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NASA NTRS1988

On the formation of black holes

The paper explores the consequences of the existence of a burning process beyond ordinary nuclear processes (which stop at iron), involving the 'strange' particles. In effect, this idea has already had considerable discussion within the high energy physics community in terms of 'quark' matter. A possible consequence is that neutron stars may explode rather than collapse to black holes. It should be evident that such a possibility suggests radically new scenarios for activity in galactic nuclei and gamma ray burst sources.

Michel, F. Curtis↗

NASA NTRS1988

Cosmological quantum chromodynamics, neutron diffusion, and the production of primordial heavy elements

A simple one-dimensional model is used to describe the evolution of neutron density before and during nucleosynthesis in a high-entropy bubble left over from the cosmic quark-hadron phase transition. It is shown why cosmic nucleosynthesis in such a neutron-rich environment produces a surfeit of elements heavier than lithium. Analytical and numerical techniques are used to estimate the abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and heavier elements up to Ne-22. A high-density neutron-rich region produces enough primordial N-14 to be observed in stellar atmospheres. It shown that very heavy elements may be created in a cosmological r-process; the neutron exposure in the neutron-rich regions is large enough for the Ne-22 to trigger a catastrophic r-process runaway in which the quantity of heavy elements doubles in much less than an expansion time due to fission cycling. A primordial abundance of r-process elements is predicted to appear as an excess of rare earth elements in extremely metal-poor stars.

Applegate, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Ground state of high-density matter

It is shown that if an upper bound to the false vacuum energy of the electroweak Higgs potential is satisfied, the true ground state of high-density matter is not nuclear matter, or even strange-quark matter, but rather a non-topological soliton where the electroweak symmetry is exact and the fermions are massless. This possibility is examined in the standard SU(3) sub C tensor product SU(2) sub L tensor product U(1) sub Y model. The bound to the false vacuum energy is satisfied only for a narrow range of the Higgs boson masses in the minimal electroweak model (within about 10 eV of its minimum allowed value of 6.6 GeV) and a somewhat wider range for electroweak models with a non-minimal Higgs sector.

Copeland, ED↗

NASA NTRS1988

Fluctuation analysis of relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions in emulsion chambers

An analytical technique was developed for identifying enhanced fluctuations in the angular distributions of secondary particles produced from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions. The method is applied under the assumption that the masses of the produced particles are small compared to their linear momenta. The importance of particles rests in the fact that enhanced fluctuations in the rapidity distributions is considered to be an experimental signal for the creation of the quark-gluon-plasma (QGP), a state of nuclear matter predicted from the quantum chromodynamics theory (QCD). In the approach, Monte Carlo simulations are employed that make use of a portable random member generator that allow the calculations to be performed on a desk-top computer. The method is illustrated with data taken from high altitude emulsion exposures and is immediately applicable to similar data from accelerator-based emulsion exposures.

Mcguire, Stephen C.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Cosmic strings and baryon decay catalysis

Cosmic strings, like monopoles, can catalyze proton decay. For integer charged fermions, the cross section for catalysis is not amplified, unlike in the case of monopoles. The catalysis processes are reviewed both in the free quark and skyrmion pictures and the implications for baryogenesis are discussed. A computation of the cross section for monopole catalyzed skyrmion decay is presented using classical physics. Also discussed are some effects which can screen catalysis processes.

Gregory, Ruth↗

NASA NTRS1989

Nuclear physics and cosmology

Nuclear physics has provided one of two critical observational tests of all Big Bang cosmology, namely Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Furthermore, this same nuclear physics input enables a prediction to be made about one of the most fundamental physics questions of all, the number of elementary particle families. The standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis arguments are reviewed. The primordial He abundance is inferred from He-C and He-N and He-O correlations. The strengthened Li constraint as well as D-2 plus He-3 are used to limit the baryon density. This limit is the key argument behind the need for non-baryonic dark matter. The allowed number of neutrino families, N(nu), is delineated using the new neutron lifetime value of tau(n) = 890 + or - 4s (tau(1/2) = 10.3 min). The formal statistical result is N(nu) = 2.6 + or - 0.3 (1 sigma), providing a reasonable fit (1.3 sigma) to three families but making a fourth light (m(nu) less than or equal to 10 MeV) neutrino family exceedly unlikely (approx. greater than 4.7 sigma). It is also shown that uncertainties induced by postulating a first-order quark-baryon phase transition do not seriously affect the conclusions.

