Search

When the quark masses are lighter than those in QCD, the standard lore is that a chiral transition of first order must emerge for three, light flavors. Recently, however, numerical simulations on the lattice suggest that the chiral transition is of second order in the chiral limit. Using an extended linear sigma model in the mean field approximation, we study the relation between terms which break the anomalous, $U(1)_A$ symmetry and the order of the chiral phase transition, especially how a chiral transition of second order can arise for three, massless flavors. We note that in an (unphysical) region of the "Columbia" phase diagram, when the strange quark mass is light and negative, corresponding to topological angle $\theta=\pi$, the $CP$ symmetry is spontaneously broken., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures

An excess of charged versus neutral kaons has been recently reported by the NA61/SHINE collaboration. Similar excesses were also present in previous experiments, even if with larger errors. Models for hadron productions in heavy ion collisions systematically underestimate the measured charge-to-neutral kaon ratio. In this report, we comment on the role of charge-symmetry as a specific isospin transformation. In particular, we show that the ensemble of the initial colliding nuclei being charge-symmetric is sufficient for producing an equal number of charged and neutral kaons in the isospin-symmetry exact limit., Comment: 4 pages. Prepared for the proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM 2024), 2-7/6/2023, Universit\'e de Strasbourg, France

We evaluate numerically the survival probability $P(t)$ for the unstable 2P excited state of the hydrogen atom, which decays into the ground-state 1S emitting one photon ($\tau \sim 1.595$ ns), thus extending the analytic study of Facchi and Pascazio, Physics Letters A 241 (1998). To this end, we first determine the analytic expression of the spectral function of the unstable state, which allows for an accurate evaluation of $P(t)$. As expected, for short and long times $P(t)$ shows deviations from the exponential law: a `Zeno' region occurs at extremely short times (up to $\sim 0.3$ attosec, followed by a longer `anti-Zeno' domain (up to $\sim 50$ attosec); at long times above $125 \tau$, the decay law scales as $t^{-4}$., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Prepared for the proceedings of 5th Jagiellonian Symposium on Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine (JS:2024), 29/6/2024-7/7/2024, Krak\'ow, Poland

The decay of the para-positronium into two photons is studied in the framework of a composite Quantum Field Theoretical approach. This amounts to the evaluation of the electron-positron dressing together with the Weinberg compositeness condition for the positronium and the triangle-shaped diagram with virtual electrons circulating in it, leading to the two-photon final state. An important role is played by the positronium-electron-positron vertex, which is linked to the wave function of the para-positronium. We show how possible choices for the vertex function affect the $\gamma \gamma$ decay rate. Outlooks to other decay channels and to other positronia are presented., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, Prepared for the proceedings of the 5th Jagiellonian Symposium on `Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine', June 29 - July 7 2024, Cracow, Poland

The extended Linear Sigma Model (eLSM) is a hadronic model based on the global symmetries of QCD and the corresponding explicit, anomalous, and spontaneous breaking patterns. In its basic three-flavor form, its mesonic part contains the dilaton/glueball as well as the nonets of (pseudo)scalar and (axial-)vector mesons, thus chiral symmetry is linearly realized. In the chiral limit and neglecting the chiral anomaly, only one term -- within the dilaton potential -- breaks dilatation invariance. Spontaneous symmetry breaking is implemented by a generalization of the Mexican-hat potential, with explicit symmetry breaking responsible for its tilting. The overall mesonic phenomenology up to 2 GeV is in agreement with the PDG compilation of masses and decay widths. The eLSM was enlarged to include other conventional quark-antiquark nonets (pseudovector and orbitally excited vector mesons, (axial-)tensor mesons, etc.), as well as two nonets of hybrid mesons, the lightest one with exotic quantum numbers $J^{PC} = 1^{-+}$ not allowed for $\bar{q}q$ objects such as the resonance $\pi_1(1600)$ and the recently discovered $\eta_1(1855)$. In doing so, different types of chiral multiplets are introduced: heterochiral and homochiral multiplets, which differ in the way they transform under chiral transformations. Moreover, besides the scalar glueball, the tensor, the pseudoscalar and the vector glueballs were coupled to the eLSM: the scalar $f_0(1710)$ turns out to be mostly gluonic, the tensor glueball couples strongly to vector mesons, and the pseudoscalar glueball couples can be assigned to $X(2370)$ or $X(2600)$. The eLSM contains chiral partners on an equal footing and is therefore well suited for studies of chiral symmetry restoration at nonzero temperature and densities. The QCD phase diagram and the location of the critical endpoint were investigated within this framework., Comment: Review paper about the extended Linear Sigma Model. Prepared for Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. 118 pages, 47 tables, 14 figures

