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We develop the full finite lepton mass formalism for the production of real photons via the Bethe-Heitler reaction of unpolarized leptons off unpolarized nucleons. Genuine lepton mass effects are described, in particular their dependence upon the lepton mass and the initial beam energy, as well as their sensitivity to the nucleon isospin. In the minimum momentum transfer region, these effects dominate the muon induced proton cross section and become significant for electron scattering at small $x_B$., Comment: Final version including errata

Two-particle two-hole contributions to electromagnetic response functions are computed in a fully relativistic Fermi gas model. All one-pion exchange diagrams that contribute to the scattering amplitude in perturbation theory are considered, including terms for pionic correlations and meson-exchange currents (MEC). The pionic correlation terms diverge in an infinite system and thus are regularized by modification of the nucleon propagator in the medium to take into account the finite size of the nucleus. The pionic correlation contributions are found to be of the same order of magnitude as the MEC., Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures

We review the general interplay between Nuclear Physics and neutrino-nucleus cross sections at intermediate and high energies. The effects of different reaction mechanisms over the neutrino observables are illustrated with examples in calculations using several nuclear models and ingredients., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of 6th International Workshop on Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the Few-GeV Region (NuInt09), Sitges, Spain, 18 - 22 May 2009

The present study is focused on the superscaling behavior of electron-nucleus cross sections in the region lying above the quasielastic peak, especially the region dominated by electroexcitation of the Delta. Non-quasielastic cross sections are obtained from all available high-quality data for Carbon 12 by subtracting effective quasielastic cross sections based on the superscaling hypothesis. These residuals are then compared with results obtained within a scaling-based extension of the relativistic Fermi gas model, including an investigation of violations of scaling of the first kind in the region above the quasielastic peak. A way potentially to isolate effects related to meson-exchange currents by subtracting both impulsive quasielastic and impulsive inelastic contributions from the experimental cross sections is also presented., Comment: RevTeX, 34 pages including 11 figures

The effects of meson-exchange currents (MEC) are computed for the one-particle one-hole transverse response function for finite nuclei at high momentum transfers $q$ in the region of the quasielastic peak. A semi-relativistic shell model is used for the one-particle-emission $(e,e')$ reaction. Relativistic effects are included using relativistic kinematics, performing a semi-relativistic expansion of the current operators and using the Dirac-equation-based (DEB) form of the relativistic mean field potential for the final states. It is found that final-state interactions (FSI) produce an important enhancement of the MEC in the high-energy tail of the response function for $q\geq 1$ GeV/c. The combined effect of MEC and FSI goes away when other models of the FSI, not based on the DEB potential, are employed., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures

The electric dipole excitation of various nuclei is calculated with a Random Phase Approximation phenomenological approach. The evolution of the strength distribution in various groups of isotopes, oxygen, calcium, zirconium and tin, is studied. The neutron excess produces $E1$ strength in the low energy region. Indexes to measure the collectivity of the excitation are defined. We studied the behavior of proton and neutron transition densities to determine the isoscalar or isovector nature of the excitation. We observed that in medium-heavy nuclei the low-energy $E1$ excitation has characteristics rather different that those exhibited by the giant dipole resonance. This new type of excitation can be identified as pygmy dipole resonance., Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables

We have studied the low lying magnetic spectra of 12C, 16O, 40Ca, 48Ca and 208Pb nuclei within the Random Phase Approximation (RPA) theory, finding that the description of low-lying magnetic states of doubly-closed-shell nuclei imposes severe constraints on the spin and tensor terms of the nucleon-nucleon effective interaction. We have first made an investigation by using four phenomenological effective interactions and we have obtained good agreement with the experimental magnetic spectra, and, to a lesser extent, with the electron scattering responses. Then we have made self-consistent RPA calculations to test the validity of the finite-range D1 Gogny interaction. For all the nuclei under study we have found that this interaction inverts the energies of all the magnetic states forming isospin doublets., Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C

We present a calculation of low energy magnetic states of doubly-closed-shell nuclei. Our results have been obtained within the random phase approximation using different nucleon-nucleon interactions, having zero- or finite-range and including a possible contribution in the tensor channel., Comment: Contribution to Cortona 2008, XII Workshop on Problems in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, Cortona (Italy), October 8-10, 2008

A particle-hole model is developed to describe the excitation spectrum of single lambda hypernuclei and the possible presence of collective effects is explored by making a comparison with the mean-field calculations. Results for the spectra of 12C, 16O, 40Ca, 90Zr and 208Pb single lambda hypernuclei are shown. The comparison with the available experimental data is satisfactory. We find that collective phenomena are much less important in hypernuclei than in ordinary nuclei., Comment: 24 pages, 5 eps figures, accepted for publication in Nucl. Phys. A

