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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Nucleon clustering at kinetic freezeout of heavy-ion collisions via path-integral Monte Carlo

Clustering of the four-nucleon system at kinetic freezeout conditions is studied using path-integral Monte Carlo techniques. This method seeks to improve upon previous calculations which relied on approximate semiclassical methods or few-body quantum mechanics. Estimates are given for the decay probabilities of the 4N system into various light nuclei decay channels and the strength of spatial correlations is characterized. Additionally, a simple model is presented to describe the impact of this clustering on nucleon multiplicity distributions. Additionally, the effects of a possible modification of the inter-nucleon interaction due to the close critical line (and hypothetical QCD critical point) on the clustering are also studied.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Constraints on charm-anticharm asymmetry in the nucleon from lattice QCD

We present the first lattice QCD calculation of the charm quark contribution to the nucleon electromagnetic form factors $G^c_{E,M}(Q^2)$ in the momentum transfer range $0\leq Q^2 \leq 1.4$ $\rm GeV^2$. The quark mass dependence, finite lattice spacing and volume corrections are taken into account simultaneously based on the calculation on three gauge ensembles including one at the physical pion mass. The nonzero value of the charm magnetic moment $\mu^c_M=-0.00127(38)_{\rm stat}(5)_{\rm sys}$, as well as the Pauli form factor, reflects a nontrivial role of the charm sea in the nucleon spin structure. The nonzero $G^c_{E}(Q^2)$ indicates the existence of a nonvanishing asymmetric charm-anticharm sea in the nucleon. Performing a nonperturbative analysis based on holographic QCD and the generalized Veneziano model, we study the constraints on the $[c(x)-\bar{c}(x)]$ distribution from the lattice QCD results presented here. Our results provide complementary information and motivation for more detailed studies of physical observables that are sensitive to intrinsic charm and for future global analyses of parton distributions including asymmetric charm-anticharm distribution.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The impact of $γN$ and $γ^∗N$ interactions on our understanding of nucleon excitations

We review recent progress in our understanding of the nucleon excitation spectrum. Thanks to dedicated efforts at facilities such as ELSA, MAMI and Jefferson Lab, several new nucleon resonances have been discovered, and evidence for previously elusive states has been significantly improved. Numerous decay channels have been observed for the first time, and resonance properties are being extracted from these data by several groups through coupled-channel analyses of varying complexity. Electroproduction experiments have provided further insights into the internal structure of light baryon resonances – for example, the long-debated Roper resonance N (1440) is observed as a three-quark state with a significant meson-cloud component. While the non-relativistic quark model remains a valuable tool for organizing the spectrum of nucleon and Δ resonances, a variety of theoretical frameworks have emerged to offer deeper understanding, including phenomenological quark models, holographic QCD, functional methods, effective field theories, and lattice QCD. We examine the interplay between these approaches, highlight their respective strengths and explore how they complement each other in shaping our knowledge of light baryon resonances. We address several open questions in baryon spectroscopy, including the nature of the enigmatic Λ (1405), ongoing searches for exotic states such as hybrid baryons and pentaquarks, and the dichotomy between microscopic descriptions of baryons in terms of quarks and gluons versus effective hadronic descriptions based on meson-baryon dynamics.

Baryon resonances↗
DOE OSTI2020

Excited nucleon spectrum and structure studies with CLAS and CLAS12

The study of the spectrum and structure of excited nucleon states employing the electroproduction of exclusive reactions is an important avenue for exploring the nature of the non-perturbative strong interaction. The CLAS detector in Hall B has provided the dominant part of the available world data on most relevant meson electroproduction channels off the nucleon in the resonance region for Q2 up to 5 GeV2. Analyses of CLAS data for the exclusive channels πN, ηN, and π+π-p on a proton target have provided the only results available on the Q2 evolution of the electro-excitation amplitudes for the transitions from the initial photon-proton to the final N* states in the mass range up to W =1.8 GeV. These electrocouplings allow for exploration of the internal structure of the produced excited nucleon states. This work has made it clear that consistent results from independent analyses of several exclusive channels with different resonance hadronic decay parameters and non-resonant backgrounds but the same N* electro-excitation amplitudes, is essential to have confidence in the extracted results. Starting in early 2018, a program to study the spectrum and structure of N* states in various exclusive electroproduction channels using the new CLAS12 spectrometer commenced. These studies will probe the structure of N* states in the mass range up to W =3 GeV and for Q2 as low as 0.05 GeV2 and as high as 10-12 GeV2, thus providing a means to access N* structure information spanning a broad range of distance scales. Quasi-real photoproduction studies are also planned to search for additional N* states, the so-called hybrid baryons, for which the glue serves as an active structural component. In this talk the N* programs from both CLAS and CLAS12 will be reviewed.

