Instanton Vacuum Research Articles

Photoproduction of ηc,b near threshold

We analyze the photoproduction of ηc,b off a proton in the threshold region, in terms of C-odd gluonic correlations in the off-forward proton matrix element. Near threshold, the skewness is large, leading to a production amplitude that is dominated by four C-odd twist-3 gluon GPDs. We use the QCD instanton vacuum to estimate these C-odd contributions in the proton. The results are used to estimate the differential cross sections for coherent photoproduction of ηc,b in the threshold region, at current electron facilities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Pion gravitational form factors in the QCD instanton vacuum. II

We revisit the hard QCD contributions to the pion gravitational form factors, in terms of the twist-2,3 pion distribution amplitudes (DAs), including novel semihard contributions from the instantons. The pion DAs are evaluated in the QCD instanton vacuum and then properly evolved to higher resolution. The results are compared to our recent results from the QCD instanton vacuum, as well as Bethe-Salpeter calculations and recent lattice data. The interpolated hard and soft contributions to the pion D form factor are used to derive the (gravitational) pressure and shear within the pion, with a clear delineation of their range. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Pion gravitational form factors in the QCD instanton vacuum. I

The pion form factors of the QCD energy-momentum tensor (EMT) are studied in the instanton liquid model (ILM) of the QCD vacuum. In this approach, the breaking of conformal symmetry is encoded in the form of stronger-than-Poisson fluctuations in the number of instantons. For the trace of the EMT, it is shown that the gluonic trace anomaly term contributes half the pion mass, with the other half coming from the quark-mass-dependent σ term. The Q2 dependence of the form factors is governed by glueball and scalar meson exchanges. For the EMT, the spin-0 (trace) and spin-2 (traceless rank-2 tensor) form factors are computed at next-to-leading order in the instanton density using effective quark operators. Relations between the gluon and quark contributions to the EMT form factors are derived. The form factors are also expressed in terms of the pion light-front wave functions in the ILM. The results at the low resolution scale of the inverse instanton size are evolved to higher scales using the renormalization group equation. The ILM results compare well with those of recent lattice QCD calculations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Glue in hadrons at medium resolution and the QCD instanton vacuum

We discuss a general framework for the evaluation of the gluonic form factors in light hadrons at low momentum transfer, in the QCD instanton vacuum. At medium resolution of the order of the inverse mean instanton size, the glue is mostly localized in single or pairs of pseudoparticles and globally constrained by the fluctuations of their topological charges. These pseudoparticles trap light quarks, giving rise to emerging multiflavor ’t Hooft interactions. We explicitly evaluate the gluonic scalar, pseudoscalar, energy-momentum tensor (EMT), and the leading C-odd and C-even three-gluon hadronic form factors, at next to leading order in the instanton density, including molecular clusters of like and unlike instantons. We use the results for the EMT to address the contribution of the gluons in Ji’s mass and spin sum rules, at low resolution. When evolved, our results for the mass and spin composition of the nucleon are shown to be in good agreement with the recently reported lattice results at higher resolution. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Mechanical structure of the nucleon and the baryon octet: twist-2 case

We investigate the gravitational form factors (GFFs) of the nucleon and the baryon octet, decomposed into their flavor components, utilizing a pion mean-field approach grounded in the large Nc limit of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Our focus is on the contributions from the twist-2 operators to the flavor-triplet and octet GFFs, and we decompose the mass, angular momentum, and D-term form factors of the nucleon into their respective flavors. The strange quark contributions are found to be relatively mild for the mass and angular momentum form factors, while providing significant corrections to the D-term form factor. In the course of examining the flavor decomposition of the GFFs, we uncover that the effects of twist-4 operators play a crucial role. While the gluonic contributions are suppressed by the packing fraction of the instanton vacuum in the twist-2 case, contributions from twist-4 operators are of order unity, necessitating its explicit consideration.

