Relativistic theories of nuclear matter are discussed in a new pespective. First the chiral character of the scalar nuclear field is introduced in the framework of the linear sigma model. With the assumption that the nucleon mass originates in part from the coupling to the quark condensate it is possible to relate the optical potential for the propagation of the scalar field to the QCD scalar susceptibility of the nucleon, on which indications exist from the lattice evolution of the nucleon mass with the quark mass. Constraining the parameters of the nuclear scalar potential by the lattice expansion parameters a successful description of the nuclear saturation properties can be reached.
We establish the interrelation between the QCD scalar response of the nuclear medium and its response to a scalar probe coupled to nucleons, such as the scalar meson responsible for the nuclear binding. The relation that we derive applies at the nucleonic as well as at the nuclear levels. Non trivial consequences follow. One concerns the scalar QCD susceptibility of the nucleon. The other opens the possibility of relating medium effects in the scalar meson exchange of nuclear physics to QCD lattice studies of the nucleon mass.
We study a chiral relativistic theory of nuclear matter aimed at the desciption of both the binding and saturation properties and the QCD properties, quark condensate and QCD susceptibilities. For this purpose the nucleon scalar response of the quark-meson coupling model is introduced in the linear sigma model. The consequences for the nuclear and the QCD scalar susceptibilities are discussed.
The baryon self-energies are expressed in terms of the QCD condensates of the lowest dimension in symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter within the QCD sum-rule approach. The self-energies are shown to satisfy the Gell-Mann--Okubo relations in the linear SU(3) breaking approximation. The results are in qualitative agreement with those obtained by the standard nuclear physics methods.
We establish the interrelation between the QCD scalar response of the nuclear medium and its response to a scalar probe coupled to nucleons, such as the scalar meson responsible for the nuclear binding. The relation that we derive applies at the nucleonic as well as at the nuclear levels. Non trivial consequences follow. In particular it opens the possibility of relating medium effects in the scalar meson exchange or three-body forces of nuclear physics to QCD lattice studies of the nucleon mass
The scalar and vectorial self energies obtained through QCD sum rules are introduced in the Quantum Hadrodynamics (QHD) equations. This QHD and QCD mixing show us that the effect of the density on the coupling constants is very small.
We present a novel description of nuclear many-body systems, both for nuclear matter and finite nuclei, emphasizing the connection with the condensate structure of the QCD ground state and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. Lorentz scalar and vector mean-fields are introduced in accordance with QCD sum rules. Nuclear binding arises from pionic fluctuations, using in-medium chiral perturbation theory up to three-loop order. Ground state properties of $^{16}$O and $^{40}$Ca are calculated. The built-in QCD constraints reduce the number of input parameters significantly in comparison with pure…
We discuss a relativistic chiral theory of nuclear matter with $σ$ and $ω$ exchange using a formulation of the $σ$ model in which all the chiral constraints are automatically fulfilled. We establish a relation between the nuclear response to the scalar field and the QCD one which includes the nucleonic parts. It allows a comparison between nuclear and QCD information. Going beyond the mean field approach we introduce the effects of the pion loops supplemented by the short-range interaction. The corresponding Landau-Migdal parameters are taken from spin-isospin physics results. The parameters l…
We calculate the nucleon parameters in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter using the QCD sum rules. The nucleon self-energies are expressed in terms of the in-medium values of QCD condensates. The simple approximate expressions for the self-energies are obtained in terms of these condensates. Relation between successive inclusion of the condensates and the meson-exchange picture of the nucleon interaction with medium is analyzed. The values of the self-energies and of the symmetry energy agree with those obtained by the methods of nuclear physics.
A microscopic framework of nuclear energy density functionals is reviewed, which establishes a direct relation between low-energy QCD and nuclear structure, synthesizing effective field theory methods and principles of density functional theory. Guided by two closely related features of QCD in the low-energy limit: a) in-medium changes of vacuum condensates, and b) spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry; a relativistic energy density functional is developed and applied in studies of ground-state properties of spherical and deformed nuclei.
A survey is given of the evolution from Yukawa's early work, via the understanding of the pion as a Nambu-Goldstone boson of spontaneously broken chiral symmetry in QCD, to modern developments in the theory of the nucleus based on the chiral effective field theory representing QCD in its low-energy limit.
