Confining density functional approach for color superconducting quark matter and mesonic correlations

We present a novel relativistic density-functional approach to modeling quark matter with a mechanism to mimic confinement. The quasiparticle treatment of quarks provides their suppression due to large quark selfenergy already at the mean-field level. We demonstrate that our approach is equivalent to a chiral quark model with medium-dependent couplings. The dynamical restoration of the chiral symmetry is ensured by construction of the density functional. Beyond the mean field, quark correlations in the pseudoscalar channel are described within the Gaussian approximation. This explicitly introduces pionic states into the model. Their contribution to the thermodynamic potential is analyzed within the Beth–Uhlenbeck framework. The modification of the meson mass spectrum in the vicinity of thee (de)confinement transition is interpreted as the Mott transition. Supplemented with the vector repulsion and diquark pairing the model is applied to construct a hybrid quark-hadron EoS of cold compact-star matter. We study the connection of such a hybrid EoS with the stellar mass-radius relation and tidal deformability. The model results are compared to various observational constraints including the NICER radius measurement of PSR J0740+6620 and the tidal deformability constraint from GW170817. The model is shown to be consistent with the constraints, still allowing for further improvement by adjusting the vector repulsion and diquark pairing couplings.

Evidence for the unbinding of the 𝜙4 kink’s shape mode

The 𝜙4 double-well theory admits a kink solution, whose rich phenomenology is strongly affected by the existence of a single bound excitation called the shape mode. We find that the leading quantum correction to the energy needed to excite the shape mode is −0.115567λ/M in terms of the coupling λ/4 and the meson mass M evaluated at the minimum of the potential. On the other hand, the correction to the continuum threshold is −0.433λ/M. A naive extrapolation to finite coupling then suggests that the shape mode melts into the continuum at the modest coupling of λ/4 ∼ 0.106M2, where the ℤ2 symmetry is still broken.

Optimal Perturbation Technique within the Asymptotic Iteration Method for Heavy-Light Meson Mass Splittings

For further insight into the perturbation technique within the framework of the asymptotic iteration method (PAIM), we suggest this method to be used as an alternative method to the traditional well-known perturbation techniques. We show by means of very simple algebraic manipulations that PAIM can be directly applied to obtain the symbolic expectation value of any perturbed potential piece without using the eigenfunction of the unperturbed problem. One of the fundamental advantages of PAIM is its ability to extract a reference unperturbed potential piece or pieces from the total Hamiltonian which can be solved exactly within AIM. After all, one can easily compute the symbolic expectation values of the remaining potential pieces. As an example, the present scheme is applied to the semi-relativistic wave equation with the harmonic-oscillator potential implemented with the Fermi–Breit potential terms. In particular, the non-trivial symbolic expectation values of the Dirac delta function, and the momentum-dependent orbit–orbit coupling terms are successfully calculated. Results are then used, as an illustration, to compute the semi-relativistic s-wave heavy-light meson masses. We obtain good agreement with experimental data for the meson mass splittings cu¯, cd¯, cs¯, bu¯, bd¯, bs¯.

Measurement of the CP-violating phase $$\phi _s$$ in $$ B_{s}^{0} \rightarrow J/\psi \phi $$ decays in ATLAS at 13 TeV

A measurement of the $$ B_{s}^{0} \rightarrow J/\psi \phi $$ B s 0 → J / ψ ϕ decay parameters using $$ 80.5\, \mathrm {fb^{-1}} $$ 80.5 fb - 1 of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from 13 $$\text {Te}\text {V}$$ Te proton–proton collisions at the LHC is presented. The measured parameters include the CP-violating phase $$\phi _{s} $$ ϕ s , the width difference $$ \Delta \Gamma _{s}$$ Δ Γ s between the $$B_{s}^{0}$$ B s 0 meson mass eigenstates and the average decay width $$ \Gamma _{s}$$ Γ s . The values measured for the physical parameters are combined with those from $$ 19.2\, \mathrm {fb^{-1}} $$ 19.2 fb - 1 of 7 and 8 $$\text {Te}\text {V}$$ Te data, leading to the following: $$\begin{aligned} \phi _{s}= & {} -0.087 \pm 0.036 ~\mathrm {(stat.)} \pm 0.021 ~\mathrm {(syst.)~rad} \\ \Delta \Gamma _{s}= & {} 0.0657 \pm 0.0043 ~\mathrm {(stat.)}\pm 0.0037 ~\mathrm {(syst.)~ps}^{-1} \\ \Gamma _{s}= & {} 0.6703 \pm 0.0014 ~\mathrm {(stat.)}\pm 0.0018 ~\mathrm {(syst.)~ps}^{-1} \end{aligned}$$ ϕ s = - 0.087 ± 0.036 ( stat . ) ± 0.021 ( syst . ) rad Δ Γ s = 0.0657 ± 0.0043 ( stat . ) ± 0.0037 ( syst . ) ps - 1 Γ s = 0.6703 ± 0.0014 ( stat . ) ± 0.0018 ( syst . ) ps - 1 Results for $$\phi _{s} $$ ϕ s and $$ \Delta \Gamma _{s}$$ Δ Γ s are also presented as 68% confidence level contours in the $$\phi _{s} $$ ϕ s –$$ \Delta \Gamma _{s}$$ Δ Γ s plane. Furthermore the transversity amplitudes and corresponding strong phases are measured. $$\phi _{s} $$ ϕ s and $$ \Delta \Gamma _{s}$$ Δ Γ s measurements are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions.

Relative scale setting for two-color QCD with Nf = 2 Wilson fermions

We determine the scale setting function and the pseudo-critical temperature on the lattice in Nf = 2 two-color QCD using the Iwasaki gauge and Wilson fermion actions. Although two-color QCD does not correspond to the real world, it is very useful as a good testing ground for three-color QCD. The scale setting function gives the relative lattice spacings of simulations performed at different values of the bare coupling. It is a necessary tool for taking the continuum limit. Firstly, we measure the meson spectra for various combinations of (β, κ) and find a line of constant physics in β – κ plane. Next, we determine the scale setting function via w0 scale in the gradient flow method. Furthermore, we estimate the pseudo-critical temperature at zero chemical potential from the chiral susceptibility.Combining these results, we can discuss the QCD phase diagram in which both axes are given by dimensionless quantities, namely, the temperature normalized by the pseudo-critical temperature on the lattice and the chemical potential normalized by the pseudoscalar meson mass. It makes it easy to compare among several lattice studies and also makes it possible to compare theoretical analyses and lattice studies in the continuum limit.