Pion Wave Research Articles

Quark counting, Drell-Yan West, and the pion wave function

The relation between the pion's quark distribution function, q(x), its light-front wave function, and the elastic charge form factor, F(Δ2), is explored. The square of the leading-twist pion wave function at a special probe scale, ζH, is determined using models and Poincaré covariance from realistic results for q(x). This wave function is then used to compute form factors with the result that the Drell-Yan-West and quark counting relationships are not satisfied. A new relationship between q(x) and F(Δ2) is proposed. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Establishing breather and N-soliton solutions for conformable Klein–Gordon equation

Abstract This article develops and investigates the behavior of soliton solutions for the spatiotemporal conformable Klein–Gordon equation (CKGE), a well-known mathematical physics model that accounts for spinless pion and de-Broglie waves. To accomplish this task, we deploy an effective analytical method, namely, the modified extended direct algebraic method (mEDAM). This method first develops a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (NODE) through the use of a wave transformation. With the help of generalized Riccati NODE and balancing nonlinearity with the highest derivative term, it then assumes a finite series-form solution for the resulting NODE, from which four clusters of soliton solutions – generalized rational, trigonometric, exponential, and hyperbolic functions – are derived. Using contour and three-dimensional visuals, the behaviors of the soliton solutions – which are prominently described as dark kink, bright kink, breather, and other N N -soliton waves – are examined and analyzed. These results have applications in solid-state physics, nonlinear optics, quantum field theory, and a more thorough knowledge of the dynamics of the CKGE.

Predicting sin(2ϕ−ϕs) azimuthal asymmetry in pion-proton induced Drell-Yan process using holographic light-front QCD

We compute the sin(2ϕ−ϕS) azimuthal asymmetry in the pion-nucleon induced Drell-Yan process within transverse momentum dependent factorization. We employ the holographic light-front pion wave functions to calculate its leading-twist transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs). The Boer-Mulders TMD of the pion is then convoluted with the transversity TMD of the proton evaluated in a light-front quark-diquark model constructed with the wave functions predicted by the soft-wall AdS/QCD to obtain the azimuthal asymmetry in the Drell-Yan process. The gluon rescattering is pivotal to predict nonzero pion Boer-Mulders TMD. We investigate the utility of a nonperturbative SU(3) gluon rescattering kernel going beyond the usual approximation of perturbative U(1) gluons. The holographic light-front QCD approach provides a powerful tool for exploring the role of nonperturbative QCD effects in the Drell-Yan process and may help to guide future experimental measurements. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Traveling Wave Solutions of the Conformable Fractional Klein–Gordon Equation With Power Law Nonlinearity

This article investigates the construction of new traveling wave solutions for the conformable fractional Klein–Gordon equation, which is a well‐known mathematical and physical model that can be used to explain spinless pion and de Broglie waves. In order to accomplish this task, a classic and effective analysis method, namely, the extended tanh–coth method, was utilized. By introducing appropriate transformations, the conformable fractional Klein–Gordon equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations, and then the solutions with hyperbolic function form are obtained. In addition, the effect of fractional parameters on waveform is analyzed by drawing two‐ and three‐dimensional graphics. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the conformable fractional Klein–Gordon equation. The research in this article also indicates that the extended tanh–coth method is a straightforward and concise technique that has the potential to be applicable to many other conformable fractional partial differential equations that appear in mathematical physics.

Anisotropic flow and the valence quark skeleton of hadrons

We study transverse momentum anisotropies, in particular, the elliptic flow v2 due to the interference effect sourced by valence quarks in high-energy hadron-hadron collisions. Our main formula is derived as the high-energy (eikonal) limit of the impact-parameter dependent cross section in quantum field theory, which agrees with that in terms of the impact parameter in the classical picture. As a quantitative assessment of the interference effect, we calculate v2 in the azimuthal distribution of gluons at a comprehensive coverage of the impact parameter and the transverse momentum in high-energy pion-pion collisions. In a broad range of the impact parameter, a sizable amount of v2, comparable with that produced due to saturated dense gluons or final-state interactions, is found to develop. This is in contrast with similar studies in heavy-ion collisions using classical color charge distributions in which such a contribution from geometric correlations was found to be small and has, hence, been ignored in recent studies. In our calculations, the valence sector of the pion wave function is obtained numerically from the Basis Light-Front Quantization, a non-perturbative light-front Hamiltonian approach. And our formalism is generic and can be applied to other small collision systems like proton-proton collisions.