We calculate the nucleon parameters in nuclear matter using the QCD sum rules method. The radiative corrections to the leading operator product expansion terms are included, with the corrections of the order α_s beyond the logarithmic approximation taken into account. The density dependence of the influence of radiative corrections on the nucleon parameters is obtained. At saturation density the radiative corrections increase the values of vector and scalar self-energies by about 40 MeV, and 30 MeV correspondingly. The results appear to be stable with respect to possible variations of the valu…
With the global color symmetry model being extended to finite chemical potential, we study the density dependence of the local and nonlocal scalar quark condensates in nuclear matter. The calculated results indicate that the quark condensates increase smoothly with the increasing of nuclear matter density before the critical value (about 12$ρ_0$) is reached. It also manifests that the chiral symmetry is restored suddenly as the density of nuclear matter reaches its critical value. Meanwhile, the nonlocal quark condensate in nuclear matter changes nonmonotonously against the space-time distance…
We present a relativistic chiral theory of nuclear matter which includes the effect of confinement. Nuclear binding is obtained with a chiral invariant scalar background field associated with the radial fluctuations of the chiral condensate Nuclear matter stability is ensured once the scalar response of the nucleon depending on the quark confinement mechanism is properly incorporated. All the parameters are fixed or constrained by hadron phenomenology and lattice data. A good description of nuclear saturation is reached, which includes the effect of in-medium pion loops. Asymmetry properties o…
This presentation starts with a brief review of our current picture of QCD phases, derived from lattice QCD thermodynamics and from models based on the symmetries and symmetry breaking patterns of QCD. Typical approaches widely used in this context are the PNJL and chiral quark-meson models. It is pointed out, however, that the modeling of the phase diagram in terms of quarks as quasiparticles misses important and well known nuclear physics constraints. In the hadronic phase of QCD governed by confinement and spontaneously broken chiral symmetry, in-medium chiral effective field theory is the …
New concept of intermediate- and short-range nuclear force proposed by the authors a few years ago is discussed briefly. The general concept is based on an assumption on generation of the dressed dibaryon in intermediate state in $NN$ interaction. This new mechanism has been shown to lead not only to numerous new predictions in hadronic physics but also should be responsible for a large portion of nuclear binding energy and properties of nuclear wavefunctions at high momenta.
We review various approaches to the calculation of QCD condensates and of the nucleon characteristics in nuclear matter. We show the importance of their self-consistent treatment. The first steps in such treatment appeared to be very instructive. It is shown that the alleged pion condensation anyway can not take place earlier than the restoration of the chiral symmetry. We demonstrate how the finite density QCD sum rules for nucleons work and advocate their possible role in providing an additional bridge between the condensate and hadron physics.
Recent progress in lattice QCD, combined with the imminent advent of a new generation of dedicated supercomputers and advances in chiral extrapolation mean that the next few years will bring quite novel insights into hadron structure. We review some of the recent highlights in this field, the questions which might be addressed and the experiments which may be expected to stretch that understanding to its limits. Only with a sound understanding of hadron structure can one hope to explore the fundamental issue of how that structure may change at finite density (or temperature). We explore potent…
We review the reasons why one might choose to seriously re-examine the traditional approach to nuclear theory where nucleons are treated as immutable. This examination leads us to argue that the modification of the structure of the nucleon when immersed in a nuclear medium is fundamental to how atomic nuclei are built. Consistent with this approach we suggest key experiments which should tell us unambiguously whether there is such a change in the structure of a bound nucleon. We also briefly report on extremely promising recent calculations of the structure of nuclei across the periodic table …
Open charm mesons (pseudo-scalar and scalar as well as axial-vector and vector) propagating or resting in nuclear matter display an enhanced sensitivity to the chiral condensate. This offers new prospects to seek for signals of chiral restoration, in particular in p-A and p-bar-A reactions as envisaged in first-round experiments by the CBM and PANDA collaborations at FAIR. Weinberg type sum rules for charming chiral partners are presented, and the distinct in-medium modifications of open-charm mesons are discussed. We also address the gluon condensates near Tc and their impact on QCD sum rules…
We derive a microscopic relativistic point-coupling model of nuclear many-body dynamics constrained by in-medium QCD sum rules and chiral symmetry. The effective Lagrangian is characterized by density dependent coupling strengths, determined by chiral one- and two-pion exchange and by QCD sum rule constraints for the large isoscalar nucleon self-energies that arise through changes of the quark condensate and the quark density at finite baryon density. This approach is tested in the analysis of the equations of state for symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter, and of bulk and single-nucleon pr…
QCD sum rules for D and B mesons embedded in cold nuclear matter are evaluated. We quantify the mass splitting of D - D-bar and B - B-bar mesons as a function of the nuclear matter density; extrapolated to saturation density it is in the order of 60 and 130 MeV driven essentially by the condensates <q-adjoint q>, <q-adjoint g sigma G q> and <q-bar q>. The genuine chiral condensate <q-bar q>, amplified by heavy-quark masses, enters the Borel transformed sum rules for the mass splitting beyond linear density dependence. Including strange quark condensates reveals a umerically smaller and opposit…
Global symmetries and symmetry breaking patterns of QCD with light quarks, in particular chiral symmetry, provide basic guidance not only for low-energy hadron physics but also for nuclear forces and the nuclear many-body problem. Recent developments of Chiral Effective Field Theory applications to nuclear and neutron matter are summarized, with special emphasis on a (non-perturbative) extension using functional renormalisation group methods. Topics include: nuclear thermodynamics, extrapolations to dense baryonic matter and constraints from neutron star observables.