Schramm, David N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Cosmological baryon and lepton number in the presence of electroweak fermion-number violation

In the presence of rapid fermion-number violation due to nonperturbative electroweak effects certain relations between the baryon number of the Universe and the lepton numbers of the Universe are predicted. In some cases the electron-neutrino asymmetry is exactly specified in terms of the baryon asymmetry. Without introducing new particles, beyond the usual quarks and leptons, it is necessary that the Universe possess a nonzero value of B - L prior to the epoch of fermion-number violation if baryon and lepton asymmetries are to survive. Contrary to intuition, even though electroweak processes violate B + L, a nonzero value of B + L persists after the epoch of rapid fermion-number violation. If the standard model is extended to include lepton-number violation, for example through Majorana neutrino masses, then electroweak processes will reduce the baryon number to zero even in the presence of an initial B - L unless 20 M(sub L) approximately greater than the square root of (T(sub B - L) m(sub P1)) where M(sub L) sets the scale of lepton number violation and T(sub B - L) is the temperature at which a B - L asymmetry is produced. In many models this implies that neutrinos must be so light that they cannot contribute appreciably to the mass density of the Universe.

Harvey, Jeffrey A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Massive soliton stars

The structure of nontopological solutions of Einstein field equations as proposed by Friedberg, Lee, and Pang (1987) is examined. This analysis incorporates finite temperature effects and pair creation. Quarks are assumed to be the only species that exist in interior of soliton stars. The possibility of primordial creation of soliton stars in the incomplete decay of the degenerate vacuum in early universe is explored. Because of dominance of pair creation inside soliton stars, the luminosity of soliton stars is not determined by its radiative transfer characteristics, and the surface temperature of soliton stars can be the same as its interior temperature. It is possible that soliton stars are intense X-ray radiators at large distances. Soliton stars are nearly 100 percent efficient energy converters, converting the rest energy of baryons entering the interior into radiation. It is possible that a sizable number of baryons may also be trapped inside soliton stars during early epochs of the universe. In addition, if soliton stars exist they could assume the role played by massive black holes in galactic centers.

Chiu, Hong-Yee↗

NASA NTRS1990

Linear canonical transformations of coherent and squeezed states in the Wigner phase space. III - Two-mode states

It is shown that the basic symmetry of two-mode squeezed states is governed by the group SP(4) in the Wigner phase space which is locally isomorphic to the (3 + 2)-dimensional Lorentz group. This symmetry, in the Schroedinger picture, appears as Dirac's two-oscillator representation of O(3,2). It is shown that the SU(2) and SU(1,1) interferometers exhibit the symmetry of this higher-dimensional Lorentz group. The mathematics of two-mode squeezed states is shown to be applicable to other branches of physics including thermally excited states in statistical mechanics and relativistic extended hadrons in the quark model.

Han, D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Invariant criteria for bound states, degree of ionization, and plasma phase transition

Basis invariant characterizations of bound states and bound fraction of a partially ionized hydrogen plasma are given in terms of properties of the spectrum of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the equilibrium quantum statistical one-proton-one-electron reduced density matrix. It is suggested that these can be used to place theories of a proposed plasma-ionization phase transition on a firm foundation. This general approach may be relevant to cosmological questions such as the quark deconfinement-confinement transition.

Girardeau, M. D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Ponderable soliton stars

The theory of Lee and Pang (1987), who obtained solutions for soliton stars composed of zero-temperature fermions and bosons, is applied here to quark soliton stars. Model soliton stars based on a simple physical model of the proton are computed, and the properties of the solitons are discussed, including the important problem of the existence of a limiting mass and thus the possible formation of black holes of primordial origin. It is shown that there is a definite mass limit for ponderable soliton stars, so that during cooling a soliton star might reach a stage beyond which no equilibrium configuration exists and the soliton star probably will collapse to become a black hole. The radiation of ponderable soliton stars may alter the short-wavelength character of the cosmic background radiation, and may be observed as highly redshifted objects at z of about 100,000.

Chiu, Hong-Yee↗

NASA NTRS1991

Cosmic rays from primordial black holes

The quark and gluon emission from primordial black holes (PBHs) which may have formed from initial density perturbations or phase transitions in the early universe are investigated. If the PBHs formed from scale-invariant initial density perturbations in the radiation dominated era, it is found that the emission can explain or contribute significantly to the extragalactic photon and interstellar cosmic-ray electron, positron, and antiproton spectra around 0.1-1 GeV. In particular, the PBH emission strongly resembles the cosmic-ray gamma-ray spectrum between 50 and 170 MeV. The upper limits on the PBH density today from the gamma-ray, e(+), e(-), and antiproton data are comparable, provided that the PBHs cluster to the same degree as the other matter in the Galactic halo.