Neutron matter at low density is studied within the hole-line expansion. Calculations are performed in the range of Fermi momentum $k_F$ between 0.4 and 0.8 fm$^{-1}$. It is found that the Equation of State is determined by the $^1S_0$ channel only, the three-body forces contribution is quite small, the effect of the single particle potential is negligible and the three hole-line contribution is below 5% of the total energy and indeed vanishing small at the lowest densities. Despite the unitary limit is actually never reached, the total energy stays very close to one half of the free gas value throughout the considered density range. A rank one separable representation of the bare NN interaction, which reproduces the physical scattering length and effective range, gives results almost indistinguishable from the full Brueckner G-matrix calculations with a realistic force. The extension of the calculations below $k_F = 0.4$ fm$^{-1}$ does not indicate any pathological behavior of the neutron Equation of State., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. C

We present a unified relativistic approach to inclusive electron scattering based on the relativistic Fermi gas model and on a phenomenological extension of it which accounts for the superscaling behaviour of $(e,e')$ data. We present results in the $\Delta$ resonance region and in the highly inelastic domain and show some application to neutrino scattering., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure, contribution to the Proceedings of the 26th International Workshop on Nuclear Theory, June 25-30, 2007, Rila Mountains, Bulgaria

A central issue in the theory of astrophysical compact objects and heavy ion reactions at intermediate and relativistic energies is the Nuclear Equation of State (EoS). On one hand, the large and expanding set of experimental and observational data is expected to constrain the behaviour of the nuclear EoS, especially at density above saturation, where it is directly linked to fundamental processes which can occur in dense matter. On the other hand, theoretical predictions for the EoS at high density can be challenged by the phenomenological findings. In this topical review paper we present the many-body theory of nuclear matter as developed along different years and with different methods. Only nucleonic degrees of freedom are considered. We compare the different methods at formal level, as well as the final EoS calculated within each one of the considered many-body schemes. The outcome of this analysis should help in restricting the uncertainty of the theoretical predictions for the nuclear EoS., Comment: 51 pages, to appear in J. Phys. G as Topical Review

We use a correlated local Fermi gas (LFG) model, which accounts also for long distance corrections of the RPA type and final-state interactions, to compute the polarization of the final lepton in charged-current quasielastic neutrino scattering. The present model has been successfully used in recent studies of inclusive neutrino nucleus processes and muon capture. We investigate the relevance of nuclear effects in the particular case of $\tau$ polarization in tau-neutrino induced reactions for several kinematics of relevance for neutrino oscillation experiments., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

We compare local Fermi gas and shell model in muon capture in nuclei in order to estimate the effect of finite nuclear size in low energy weak reactions., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures. To be published in the Proceedings of 20th Max Born Symposium, Wroclaw (Poland), December 7-10, 2005

We study the possible relationship between the saturation properties of nuclear matter and the inclusion of non-locality in the nucleon-nucleon interaction. To this purpose we compute the saturation curve of nuclear matter within the Bethe-Brueckner-Goldstone theory using a recently proposed realistic non-local potential, and compare it with the corresponding curves obtained with a purely local realistic interaction (Argonne v$_{18}$) and the most recent version of the one-boson exchange potential (CD Bonn). We find that the inclusion of non-locality in the two-nucleon bare interaction strongly affects saturation, but it is unable to provide a consistent description of few-body nuclear systems and nuclear matter., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures; v2: introduction extended, references added, discussion of fig.8 reformulated; to be published in Phys. Rev. C

Superscaling of the quasielastic cross section in charged current neutrino-nucleus reactions at energies of a few GeV is investigated within the framework of the relativistic impulse approximation. Several approaches are used to describe final state interactions and comparisons are made with the plane wave approximation. Superscaling is very successful in all cases. The scaling function obtained using a relativistic mean field for the final states shows an asymmetric shape with a long tail extending towards positive values of the scaling variable, in excellent agreement with the behavior presented by the experimental scaling function., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publicacion in PRL Text modified and references added

The so-called semi-relativistic expansion of the weak charged current in powers of the initial nucleon momentum is performed to describe charge-changing, quasielastic neutrino reactions $(\nu_\mu,\mu^-)$ at intermediate energies. The quality of the expansion is tested by comparing with the relativistic Fermi gas model using several choices of kinematics of interest for ongoing neutrino oscillation experiments. The new current is then implemented in a continuum shell model together with relativistic kinematics to investigate the scaling properties of $(e,e')$ and $(\nu_\mu,\mu^-)$ cross sections., Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures, to appear in PRC