This paper reviews the similarities in the behavior of unstable particles and oscillating neutrinos using perturbation theory within the interaction picture of quantum field theory. We begin by examining how decaying systems are studied in the interaction picture and then demonstrate how similar calculations can be performed to determine the transition probabilities for flavor oscillations. Notably, the expressions for neutrino oscillations and particle decays are identical in the short-time range. Furthermore, we show that the flavor oscillation formula derived through this method matches, within the adopted approximation, the one obtained using the flavor Fock space approach., Comment: Proceedings of the Symmetries in Science Symposium XIX, to appear on J. Phys. Conf. Series

Historically it has been believed that a time-independent classical source has no effect on the scattering of relativistic uncharged field, in contrast with single particle quantum mechanics. In this work we show that the dynamics is not trivial. We solve exactly for the scattering amplitudes and find that a key ingredient is the production of particles from the unstable vacuum, conceptually similar to the Schwinger mechanism. We compute exactly the probabilities for the vacuum to decay in $n$ particles. The time dependence of such probabilities displays interesting properties such as the quantum Zeno effect and in particular has no regime where the exponential decay law is a good approximation. We show that the trivial scattering found in the past is the byproduct of the adiabatic switching of the interaction. In fact, it is not possible to switch off the interaction (adiabatically or otherwise) at distant times and recover the exact results. Finally, this non trivial vacuum behavior is a source of particle production. We argue that such non-perturbative calculations can be phenomenologically relevant for the production processes that are suppressed at the lower orders in perturbation theory, for instance dilaton production in a medium., Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures

In these lectures, we present the behavior of conventional $\bar{q}q$ mesons, glueballs, and hybrids in the large-$N_{c}$ limit of QCD. To this end, we use an approach based on rather simple NJL-like bound-state equations. The obtained large-$N_{c}$ scaling laws are general and coincide with the known results. A series of consequences, such as the narrowness of certain mesons and the smallness of some interaction types, the behavior of chiral and dilaton models at large-$N_{c},$ and the relation to the compositeness condition and the standard derivation of large-$N_{c}$ results, are explained. The bound-state formalism shows also that mesonic molecular and dynamically generated states do not form in the large-$N_{c}$ limit. The same fate seems to apply also for tetraquark states, but here further studies are needed. Next, following the same approach, baryons are studied as bound states of a generalized diquark ($N_{c}-1$ antisymmetric object) and a quark. Similarities and differences with regular mesons are discussed. All the standard scaling laws for baryons and their interaction with mesons are correctly reproduced. The behavior of chiral models involving baryons and describing chirally invariant mass generation is investigated. Finally, properties of QCD in the medium at large-$N_{c}$ are studied: the deconfinement phase transition is investigated along the temperature and the chemical potential directions, respectively. Within the QCD phase diagrams, the features of different models at large-$N_{c}$ are reviewed and the location of the critical endpoint is discussed. In the end, the very existence of nuclei and the implications of large-$N_{c}$ arguments for neutron stars are outlined., Comment: 104 pages, 51 figures. Lectures prepared for the 63. Cracow School of Theoretical Physics, September 17-23, 2023 Zakopane, Tatra Mountains, Poland. Update and corrected vs with restyling of figures

It is well known that isospin symmetry is fulfilled to a good approximation in strong interactions, as confirmed in low-energy scattering experiments and in mass spectra of both light and heavy hadrons. In collisions of nuclei with an equal number of protons and neutrons, isospin symmetry imposes that the number of produced charged kaons should equal the number of neutral ones. The NA61/SHINE experiment at CERN recently reported an excess of charged over neutral kaon production in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. Here, we argue that the measured charge-to-neutral kaon ratio of about 1.2 indicates an unexpectedly large violation of isospin symmetry. Using well-established models for hadron production, we demonstrate that known symmetry-breaking effects and the initial nuclei containing more neutrons than protons lead only to a small (few per cent) deviation from unity at high energies. Thus, they cannot explain the measurements. The significance of the isospin symmetry violation beyond the known effects is 5.5$ \cdot \sigma$ when errors quoted by the experiments are used and 8.1$ \cdot \sigma$ for the PDG-like scaled errors. New systematic, high-precision measurements and theoretical efforts are needed to establish the origin of the observed large isospin-symmetry breaking., Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures. Theoretical paper related to arXiv:2312.06572 [nucl-ex]