Macgibbon, Jane H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Big bang nucleosynthesis - The standard model and alternatives

The standard homogeneous-isotropic calculation of the big bang cosmological model is reviewed, and alternate models are discussed. The standard model is shown to agree with the light element abundances for He-4, H-2, He-3, and Li-7 that are available. Improved observational data from recent LEP collider and SLC results are discussed. The data agree with the standard model in terms of the number of neutrinos, and provide improved information regarding neutron lifetimes. Alternate models are reviewed which describe different scenarios for decaying matter or quark-hadron induced inhomogeneities. The baryonic density relative to the critical density in the alternate models is similar to that of the standard model when they are made to fit the abundances. This reinforces the conclusion that the baryonic density relative to critical density is about 0.06, and also reinforces the need for both nonbaryonic dark matter and dark baryonic matter.

Schramm, David N.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Global analysis of fermion mixing with exotics

The limits are analyzed on deviation of the lepton and quark weak-couplings from their standard model values in a general class of models where the known fermions are allowed to mix with new heavy particles with exotic SU(2) x U(1) quantum number assignments (left-handed singlets or right-handed doublets). These mixings appear in many extensions of the electroweak theory such as models with mirror fermions, E(sub 6) models, etc. The results update previous analyses and improve considerably the existing bounds.

Nardi, Enrico↗

NASA NTRS1991

Axino-induced baryogenesis

We consider the possibility that the baryon asymmetry is generated at low energies as a consequence of the axino decay. We analyze models in which the axino, the superpartner of the axion, is heavy and decays into gluinos at temperatures T approx. = 1 GeV. If CP and B violating couplings for the quark superfields are included, the subsequent decay of these out of equilibrium gluinos can act as seeds for baryogenesis. The required amount of CP violation is well consistent with the bounds on the electric dipole moment of the neutron and the mechanism works even for low reheating temperatures after inflation (T sub RH greater or approx. = 10 exp 4 GeV).

Mollerach, Silvia↗

NASA NTRS1991

Fluctuation driven electroweak phase transition

We examine the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition in the early Universe. For Higgs masses in the range 46 less than or = M sub H less than or = 150 GeV and top quark masses less than 200 GeV, regions of symmetric and asymmetric vacuum coexist to below the critical temperature, with thermal equilibrium between the two phases maintained by fluctuations of both phases. We propose that the transition to the asymmetric vacuum is completed by percolation of these subcritical fluctuations. Our results are relevant to scenarios of baryogenesis that invoke a weakly first-order phase transition at the electroweak scale.

Gleiser, Marcelo↗

NASA NTRS1992

Electromagnetic processes in nucleus-nucleus collisions relating to space radiation research

Most of the papers within this report deal with electromagnetic processes in nucleus-nucleus collisions which are of concern in the space radiation program. In particular, the removal of one and two nucleons via both electromagnetic and strong interaction processes has been extensively investigated. The theory of relativistic Coulomb fission has also been developed. Several papers on quark models also appear. Finally, note that the theoretical methods developed in this work have been directly applied to the task of radiation protection of astronauts. This has been done by parameterizing the theoretical formalism in such a fashion that it can be used in cosmic ray transport codes.

Norbury, John W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Solution of two-body relativistic bound state equations with confining plus Coulomb interactions

Studies of meson spectroscopy have often employed a nonrelativistic Coulomb plus Linear Confining potential in position space. However, because the quarks in mesons move at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, it is necessary to use a relativistic treatment of the bound state problem. Such a treatment is most easily carried out in momentum space. However, the position space Linear and Coulomb potentials lead to singular kernels in momentum space. Using a subtraction procedure we show how to remove these singularities exactly and thereby solve the Schroedinger equation in momentum space for all partial waves. Furthermore, we generalize the Linear and Coulomb potentials to relativistic kernels in four dimensional momentum space. Again we use a subtraction procedure to remove the relativistic singularities exactly for all partial waves. This enables us to solve three dimensional reductions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. We solve six such equations for Coulomb plus Confining interactions for all partial waves.

Maung, Khin Maung↗