arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Ulf-G. Meißner.
We review recent experimental and theoretical results for the electromagnetic form factors of hyperons (Y) in the timelike region, accessible in the reactions $e^+e^-\to \bar YY$. Specifically, we focus on the final states $\bar ΛΛ$, $\barΛΣ^0$/$\bar Σ^0Λ$, $\bar ΣΣ$, $\bar ΞΞ$, and $\barΩΩ$. The $\bar Λ_cΛ_c$ system is also discussed.
The proton-rich nucleus $^{22}$Si is studied using Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory with high-fidelity chiral forces. Our results indicate that $^{22}$Si is more tightly bound than $^{20}$Mg, thereby excluding the possibility of two-proton emission. The $Z = 14$ shell closure in $^{22}$Si is supported by the evolution of the $2^+$ state in the neighboring nuclei. We then focus on the charge radius and spatial distribution information of $^{22}$Si, considering the novel phenomena that may emerge due to the small two-proton separation energy and the shell closure. We present the distribution of the $14$ protons and $8$ neutrons obtained from our lattice simulation, revealing insights into the spatial arrangement of the nucleons. Moreover, the spatial localization of the outermost proton and neutron suggests that $^{22}$Si is a doubly magic nucleus. Furthermore, we develop the pinhole method based on the harmonic oscillator basis, which gives insight into the nuclear structure in terms of the shell model picture from lattice simulations. Our calculated occupation numbers support that $Z = 14$ and $N = 8$ are the shell closures and show that the $π1s_{1/2}$ orbital component is minor in $^{22}$Si.
Many excited states in the hadron spectrum have large branching ratios to three-hadron final states. Understanding such particles from first principles QCD requires input from lattice QCD with one-, two-, and three-meson interpolators as well as a reliable three-body formalism relating finite-volume spectra at unphysical pion mass values to the scattering amplitudes at the physical point. In this work, we provide the first-ever calculation of the resonance parameters of the $ω$ meson from lattice QCD, including an update of the formalism through matching to effective field theories. The main result of this pioneering study, the pole position of the $ω$ meson at $\sqrt{s_ω}= (778.0(11.2)-i\,3.0(5) )\,\mathrm{MeV}$, agrees reasonably well with experiment. In addition we provide an estimate of the $ω-ρ$ mass difference as $29(15)\,\mathrm{MeV}$.
We derive a systematic perturbative expansion for the finite-volume energy spectrum of the non-linear $O(N)$ $σ$-model in the $δ$-regime. The violation of the power-counting rules that emerges after the separation of the fast and slow modes is dealt with to all orders by use of the threshold expansion. The known result for the rest-frame energy spectrum up-to-and-including next-to-next-to-leading order is reproduced.
In this work, we present a calculation of the triton $β$-decay lifetime using Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory (NLEFT) at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion. By incorporating a non-perturbative treatment of the higher-order corrections, we achieve consistent predictions for the Fermi and Gamow-Teller matrix elements, which are crucial for determining the triton lifetime. Our results are consistent with earlier theoretical calculations, confirming the robustness of our approach. This study marks a significant advancement in the systematic application of NLEFT to nuclear $β$-decay processes, paving the way for future high-precision calculations in more complex nuclear systems. Additionally, we discuss potential improvements to our approach, including the explicit inclusion of two-pion exchange mechanisms and the refinement of three-nucleon forces. These developments are essential for extending the applicability of NLEFT to a broader range of nuclear phenomena, including neutrinoless double-$β$ decay.
Understanding the strong interactions within baryonic systems beyond the up and down quark sector is pivotal for a comprehensive description of nuclear forces. This study explores the interactions involving hyperons, particularly the $Λ$ particle, within the framework of nuclear lattice effective field theory (NLEFT). By incorporating $Λ$ hyperons into the NLEFT framework, we extend our investigation into the $S = -1$ sector, allowing us to probe the third dimension of the nuclear chart. We calculate the $Λ$ separation energies ($B_Λ$) of hypernuclei up to the medium-mass region, providing valuable insights into hyperon-nucleon ($YN$) and hyperon-nucleon-nucleon ($YNN$) interactions. Our calculations employ high-fidelity chiral interactions at N${}^3$LO for nucleons and extend it to $Λ$ hyperons with leading-order S-wave $YN$ interactions as well as $YNN$ forces constrained only by the $A=4,5$ systems. Our results contribute to a deeper understanding of the SU(3) symmetry breaking and establish a foundation for future improvements in hypernuclear calculations.
