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Nora Brambilla

Publications and source records attributed to Nora Brambilla.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
arXiv2013

Thermal width and quarkonium dissociation by inelastic parton scattering

In a weak-coupling effective field theory framework we study quarkonium dissociation induced by inelastic scattering with partons in the medium. This is the dominant dissociation process for temperatures such that the Debye mass is larger than the binding energy. We evaluate the dissociation cross section and the corresponding thermal decay width. At leading order we derive a convolution formula relating the two, which is consistent with the optical theorem and QCD at finite temperature. Bound state effects are systematically included. They add contributions to the cross section and width that are beyond a quasi-free approximation, whose validity is critically reviewed. For temperatures such that the Debye mass is smaller than the binding energy, the dominant dissociation mechanism is gluo-dissociation consisting in quarkonium dissociation induced by the absorbtion of a gluon from the medium. We calculate the gluo-dissociation cross section and width at next-to-leading-order accuracy.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Renormalization of the cyclic Wilson loop

In finite-temperature field theory, the cyclic Wilson loop is defined as a rectangular Wilson loop spanning the whole compactified time direction. In a generic non-abelian gauge theory, we calculate the perturbative expansion of the cyclic Wilson loop up to order g^4. At this order and after charge renormalization, the cyclic Wilson loop is known to be ultraviolet divergent. We show that the divergence is not associated with cusps in the contour but is instead due to the contour intersecting itself because of the periodic boundary conditions. One consequence of this is that the cyclic Wilson loop mixes under renormalization with the correlator of two Polyakov loops. The resulting renormalization equation is tested up to order g^6 and used to resum the leading logarithms associated with the intersection divergence. Implications for lattice studies of this operator, which may be relevant for the phenomenology of quarkonium at finite temperature, are discussed.

hep-th↗
arXiv2013

Gauge invariant definition of the jet quenching parameter

In the framework of Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, the jet quenching parameter, $\hat{q}$, has been evaluated by adding the effect of Glauber gluon interactions to the propagation of a highly-energetic collinear parton in a medium. The result, which holds in covariant gauges, has been expressed in terms of the expectation value of two Wilson lines stretching along the direction of the four-momentum of the parton. In this paper, we show how that expression can be generalized to an arbitrary gauge by the addition of transverse Wilson lines. The transverse Wilson lines are explicitly computed by resumming interactions of the parton with Glauber gluons that appear only in non-covariant gauges. As an application of our result, we discuss the contribution to $\hat{q}$ coming from transverse momenta of order $g^2T$ in a medium that is a weakly-coupled quark-gluon plasma.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Determination of alpha_s from the QCD static energy

We compare lattice data for the short-distance part of the static energy in 2+1 flavor quantum chromodynamics (QCD) with perturbative calculations, up to next-to-next-to-next-to leading-logarithmic accuracy. We show that perturbation theory describes very well the lattice data at short distances, and exploit this fact to obtain a determination of the product of the lattice scale r_0 with the QCD scale Lambda_{MS}. With the input of the value of r_0, this provides a determination of the strong coupling alpha_s at the typical distance scale of the lattice data. We obtain alpha_s(1.5 GeV)=0.326\pm0.019, which provides a novel determination of alpha_s at low energy and with three-loop accuracy (including resummation of the leading ultrasoft logarithms). When this value is evolved to the Z-mass scale M_Z, it corresponds to alpha_s(M_Z)=0.1156^{+0.0021}_{-0.0022}.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Precision determination of r_0Lambda_MS from the QCD static energy

We use the recently obtained theoretical expression for the complete QCD static energy at next-to-next-to-next-to leading-logarithmic accuracy to determine r_0Lambda_MS by comparison with available lattice data, where r_0 is the lattice scale and Lambda_MS is the QCD scale. We obtain r_0Lambda_MS=0.637^{+0.032}_{-0.030} for the zero-flavor case. The procedure we describe can be directly used to obtain r_0Lambda_MS in the unquenched case, when unquenched lattice data for the static energy at short distances becomes available. Using the value of the strong coupling alpha_s as an input, the unquenched result would provide a determination of the lattice scale r_0.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Model-independent Study of Electric Dipole Transitions in Quarkonium

The paper contains a systematic, model-independent treatment of electric dipole (E1) transitions in heavy quarkonium. Within the effective field theory framework of potential non-relativistic QCD (pNRQCD), we derive the complete set of relativistic corrections of relative order v^2 both for weakly and strongly-coupled quarkonia. The result supports and complements former results from potential model calculations.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Thermal width and gluo-dissociation of quarkonium in pNRQCD

