arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W. Melnitchouk.
We re-examine the role of vector meson dominance in nuclear shadowing at low Q^2. We find that models which incorporate both vector meson and partonic mechanisms are consistent with both the magnitude and the Q^2 slope of the shadowing data.
A pedagogical overview of the formulation of the Fat Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermion action and its associated phenomenology is described. The scaling analysis indicates FLIC fermions provide a new form of nonperturbative O(a) improvement where near-continuum results are obtained at finite lattice spacing. Spin-1/2 and spin-3/2, even and odd parity baryon resonances are investigated in quenched QCD, where the nature of the Roper resonance and Lambda(1405) are of particular interest. FLIC fermions allow efficient access to the light quark-mass regime, where evidence of chiral nonanalytic behavior in the Delta-baryon mass is observed.
Hadron masses are calculated in quenched lattice QCD in order to probe the scaling behavior of a novel fat-link clover fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators of the fermion action are constructed using APE-smeared links. Light quark masses corresponding to an m_pi / m_rho ratio of 0.35 are considered to assess the exceptional configuration problem of clover-fermion actions. This Fat-Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermion action provides scaling which is superior to mean-field improvement and offers advantages over nonperturbative improvement, including reduced exceptional configurations.
Masses of positive and negative parity excited nucleons and hyperons are calculated in quenched lattice QCD using an O(a^2) improved gluon action and a fat-link clover fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators are constructed with fat links. The results are in agreement with earlier N* simulations with improved actions, and exhibit a clear mass splitting between the nucleon and its parity partner, as well as a small mass splitting between the two low-lying J^P={1/2}^- N* states. Study of different Lambda interpolating fields suggests a similar splitting between the lowest two {1/2}^- Lambda* states, although the empirical mass suppression of the Lambda*(1405) is not seen.
We present first results for masses of spin-3/2 baryons in lattice QCD, using a novel fat-link clover fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators are constructed using fat links. In the isospin-1/2 sector, we observe, after appropriate spin and parity projection, a strong signal for the J^P=3/2^- state, and find good agreement between the 1/2^+ mass and earlier nucleon mass simulations with a spin-1/2 interpolating field. For the isospin-3/2 Delta states, clear mass splittings are observed between the various 1/2^+/- and 3/2^+/- channels, with the calculated level orderings in good agreement with those observed empirically.
We investigate the connection of lattice calculations of moments of isovector parton distributions to the physical regime through extrapolations in the quark mass. We consider the one pion loop renormalisation of the nucleon matrix elements of the corresponding operators and thereby develop formulae with which to extrapolate the moments of the unpolarised, helicity and transversity distributions. These formulae are consistent with chiral perturbation theory in the chiral limit and incorporate the correct heavy quark limits. In the polarised cases, the inclusion of intermediate states involving the $Δ$ isobar is found to be very important. The results of our extrapolations are in general agreement with the phenomenological values of these moments where they are known, and for the first time we perform an extrapolation of the low moments of the isovector transversity distribution which is consistent with chiral symmetry.
Quantum Chromodynamics, the microscopic theory of strong interactions, has not yet been applied to the calculation of nuclear wave functions. However, it certainly provokes a number of specific questions and suggests the existence of novel phenomena in nuclear physics which are not part of the the traditional framework of the meson-nucleon description of nuclei. Many of these phenomena are related to high nuclear densities and the role of color in nucleonic interactions. Quantum fluctuations in the spatial separation between nucleons may lead to local high density configurations of cold nuclear matter in nuclei, up to four times larger than typical nuclear densities. We argue here that experiments utilizing the higher energies available upon completion of the Jefferson Laboratory energy upgrade will be able to probe the quark-gluon structure of such high density configurations and therefore elucidate the fundamental nature of nuclear matter. We review three key experimental programs: quasi-elastic electro-disintegration of light nuclei, deep inelastic scattering from nuclei at $x>1$, and the measurement of tagged structure functions. These interrelated programs are all aimed at the exploration of the quark structure of high density nuclear configurations. The study of the QCD dynamics of elementary hard processes is another important research direction and nuclei provide a unique avenue to explore these dynamics. We argue that the use of nuclear targets and large values of momentum transfer at would allow us to determine whether the physics of the nucleon form factors is dominated by spatially small configurations of three quarks.