A study of light $Λ$ hypernuclei in chiral effective field theory is presented. For the first time chiral $Λ$NN and $Σ$NN three-body forces are included consistently. The calculations are performed within the no-core shell model. Results for the separation energies of the hypernuclei $^3_Λ\mathrm{H}$, $^4_Λ\mathrm{H}$/$^4_Λ\mathrm{He}$, $^5_Λ\mathrm{He}$, and $^7_Λ\mathrm{Li}$ are given. It is found that the experimental values can be fairly well reproduced once YNN three-body forces are taken into account.
We investigate the feasibility of measuring the proton charge radius through dimuon photoproduction off a proton target. Our findings indicate that the Bethe-Heitler mechanism, which dominates at small momentum transfers, allows for an extraction of the proton electromagnetic form factors in the extremely low $Q^2$ region below $10^{-3}$ GeV$^2$ in the spacelike region, when the incident photon beam energy exceeds several hundred MeV. The optimal kinematical region and a sensitivity study of the proton charge radius from dimuon photoproduction are presented. Such a measurement is expected to provide an alternative to the elastic muon-proton scattering measurements such as MUSE at PSI and AMBER at CERN.
Hadronic resonances emerge from strong interactions encoding the dynamics of quarks and gluons. The structure of these resonances can be probed by virtual photons parameterized in transition form factors. In this study, twelve $N^*$ and $Δ$ transition form factors at the pole are extracted from data with the center-of-mass energy from $πN$ threshold to $1.8\,{\rm GeV}$, and the photon virtuality $0\leq Q^2/{\rm GeV}^2\leq 8$. For the first time, these results are determined from a simultaneous analysis of more than one state, i.e., $\sim 10^5$ $πN$, $ηN$, and $KΛ$ electroproduction data. In addition, about $ 5\cdot 10^4$ data in the hadronic sector as well as photoproduction serve as boundary conditions. For the $Δ(1232)$ and $N(1440)$ states our results are in qualitative agreement with previous studies, while the transition form factors at the poles of some higher excited states are estimated for the first time. Realistic uncertainties are determined by further exploring the parameter space.
Starting from the SU(3) limit, we consider the nature of the dynamically generated resonances $Λ(1380)$, $Λ(1405)$ and $Λ(1680)$ as the pion and kaon masses are tuned to their physical values. We show that the accidental symmetry of the two octets due to the leading order Weinberg-Tomozawa term is broken by the next-to-leading order terms. Most interestingly, we observe an interchange of the two trajectories of the $Λ(1380)$ and the $Λ(1405)$ away from the SU(3) limit at next-to-leading order. This remarkable phenomenon can be investigated using lattice QCD calculations that start from the SU(3) limit.
Using chiral effective field theory, we predict that there must be isovector charmonium-like $D\bar D^*$ hadronic molecules with $J^{PC}=1^{++}$ denoted as $W_{c1}$. The inputs are the properties of the $X(3872)$, including its mass and the ratio of its branching fractions of decays into $J/ψρ^0$ and $J/ψω$. The predicted states are virtual state poles of the scattering matrix, pointing at a molecular nature of the $X(3872)$ as well as its spin partners. They should show up as either a mild cusp or dip at the $D\bar D^*$ thresholds, explaining why they are elusive in experiments. The so far negative observation also indicates that the $X(3872)$ is either a bound state with non-vanishing binding energy or a virtual state, only in these cases the $X(3872)$ signal dominates over that from the $W_{c1}^0$. The pole positions are $3881.2^{+0.8}_{-0.0}- i 1.6^{+0.7}_{-0.9}$ MeV for $W_{c1}^0$ on the fourth Riemann sheet of the $D^0\bar D^{*0}$-$D^+D^{*-}$ coupled-channel system, and $3866.9^{+4.6}_{-7.7}- i (0.07\pm0.01)$ MeV for $W_{c1}^\pm$ on the second Riemann sheet of the $(D\bar D^*)^\pm$ single-channel system. The findings imply that the peak in the $J/ψπ^+π^-$ invariant mass distribution is not purely from the $X(3872)$ but contains contributions from $W_{c1}^0$ predicted here. The states should have isovector heavy quark spin partners with $J^{PC}=0^{++}$, $2^{++}$ and $1^{+-}$, with the last one corresponding to $Z_c$. We suggest to search for the charged $0^{++}$, $1^{++}$ and $2^{++}$ states in $J/ψπ^\pm π^0$.
