Onset Of Perturbative QCD Research Articles

New Insights into the Nucleon's Electromagnetic Structure.

We present a combined analysis of the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon in the space- and timelike regions using dispersion theory. Our framework provides a consistent description of the experimental data over the full range of momentum transfer, in line with the strictures from analyticity and unitarity. The statistical uncertainties of the extracted form factors are estimated using the bootstrap method, while systematic errors are determined from variations of the spectral functions. We also perform a high-precision extraction of the nucleon radii and find good agreement with previous analyses of spacelike data alone. For the proton charge radius, we find r_{E}^{p}=0.840_{-0.002}^{+0.003} _{-0.002}^{+0.002} fm, where the first error is statistical and the second one is systematic. The Zemach radius and third moment are in agreement with Lamb shift measurements and hyperfine splittings. The combined dataset of space- and timelike data disfavors a zero crossing of μ_{p}G_{E}^{p}/G_{M}^{p} in the spacelike region. Finally, we discuss the status and perspectives of modulus and phase of the form factors in the timelike region in the context of future experiments, as well as the onset of perturbative QCD.

Bottonium in QCD at finite temperature

Vector ($\Upsilon$) and pseudoscalar ($\eta_b$) bottonium ground states are studied at finite temperature in the framework of thermal Hilbert moment QCD sum rules. The mass, the onset of perturbative QCD in the complex squared energy plane, $s_0$, the leptonic decay constant, and the total width are determined as a function of the temperature. Results in both channels show very little temperature dependence of the mass and of $s_0$, in line with expectations. However, the width and the leptonic decay constant exhibit a very strong $T$-dependence. The former increases with increasing temperature, as in the case of light- and heavy-light-quark systems, but close to the critical temperature, $T_c$, and for $T/T_c \simeq 0.9$ it drops dramatically approaching its value at T=0, as obtained recently in this framework for charmonium states. The leptonic decay constant is basically a monotonically increasing function of the temperature, also as obtained in the charmonium channel . These results are interpreted as the survival of these bottonium states above $T_c$, in line with lattice QCD results.

Spacelike pion form factor from analytic continuation and the onset of perturbative QCD

The factorization theorem for exclusive processes in perturbative QCD predicts the behavior of the pion electromagnetic form factor $F(t)$ at asymptotic spacelike momenta $t(=-Q^2)<0$. We address the question of the onset energy using a suitable mathematical framework of analytic continuation, which uses as input the phase of the form factor below the first inelastic threshold, known with great precision through the Fermi-Watson theorem from $\pi\pi$ elastic scattering, and the modulus measured from threshold up to 3 GeV by the BaBar Collaboration. The method leads to almost model-independent upper and lower bounds on the spacelike form factor. Further inclusion of the value of the charge radius and the experimental value at $-2.45 \gev^2$ measured at JLab considerably increases the strength of the bounds in the region $ Q^2 \lesssim 10 \gev^2$, excluding the onset of the asymptotic perturbative QCD regime for $Q^2< 7\gev^2$. We also compare the bounds with available experimental data and with several theoretical models proposed for the low and intermediate spacelike region.

QCD sum rule determination of the charm-quark mass

QCD sum rules involving mixed inverse moment integration kernels are used in order to determine the running charm-quark mass in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme. Both the high and the low energy expansion of the vector current correlator are involved in this determination. The optimal integration kernel turns out to be of the form $p(s) = 1 - (s_0/s)^2$, where $s_0$ is the onset of perturbative QCD. This kernel enhances the contribution of the well known narrow resonances, and reduces the impact of the data in the range $s \simeq 20 - 25 GeV^2$. This feature leads to a substantial reduction in the sensitivity of the results to changes in $s_0$, as well as to a much reduced impact of the experimental uncertainties in the higher resonance region. The value obtained for the charm-quark mass in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme at a scale of 3 GeV is $\bar{m}_c (3 GeV) = 987 \pm 9 MeV$, where the error includes all sources of uncertainties added in quadrature.

Charmonium in the vector channel at finite temperature from QCD sum rules

Thermal Hilbert moment QCD sum rules are used to obtain the temperature dependence of the hadronic parameters of charmonium in the vector channel, i.e. the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ resonance mass, coupling (leptonic decay constant), total width, and continuum threshold. The continuum threshold ${s}_{0}$, which signals the end of the resonance region and the onset of perturbative QCD, behaves as in all other hadronic channels, i.e. it decreases with increasing temperature until it reaches the perturbative QCD threshold ${s}_{0}=4{m}_{Q}^{2}$, with ${m}_{Q}$ the charm quark mass, at $T\ensuremath{\simeq}1.22{T}_{c}$. The rest of the hadronic parameters behave very differently from those of light-light and heavy-light quark systems. The $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ mass is essentially constant in a wide range of temperatures, while the total width grows with temperature up to $T\ensuremath{\simeq}1.04{T}_{c}$ beyond which it decreases sharply with increasing $T$. The resonance coupling is also initially constant and then begins to increase monotonically around $T\ensuremath{\simeq}{T}_{c}$. This behavior of the total width and of the leptonic decay constant provides a strong indication that the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ resonance might survive beyond the critical temperature for deconfinement.