Motivated by recent studies of inclusive neutrino nucleus processes and muon capture within a correlated local Fermi gas model (LFG), we discuss the relevance of nuclear finite size effects in these reactions at low energy, in particular for muon capture. To disentangle these effects from others coming from the reaction dynamics we employ here a simple uncorrelated shell model that embodies the typical finite size content of the problem. The integrated decay widths of muon atoms calculated with this shell model are then compared for several nuclei with those obtained within the uncorrelated LFG, using in both models exactly the same theoretical ingredients and parameters. We find that the two predictions are in quite good agreement, within 1--7%, when the shell model density and the correct energy balance is used as input in the LFG calculation. The present study indicates that, despite the low excitation energies involved in the reaction, integrated inclusive observables, like the total muon capture width, are quite independent of the fine details of the nuclear wave functions., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. Final version to be published in EPJA

We consider the charged-current quasielastic scattering of muon neutrinos on an Oxygen 16 target, described within a relativistic shell model and, for comparison, the relativistic Fermi gas. Final state interactions are described in the distorted wave impulse approximation, using both a relativistic mean field potential and a relativistic optical potential, with and without imaginary part. We present results for inclusive cross sections at fixed neutrino energies in the range $E_\nu =$ 200 MeV - 1 GeV, showing that final state interaction effects can remain sizable even at large energies., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; poster session of the Third International Workshop on Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the Few GeV Region (NuInt04), Gran Sasso (Italy), March 17-21, 2004; to appear in the proceedings

We study the hadron-quark phase transition in the interior of neutron stars (NS). For the hadronic sector, we use a microscopic equation of state (EOS) involving nucleons and hyperons derived within the Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone many-body theory, with realistic two-body and three-body forces. For the description of quark matter, we employ both the MIT bag model with a density dependent bag constant, and the color dielectric model. We calculate the structure of NS interiors with the EOS comprising both phases, and we find that the NS maximum masses are never larger than 1.7 solar masses, no matter the model chosen for describing the pure quark phase., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D

Nuclear and neutron matters are investigated in the low density region, well below the nuclear saturation density. Microscopic calculations, based on the Bethe-Brueckner approach with a few realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials, are compared with the predictions of a set of phenomenological effective interactions, mostly employed in nuclear structure studies. An energy functional is constructed on the basis of the microscopic bulk EoS and applied to a selection of nuclei throughout the mass table. The results provide a microscopic basis for a link between nuclear surface behaviour and neutron EoS previously observed with phenomenological effective forces. Possible effects of pairing on asymmetric nuclear matter are also analyzed in detail. The results are expected to illuminate the physical mechanisms which determine the behaviour of the surface density tail in exotic nuclei., Comment: 5 figures. To be published in Nucl. Phys. A

Highly inelastic electron scattering is analyzed within the context of the unified relativistic approach previously considered in the case of quasielastic kinematics. Inelastic relativistic Fermi gas modeling that includes the complete inelastic spectrum - resonant, non-resonant and Deep Inelastic Scattering - is elaborated and compared with experimental data. A phenomenological extension of the model based on direct fits to data is also introduced. Within both models, cross sections and response functions are evaluated and binding energy effects are analyzed. Finally, an investigation of the second-kind scaling behavior is also presented., Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures; formalism extended and slightly reorganized, conclusions extended; to appear in Phys. Rev. C

We study the relevance of the energy correlation produced by the two-body spin-orbit coupling present in realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. To this purpose, the neutron matter Equation of State (EoS) is calculated with the realistic two-body Argonne $v_8'$ potential. The shift occuring in the EoS when spin-orbit terms are removed is taken as an estimate of the spin-orbit correlation energy. Results obtained within the Bethe-Brueckner-Goldstone expansion, extended up to three hole-line diagrams, are compared with other many-body calculations recently presented in the literature. In particular, excellent agreement is found with the Green's function Monte-Carlo method. This agreement indicates the present theoretical accuracy in the calculation of the neutron matter EoS., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables; to appear in Phys. Rev. C

The possibility to determine the axial strange form factor of the nucleon from elastic neutrino-nucleon scattering experiments is studied. The existing experimental information is shortly mentioned and several observables which could be measured in the near future at new neutrino facilities are discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, contribution to : "NuFact 03", 5th International Workshop on Neutrino Factories & Superbeams, Columbia University, New York, 5-11 June 2003

The quasielastic scattering of muon neutrinos on oxygen 16 is studied for neutrino energies between 200 MeV and 1 GeV using a relativistic shell model. Final state interactions are included within the distorted wave impulse approximation, by means of a relativistic optical potential, with and without imaginary part, and of a relativistic mean field potential. For comparison with experimental data the inclusive charged--current quasielastic cross section for $\nu_\mu$--$^{12}C$ scattering in the kinematical conditions of the LSND experiment at Los Alamos is also presented and briefly discussed., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, two-column format. Accepted as brief report in Phys. Rev. C