Mass decomposition of the pion in the ’t Hooft model

We obtain the energy-momentum tensor (EMT) in the 't Hooft model of two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics. The EMT is decomposed into contributions from quark and gluon fields, with all of the (plus component of) the light front momentum being carried by the quark field. The energy is split between quark and gluon fields, with the gluon field carrying the self-energy of the dressed quarks. We consider the pion in the limit of small but non-zero quark masses -- which has previously withstood numerical treatment -- as as a concrete example. We solve for the pion wave function using a variational method and obtain numerical results for its energy breakdown into quark and gluon contributions.

Kinetics of hydrodynamic pions in chiral perturbation theory

We determine the kinetic coefficients of ultrasoft pions using chiral perturbation theory at finite temperature close to the chiral limit. This is used to compute the axial charge diffusion and damping coefficients in the hydrodynamic effective theory for these pion waves. We show that to provide a leading order answer for these coefficients one needs to explore the dynamics of hard, soft, and ultrasoft pion modes, which are represented microscopically by the appropriate kinetic and hydrodynamic descriptions..

Emergence of pion parton distributions

Supposing only that there is an effective charge which defines an evolution scheme for parton distribution functions (DFs) that is all-orders exact, strict lower and upper bounds on all Mellin moments of the valence-quark DFs of pion-like systems are derived. Exploiting contemporary results from numerical simulations of lattice-regularised quantum chromodynamics (QCD) that are consistent with these bounds, parameter-free predictions for pion valence, glue, and sea DFs are obtained. The form of the valence-quark DF at large values of the light-front momentum fraction is consistent with predictions derived using the QCD-prescribed behaviour of the pion wave function.

Finite volume and magnetic field effects on the two-pion correlation function in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We study the combined effects of a finite volume and an external magnetic field on the charged two-pion correlation function. For these purposes, we consider a dilute system of pions where the finite volume effects are introduced computing the pion wave functions with rigid boundary conditions in a cylindrical geometry in the presence of a uniform and constant magnetic field. We find that for slow pions, namely, for the case where the average pair momentum is small, the correlation function shows a large distortion, as opposed to the case where the average pair momentum is large. For a finite density system, the intercept of the correlation function is reduced, signaling the increasing importance of the pion ground state contribution. An increasing strength of the magnetic field reduces the importance of the ground state and the intercept becomes closer to 2.

Concerning pion parton distributions

Analyses of the pion valence-quark distribution function (DF), , which explicitly incorporate the behaviour of the pion wave function prescribed by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), predict , beta (zeta gtrsim m_p)>2, where m_p is the proton mass. Nevertheless, more than forty years after the first experiment to collect data suitable for extracting the xsimeq 1 behaviour of , the empirical status remains uncertain because some methods used to fit existing data return a result for that violates this constraint. Such disagreement entails one of the following conclusions: the analysis concerned is incomplete; not all data being considered are a true expression of qualities intrinsic to the pion; or QCD, as it is currently understood, is not the theory of strong interactions. New, precise data are necessary before a final conclusion is possible. In developing these positions, we exploit a single proposition, viz. there is an effective charge which defines an evolution scheme for parton DFs that is all-orders exact. This proposition has numerous corollaries, which can be used to test the character of any DF, whether fitted or calculated.