We propose a novel method for measuring the charge radii of charged stable hadrons, with which the first measurement of the charge radii of the $Σ^+$ and the $Ξ^-$ is foreseen. The method explores the facts that the Dalitz decay $ψ(2S) \to Y\bar{Y}e^+e^-$ contains the hyperon form factors and the lowest measurable four-momentum transfer squared can be as low as $\sim 4m_e^2= 1.05\times10^{-6}\,{\rm GeV^2}$ in the time-like region. We identify a kinematic region where the hyperon form factors are essential and propose a method for subtracting the background from the data. It is estimated that the hyperon charge radii can be measured to a precision of about {0.2~fm} with the BES\Rom{3} experiment and one order of magnitude better at the future Super $τ$-Charm Facility. Moreover, the same method can be used to measure the charge radius of the proton, which provides an independent cross-check on the extraction of proton radius from elastic $ep$ scattering or leptonic hydrogen spectroscopy.
We present the first ab initio lattice calculations of spin and density correlations in hot neutron matter using high-fidelity interactions at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) in chiral effective field theory. These correlations have a large impact on neutrino heating and shock revival in core-collapse supernovae and are encapsulated in functions called structure factors. Unfortunately, calculations of structure factors using high-fidelity chiral interactions were well out of reach using existing computational methods. In this work, we solve the problem using a computational approach called the rank-one operator (RO) method. The RO method is a general technique with broad applications to simulations of fermionic many-body systems. It solves the problem of exponential scaling of computational effort when using perturbation theory for higher-body operators and higher-order corrections. Using the RO method, we compute the vector and axial static structure factors for hot neutron matter as a function of temperature and density. The ab initio lattice results are in good agreement with virial expansion calculations at low densities but are more reliable at higher densities. Random phase approximation codes used to estimate neutrino opacity in core-collapse supernovae simulations can now be calibrated with ab initio lattice calculations.
Explicit expressions for the leading chiral hyperon-nucleon-nucleon three-body forces have been derived by Petschauer et al [Phys. Rev. C93.014001 (2016)]. An important prerequisite for including these three-body forces in few- and many-body calculations is the accuracy and efficiency of their partial-wave decomposition. A careful benchmark of the ΛNN potential matrix elements, computed using two robust and efficient partial-wave decomposition methods, is presented. In addition, results of a first quantitative assessment for the contributions of $Λ$NN forces to the separation energies in A=3-5 hypernuclei are reported.
In this study, we revisit the extraction of parton-to-$K^0_S$ hadron fragmentation functions, named FF24-$K^0_S$, focusing on both next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy in perturbative QCD. Our approach involves the analysis of single inclusive electron-positron annihilation (SIA) data. The two key improvements are, on the one hand, the incorporation of the latest experimental data from the BESIII experiment and, on the other hand, the adoption of Neural Networks in the fitting procedure. To address experimental uncertainties, the Monte Carlo method is employed. Our investigation also explores the impact of hadron mass corrections on the description of SIA data, spanning a broad kinematic regime with a particular emphasis on the range of small $z$ values. The theory prediction for $K^0_S$ production at both NLO and NNLO accuracy exhibits good agreement with experimental data within their respective uncertainties.
We present an improved calculation of the light element abundances in the framework of Big Bang nucleosynthesis as a function of the Higgs vacuum expectation value $v$. We compare the methods of our calculation to previous literature including the recently published work of Burns et al. [1]. The PDG result for the $^4$He abundance can be explained within $2σ$ by $-0.014 \leq δv / v \leq 0.026$, for deuterium we find the constraint $-0.005 \leq δv / v \leq -0.001$. These bounds are more stringent than what was found earlier.
Ab initio calculations play an essential role in our fundamental understanding of quantum many-body systems across many subfields, from strongly correlated fermions to quantum chemistry and from atomic and molecular systems to nuclear physics. One of the primary challenges is to perform accurate calculations for systems where the interactions may be complicated and difficult for the chosen computational method to handle. Here we address the problem by introducing a new approach called wavefunction matching. Wavefunction matching transforms the interaction between particles so that the wavefunctions up to some finite range match that of an easily computable interaction. This allows for calculations of systems that would otherwise be impossible due to problems such as Monte Carlo sign cancellations. We apply the method to lattice Monte Carlo simulations of light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter, and nuclear matter. We use high-fidelity chiral effective field theory interactions and find good agreement with empirical data. These results are accompanied by new insights on the nuclear interactions that may help to resolve long-standing challenges in accurately reproducing nuclear binding energies, charge radii, and nuclear matter saturation in ab initio calculations.
We study the fine-structure constant dependence of the rates of some selected radiative capture reactions within the framework of so-called Halo Effective Field Theory in order to assess the adequacy of some assumptions made on the Coulomb penetrability. We find that this dependence deviates from that implied by a parameterization of the cross sections of this effect via a simple penetration factor. Some features of this fine-structure dependence are discussed, in particular its potential impact on the abundances of the light elements in primordial nucleosynthesis.