 MeV, which interfere to give the observed strong angular dependence.

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