At low to moderate collision energies where the parton formation time $τ_F$ is not small compared to the nuclear crossing time, the finite nuclear thickness significantly affects the energy density $ε(t)$ and net conserved-charge densities such as the net-baryon density $n_B(t)$ produced in heavy ion collisions. As a result, at low to moderate energies the trajectory in the QCD phase diagram is also affected by the finite nuclear thickness. Here, we first discuss our semi-analytical model and its results on $ε(t)$, $n_B(t)$, $n_Q(t)$, and $n_S(t)$ in central Au+Au collisions. We then compare t…
We have developed a relativistic point-coupling model of nuclear many-body dynamics constrained by the low-energy sector of QCD. The effective Lagrangian is characterized by density-dependent coupling strengths determined by chiral one- and two-pion exchange (with single and double delta isobar excitations) and by large isoscalar background fields that arise through changes of the quark condensate and the quark density at finite baryon density. The model has been tested in the analysis of nuclear ground-state properties along different isotope chains of medium and heavy nuclei. The agreement w…
Colour transparency is a cute and indispensable property of QCD as the gauge theory of strong interaction. CT tests of QCD consist of production of the perturbative small-sized hadronic state and measuring the strngth of its non-perturbative diffraction nteraction in a nuclear matter. The energy depenednce of the final- state interaction in a nuclear matter probes a dynamical evolution from the perturbative small-sized state to the full-sized nonperturbative hadron. QCD observables of CT experiments correspond to a novel mechanism of scanning of hadronic wave functions from the large nonpertur…
The finite nuclear thickness affects the energy density $ε(t)$ and conserved-charge densities such as the net-baryon density $n_B(t)$ produced in heavy ion collisions. While the effect is small at high collision energies where the Bjorken energy density formula for the initial state is valid, the effect is large at low collision energies, where the nuclear crossing time is not small compared to the parton formation time. The temperature $T(t)$ and chemical potentials $μ(t)$ of the dense matter can be extracted from the densities for a given equation of state (EOS). Therefore, including the nuc…
We derive the equation of state of symmetric nuclear matter in a relativistic theory with $σ$ and $ω$ exchange. We take a chiral version of this model which insures all the chiral constraints. Going beyond the mean field approach we introduce the effects of the pion loops. For the parameters of the model, in order to fix those linked to pion exchange, we exploit the most recent information on the short-range part of the spin-isospin interaction. For those linked to the scalar meson exchange we make use of an analysis of lattice results on the nucleon mass evolution with the quark mass. With th…
Because of the rotational invariance of the nuclear Hamiltonian, there exists a density functional for nuclei that depends only on two scalar densities. Practical calculations boil down to radial, one-dimensional ones.