Hadronic structure on the light front. VIII. Light scalar and vector mesons

We use the QCD instanton vacuum model to discuss the emergence of the light scalar and vector mesons on the light front. We take into account both the instanton and anti-instanton single and molecular interactions on the light quarks, in the form of nonlocal effective interactions. Although the molecular induced interactions are suppressed by a power of the packing fraction, they are still sufficient to bind the vector mesons, while keeping most of the scalar spectrum relatively unchanged. We explicitly derive the light front distribution amplitudes and partonic functions for the scalar and vector mesons, and compare them after pertinent QCD evolution, to the available empirical and lattice measured counterparts. The Dirac electric form factors for both the pion and ρ meson are derived, and shown to compare well with current data. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Instanton effects in twist-3 generalized parton distributions

The instanton vacuum picture is used to study hadronic matrix elements of the twist-3 (dimension-4, spin-1) QCD operators measuring the quark spin density and spin-orbit correlations. The QCD operators are converted to effective operators in the low-energy effective theory emerging after chiral symmetry breaking, in a systematic approach based on the diluteness of the instanton medium and the 1/Nc expansion. The instanton fields induce spin-flavor-dependent “potential” terms in the effective operators, complementing the “kinetic” terms from the quark field momenta. As a result, the effective operators obey the same equation-of-motion relations as the original QCD operators. The spin-orbit correlations are qualitatively different from naive quark model expectations.

Hadronic structure on the light front. VII. Pions and kaons and their partonic distributions

This work is a continuation in our series of papers, that addresses quark models of hadronic structure on the light front, motivated by the QCD vacuum structure and lattice results. The spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry on the light front, is shown to parallel that in the rest frame, where the non-local instanton induced $^\prime$t Hooft interaction plays a central role. By rewriting this interaction solely in terms of the good component of the fermionic field, a scalar chiral condensate emerges in the mean-field approximation, which is identical to the one obtained in the rest frame. The pions and kaons emerge as deeply bound Goldstone modes in the chiral limit, with the scalar-isoscalar sigma meson mode as a threshold state with zero binding. We explicitly derive the light front distribution amplitudes (DAs) and partonic functions (PDFs) for these mesons. The DAs and PDFs are in good agreement with those extracted from the QCD instanton vacuum in the rest frame, using the large momentum effective theory (LaMET). The QCD evolved DAs and PDFs compare well with available measurements, as well as recent lattice results.

Instanton effects on electromagnetic transitions of charmonia

Abstract We investigate the mass spectrum and electromagnetic transitions of charmonia, emphasizing the instanton effects on them. The heavy-quark potential consists of a Coulomb-like potential from one-gluon exchange and a linear confining potential. We introduce the nonperturbative heavy-quark potential derived from the instanton vacuum. We also consider the screened confining potential, which better describes the electromagnetic decays of higher excited states. Using this improved heavy-quark potential, we compute the mass spectrum and electromagnetic decays of charmonia. Focusing on the instanton effects, we discuss the results compared with the experimental data and those from other works. The instanton effects are marginal on the electromagnetic decays of charmonia.

Charmonium spectrum and the color-octet heavy-quark potential from the instanton vacuum


 The properties of quarkonia are discussed in the framework of the nonrelativistic potential approach based on the instanton-induced interactions from the instanton vacuum. we have obtained the spectrum of charmonia and discuss the results. We also examine the instanton effects on the color-octet heavy-quark potential.

Spin Sum Rule of the Nucleon in the QCD Instanton Vacuum

We briefly review some essential aspects of the QCD instanton vacuum in relation to the quantum breaking of conformal symmetry, the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry, and the axial U(1) anomaly. The anomaly causes the intrinsic nucleon spin to transmute to the vacuum topological charge by quantum tunneling. We use Ji′s invariant spin decomposition to discuss the spin budget of the nucleon as a quark–diquark state in the QCD instanton vacuum. A measure of the intrinsic quark spin of the nucleon is a measure of the quenched topological susceptibility of the QCD instanton vacuum.

