Electromagnetic Probes in PHENIX

Electromagnetic probes are arguably the most universal tools to study the different physics processes in high energy hadron and heavy ion collisions. In this paper we summarize recent measurements of real and virtual direct photons at central rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions. We also discuss the impact of the results and the constraints they put on theoretical models. At the end we report on the immediate as well as on the mid-term future of photon measurements at RHIC.Comment: 8 pages, 9 postscript figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the Hard Probes 2006 conference (June 9-16, 2006, Asilomar, CA

A Rejoinder on Quaternionic Projective Representations

In a series of papers published in this Journal (J. Math. Phys.), a discussion was started on the significance of a new definition of projective representations in quaternionic Hilbert spaces. The present paper gives what we believe is a resolution of the semantic differences that had apparently tended to obscure the issues.Comment: AMStex, 6 Page

Plans for Kaon Physics at BNL

I give an overview of current plans for kaon physics at BNL. The program is centered on the rare decay modes K+ --> pi+ nu nubar and KL --> pi0 nu nubar.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. Uses espcrc2.sty. For the proceedings of HIF04: High Intensity Frontier Workshop, La Biodola, Isola D'Elba, June 5-8, 200

Signs of Thermalization from RHIC Experiments

Selected results from the first five years of RHIC data taking are reviewed with emphasis on evidence for thermalization in central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Master Functional And Proper Formalism For Quantum Gauge Field Theory

We develop a general field-covariant approach to quantum gauge theories. Extending the usual set of integrated fields and external sources to "proper" fields and sources, which include partners of the composite fields, we define the master functional Omega, which collects one-particle irreducible diagrams and upgrades the usual Gamma-functional in several respects. The functional Omega is determined from its classical limit applying the usual diagrammatic rules to the proper fields. Moreover, it behaves as a scalar under the most general perturbative field redefinitions, which can be expressed as linear transformations of the proper fields. We extend the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism and the master equation. The master functional satisfies the extended master equation and behaves as a scalar under canonical transformations. The most general perturbative field redefinitions and changes of gauge-fixing can be encoded in proper canonical transformations, which are linear and do not mix integrated fields and external sources. Therefore, they can be applied as true changes of variables in the functional integral, instead of mere replacements of integrands. This property overcomes a major difficulty of the functional Gamma. Finally, the new approach allows us to prove the renormalizability of gauge theories in a general field-covariant setting. We generalize known cohomological theorems to the master functional and show that when there are no gauge anomalies all divergences can be subtracted by means of parameter redefinitions and proper canonical transformations.Comment: 32 pages; v2: minor changes and proof corrections, EPJ

Low--Energy Theorems for Weak Pion Production

We derive novel low--energy theorems for single pion production off nucleons through the isovector axial current. We find that the $k^2$-dependence of the multipole $L_{0+}^{(+)}$ at threshold is given by the nucleon scalar form factor, namely $\sigma(k^2-M_\pi^2 ) /(3 \pi M_\pi F_\pi )$. The relation to PCAC results for soft pions including electroweak form factors is also clarified.Comment: 9 pp, TeX, 2 figures available as ps files, CRN 93-5

Collapse models with non-white noises

We set up a general formalism for models of spontaneous wave function collapse with dynamics represented by a stochastic differential equation driven by general Gaussian noises, not necessarily white in time. In particular, we show that the non-Schrodinger terms of the equation induce the collapse of the wave function to one of the common eigenstates of the collapsing operators, and that the collapse occurs with the correct quantum probabilities. We also develop a perturbation expansion of the solution of the equation with respect to the parameter which sets the strength of the collapse process; such an approximation allows one to compute the leading order terms for the deviations of the predictions of collapse models with respect to those of standard quantum mechanics. This analysis shows that to leading order, the ``imaginary'' noise trick can be used for non-white Gaussian noise.Comment: Latex, 20 pages;references added and minor revisions; published as J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. {\bf 40} (2007) 15083-1509

Yang-Baxter maps and multi-field integrable lattice equations

A variety of Yang-Baxter maps are obtained from integrable multi-field equations on quad-graphs. A systematic framework for investigating this connection relies on the symmetry groups of the equations. The method is applied to lattice equations introduced by Adler and Yamilov and which are related to the nonlinear superposition formulae for the B\"acklund transformations of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger system and specific ferromagnetic models.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, corrected versio

On the polar decomposition of right linear operators in quaternionic Hilbert spaces

In this article we prove the existence of the polar decomposition for densely defined closed right linear operators in quaternionic Hilbert spaces: If $T$ is a densely defined closed right linear operator in a quaternionic Hilbert space $H$, then there exists a partial isometry $U_{0}$ such that $T = U_{0}|T|$. In fact $U_{0}$ is unique if $N(U_{0}) = N(T)$. In particular, if $H$ is separable and $U$ is a partial isometry with $T = U|T|$, then we prove that $U = U_{0}$ if and only if either $N(T) = \{0\}$ or $R(T)^{\bot} = \{0\}$.Comment: 17 page

Multi-particle Correlations in Quaternionic Quantum Systems

We investigate the outcomes of measurements on correlated, few-body quantum systems described by a quaternionic quantum mechanics that allows for regions of quaternionic curvature. We find that a multi-particle interferometry experiment using a correlated system of four nonrelativistic, spin-half particles has the potential to detect the presence of quaternionic curvature. Two-body systems, however, are shown to give predictions identical to those of standard quantum mechanics when relative angles are used in the construction of the operators corresponding to measurements of particle spin components.Comment: REVTeX 3.0, 16 pages, no figures, UM-P-94/54, RCHEP-94/1