The thermal width of heavy-quarkonium bound states in a quark-gluon plasma has been recently derived in an effective field theory approach. Two phenomena contribute to the width: the Landau damping phenomenon and the break-up of a colour-singlet bound state into a colour-octet heavy quark-antiquark pair by absorption of a thermal gluon. In the paper, we investigate the relation between the singlet-to-octet thermal break-up and the so-called gluo-dissociation, a mechanism for quarkonium dissociation widely used in phenomenological approaches. The gluo-dissociation thermal width is obtained by convoluting the gluon thermal distribution with the cross section of a gluon and a 1S quarkonium state to a colour octet quark-antiquark state in vacuum, a cross section that at leading order, but neglecting colour-octet effects, was computed long ago by Bhanot and Peskin. We will, first, show that the effective field theory framework provides a natural derivation of the gluo-dissociation factorization formula at leading order, which is, indeed, the singlet-to-octet thermal break-up expression. Second, the singlet-to-octet thermal break-up expression will allow us to improve the Bhanot--Peskin cross section by including the contribution of the octet potential, which amounts to include final-state interactions between the heavy quark and antiquark. Finally, we will quantify the effects due to final-state interactions on the gluo-dissociation cross section and on the quarkonium thermal width.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

The spin-orbit potential and Poincaré invariance in finite temperature pNRQCD

Heavy quarkonium at finite temperature has been the subject of intense theoretical studies, for it provides a potentially clean probe of the quark-gluon plasma. Recent studies have made use of effective field theories to exploit in a systematic manner the hierarchy of energy scales that characterize the system. In the case of a quarkonium in a medium whose temperature is smaller than the typical momentum transfer in the bound state but larger than its energy, the suitable effective field theory is pNRQCD_HTL, where degrees of freedom with energy or momentum larger than the binding energy have been integrated out. Thermal effects are expected to break Poincaré invariance, which, at zero temperature, manifests itself in a set of exact relations between the matching coefficients of the effective field theory. In the paper, we evaluate the leading-order thermal corrections to the spin-orbit potentials of pNRQCD_HTL and show that Poincaré invariance is indeed violated.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Strong interactions: From methods to structures

These are the proceedings of the workshop on "Strong interactions: From methods to structures" held at the Physikzentrum Bad Honnef of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, Bad Honnef, Germany from February 12 to 16, 2011. The workshop concentrated on physics of cold atoms, chiral perturbation theory for mesons and baryons, chiral dynamics in few-baryon systems and effective field theories for systems with heavy quarks. Included are a short contribution per talk.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Hadronic quarkonium decays at order v^7

We compute the complete imaginary part of the NRQCD Lagrangian at order 1/M^4 in the heavy-quark mass expansion, which includes center of mass operators, and at order alpha_s^2 in the matching coefficients. We also compute the imaginary part of the NRQCD Lagrangian at order 1/M^6 and at order alpha_s^2 that contributes to the S-wave and P-wave inclusive decay widths of heavy quarkonium into light hadrons at order v^7 in the heavy-quark velocity expansion. If we count alpha_s(M) ~ v^2, the calculation provides the complete next-to-leading order corrections to the P-wave hadronic widths, and in the original NRQCD power counting, the complete next-to-leading order corrections to the vector S-wave widths, and part of the next-to-next-to leading order corrections to the pseudoscalar S-wave widths. In the S-wave case, we confirm previous findings and add new terms in a more conservative power counting. In the P-wave case, our results are in disagreement with previous ones. Constraints induced by Poincare' invariance on the NRQCD four-fermion sector are studied for the first time and provide an additional check of the calculation. Perspectives for phenomenological applications are discussed.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Electromagnetic quarkonium decays at order v^7

We compute S-wave and P-wave electromagnetic quarkonium decays at order v^7 in the heavy-quark velocity expansion. In the S-wave case, our calculation confirms and completes previous findings. In the P-wave case, our results are in disagreement with previous ones; in particular, we find that two matrix elements less are needed. The cancellation of infrared singularities in the matching procedure is discussed.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Poincare' invariance constraints on NRQCD and potential NRQCD

We discuss the constraints induced by the algebra of the Poincare' generators on non-relativistic effective field theories. In the first part we derive some relations among the matching coefficients of the HQET (and NRQCD), which have been formerly obtained by use of reparametrization invariance. In the second part we obtain new constraints on the matching coefficients of pNRQCD.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

Polyakov loop and correlator of Polyakov loops at next-to-next-to-leading order

We study the Polyakov loop and the correlator of two Polyakov loops at finite temperature in the weak-coupling regime. We calculate the Polyakov loop at order g^4. The calculation of the correlator of two Polyakov loops is performed at distances shorter than the inverse of the temperature and for electric screening masses larger than the Coulomb potential. In this regime, it is accurate up to order g^6. We also evaluate the Polyakov-loop correlator in an effective field theory framework that takes advantage of the hierarchy of energy scales in the problem and makes explicit the bound-state dynamics. In the effective field theory framework, we show that the Polyakov-loop correlator is at leading order in the multipole expansion the sum of a colour-singlet and a colour-octet quark-antiquark correlator, which are gauge invariant, and compute the corresponding colour-singlet and colour-octet free energies.

hep-ph↗