Quenched chiral perturbation theory to one loop

We calculate the divergences of the generating functional of quenched chiral perturbation theory at one loop, and renormalize the theory by an appropriate definition of the counterterms. We show that the quenched chiral logarithms can be accounted for by defining a renormalized B0 parameter which, at lowest order, is proportional to the vacuum expectation value of the scalar quark density. Finally, we calculate several quantities at one loop to better analyze the modifications induced by quenching in the ultraviolet finite part of the one-loop corrections. We point out that some of the finite loop corrections may diverge in the chiral limit.

The Vector and Scalar Form Factors of the Pion to Two Loops

We calculate the vector and scalar form factors of the pion to two loops in Chiral Perturbation Theory. We estimate the unknown O(p^6) constants using resonance exchange. We make a careful comparison to the available data and determine two O(p^4) constants rather precisely, and two O(p^6) constants less precisely. We also use Chiral Perturbation Theory to two loops to extract in a model--independent manner the charge radius of the pion from the available data, and obtain \rpiV=0.437\pm 0.016 fm^2.Comment: Latex2e, JHEP.cls, 30 pages 5 figure

Renormalization of chiral perturbation theory to order p^6

The renormalization of chiral perturbation theory is carried out to next-to-next-to-leading order in the meson sector. We calculate the divergent part of the generating functional of Green functions of quark currents to O(p^6) for chiral SU(n), involving one- and two-loop diagrams. The renormalization group equations for the renormalized low-energy constants of O(p^6) are derived. We compare our results with previous two-loop calculations in chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 43 pages, LaTeX2e, 1 figur

A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, Volume II

Provides a comprehensive review of research on the academic acceleration of gifted students

Radiative Leptonic BcB_c Decays

We analyze the radiative leptonic $B_c$ decay mode: $B_c \to \ell \nu \gamma$ ($\ell=e, \mu$) using a QCD-inspired constituent quark model. The prediction: ${\cal B}(B_c \to \ell \nu \gamma)\simeq 3 \times 10^{-5}$ makes this channel experimentally promising in view of the large number of $B_c$ mesons which are expected to be produced at the future hadron facilities.Comment: LaTex, 12 pages, 2 figures. A discussion on gauge invariance added. Numerical results update

Strong Interactions at Low Energy

The lectures review some of the basic concepts relevant for an understanding of the low energy properties of the strong interactions: chiral symmetry, spontaneous symmetry breakdown, Goldstone bosons, quark condensate. The effective field theory used to analyze the low energy structure is briefly sketched. As an illustration, I discuss the implications of the recent data on the decay $K\to \pi\pi e\nu$ for the magnitude of the quark condensate.Comment: Lectures given at the school of physics "Understanding the structure of hadrons", Prague, July 2001, 20 p