Strong interactions preserve an approximate isospin symmetry between up ($u$) and down ($d$) quarks, part of the more general flavor symmetry. In the case of $K$ meson production, if this isospin symmetry were exact, it would result in equal numbers of charged ($K^+$ and $K^-$) and neutral ($K^0$ and $\overline K^{\,0}$) mesons in the final state. Here, we report results on the relative abundance of charged over neutral $K$ meson production in argon and scandium nuclei collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 11.9 GeV per nucleon pair. We find that the production of $K^+$ and $K^-$ mesons at mid-rapidity is $(18.4\pm 6.1)\%$ higher than that of the neutral $K$ mesons. Although with large uncertainties, earlier data on nucleus-nucleus collisions in the collision center-of-mass energy range $2.6 < \sqrt{s_{NN}} < 200$~\GeV are consistent with the present result. Using well-established models for hadron production, we demonstrate that known isospin-symmetry breaking effects and the initial nuclei containing more neutrons than protons lead only to a small (few percent) deviation of the charged-to-neutral kaon ratio from unity at high energies. Thus, they cannot explain the measurements. The significance of the flavor-symmetry violation beyond the known effects is 4.7$\sigma$ when the compilation of world data with uncertainties quoted by the experiments is used. New systematic, high-precision measurements and theoretical efforts are needed to establish the origin of the observed large isospin-symmetry breaking., Comment: The paper includes updates based on the final results of $K^+$ and $K^-$ yields published in Eur. Phys. J.C 84 (2024) 4, 416

In the framework of a scalar QFT, we evaluate the decay of an initial massive state into two massless particles through a triangle-shaped diagram in which virtual fields propagate. Under certain conditions, the decaying state can be seen as a bound state, thus it is analogous to the neutral pion (quark-antiquark pair) and to the positronium (electron-positron pair), which decay into two photons. While the pion is a relativistic composite object, the positronium is a non-relativistic compound close to threshold. We exam similarities and differences between these two types of bound states., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Prepared for the proceedings of the 18th Symposium on new trends in Nuclear and Medical Physics, Cracow, Poland, 18-20 October 2023

We present the so-called Sill distribution, both in the nonrelativistic and relativistic cases, as a natural and simple way to include the effect of threshold(s) on the energy line shapes of resonances. The Sill is correctly normalized (even for broad states), is continuous at threshold(s), does not require any modification to the `mass part', is easily extendable to the multichannel case, and can be applied to both mesons and baryons. Here, as a novel example, we employ the Sill to describe the resonance $\psi(3770)$., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Prepared as proceedings contribution for the 20th International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy and Structure (HADRON 2023), Genova, Italy, 5-9/6/2023

The two-particle correlation technique applied to $K^-\Lambda$ pairs in pp collisions at LHC recently provided the most precise data on the strangeness $S=-2$ meson-baryon interaction. In this letter, we use for the first time femtoscopic data to constrain the parameters of a low-energy effective QCD Lagrangian. The tuned model delivers new insights on the molecular nature of the $\Xi(1620)$ and $\Xi(1690)$ states. This procedure opens the possibility to determine higher order corrections, directly constraining QCD effective models particularly in the multi-strange and charm sectors.

Topologically nontrivial fluctuations control the anomalous interactions for the $\eta$ and and $\eta \prime$ pseudoscalar mesons. We consider the anomalous interactions for mesons with higher spin, the heterochiral nonets with $J^{P C} = 1^{+ -}$ and $2^{- +}$. Under the approximation of a dilute gas of instantons, the mixing angle between non-strange and strange mesons decreases strongly as $J$ increases, and oscillates in sign. Anomalous interactions also open up new, rare decay channels. For glueballs, anomalous interactions indicate that the $X(2600)$ state is primarily gluonic., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To appear in PRD as a Letter. New vs contains the pseudoscalar glueball, thus the title has been modified