Applicability of the two-particle quantization condition to partially-quenched theories

Partial quenching allows one to consider correlation functions and amplitudes that do not arise in the corresponding unquenched theory. For example, physical $s$-wave pion scattering can be decomposed into $I=0$ and 2 amplitudes, while, in a partially-quenched extension, the larger symmetry group implies that there are more than two independent scattering amplitudes. It has been proposed that the finite-volume quantization condition of L\"uscher holds for the correlation functions associated with each of the two-particle amplitudes that arise in partially-quenched theories. Using partially-quenched chiral perturbation theory, we show that this proposal fails for those correlation functions for which the corresponding one-loop amplitudes do not satisfy $s$-wave unitarity. For partially-quenched amplitudes that, while being unphysical, do satisfy one-loop $s$-wave unitarity, we argue that the proposal is plausible. Implications for previous work are discussed.

Soft pions and transport near the chiral critical point

During the expansion of a heavy ion collision, the system passes close to the $O(4)$ critical point of QCD, and thus the fluctuations of the order parameter $(\sigma, \vec{\pi})$ are expected to be enhanced. Our goal is to compute how these enhanced fluctuations modify the transport coefficients of QCD near the pseudo-critical point. We also make a phenomenological estimate for how chiral fluctuations could effect the momentum spectrum of soft pions. We first formulate the appropriate stochastic hydrodynamic equations close to the $O(4)$ critical point. Then, working in mean field, we determine the correlation functions of the stress tensor and the currents which result from this stochastic real time theory, and use these correlation functions to determine the scaling behavior of the transport coefficients. The hydrodynamic theory also describes the propagation of pion waves, fixing the scaling behavior of the dispersion curve of soft pions. We present scaling functions for the shear viscosity and the charge conductivities near the pseudo-critical point, and estimate the absolute magnitude of the critical fluctuations to these parameters and the bulk viscosity. Using the calculated pion dispersion curve, we estimate the expected critical enhancement of soft pion yields, and this estimate provides a plausible explanation for the excess seen in experiment relative to ordinary hydrodynamic computations. Our results motivate further phenomenological and numerical work on the implications of chiral symmetry on real time properties of thermal QCD near the pseudo-critical point.

Exclusive production of pions and the pion distribution amplitude

Considering, as a limit case, an approximately flat pion distribution amplitude, which is determined from the hardest, in momentum space, solution of the Bethe–Salpeter equation for the pion wave function, we compute the pion transition form factor and the pion form factor Fπ(Q2), taking into account the LO as well as NLO form of the hard coefficient function entering the leading-twist factorization formula. We also compute the exclusive photoproduction of pions pairs at high energies, , where perturbative QCD can be used to compute the hard scattering matrix elements. We verify that the existent data for exclusive pion production can be reasonably described as a function of such a flat distribution amplitude.

Proton and Neutron Electromagnetic Form Factors Based on Bound System in 3 + 1 Dimensional QCD

We propose a new description of a nucleon as a pair of pions. The baryon number of our description of nucleon is not 1 but 0. However, this is probable because the proton spin crisis shows that the baryon spin cannot tell the number of composing quarks anymore. Because we use the derived pion wave function to describe a nucleon, our description has automatically the pionic degree of freedom and can be compared to the constituent quark model. Using this description, we investigate the electric charge and magnetization density functions of protons and neutrons. The electric charge density function of neutron is quite similar to those of Galster model and Maints data except the magnitude of singularity. The density functions of proton also show the similar behavior as those of Kelly’s except near origin. Taking the Fourier transform of the density functions, we obtain the Sachs electromagnetic form factors that can be compared to those in the parametrization derived by Ye et al.

Dynamical generation of resonances in the P33 partial wave

We investigate the formation of resonances in the P33 partial wave with the emphasis on possible emergence of dynamically generated quasi-bound states as a consequence of a strong $p$-wave pion attractive interaction in this partial wave, as well as their possible interaction with the genuine quark excited states. By using the Laurent-Pietarinen expansion we follow the evolution of the $S$-matrix poles in the complex energy plane as a function of the interaction strength. Already without introducing a genuine quark resonant state, two physically interesting resonances emerge with pole masses around 1200 MeV and 1400 MeV, with the dominant $\pi N$ and $\pi\Delta$ component, respectively. The added genuine resonant state in the $(1s)^3$ quark configuration mixes with the lower dynamically generated resonance forming the physical $\Delta(1232)$ resonance, and pushes the second dynamical resonance to around 1500 MeV, which allows it to be identified with the $\Delta(1600)$ resonance. Adding a second resonant state with one quark promoted to the $2s$ orbit generates another pole whose evolution remains well separated from the lower two poles. We calculate the helicity amplitudes at the pole and suggest that their $Q^2$ dependence could be a decisive test to discriminate between different models of the $\Delta(1600)$ resonance.