Carman, D. S.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Constraining neutrino-nucleon form factors with charged-current scattering at the Electron-Ion Collider

Next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment require percent-level knowledge of neutrino-nucleon interaction cross sections. The nucleon axial form factor 𝐹 𝐴 ⁡(𝑄 2 ), parametrized by the axial mass 𝑀 𝐴 , is the dominant source of uncertainty in the quasielastic channel, and the parity-violating structure function 𝑥⁢𝐹 3 is poorly constrained on free nucleons. We propose using charged-current (CC) electron-proton scattering at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) to address both problems simultaneously. The measurement exploits three key features of the EIC: (1) helicity-selective electron bunches provide in situ electromagnetic background rejection; (2) a longitudinally polarized proton target enables extraction of 𝐹 𝐴 ⁡(𝑄 2 ) through the target-spin asymmetry 𝐴 𝑈⁢𝐿 ; and (3) the 𝑦-distribution leverage in CC deep inelastic scattering (DIS) separates 𝐹 2 and 𝑥⁢𝐹 3 on a free proton, without nuclear corrections. Using a Fisher information analysis at $\sqrt{𝑠}$ =141 GeV with 500 fb −1 of integrated luminosity, we project the Cramér-Rao statistical floor of 𝛿⁢𝑀 𝐴 ≈0.03 GeV (3%). Incorporating first-order realistic detector effects, such as zero-degree calorimeter acceptance, 𝑄 2 smearing (5%), and background noise from helicity subtraction, the projected sensitivity is severely background-limited due to the small signal-to-background ratio (𝑆/𝐵 ≈ 3 ×10 −4 ) in the elastic channel. Achieving competitive sensitivity (𝛿⁢𝑀 𝐴 ≈ 0.14 GeV) would require ∼10 −7 background suppression, 3 orders of magnitude beyond current projections. The CC DIS 𝑦 distribution provides subpercent extraction of 𝑥⁢𝐹$^{𝑊^{−}}_{3}$ over 0.05 < 𝑥 < 0.5, representing the most robust electroweak measurement in the near term.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Nucleon axial-vector form factor and radius from radiatively corrected antineutrino scattering data

The nucleon axial-vector form factor, 𝐺 𝐴 , is critical to determine the electroweak interactions of leptons with nucleons. Important examples of processes influenced by 𝐺 𝐴 are elastic (anti)neutrino-nucleon scattering and muon capture by the proton. Sparse experimental data results in a large uncertainty on the momentum dependence of 𝐺 𝐴 and has motivated the consideration of new experimental probes and first-principles lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) evaluations. The comparison of new and precise theoretical predictions for 𝐺 𝐴 with future experimental data necessitates the application of radiative corrections to experimentally observable processes. We apply these corrections in the extraction of 𝐺 𝐴 and the associated axial-vector radius from the recent MINERvA antineutrino-hydrogen data, compare the effects from radiative corrections to other uncertainties in neutrino scattering experiments, and discuss the comparison of lattice QCD evaluations to experimental measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

New Class of Three-Nucleon Forces and Their Implications

Here, we identify a new class of three-nucleon forces that arises in the low-energy effective theory of nuclear interactions including pions. We estimate their contribution to the energy of neutron and nuclear matter and find that it can be as important as the leading-order three-nucleon forces previously considered in the literature. The magnitude of this force is set by the strength of the coupling of pions to two nucleons and is presently not well constrained by experiments. The implications for nuclei, nuclear matter, and the equation of state of neutron matter are briefly discussed.

chiral perturbation theory↗
DOE OSTI2026

Semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a polarized spin-1 target. II. Deuteron and spectator nucleon tagging