Pion and kaon distribution amplitudes up to twist-3 in the QCD instanton vacuum

We discuss the pion and kaon distribution amplitudes up to twist-3 in the context of the random instanton vacuum (RIV). We construct explicitly the pertinent quasipion and quasikaon distributions in the RIV, and analyze them in leading order in the diluteness factor, at a resolution fixed by the inverse instanton size. The distribution amplitudes (DA) follow from the large momentum limit. The results at higher resolution are discussed using QCD evolution, and compared to their asymptotic limits and some lattice results.

Gluons, light and heavy quarks in the instanton vacuum

In this paper, we put our focus towards describing the nonperturbative effects in the properties of hadrons made from the light-heavy and the heavy–heavy quarks in the framework of Instanton Liquid Model (ILM) of QCD vacuum. The main features of ILM and its applicability in the heavy quark sector are briefly discussed. The properties of gluonic systems, the light and heavy quark correlators in the instanton background are also analyzed. We demonstrate that the consideration of both, perturbative and nonperturbative, gluon effects in the instanton background for a single heavy quark leads to the mass shift due to the direct-instanton nonperturbative and ILM modified perturbative contributions, respectively. For the interacting heavy quark and heavy anti-quark, the potential consists of the direct instanton-induced part and the one-gluon exchange (OGE) perturbative part. OGE interactions are screened at large distances due to the nonperturbative dynamics. The estimation of instanton contributions in the phenomenological Cornell-type potential model is presented. In relation to the experimental data, the charmonium properties, the role of instanton effects in their spectra and transitions are discussed. The main features of heavy-light quark systems in the instanton generated background are also discussed. As an example, we consider the process of pion emissions by the exited heavy quarkonium. We show that there is a sizable correction ([Formula: see text]) to the dipole approximation for the process [Formula: see text].

Mass sum rule of hadrons in the QCD instanton vacuum

We briefly review the key aspect of the QCD instanton vacuum in relation to the quantum breaking of conformal symmetry and the trace anomaly. We use Ji$^\prime s$ invariant mass decomposition of the energy momentum tensor together with the trace anomaly, to discuss the mass budget of the nucleon and pion in the QCD instanton vacuum. A measure of the gluon condensate in the nucleon, is a measure of the compressibility of the QCD instanton vacuum as a dilute topological liquid.

Anomaly in the decay of 8Be and 4He—can an observed light boson mediate low-energy nucleon–nucleon interactions?

We present a hypothesis that the reported anomaly in the folding angle distribution of electron–positron pairs, emitted in the decay of the excited levels of nucleus 8Be and 4He, can be related to the cluster structure of the decaying state. In particular, we suggest that the potentially reported boson with rest mass m X = 17 MeV can mediate the nucleon–nucleon interaction at the low-energy regime of QCD, in the weakly bound cluster state p + 7Li, and p + 3H. We explore possible equations of state of symmetric nuclear matter, corresponding to the vector meson mass m v = 17 MeV, obtained using relativistic mean field theory of nuclear force using QHD-I. We find several relations for boson masses, based on concepts of chiral symmetry breaking. Both model approaches thus point toward apparent restoration of chiral symmetry in nucleon–nucleon interaction at large distances, possibly via bounce into a false instanton vacuum. The possible existence of a boson with rest mass m X = 17 MeV in the decay of high lying excited states of 8Be and 4He could shed new light in one of the long-lasting open questions in nuclear physics.

Nucleon matrix element of Weinberg's CP-odd gluon operator from the instanton vacuum

We calculate the nucleon matrix element of Weinberg's dimension-6 CP-odd gluon operator fabc(F˜μν)a(Fμρ)b(Fρν)c in the instanton vacuum. In leading order of the instanton packing fraction, the dimension-6 operator is effectively proportional to the topological charge density (F˜μν)a(Fμν)a, whose nucleon matrix element is given by the flavor-singlet axial charge and constrained by the U(1)A anomaly. The nucleon matrix element of the dimension-6 operator is obtained substantially larger than in other estimates, because of the strong localization of the nonperturbative gluon fields in the instanton vacuum. We comment on the neutron electric dipole moment induced by CP violation proportional to the dimension-6 operator.