Power corrections to pion transition form factor in perturbative QCD approach

In this paper we calculate the power corrections to the pion transition form factor within the framework of perturbative QCD approach on the basis of $k_T$ factorization. The power suppressed contributions from higher twist pion wave functions and the hadronic structure of photon are investigated. We find that there exists strong cancellation between the two kinds contributions, thus the total power corrections considered currently are very small, and the prediction of the leading power contribution with joint resummation improved perturbative QCD approach is almost unchanged. This result confirms that the pion transition form factor is a good platform to constrain the nonperturbative parameters in pion wave functions. Moreover, our result can accommodate the anomalous data from BaBar, or agrees with results from Belle according to the choice of Gegebauer moment in the pion wave function, and the more precise experimental data from Belle-II is expected.

P -wave contributions to B→ψππ decays in the perturbative QCD approach

We present the differential branching fractions for the $B\rightarrow \psi \pi\pi$ decays with the charmonia $\psi=J/\psi,\psi(2S)$ in the invariant mass of the $P$-wave pion pairs in the perturbative QCD approach. The two-pion distribution amplitudes (DAs) corresponding to both longitudinal and transverse polarizations are constructed to capture important final state interactions in the processes. The time-like form factors, normalizing the two-pion DAs, contains contributions from the $\rho$ resonance and radial excitations fitted to the BaBar data. Given the hadronic parameters for the two-pion DAs associated with the longitudinal polarization which were determined in our previous study, and tuning those associated with the transverse polarization, we accommodate well the observed branching ratios and polarization fractions of the $B\rightarrow J/\psi \pi\pi$ decays. Our predictions for the $B\rightarrow \psi(2S) \pi\pi$ modes from the same set of parameters can be tested in future LHCb and BelleII experiments. We also investigate the sources of theoretical uncertainties in our calculation.

A model calculation of double parton distribution functions of the pion

Two-parton correlations in the pion are investigated in terms of double parton distribution functions. A Poincaré covariant light-front framework has been adopted. As non perturbative input, the pion wave function obtained within the so-called soft-wall AdS/QCD model has been used. Results show how novel dynamical information on the structure of the pion, not accessible through one-body quantities, are encoded in double parton distribution functions.

Light meson mass spectra and pion electromagnetic form factor as a bound system in 3 + 1 dimensional QCD

Abstract We investigate the Bethe-Salpeter-like amplitude in 3 + 1 dimensions. This involves a system comprising a quark and antiquark combined by gauge fields to satisfy gauge invariance. We derive the equation of motion for this system and construct a series of eigenvalue differential equations including the contribution of magnetic field for meson wave-functions. By solving these equations, we obtain meson mass spectra and the corresponding meson wave-functions including pion wave function. In addition, using this pion wave function, we obtain the pion electromagnetic form factor including the contribution of a magnetic field.

Boer-Mulders function of the pion and the qT -weighted cos2φ asymmetry in the unpolarized π−p Drell-Yan process at COMPASS

We calculate the two leading-twist transverse momentum dependent distribution functions of the pion meson, the unpolarized distribution $f_{1\pi}(x,\bm{k}^2_T)$ and the Boer-Mulders function $h_{1\pi}^\perp (x,\bm{k}^2_T)$, using the pion wave functions derived from a light-cone approach. The evolution effect of the first $\bm k_T$-moment of the pion Boer-Mulders function is studied by employing an approximate evolution kernel. Using the model resulting distributions, we predict the transverse momentum weighted $\cos2\phi$ azimuthal asymmetry in the unpolarized $\pi^- p$ Drell-Yan process which can be measured at COMPASS in the near future.