Short-distance Product Research Articles

Temperature Difference in Loading Area (Tarmac) during Handling of Air Freight Operations and Distance of Production Area Affects Quality of Fresh Mango Fruits (Mangifera indica L. ‘Nam Dok Mai Si Thong’)

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) ‘Nam Dok Mai Si Thong’ is an important cultivar for export from Thailand. Export mainly takes place via air transport, but for about 2 h at the loading area (tarmac), unit loading devices (ULDs) are exposed to ambient environmental conditions. In this research, the effects of different temperature conditions at the loading area (tarmac) and the distance of the production area from the tarmac on the quality of fresh mango fruits were studied. The treatments included three temperature conditions for 2 h (simulated handling in tarmac)—constant temperature (20 °C), non-insulated or insulated and exposed to sun—and two distances of the tarmac from the production area—short distance (i.e., transport occurring 53 h after harvest) and long distance (i.e., transport occurring 70 h after harvest). The temperature variation in the boxes exposed to the sun was greater in the non-insulated than in the insulated boxes, but this effect was more pronounced in fruit from the short-distance production area (28.1 °C insulated and 36.9 °C non-insulated) than in fruit from the long-distance production area (34.2 °C insulated and 38 °C non-insulated). Insulation and short distance increased the shelf life, decreased weight loss, delayed the decrease in average firmness and rupture force, etc. The insulation of mango fruit boxes mitigates the deleterious effect of exposure to 2 h of direct sun by reducing the increase in temperature, thus improving the shelf life and quality of mango fruit.

X(3872) and its production at hadron colliders

We evaluate the production cross sections of $X(3872)$ at the LHC and Tevatron at NLO in $\alpha_s$ in NRQCD by assuming that the short-distance production proceeds dominantly through its $\chi_{c1}'$ component in our $\chi_{c1}'\mbox{-}D^0\bar{D}^{*0}$ mixing model for $X(3872)$. The outcomes of the fits to the CMS $p_T$ distribution can well account for the recent ATLAS data in a much larger range of transverse momenta ($10~\mbox{GeV}<p_T<70~\mbox{GeV}$), and the CDF total cross section data, and are also consistent with the value of $k=Z_{c\bar c}\cdot Br(X\to J/\psi\pi^+\pi^-)$ constrained by the $B$-meson decay data. %It can also well describe the behavior of the CDF $\psi(2S)$ data, which show a strong %resemblance to that of the X(3872). For LHCb the predicted X(3872) total cross section is larger than the data by a factor of 2, which is due to the problem of the fixed-order NRQCD calculation that may not be applicable for the region with small $p_T$ ($p_T\sim 5 ~\mbox{GeV}$) and large forward rapidity $(2.5<y<4.5)$. In comparison, the prediction of molecule production mechanism for $X(3872)$ is inconsistent with both $p_T$ distributions and total cross sections of CMS and ATLAS, and the total cross section of CDF.

Packaging waste prevention in the distribution of fruit and vegetables: An assessment based on the life cycle perspective.

In recent years, alternative food supply chains based on short distance production and delivery have been promoted as being more environmentally friendly than those applied by the traditional retailing system. An example is the supply of seasonal and possibly locally grown fruit and vegetables directly to customers inside a returnable crate (the so-called 'box scheme'). In addition to other claimed environmental and economic advantages, the box scheme is often listed among the packaging waste prevention measures. To check whether such a claim is soundly based, a life cycle assessment was carried out to verify the real environmental effectiveness of the box scheme in comparison to the Italian traditional distribution. The study focused on two reference products, carrots and apples, which are available in the crate all year round. An experience of a box scheme carried out in Italy was compared with some traditional scenarios where the product is distributed loose or packaged at the large-scale retail trade. The packaging waste generation, 13 impact indicators on environment and human health and energy consumptions were calculated. Results show that the analysed experience of the box scheme, as currently managed, cannot be considered a packaging waste prevention measure when compared with the traditional distribution of fruit and vegetables. The weaknesses of the alternative system were identified and some recommendations were given to improve its environmental performance.