We present a complete analysis of the chiral extrapolation of lattice moments of all twist-2 isovector quark distributions, including corrections from N pi and Delta pi loops. Even though the Delta resonance formally gives rise to higher order non-analytic structure, the coefficients of the higher order terms for the helicity and transversity moments are large and cancel much of the curvature generated by the wave function renormalization. The net effect is that, whereas the unpolarized moments exhibit considerable curvature, the polarized moments show little deviation from linearity as the chiral limit is approached.
We review recent developments in the study of deep inelastic scattering from light nuclei, focusing in particular on deuterium, helium, and lithium. Understanding the nuclear effects in these systems is essential for the extraction of information on the neutron structure function.
Recent data on polarized proton knockout reactions off He-4 nuclei suggest a small but nonzero modification of proton electromagnetic form factors in medium. Using model independent relations derived on the basis of quark-hadron duality, we relate the medium modification of the form factors to the modification at large x of the deep-inelastic structure function of a bound proton. This places strong constraints on models of the nuclear EMC effect which assume a large deformation of the intrinsic structure of the nucleon in medium.
The hadron mass spectrum is calculated in lattice QCD using a novel fat-link clover fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators in the fermion action are constructed using smeared links. The simulations are performed on a 16^3 x 32 lattice with a lattice spacing of a=0.125 fm. We compare actions with n=4 and 12 smearing sweeps with a smearing fraction of 0.7. The n=4 Fat-Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) action provides scaling which is superior to mean-field improvement, and offers advantages over nonperturbative 0(a) improvement, including a reduced exceptional configuration problem.
We examine the extraction of moments of parton distributions from lattice data, focusing in particular on the chiral extrapolation as a function of the quark mass. Inclusion of the correct chiral behavior of the spin-averaged isovector distribution resolves a long-standing discrepancy between the lattice moments and experiment. We extract the x-dependence of the valence u-d distribution from the lowest few lattice moments, and discuss the implications for the quark mass dependence of meson masses lying on the rho Regge trajectory. The role of chiral symmetry in spin-dependent distributions, and in particular the lattice axial vector charge, g_A, is also highlighted.
We present first results for masses of positive and negative parity excited baryons in lattice QCD using an O(a^2) improved gluon action and a Fat Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators are constructed with fat links. The results are in agreement with earlier calculations of N^* resonances using improved actions and exhibit a clear mass splitting between the nucleon and its chiral partner, even for the Wilson fermion action. The results also indicate a splitting between the lowest J^P = 1/2^- states for the two standard nucleon interpolating fields.
The hadron mass spectrum is calculated in lattice QCD using a novel fat-link clover fermion action in which only the irrelevant operators of the fermion action are constructed using smeared links. The simulations are performed on a 16^3 X 32 lattice with a lattice spacing of a=0.125 fm. We compare actions with n=4 and 12 smearing sweeps with a smearing fraction of 0.7. The n=4 Fat Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) action provides scaling which is superior to mean-field improvement, and offers advantages over nonperturbative O(a) improvement.
We extract the x dependence of the nonsinglet u-d distribution function in the nucleon from the lowest few moments calculated on the lattice, using an extrapolation formula which ensures the correct behavior in the chiral and heavy quark limits. We discuss the implications for the quark mass dependence of meson masses lying on the J(PC)=1(--) Regge trajectory.
We present a new model for the hyperon-nucleon (Lambda N, Sigma N) interaction, derived within the meson exchange framework. The model incorporates the standard one boson exchange contributions of the lowest pseudoscalar and vector meson multiplets with coupling constants fixed by SU(6) symmetry relations. In addition - as the main feature of the new model - the exchange of two correlated pions or kaons, both in the scalar-isoscalar (sigma) and vector-isovector (rho) channels, is included.
The internal structure of the nucleon is discussed within the context of QCD. Recent progress in understanding the distribution of flavor and spin in the nucleon is reviewed, and prospects for extending our knowledge of nucleon structure in electron scattering experiments at modern facilities such as Jefferson Lab are outlined.
We present the resolution of a long-standing discrepancy between the moments of parton distributions calculated from lattice QCD and their experimental values. We propose a simple extrapolation formula for the moments of the nonsinglet quark distribution u-d, as a function of quark mass, which embodies the general constraints imposed by the chiral symmetry of QCD. The inclusion of the leading nonanalytic behavior leads to an excellent description of both the lattice data and the experimental values of the moments.