No Arabic abstract
We present a model for describing nuclear matter at finite density based on quarks interacting with chiral fields, sigma and pi and with vector mesons introduced as massive gauge fields. The chiral Lagrangian includes a logarithmic potential, associated with the breaking of scale invariance. We provide results for the soliton in vacuum and at finite density, using the Wigner-Seitz approximation. We show that the model can reach higher densities respect to the linear-sigma model and that the introduction of vector mesons allows to obtain saturation. This result was never obtained before in similar approaches.
The Quark-Meson-Coupling model, which self-consistently relates the dynamics of the internal quark structure of a hadron to the relativistic mean fields arising in nuclear matter, provides a natural explanation to many open questions in low energy nuclear physics, including the origin of many-body nuclear forces and their saturation, the spin-orbit interaction and properties of hadronic matter at a wide range of densities up to those occurring in the cores of neutron stars. Here we focus on four aspects of the model (i) a full comprehensive survey of the theory, including the latest developments, (ii) extensive application of the model to ground state properties of finite nuclei and hypernuclei, with a discussion of similarities and differences between the QMC and Skyrme energy density functionals, (iii) equilibrium conditions and composition of hadronic matter in cold and warm neutron stars and their comparison with the outcome of relativistic mean-field theories and, (iv) tests of the fundamental idea that hadron structure changes in-medium.
We explore the possibility that scale symmetry is a quantum symmetry that is broken only spontaneously and apply this idea to the Standard Model (SM). We compute the quantum corrections to the potential of the higgs field ($phi$) in the classically scale invariant version of the SM ($m_phi=0$ at tree level) extended by the dilaton ($sigma$). The tree-level potential of $phi$ and $sigma$, dictated by scale invariance, may contain non-polynomial effective operators, e.g. $phi^6/sigma^2$, $phi^8/sigma^4$, $phi^{10}/sigma^6$, etc. The one-loop scalar potential is scale invariant, since the loop calculations manifestly preserve the scale symmetry, with the DR subtraction scale $mu$ generated spontaneously by the dilaton vev $musimlanglesigmarangle$. The Callan-Symanzik equation of the potential is verified in the presence of the gauge, Yukawa and the non-polynomial operators. The couplings of the non-polynomial operators have non-zero beta functions that we can actually compute from the quantum potential. At the quantum level the higgs mass is protected by spontaneously broken scale symmetry, even though the theory is non-renormalizable. We compare the one-loop potential to its counterpart computed in the traditional DR scheme that breaks scale symmetry explicitly ($mu=$constant) in the presence at the tree level of the non-polynomial operators.
We consider a chiral baryon-meson model for nucleons and their parity partners in mirror assignment interacting with pions, sigma and omega mesons to describe the liquid-gas transition of nuclear matter together with chiral symmetry restoration in the high density phase. Within the mean-field approximation the model is known to provide a phenomenologically successful description of the nuclear-matter transition. Here, we go beyond this approximation and include mesonic fluctuations by means of the functional renormalization group. While these fluctuations do not lead to major qualitative changes in the phase diagram of the model, beyond mean-field, one is no-longer free to adjust the parameters so as to reproduce the binding energy per nucleon, the nuclear saturation density, and the nucleon sigma term all at the same time. However, the prediction of a clear first-order chiral transition at low temperatures inside the high baryon-density phase appears to be robust.
The effective field theory of NN interactions in nuclear matter is considered. Due to the Pauli principle the effective NN amplitude is not affected by the shallow bound states. We show that the next-to-leading order terms in the chiral expansion of the effective NN potential can be interpreted as corrections so the expansion is systematic. The value of potential energy per particle is calculated and some issues concerning the chiral effective theory of nuclear matter are outlined.
On a null-plane (light-front), all effects of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking are contained in the three Hamiltonians (dynamical Poincare generators), while the vacuum state is a chiral invariant. This property is used to give a general proof of Goldstones theorem on a null-plane. Focusing on null-plane QCD with N degenerate flavors of light quarks, the chiral-symmetry breaking Hamiltonians are obtained, and the role of vacuum condensates is clarified. In particular, the null-plane Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner formula is derived, and a general prescription is given for mapping all chiral-symmetry breaking QCD condensates to chiral-symmetry conserving null-plane QCD condensates. The utility of the null-plane description lies in the operator algebra that mixes the null-plane Hamiltonians and the chiral symmetry charges. It is demonstrated that in a certain non-trivial limit, the null-plane operator algebra reduces to the symmetry group SU(2N) of the constituent quark model.