We derive the QCD sum rules for the vector and scalar meson mixing in nuclear medium, using a two quark interpolating field for both mesons. Modeling the mixing via a nucleon hole contribution with known coupling constant, the sum rule can be used to determine the overlap of the interpolating field and the scalar meson. In the I=0 channel, we find a stable Borel curve and an overlap that is about 10% of the corresponding value in the pseudo scalar or vector channel. The sum rule in the I=1 channel is less reliable but also consistent with a small value for the overlap. These results suggest th…
We calculate the nucleon parameters in nuclear matter using the QCD sum rules approach in Fermi gas approximation. Terms up to 1/q^2 in the operator product expansion (OPE) are taken into account. The higher moments of the nucleon structure functions are included. The complete set of the nucleon expectation values of the four-quark operators is employed. Earlier the lack of information on these values has been the main obstacle for the further development of the approach. We show that the four-quark condensates provide the corrections of the order 20% to the results obtained in the leading ord…
The mass shift of charmonium states in nuclear matter is studied in the perturbative QCD approach. The leading-order effect due to the change of gluon condensate in nuclear matter is evaluated using the leading-order QCD formula, while the higher-twist effect due to the partial restoration of chiral symmetry is estimated using a hadronic model. We find that while the mass of $J/ψ$ in nuclear matter decreases only slightly, those of $ψ(3686)$ and $ψ(3770)$ states are reduced appreciably. Experimental study of the mass shift of charmonium states in nuclear matter can thus provide valuable inform…
As we search for an ever deeper understanding of the structure of hadronic matter one of the most fundamental questions is whether or not one can make a connection to the underlying theory of the strong interaction, QCD. We build on recent advances in the chiral extrapolation problem linking lattice QCD at relatively large ``light quark'' masses to the physical world to estimate the scalar polarizability of the nucleon. The latter plays a key role in modern relativistic mean-field descriptions of nuclei and nuclear matter (such as QMC) and, in particular, leads to a very natural saturation mec…
A relativistic nuclear energy density functional is developed, guided by two important features that establish connections with chiral dynamics and the symmetry breaking pattern of low-energy QCD: a) strong scalar and vector fields related to in-medium changes of QCD vacuum condensates; b) the long- and intermediate-range interactions generated by one-and two-pion exchange, derived from in-medium chiral perturbation theory, with explicit inclusion of $Δ(1232)$ excitations. Applications are presented for binding energies, radii of proton and neutron distributions and other observables over a wi…
Saturation of the nuclear binding energy is one of the most important properties of atomic nuclei. We derive the saturation in holographic QCD, by building a shell-model-like mean-field nuclear potential from the nuclear density profile obtained in a holographic multi-baryon effective theory. The numerically estimated binding energy is close to the experimental value.
Extending previous work we study the constraints of QCD sum rules on mass and width of light vector and axial-vector mesons in vacuum and in a medium with finite nuclear density. For the latter case especially the effect of nuclear pions leading to vector-axial-vector mixing is included in the analysis.
A confluence of theoretical and technological developments are beginning to make possible contributions to nuclear physics from lattice QCD. Effective field theory plays a critical role in these advances. I give several examples.
The medium modifications in the properties of QCD cascades are considered. In particular, the changes in the intrajet rapidity distributions due to medium-induced decoherence, collisional losses of cascade gluons and those of final prehadrons are analyzed.
A new method for nuclear potentials is reviewed. The strategy to extract the potential from the Nambu-Bethe-Salpeter wave function in lattice QCD is explained and the first result based on the method is presented in quenched QCD. The recent progress of the method is summarized.
Vector mesons show up in the electromagnetic current-current correlator. QCD sum rules provide a constraint on hadronic models for this correlator. This constraint is discussed for the case of finite nuclear density concerning the longitudinal as well as the transverse part of the current-current correlator at finite three-momentum.
In this paper we discuss the combined effects on nuclear matter properties of the quark confinement mechanism in nucleon and of the chiral effective potential resulting from the spontaneous breaking of the chiral symmetry in nuclear matter. Based on the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio predictions, it is shown that the chiral potential acquires a specific scalar field cubic dependence, which contributes to the three-body interaction. We also discuss the constraints induced by Lattice-QCD on the model parameters governing the saturation properties. We introduce the term "QCD-connected parameters" for these q…
An attempt is made to interpret, in the framework of QCD, the likeness between the shapes of the neutron-neutron strong and electrostatic interactions at the distances $\sim 1÷3$ fm.
Lattice QCD is progressing toward being able to impact our understanding of nuclei and nuclear processes. I discuss areas of nuclear physics that are becoming possible to explore with lattice QCD, the techniques that are currently available and the status of numerical explorations.
I review recent progress in the development of Lattice QCD into a calculational tool for nuclear physics. Lattice QCD is currently the only known way of solving QCD in the low-energy regime, and it promises to provide a solid foundation for the structure and interactions of nuclei directly from QCD.