This document presents the initial scientific case for upgrading the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) to 22 GeV. It is the result of a community effort, incorporating insights from a series of workshops conducted between March 2022 and April 2023. With a track record of over 25 years in delivering the world's most intense and precise multi-GeV electron beams, CEBAF's potential for a higher energy upgrade presents a unique opportunity for an innovative nuclear physics program, which seamlessly integrates a rich historical background with a promising future. The proposed physics program encompass a diverse range of investigations centered around the nonperturbative dynamics inherent in hadron structure and the exploration of strongly interacting systems. It builds upon the exceptional capabilities of CEBAF in high-luminosity operations, the availability of existing or planned Hall equipment, and recent advancements in accelerator technology. The proposed program cover various scientific topics, including Hadron Spectroscopy, Partonic Structure and Spin, Hadronization and Transverse Momentum, Spatial Structure, Mechanical Properties, Form Factors and Emergent Hadron Mass, Hadron-Quark Transition, and Nuclear Dynamics at Extreme Conditions, as well as QCD Confinement and Fundamental Symmetries. Each topic highlights the key measurements achievable at a 22 GeV CEBAF accelerator. Furthermore, this document outlines the significant physics outcomes and unique aspects of these programs that distinguish them from other existing or planned facilities. In summary, this document provides an exciting rationale for the energy upgrade of CEBAF to 22 GeV, outlining the transformative scientific potential that lies within reach, and the remarkable opportunities it offers for advancing our understanding of hadron physics and related fundamental phenomena., Comment: Updates to the list of authors; Preprint number changed from theory to experiment; Updates to sections 4 and 6, including additional figures

We outline the physics opportunities provided by the Electron Ion Collider (EIC). These include the study of the parton structure of the nucleon and nuclei, the onset of gluon saturation, the production of jets and heavy flavor, hadron spectroscopy and tests of fundamental symmetries. We review the present status and future challenges in EIC theory that have to be addressed in order to realize this ambitious and impactful physics program, including how to engage a diverse and inclusive workforce. In order to address these many-fold challenges, we propose a coordinated effort involving theory groups with differing expertise is needed. We discuss the scientific goals and scope of such an EIC Theory Alliance., Comment: 44 pages, ReVTeX, White Paper on EIC Theory Alliance

We study the mixing of different kind of fields (scalar in 0+1D, scalar in 3+1D, fermion in 3+1D) treating the mixing term as an interaction. To this aim, we employ the usual perturbative series in the interaction picture. We find that expression for flavor changing probability exhibits corrections with respect to the usual quantum mechanical (e.g. neutrino) oscillation formula, in agreement with the result previously obtained in the non-perturbative flavor Fock space approach., Comment: Accepted for publication in EPJC

Glueballs remain an experimentally undiscovered expectation of QCD. Lattice QCD (As well as other theoretical approaches) predicts a spectrum of glueballs, with the tensor ($J^{PC}=2^{++}$) glueball being the second lightest, behind the scalar glueball. Here, using a chiral hadronic model, we compute decay ratios of the tensor glueball into various meson decay channels. We find the tensor glueball to primarily decay into two vector mesons, dominated by $\rho \rho $ and $K^*K^*$ channels. These results are compared to experimental data of decay rates of isoscalar tensor mesons. Based on this comparison, we make statements on the eligibility of these mesons as potential tensor glueball candidates: the resonance $f_2(1950)$ turns out to be, at present, the best match as being predominantly a tensor glueball., Comment: v3 fixed email and table

We study the production of the light $J^{PC}=1^{-+}$ hybrid isoscalars $\eta_1^\prime(1855)$ and the yet undiscovered $\eta_1^{hyb}(1660)$ as intermediate states in the radiative decays of the charmonium ($J/\psi$) to two conventional mesons using a flavor symmetric Lagrangian. For this purpose, we use the $J/\psi\to\gamma\eta_1^\prime(1855)\to\gamma\eta\eta^\prime$ process as the reference. We find that some of the decay channels have branching ratios similar to or larger than that of the $\gamma\eta\eta^\prime$ channel and are sensitive to the mixing between the hybrid isoscalars. We propose that relatively stable $\gamma\eta f_1(1285)$ channel be explored for the presence of the light hybrid isoscalar $\eta_1^{hyb}(1660)$. We also exploit the strong decay channels containing at least one vector meson to study the radiative decays of the whole hybrid nonet $\{\pi_1(1600),K_1^{hyb}(1750),\eta_1^{hyb}(1660),\eta_1'(1855)\}$. We find that the hybrids cannot radiatively decay into the $I=0$ pseudoscalars. Furthermore, the vector decay channels ($(\rho/\omega/\phi)\gamma$) of the hybrid isoscalars are sensitive to the strangeness content of the hybrids. We also provide estimates for the branching fractions for the radiative production and partial widths for the radiative decays of the hybrids., Comment: 14 pages, matches published version