The possibility to determine the axial strange form factor of the nucleon from neutrino scattering experiments is studied. The existing experimental information is reviewed and several related observables which could be measured in the near future at new neutrino facilities are studied in detail. Elastic scattering from S=T=0 nuclei is also briefly considered., Comment: Talk given at International Workshop on Parity Violation, Mainz, June 5-8, 2002

An extended study of scaling of the first and second kinds for inclusive electron scattering from nuclei is presented. Emphasis is placed on the transverse response in the kinematic region lying above the quasielastic peak. In particular, for the region in which electroproduction of resonances is expected to be important, approximate scaling of the second kind is observed and the modest breaking of it is shown probably to be due to the role played by an inelastic version of the usual scaling variable., Comment: LaTeX, 36 pages including 5 color postscript figures and 4 postscript figures

After the EMC and subsequent experiments at CERN, SLAC and DESY on the deep inelastic scattering of polarized leptons on polarized nucleons, it is now established that the Q^2=0 value of the axial strange form factor of the nucleon, a quantity which is connected with the spin of the proton and is quite relevant from the theoretical point of view, is relatively large. In this review we consider different methods and observables that allow to obtain information on the strange axial and vector form factors of the nucleon at different values of Q^2. These methods are based on the investigation of the Neutral Current induced effects such as the P-odd asymmetry in the scattering of polarized electrons on protons and nuclei, the elastic neutrino (antineutrino) scattering on protons and the quasi-elastic neutrino (antineutrino) scattering on nuclei. We discuss in details the phenomenology of these processes and the existing experimental data., Comment: 118 pages, 21 figures, to be published in Physics Reports

We consider ratios of elastic neutrino(antineutrino)-proton cross sections measured by the Brookhaven BNL-734 experiment and use them to obtain the neutral current (NC) over charged current (CC) neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry. We discuss the sensitivity of these ratios and of the asymmetry to the electric, magnetic and axial strange form factors of the nucleon and to the axial cutoff mass M_A. We show that the effects of the nuclear structure and interactions on the asymmetry and, in general, on ratios of cross sections are negligible. We find some restrictions on the possible values of the parameters characterizing the strange form factors. We show that a precise measurement of the neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry would allow the extraction of the axial and vector magnetic strange form factors in a model independent way. The neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry turns out to be almost independent on the electric strange form factor and on the axial cutoff mass., Comment: 12 pages

We calculate the ratio of proton and neutron yields in NC induced neutrino(antineutrino)-nucleus inelastic scattering at neutrino energies of about 1 GeV. We show that this ratio depends very weakly on the nuclear models employed and that in the neutrino and antineutrino cases the ratios have different sensitivity to the axial and vector strange form factors; moreover, the ratio of antineutrino--nucleus cross sections turns out to be rather sensitive to the electric strange form factor. We demonstrate that measurements of these ratios will allow to get information on the strange form factors of the nucleon in the region Q > 0.4 GeV^2., Comment: 8 pages, including 2 figures. Final version to be published in Phys. Lett. B

Possibilities to extract information on the strange form factors of the nucleon from neutrino (antineutrino) inelastic scattering on nuclei, in an energy range from 200 MeV to 1 GeV and more, are investigated in detail. All calculations are performed within two relativistic independent particle models (Fermi gas and shell model); the final state interactions of the ejected nucleon are taken into account through relativistic optical model potentials. We have shown that the values of the cross sections significantly depend on the nuclear model (especially in the lower energy range). However the NC/CC neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry in a medium--high energy range shows a rather small dependence on the model and allows to disentangle different values of the parameters that characterize the strange form factors. We have calculated also the ratio of the cross sections for inelastic NC scattering of neutrinos on nuclei, with the emission of a proton and of a neutron. Our calculations show that this ratio depends rather weakly on the nuclear model and confirm previous conclusions on the rather strong dependence of this ratio upon the axial strange form factors., Comment: RevTeX file, 35 pages including 12 figures

Talk presented by S.M. Bilenky at the Adriatico Research Conference on "Trends in Collider Spin Physics", ICTP, Trieste, December 1995., Comment: LaTeX2e file, 4 pages, no figures

Elastic scattering of neutrinos and antineutrinos on nucleons is considered. It is shown that the measurement of the neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry would allow to obtain model independent informations on the strange axial and vector form factors. The ratio of the magnetic form factors of the proton and neutron, on which the asymmetry depends, is investigated in detail. The asymmetry is calculated under different assumptions on the behavior of the strange vector and axial form factors., Comment: Revtex file, 16 pages + 8 figures (attached). The postscript file of text and figures is available at http://www.to.infn.it/teorici/giunti/papers.html or ftp://ftp.to.infn.it/pub/giunti/1995/dftt-48-95/dftt-48-95.ps