No Arabic abstract
There are two mass generating mechanisms in the standard model of particle physics (SM). One is related to the Higgs boson and fairly well understood. The other is embedded in quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the SMs strong interaction piece; and although responsible for emergence of the roughly 1 GeV mass scale that characterises the proton and hence all observable matter, the source and impacts of this emergent hadronic mass (EHM) remain puzzling. As bound states seeded by a valence-quark and -antiquark, pseudoscalar mesons present a simpler problem in quantum field theory than that associated with the nucleon. Consequently, there is a large array of robust predictions for pion and kaon properties whose empirical validation will provide a clear window onto many effects of both mass generating mechanisms and the constructive interference between them. This has now become significant because new-era experimental facilities, in operation, construction, or planning, are capable of conducting such tests and thereby contributing greatly to resolving the puzzles of EHM. These aspects of experiment, phenomenology, and theory, along with contemporary successes and challenges, are sketched herein, simultaneously highlighting the potential gains that can accrue from a coherent effort aimed at finally reaching an understanding of the character and structure of Natures Nambu-Goldstone modes.
Understanding the origin and dynamics of hadron structure and in turn that of atomic nuclei is a central goal of nuclear physics. This challenge entails the questions of how does the roughly 1 GeV mass-scale that characterizes atomic nuclei appear; why does it have the observed value; and, enigmatically, why are the composite Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) abnormally light in comparison? In this perspective, we provide an analysis of the mass budget of the pion and proton in QCD; discuss the special role of the kaon, which lies near the boundary between dominance of strong and Higgs mass-generation mechanisms; and explain the need for a coherent effort in QCD phenomenology and continuum calculations, in exa-scale computing as provided by lattice QCD, and in experiments to make progress in understanding the origins of hadron masses and the distribution of that mass within them. We compare the unique capabilities foreseen at the electron-ion collider (EIC) with those at the hadron-electron ring accelerator (HERA), the only previous electron-proton collider; and describe five key experimental measurements, enabled by the EIC and aimed at delivering fundamental insights that will generate concrete answers to the questions of how mass and structure arise in the pion and kaon, the Standard Models NG modes, whose surprisingly low mass is critical to the evolution of our Universe.
We investigate the effects of the kaon cloud on the electromagnetic and axial-vector form factors of the $Omega^-$ baryon within the framework of the chiral quark-soliton model. We first derive the profile function of the chiral soliton in such a way that the kaon Yukawa tail is properly produced self-consistently. Then, we compute the electromagnetic form factors of the $Omega^-$ baryon. The results for the electromagnetic form factors are compared with the lattice data. We find that the results with kaon tail employed are in far better agreement with the lattice data. We also study the axial-vector form factors of the $Omega^-$ baryon, examining the effects of the kaon cloud.
We perform a new Monte Carlo QCD analysis of pion parton distribution functions, including, for the first time, transverse momentum dependent pion-nucleus Drell-Yan cross sections together with $p_{rm T}$-integrated Drell-Yan and leading neutron electroproduction data from HERA. We assess the sensitivity of the Monte Carlo fits to kinematic cuts, factorization scale, and parametrization choice, and we discuss the impact of the various data sets on the pions quark and gluon distributions. This study provides the necessary step towards the simultaneous analysis of collinear and transverse momentum dependent pion distributions and the determination of the pions 3-dimensional structure.
With discovery of the Higgs boson, science has located the source for $lesssim 2$% of the mass of visible matter. The focus of attention can now shift to the search for the origin of the remaining $gtrsim 98$%. The instruments at work here must be capable of simultaneously generating the 1 GeV mass-scale associated with the nucleon and ensuring that this mass-scale is completely hidden in the chiral-limit pion. This hunt for an understanding of the emergence of hadronic mass (EHM) has actually been underway for many years. What is changing are the impacts of QCD-related theory, through the elucidation of clear signals for EHM in hadron observables, and the ability of modern and planned experimental facilities to access these observables. These developments are exemplified in a discussion of the evolving understanding of pion and kaon parton distributions.
We discuss the recent progress in the study of semileptonic kaon and pion decays, including new experimental results, improved electroweak radiative corrections, form factor calculations and isospin-breaking effects. As a result, we obtain $|V_{us}|=0.22309(40)(39)(3)$ from kaon semileptonic decays and $|V_{us}/V_{ud}|=0.22908(66)(41)(40)(2)(1)$ from the ratio between the kaon and pion semileptonic decay rates. We report an apparent violation of the top-row Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix unitarity at a $3.2sim 5.6sigma$ level, and a discrepancy at a $2.2sigma$ level between the value of $|V_{us}/V_{ud}|$ determined from the vector and axial charged weak interactions. Prospects for future improvements in those comparative precision tests involving $|V_{ud}|$, $|V_{us}|$ and their implications for physics beyond the Standard Model are described.