We study the thermodynamic properties -- pressure, entropy and trace anomaly -- of a gas of glueballs that includes the glueball states obtained by various lattice simulations. We show that this model, called Glueball Resonance Gas (GRG) approach, describes well the thermal properties of the Yang-Mills sector of QCD below the critical temperature $T_c$, provided that $T_c$ is properly matched to the corresponding determination of the glueball masses, obtaining $T_c \sim 320 \pm 20$ MeV. The inclusion into the GRG of heavier glueballs not yet seen on the lattice, assuming that glueballs follow Regge trajectories as quark-antiquark states do, leads only to a small correction. We consider the contribution to the pressure of the interactions between scalar-scalar and tensor-tensor glueballs, which turn out to be also negligible., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures

We study the Higgs-Higgs scattering process and the possible emergence of a Higgs-Higgs bound state (Higgsonium) in any Higgs potential with the vacuum expectation value and second derivative matching the corresponding values from the Standard Model (SM). From the tree-level Higgs-Higgs scattering amplitude, we construct the unitarized amplitude using two different unitarization schemes (the well-known on-shell and N/D methods). We reproduce the known result that there is no Higgsonium state in the SM and, in addition, we determine the S-, D-, and G-wave SM scattering lengths, both at tree-level and upon unitarization. In doing so, we refine previous results by checking the convergence of the N/D approach. Next, we extend the calculation for non-SM potentials and investigate under which conditions a formation of a bound state close to the Higgs-Higgs threshold is possible. In this way, the assumption that no Higgsonium exist, imposes certain bounds on the values of the self-interaction parameters that complement those imposed by the vacuum stability condition., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, version accepted for publication in EPJC

We briefly review the status of various conventional quark-antiquark mesons below 2 GeV and outline some open questions: the status of the strange-antistrange orbitally excited vector meson, the status of the nonet of axial-tensor mesons (chiral partners of the well known tensor mesons), and the isoscalar mixing angle in the pseudotensor sector, which can eventually represent a novel manifestation of the chiral anomaly., Comment: Prepared for the proceedings of the XVth Quark confinement and the Hadron spectrum conference, 1-6/8/2022, University of Stavanger, Norway. 6 pages, 2 tables

The phase diagram of QCD is investigated by varying number of colors $N_c$ within a Polyakov loop quark-meson chiral model. In particular, our attention is focused on the critical point(s): the critical point present for $N_c=3$ moves toward the $\mu_q$-axis and disappears as soon as the number of color is increased. Yet, a distinct critical point emerges along the temperature axis for $N_c = 53$ and moves toward finite density when increasing $N_c$ further. Thus, the phase diagram at large $N_c$ looks specular w.r.t. the $N_c = 3$ results, with the first order transition in the upper-left and crossover in the down-right regions of the the $(\mu_q,T)$-plane. The pressure is also evaluated in dependence of $N_c$, showing a scaling with $N_c^0$ in the confined and chirally broken phase and with $N_c^2$ in the deconfined one. Moreover, the presence of a chirally symmetric but confined `quarkyonic phase' at large density and moderate temperature with a pressure proportional to $N_c$ is confirmed., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures

In the study of decays, it is quite common that an unstable quantum state/particle has multiple distinct decay channels. In this case, besides the survival probability $p(t)$, also the probability $w_{i}(t)$ that the decay occurs between $(0,t)$ in the $i$-th channel is a relevant object. The general form of the function $w_{i}(t)$ was recently presented in PLB \textbf{831} (2022), 137200. Here, we provide a novel and detailed `joint' derivation of both $p(t)$ and $w_{i}(t)$. As it is well known, $p(t)$ is not an exponential function; similarly, $w_{i}(t)$ is also not such. In particular, the ratio $w_{i}/w_{j}$ (for $i\neq j)$ is not a simple constant, as it would be in the exponential limit. The functions $w_{i}(t)$ and their mutual ratios may therefore represent a novel tool to study the non-exponential nature of the decay law., Comment: 8 pages. Prepared as a proceedings contribution for the 4th Jagiellonian Symposium on Advances in Particle Physics and Medicine, Jagiellonian University, 10-15/7/2022, Krak\'ow, Poland