We develop the theoretical framework for semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a polarized spin-1 target and apply it to scattering on the polarized deuteron with spectator nucleon tagging. In Part I (previous article), we present the general form of the semi-inclusive cross section and polarization observables for the spin-1 target. In Part II (this article), we consider deep-inelastic scattering on the polarized deuteron with spectator nucleon tagging as a special case of target fragmentation. Methods of light-front quantization are employed to separate nuclear and hadronic structure in the high-energy process and achieve a composite description. The light-front wave function of the polarized deuteron is obtained from a rotationally covariant three-dimensional wave function in the center-of-mass frame of the proton-neutron system. The tagged structure functions are computed in the impulse approximation. The momentum and spin distribution of the active nucleon are controlled by the deuteron polarization and the detected spectator momentum (𝐷/𝑆 wave ratio). The cross section and spin asymmetries are evaluated for general deuteron polarization (vector and tensor, longitudinal and transverse) as functions of the spectator momentum. Tensor-polarized spin asymmetries of order unity are achieved for spectator momenta of approximately 300 MeV, which select configurations with a large 𝐷 wave. Sum rules for the tagged spin structure functions are derived. The results can be used for simulations of spectator tagging in future polarized fixed-target experiments (Jefferson Lab) or at the Electron-Ion Collider.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Two- and three-nucleon contact interactions and ground-state energies of light- and medium-mass nuclei

Classes of two-nucleon (2N) contact interactions are developed in configuration space at leading order (LO), next-to-leading order (NLO), and next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) by fitting the experimental singlet np scattering length and deuteron binding energy at LO, and np and pp scattering data in the laboratory-energy ranges 0–15 MeV at NLO and 0–25 MeV at N3LO. These interactions are regularized by including two Gaussian cutoffs, one for T = 0 and the other for T = 1 channels. The cutoffs are taken to vary in the ranges R 0 = (1.5 –2.3) fm and R 1 = (1.5 –3.0) fm. The 780 (1100) data points up to 15 (25) MeV energy, primarily differential cross sections, are fitted by the NLO (N3LO) models with a χ 2 / datum about 1.7 or less (well below 1.5), when harder cutoff values are adopted. As a first application, we report results for the binding energies of nuclei with mass numbers A = 3 –6 and 16 obtained with selected LO and NLO 2N models both by themselves as well as in combination with a LO three-nucleon (3N) contact interaction. The latter is characterized by a single low-energy constant that is fixed to reproduce the experimental 3 H binding energy. The inclusion of the 3N interaction largely removes the sensitivity to cutoff variations in the few-nucleon systems and leads to predictions for the 3 He and 4 He binding energies that cluster around 7.8 and 30 MeV, respectively. However, in 16 O this cutoff sensitivity remains rather strong. Finally, predictions at LO only are also reported for medium-mass nuclei with A = 40 , 48, and 90.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Updated systematics of intermediate-energy single-nucleon removal cross sections

The body of experimental measurements of intermediate-energy reactions that remove a single nucleon from a secondary beam of neutron- or proton-rich nuclei continues to grow. These data have been analyzed consistently using an approximate, eikonal-model treatment of the reaction dynamics combined with appropriate shell-model descriptions of the projectile initial state, the bound final states spectrum of the reaction residue, and single-particle removal strengths computed from their wave-function overlaps. Here, the systematics of the ratio R s of the measured inclusive cross section to all bound final states and the calculated cross section to bound shell-model states—in different regions of the nuclear chart and involving both very weakly bound and strongly bound valence nucleons—is important in relating the empirically deduced orbital occupancies to those from the best available shell-model predictions. Importantly, several new higher-energy measurements, for which the sudden-approximation aspect of the dynamical description is placed on an even stronger footing, now supplement the previously analyzed measurements. These additional data sets are discussed. Their R s values are shown to conform to and reinforce the earlier-observed systematics, with no indication that the approximately linear reduction in R s with increasing nucleon separation energy is a consequence of a breakdown of the sudden approximation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electric dipole moments of three-nucleon systems in the pionless effective field theory

We calculate the electric dipole moments (EDMs) of three-nucleon systems at leading order in pionless effective field theory. The one-body contributions that arise from permanent proton and neutron EDMs and the two-body contributions that arise from charge-parity-odd nucleon-nucleon interactions are taken into account. Neglecting the Coulomb interaction, we consider the triton and 3 He, and also investigate them in the Wigner-SU(4) symmetric limit. We also calculate the electric dipole form factor and find numerically that the momentum dependence of the electric dipole form factor in the Wigner limit is, up to an overall constant (and numerical accuracy), the same as the momentum dependence of the charge form factor. Finally, we study the cutoff dependence of these observables and find that they are properly renormalized.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mirror nucleon removal reactions in p-shell nuclei

