arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Simon Sirca.
Ever since its discovery in 1964 the nature of the N*(1440) nucleon resonance has been a perpetual and one of the outstanding puzzles in hadronic physics. The Ljubljana group joined the global effort in the late 1990s, first from the theoretical viewpoint and later experimentally. This paper is a short overview of our attempts to understand this elusive resonance.
In 1963, a proton radius of $0.805(11)~\mathrm{fm}$ was extracted from electron scattering data and this classic value has been used in the standard dipole parameterization of the form factor. In trying to reproduce this classic result, we discovered that there was a sign error in the original analysis and that the authors should have found a value of $0.851(19)~\mathrm{fm}$. We additionally made use of modern computing power to find a robust function for extracting the radius using this 1963 data's spacing and uncertainty. This optimal function, the Pad\'{e} $(0,1)$ approximant, also gives a result which is consistent with the modern high precision proton radius extractions.
Intuitively, a scientist might assume that a more complex regression model will necessarily yield a better predictive model of experimental data. Herein, we disprove this notion in the context of extracting the proton charge radius from charge form factor data. Using a Monte Carlo study, we show that a simpler regression model can in certain cases be the better predictive model. This is especially true with noisy data where the complex model will fit the noise instead of the physical signal. Thus, in order to select the appropriate regression model to employ, a clear technique should be used such as the Akaike information criterion or Bayesian information criterion, and ideally selected previous to seeing the results. Also, to ensure a reasonable fit, the scientist should also make regression quality plots, such as residual plots, and not just rely on a single criterion such as reduced chi2. When we apply these techniques to low four-momentum transfer cross section data, we find a proton radius that is consistent with the muonic Lamb shift results. While presented for the case of proton radius extraction, these concepts are applicable in general and can be used to illustrate the necessity of balancing bias and variance when building a regression model and validating results, ideas that are at the heart of modern machine learning algorithms.
The meson scattering and electroproduction amplitudes in the D13, D33 and D15 partial waves are calculated in a coupled-channel formalism incorporating quasi-bound quark-model states, extending our previous studies of the P11, P33 and S11 partial waves. The vertices of the baryon-meson interaction including the s- and d-wave pions and $\rho$-mesons, the s-wave $\eta$-meson, and the $s$- and p-wave $\sigma$-mesons are determined in the Cloudy Bag Model, with some changes of the parameters to reproduce the widths of the resonances. The helicity amplitudes and the electroproduction amplitudes exhibit consistent behavior in all channels but tend to be too weak compared to the experiment. We discuss possible origins of this discrepancy which arises also in the constituent quark model calculations.
Pion scattering and electro-production amplitudes have been computed in a coupled-channel framework incorporating quasi-bound quark-model states, based on the Cloudy Bag model. All relevant low-lying nucleon resonances in the P33, P11, and S11 partial waves have been covered, including the Delta(1232), the N*(1440), N*(1535), and N*(1650). Consistent results have been obtained for elastic and inelastic scattering (two-pion, eta-N, and K-Lambda channels), as well as for electro-production. The meson cloud has been shown to play a major role, in particular in electro-magnetic observables in the P33 and P11 channels.
We derive a method to calculate the multi-channel K matrix applicable to a broad class of models in which mesons linearly couple to the quark core. The method is used to calculate pion scattering amplitudes in the energy region of low-lying P11 and P33 resonances. A good agreement with experimental data is achieved if in addition to the elastic channel we include the $πΔ$ and $σN$ ($σΔ$) channels where the $σ$-meson models the correlated two-pion decay. We solve the integral equation for the K matrix in the approximation of separable kernels; it yields a sizable increase of the widths of the $Δ(1232)$ and the N(1440) resonances compared to the bare quark values.