In relativity, there is no absolute notion of simultaneity, because two clocks that are in different places can always be desynchronized by a Lorentz boost. Here, we explore the implications of this effect for the quantum theory of unstable particles. We show that, when a wavefunction is boosted, its tails travel one to the past and the other to the future. As a consequence, in the new frame of reference, the particle is in a quantum superposition "decayed + non decayed", where the property "decayed-ness" is entangled with the position. Since a particle cannot be localised in a region smaller than the Compton wavelength, there is a non-zero lower bound on this effect, which is fundamental in nature. The surprising implication is that, in a quantum world, decay probabilities can never be Lorentz-invariant. We show that this insight was the missing ingredient to reconcile the seemingly conflicting views about time dilation in relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory., Comment: 13 pages, 4 captioned figures, published on PRA, see https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.106.042215

While the ground-state tensor ($J^{PC}=2^{++}$) mesons $a_{2}(1320)$, $K_{2}^{\ast}(1430)$, $f_{2}(1270)$, and $f_{2}^{\prime}(1525)$ are well known experimentally and form an almost ideal nonet of quark-antiquark states, their chiral partners, the ground-states axial-tensor ($J^{PC}=2^{--}$) mesons are poorly settled: only the kaonic member $K_2(1820)$ of the nonet has been experimentally found, whereas the isovector state $\rho_2$ and two isoscalar states $\omega_2$ and $\phi_2$ are still missing. Here, we study masses, strong, and radiative decays of tensor and axial-tensor mesons within a chiral model that links them: the established tensor mesons are used to test the model and to determine its parameters, and subsequently various predictions for their chiral partners, the axial-tensor mesons, are obtained. The results are compared to current lattice QCD outcomes as well as to other theoretical approaches and show that the ground-state axial-tensor mesons are expected to be quite broad, the vector-pseudoscalar mode being the most prominent decay mode followed by the tensor-pseudoscalar one. Nonetheless, their experimental finding seems to be possible in ongoing and/or future experiments., Comment: 28 pages, v2: small modifications of the main text; corrected typos; added references

We study the decays of the $J^{PC}=1^{-+}$ hybrid nonet using a Lagrangian invariant under the flavor symmetry, parity reversal, and charge conjugation. We use the available experimental data, the lattice predictions, and the flavor constraints to evaluate the coupling strengths of the $\pi_1(1600)$ to various two-body mesonic states. Using these coupling constants, we estimate the partial widths of the two-body decays of the hybrid pion, kaon and the isoscalars. We find that the hybrid kaon can be nearly as broad as the $\pi_1(1600)$. Quite remarkably, we find also that the light isoscalar must be significantly narrow while the width of the heavy isoscalar can be matched to the recently observed $\eta_1(1855)$., Comment: 8 pages

According to lattice simulations and other theoretical approaches, the scalar glueball is the lightest state in the Yang-Mills sector of QCD. Since within this sector the scalar glueball is stable, the scattering between two glueballs is a well-defined process. Moreover, a glueball-glueball bound state, called glueballonium, might exist if the attraction turns out to be large enough. In this work, we concentrate on the formation of the glueballonium in the context of the dilaton potential. In particular, we investigate the parameter values for which such a glueballonium emerges., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, talk presented at "HADRON 2021", needs rmf-d.cls and rmfbib.sty