Identifying the structure of near-threshold states from the line shape**Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11147022, 11035006, 11305137), Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX2-EW-N01), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2009CB825200), DFG and NSFC (11261130311) through funds provided to the Sino-German CRC 110 “Symmetries and the Emergence of Structure in QCD”, and Doctor Foundation of Xinjiang University (BS110104)

We revisit the compositeness theorem proposed by Weinberg in an effective field theory (EFT) and explore criteria which are sensitive to the structure of S-wave threshold states. On a general basis, we show that the wave function renormalization constant Z, which is the probability of finding an elementary component in the wave function of a threshold state, can be explicitly introduced in the description of the threshold state. As an application of this EFT method, we describe the near-threshold line shape of the D*0D̅0 invariant mass spectrum in B→D*0D̅0K and determine a nonvanishing value of Z. It suggests that the X(3872) as a candidate of the D*0D̅0 molecule may still contain a small cc̄ core. This elementary component, on the one hand, explains its production in the B meson decay via a short-distance mechanism, and on the other hand, is correlated with the D*0D̅0 threshold enhancement observed in the D*0D̅0 invariant mass distributions. Meanwhile, we also show that if Z is non-zero, the near-threshold enhancement of the D*0D̅0 mass spectrum in the B decay will be driven by the short-distance production mechanism.

Quarkonium production in the LHC era: A polarized perspective

Polarization measurements are usually considered as the most difficult challenge for the QCD description of quarkonium production. In fact, global data fits for the determination of the non-perturbative parameters of bound-state formation traditionally exclude polarization observables and use them as a posteriori verifications of the predictions, with perplexing results. With a change of perspective, we move polarization data to the centre of the study, advocating that they actually provide the strongest fundamental indications about the production mechanisms, even before we explicitly consider perturbative calculations.Considering ψ(2S) and ϒ(3S) measurements from LHC experiments and state-of-the-art next-to-leading order cross sections for the short-distance production of heavy quark–antiquark pairs of relevant colour and angular momentum configurations, we perform a search for a kinematic domain where quarkonium polarizations can be correctly reproduced together with the respective cross sections, by systematically scanning the phase space and accurately treating the experimental uncertainties. This strategy provides a straightforward solution to the “quarkonium polarization puzzle” and reassuring signs that the factorization of short- and long-distance effects works, at least in the high-transverse-momentum region, least affected by limitations in the current fixed-order calculations. The results expose unexpected hierarchies in the phenomenological long-distance parameters that open new paths towards the understanding of bound-state formation in QCD.

Systematics of quarkonium production at the LHC and double parton fragmentation

In this paper we discuss the systematics of quarkonium production at the LHC. In particular, we focus on the necessity to sum logs of the form log(Q/p_perp) and log(p_perp/m_Q). We show that the former contributions are power suppressed, while the latter, whose contribution in fragmentation is well known, also arise in the short distance (i.e., non-fragmentation) production mechanisms. Though these contributions are suppressed by powers of m_Q/p_perp, they can be enhanced by inverse powers of v, the relative velocity between heavy quarks in the quarkonium. In the limit p_perp >> m_Q short distance production can be thought of as the fragmentation of a pair of partons (i.e., the heavy quark and anti-quark) into the final state quarkonium. We derive an all order factorization theorem for this process in terms of double parton fragmentation functions (DPFF) and calculate the one-loop anomalous dimension matrix for the DPFF.

χcJproduction ine+e−annihilation

Inclusive production of $\chi_{c J}$ in $e^+e^-$ annihilation is an excellent probe of the role of higher Fock states in the production of heavy quarkonia. Within the non-relativistic QCD approach, contributions from the short-distance production of colour-octet $c\bar{c}$ pairs are significantly larger than those from colour-singlet production. At the same time, $\chi_{c J}$ production rates are significantly smaller than expected in the colour evaporation approach. Measurements of $\chi_{\c J}$ production at CLEO and future B-factories will thus constitute a major test of theoretical approaches to the production of heavy quarkonia.

Superstring Regge amplitudes and graviton radiation at Planckian energies

We introduce in (super) string theory new emission vertices for external (leading) Regge trajectories and we use them to calculate tree amplitudes with off-shell reggeized gluons and gravitons. Such Regge-Gribov vertices arise as quasi-local operators in the short-distance product of primary fields and generate coherent reggeon states. We present detailed calculations in the three- and four-reggeon cases for both the bosonic string and the superstring in the Neveu-Schwarz formalism. In particular, we derive the graviton emission current associated with high-energy scattering, which also incorporates internal line insertions. The corresponding squared current shows the absence of Coulomb singularities associated with gravitational radiation.

Superstring Regge amplitudes and emission vertices

We calculate (super) string high-energy amplitudes with external leading Regge trajectories in terms of new emission vertices with continuous spin and off-shell momenta. Such vertices are constructed as quasi-local operators from the short-distance product of primary fields and used to calculate the four-graviton Regge amplitude, relevant to gravitational scattering at planckian energies.