We calculate the nucleon self-energies in isospin-asymmetric nuclear matter using QCD sum rules. Taking the difference of these for the neutron and proton enables us to express the potential part of the nuclear symmetry energy in terms of local operators. We find that the scalar (vector) self-energy part gives a negative (positive) contribution to the nuclear symmetry energy which is consistent with the results from relativistic mean-field theories. Moreover, we find that an important contribution to the negative contribution of the scalar self-energy comes from the twist-4 matrix elements, wh…
One of the overarching goals of nuclear physics is to rigorously compute properties of hadronic systems directly from the fundamental theory of strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). In particular, the hope is to perform reliable calculations of nuclear reactions which will impact our understanding of environments that occur during big bang nucleosynthesis, the evolution of stars and supernovae, and within nuclear reactors and high energy/density facilities. Such calculations, being truly ab initio, would include all two-nucleon and three- nucleon (and higher) interactions in a con…
The numerical technique of Lattice QCD holds the promise of connecting the nuclear forces, nuclei, the spectrum and structure of hadrons, and the properties of matter under extreme conditions with the underlying theory of the strong interactions, quantum chromodynamics. A distinguishing, and thus far unique, feature of this formulation is that all of the associated uncertainties, both statistical and systematic can, in principle, be systematically reduced to any desired precision with sufficient computational and human resources. We review the sources of uncertainty inherent in Lattice QCD cal…
Nuclei make up the majority of the visible matter in the Universe; obtaining a first principles description of the nuclear properties and interactions between nuclei directly from the underlying theory of the strong interaction, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), is one of the main goals of the nuclear physics community. Although the theory was established nearly fifty years ago, the complexities of QCD at low energies precludes analytical solutions of the simplest hadronic systems, let alone the features of the nuclear forces. In this thesis we follow the lattice QCD approach, according to which Q…
We calculate and resum a perturbative expansion of nuclear enhanced power corrections to the structure functions measured in deeply inelastic scattering of leptons on a nuclear target. Our results for the Bjorken $x$-, $Q^2$- and $A$-dependence of nuclear shadowing in $F_2^A(x,Q^2)$ and the nuclear modifications to $F_L^A(x,Q^2)$, obtained in terms of the QCD factorization approach, are consistent with the existing data. We demonstrate that the low-$Q^2$ behavior of these data and the measured large longitudinal structure function point to a critical role for the power corrections when compare…
We review recent progress toward establishing lattice Quantum Chromodynamics as a predictive calculational framework for nuclear physics. A survey of the current techniques that are used to extract low-energy hadronic scattering amplitudes and interactions is followed by a review of recent two-body and few-body calculations by the NPLQCD collaboration and others. An outline of the nuclear physics that is expected to be accomplished with Lattice QCD in the next decade, along with estimates of the required computational resources, is presented.
The properties of open strange meson $K_1^\pm$ in nuclear matter are estimated in the QCD sum rule approach. We obtain a relation between the in-medium mass and width of $K_1^-$ ($K_1^+$) in nuclear matter, and show that the upper limit of the mass shift is as large as -249 (-35) MeV. The spectral modification of the $K_1$ meson is possible to be probed by using kaon beams at J-PARC. Such measurement together with that of $K^*$ will shed light on how chiral symmetry is partially restored in nuclear matter.
We review recent progress of the HAL QCD method which was recently proposed to investigate hadron interactions in lattice QCD. The strategy to extract the energy-independent non-local potential in lattice QCD is explained in detail. The method is applied to study nucleon-nucleon, nucleon-hyperon, hyperon-hyperon and meson-baryon interactions. Several extensions of the method are also discussed.
This paper scrutinizes the dynamical QCD effects influence on mesons, namely, the mean-square root radius of a pion in the holographic light-front wave function setup, in the context of the AdS/QCD. The nuclear configurational entropy, associated to mesonic holographic light-front wave functions, is shown to have a critical point that optimizes the two parameters of the spin-improved light-front wave function. The mean-square root pion radius and its cross-section, computed upon these derived values, match the exact existing experimental data to the precision of 0.14\%, below the experimental …
We provide a calculation of N-body (N>2) nucleon interactions at short distances in holographic QCD. In the Sakai-Sugimoto model of large N_c massless QCD, N baryons are described by N Yang-Mills instantons in 5 spacetime dimensions. We compute a classical short distance interaction hamiltonian for N 'tHooft instantons. This corresponds to N baryons sharing identical classical spins and isospins. We find that genuine N-body nuclear forces turn out to vanish for N>2, at the leading order. This suggests that classical N-body forces are always suppressed compared with 2-body forces.
The equation of gluodynamics with modified integral kernel is solved up to 2NLO (next-to-next-to-leading order) and 3NLO (next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order) in perturbative QCD. A relationship between the nuclear factor Ns and the ratio of the cumulant and factorial moments of the multiplicity distribution is examined. A comparison of theoretical results and experimental data in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at 200A GeV and 546A GeV is carried out.
Critical examination is made on the relation between the mass shift of vector mesons in nuclear medium and the vector-meson $-$ nucleon scattering length. We give detailed comparison between the QCD sum rule approach by two of the present authors (Phys. Rev. {\bf C46} (1992) R34) and the scattering-length approach by Koike (Phys. Rev. {\bf C51} (1995) 1488). It is shown that the latter approach is mortally flawed both technically and conceptually.