Second Gegenbauer moment of a ρ -meson distribution amplitude

Using the soft pion theorem, crossing, and the dispersion relations for the two pion distribution amplitude ($2\pi$DA) we argue that the second Gegenbauer moment the $\rho$-meson DA ($a_2^{(\rho)}$) most probably is negative. This result is at variance with the majority of the model calculations for $a_2^{(\rho)}$. Using the instanton theory of the QCD vacuum, we computed $a_2^{(\rho)}$ at a low normalisation point and obtain for the ratio $ a_2^{(\rho)}/M_3^{(\pi)}$ {\it definitely negative value} in the range of $a_2^{(\rho)}/M_3^{(\pi)}\in [-2, -1]$. The range of values corresponds to a generous variation of the parameters of the instanton vacuum. The value of the second Gegenbauer moment of pion DA is positive in the whole range and is compatible with its the most advanced lattice measurement. It seems that the topologically non-trivial field configurations in the QCD vacuum (instantons) lead to qualitatively different shapes of the pion and the $\rho$-meson DAs.

Pion and kaon parton distributions in the QCD instanton vacuum

We discuss a general diagrammatic description of n-point functions in the QCD instanton vacuum that resums planar diagrams, enforces gauge invariance and spontaneously broken chiral symmetry. We use these diagrammatic rules to derive the pion and kaon quasi-parton amplitude and distribution functions at leading order in the instanton packing fraction for large but finite momentum. The instanton and anti-instanton zero modes and non-zero modes are found to contribute to the quasi-distributions, but the latter are shown to drop out in the large momentum limit. The pertinent pion and kaon parton distribution amplitudes and functions are made explicit at the low renormalization scale fixed by the inverse instanton size. Assuming that factorization holds, the pion parton distributions are evolved to higher renormalization scales with one-loop DGLAP and compared to existing data.

Vector and Axial-vector form factors in radiative kaon decay and flavor SU(3) symmetry breaking

We study the vector and axial-vector form factors of radiative kaon decay within the framework of the gauged nonlocal effective chiral action from the instanton vacuum, focusing on the effects of flavor SU(3) symmetry breaking. The general tendency of the results are rather similar to those of radiative pion decays: The nonlocal contributions make the results of the vector form factor increased by about 20%, whereas they reduce those of the axial-vector form factor by almost 50%. Suppressing the prefactors consisting of the kaon mass and the pion decay constant, we scrutinize how the kaon form factors undergo changes as the mass of the strange current quark is varied. Those related to the vector and second axial-vector form factors tend to decrease monotonically as the strange quark mass increases, whereas that for the axial-vector form factor decreases. When K→eνγ decay is considered, both the results of the vector and axial-vector form factors at the zero momentum transfer are in good agreement with the experimental data. The results are also compared with those from chiral perturbation theory to p6 order.

Dynamical gluon mass at nonzero temperature in instanton vacuum model

In the framework of the instanton liquid model (ILM), we consider thermal modifications of the gluon properties in different scenarios of temperature $T$ dependence of the average instanton size $\bar{\rho}(T)$ and the instanton density $n(T)$ known from the literature. Due to interactions with instantons, the gluons acquire the dynamical temperature dependent "electric" gluon mass $M_{el}(q,T).$ We found that at small momenta and zero temperature $M_{el}(0,0)\approx362\,{\rm MeV}$ at the phenomenological values of $\bar{\rho}(0)=1/3\,{\rm fm}$ and $n(0)=1\,{\rm fm}^{-4}$, however the $T$-dependence of the mass is very sensitive to the temperature dependence of the instanton vacuum parameters $\bar{\rho}(T),\,n(T)$: it is very mild in case of the lattice-motivated dependence and decreases steeply in the whole range with theoretical parametrization. We see that in region $0<T<T_{c}$ ILM is able to reproduce lattice results for the dynamical "electric" gluon mass.