We study the thermal properties of quantum field theories (QFT) with three-leg interaction vertices $g\varphi^{3}$ and $gS\varphi^{2}$ ($\varphi$ and $S$ being scalar fields), which constitute the relativistic counterpart of the Yukawa potential. We follow a non-perturbative unitarized one-loop resummed technique for which the theory is unitary and well-defined for a large range of values of the coupling constant $g$. Using the partial wave decomposition of two-body scattering we calculate the phase shifts, whose derivatives are used to infer the pressure of the system at nonzero temperature by using the so-called phase shift formalism. A $\varphi \varphi$ bound state is formed when the coupling $g$ is larger than a certain critical value. As the main outcomes of this work, we estimate the influence of particle interaction on the pressure (both without and with the bound state), and we demonstrate that the latter is always continuous as a function of the coupling constant $g$ (no sudden jumps occurs when the bound state forms), and we show that the contribution of the bound state to the pressure does not count as \textit{one} state in the thermal gas, since a cancellation with the residual $\varphi \varphi$ interaction occurs. The amount of this cancellation depends on the details of the model and its parameters and a variety of possible scenarios is presented. %Moreover, even when no bound state occurs, we estimate the role of the interaction (including a resonance in the $gS\varphi^{2}$ theory), which is in general non-negligible. We also show how the overall effect of the interaction, including eventual resonances and bound states, can be formally described by a unique expression that makes use of the phase shift continued below the threshold., Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

The scalar glueball $G$ is the lightest particle of the Yang-Mills sector of QCD, with a lattice predicted mass of about $m_{G}\simeq1.7$ GeV. It is natural to investigate glueball-glueball scattering and the possible emergence of a bound state, that we call glueballonium. We perform this study in the context of a widely used dilaton potential, that depends on a single dimensionful parameter $\Lambda_G$. We consider a unitarization prescription that allows us to predict the lowest partial waves in the elastic window. These quantities can be in principle calculated on the lattice, thus offering possibility for testing the validity of the dilaton potential and an independent determination of its parameter. Moreover, we also show that a stable glueballonium exists if $\Lambda_{G}$ is small enough. In particular, for $\Lambda_{G}$ compatible with the expectations from the gluon condensate, the glueballonium has a mass of about $3.4$ GeV., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures

It is well known, both theoretically and experimentally, that the survival probability for an unstable quantum state, formed at $t=0,$ is not a simple exponential function, even if the latter is a good approximation for intermediate times. Typically, unstable quantum states/particles can decay in more than a single decay channel. In this work, the general expression for the probability that an unstable state decays into a certain $i$-th channel between the initial time $t=0$ and an arbitrary $t>0$ is provided, both for nonrelativistic quantum states and for relativistic particles. These partial decay probabilities are also not exponential and their ratio turns out to be not a simple constant, as it would be in the exponential limit. Quite remarkably, these deviations may last relatively long, thus making them potentially interesting in applications. Thus, multichannel decays represent a promising and yet unexplored framework to search for deviations from the exponential decay law in quantum mechanical systems, such as quantum tunnelling, and in the context of particle decays., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. To appear in PLB

We study the two-body decays of mesons using the covariant helicity formalism. In particular, we show how the partial wave analysis of decays constrains the interacting terms entering the Lagrangian describing the decays of mesons with $J=1$ and $J=2$. We use available information on partial wave analysis to study specific mesonic decays and to make predictions for not yet measured quantities as well as to investigate the isoscalar mixing angle in the axial-vector, pseudovector and pseudotensor sectors. In particular, in the axial-vector sector our result agrees with the LHCb one, and in the pseudotensor sector we confirm a quite large (and negative) angle in the nonstrange-strange basis, which is compatible with a large contribute of the axial anomaly., Comment: 20 pages, RevTex, 5 figures, version accepted in Phys.Rev.D

First, we discuss the conditions under which the non-relativistic and relativistic types of the Breit-Wigner energy distributions are obtained. Then, upon insisting on the correct normalization of the energy distribution, we introduce a Flatt\'{e}-like relativistic distribution -- denominated as Sill distribution -- that (i) contains left-threshold effects, (ii) is properly normalized for any decay width, (iii) can be obtained as an appropriate limit in which the decay width is a constant, (iv) is easily generalized to the multi-channel case (v) as well as to a convoluted form in case of a decay chain and -- last but not least -- (vi) is simple to deal with. We compare the Sill distribution to spectral functions derived within specific QFT models and show that it fairs well in concrete examples that involve a fit to experimental data for the $\rho$, $a_1(1260)$, and $K^*(982)$ mesons as well as the $\Delta(1232)$ baryon. We also present a study of the $f_2(1270)$ which has more than one possible decay channels. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the Sill distribution using the $a_0(980)$-$a_0(1450)$ and the $K_0^\ast(700)$-$K_0^\ast(1430)$ resonances as examples., Comment: 37 pages, 12 figures (version accepted in Eur. Phys. J. A)