Nucleon removal reactions have been shown to be an effective tool for studying the single particle structure of nuclei. This work continues efforts to experimentally probe and benchmark the reaction and structure models used to calculate the removal reaction cross sections when using microscopic nuclear structure inputs. Here, three different single nucleon removal reactions were performed, from p -shell nuclei with masses A = 7, 9, and 10. The residual nuclei from the reactions were detected in coincidence with γ rays to determine partial cross sections to individual final states. The eikonal direct-reaction model is combined with overlap functions and residual nucleus densities from microscopic, variational Monte Carlo calculations to provide consistent nuclear structure input to the partial cross section calculations. Comparisons of measured and calculated cross sections, including for mirror reactions, are presented. The analysis of the partial cross sections leading to the ground states shows a similar behavior to the one observed from analyses of inclusive cross sections using shell model nuclear structure input: the theoretical description of the removal process is in better agreement with the data when removing weakly bound nucleons, than when removing well-bound ones. The two mirror reaction pairs presented here show consistent results between the respective members of the pairs. The results obtained for the population of the excited states, however, show a systematically different trend that appears connected to the structure part of the calculation. Additional cases are needed to better understand the respective roles of structure and dynamical effects in the deviations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Renormalization of one-pion exchange in chiral effective field theory for antinucleon-nucleon scattering

The renormalization of iterated one-pion exchange (OPE) is studied in Chiral Effective Field Theory ($\chi$EFT) for the antinucleon-nucleon ($\overline{N}N$) system. The OPE potential is cut off at a certain distance and contact interactions are represented by a complex spherical well with the same radius. We investigate the dependence on the cutoff radius of the phase shifts, inelasticities, and mixing angles for the low partial waves in $\overline{N}N$ scattering. We show that renormalization requires additional contact interactions compared to the expectation based on naive dimensional analysis. Results after renormalization are compared with the state-of-the-art energy-dependent partial-wave analysis of $\overline{N}N$ data. We compare our conclusions with applications of $\chi$EFT to the nucleon-nucleon system.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Relative population of states in 21 Mg from few-nucleon removal reactions

Nuclear reactions with intermediate-energy beams in which three, four, and five nucleons are removed are expected to proceed through a combination of nondissipative and statistical processes. In an experiment at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy was utilized to study few-nucleon removal reactions from incoming beams of 24 Mg, 25 Al, and 26 Si projectiles to the same reaction product, 21 Mg. Here, new γ-ray transitions and γ-γ coincidences in 21 Mg were established using the CsI(Na) array CAESAR and the inclusive cross section for three-neutron removal from 24 Mg was measured. Significant differences in the relative population of states in 21 Mg from 25 Al compared to 26 Si were observed and found to be correlated with the spins of the 21 Mg states. As a result, this intermediate regime between direct and statistical nucleon removal may have potential as a tool to deliver unique patterns of level populations in fast-beam experiments and alter isomer to ground state ratios in the production of exotic beams.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nucleon axial and pseudoscalar form factors using twisted-mass fermion ensembles at the physical point

We compute the nucleon axial and pseudoscalar form factors using three N f = 2 + 1 + 1 twisted-mass fermion ensembles with all quark masses tuned to approximately their physical values. The values of the lattice spacings of these three physical point ensembles are 0.080, 0.068, and 0.057 fm and spatial sizes 5.1, 5.44, and 5.47 fm, respectively, yielding m π L > 3.6 . Convergence to the ground-state matrix elements is assessed using multistate fits. We study the momentum dependence of the three form factors and check the partially conserved axial-vector current (PCAC) hypothesis and the pion pole dominance (PPD). We show that in the continuum limit, the PCAC and PPD relations are satisfied. We also show that the Goldberger-Treimann relation is approximately fulfilled and determine the Goldberger-Treiman discrepancy. Our final results are g A = 1.245 ( 28 ) ( 14 ) for the nucleon axial charge, ⟨ r A 2 ⟩ = 0.339 ( 48 ) ( 06 ) fm 2 for the axial radius, g π N N ≡ lim Q 2 → − m π 2 G π N N ( Q 2 ) = 13.25 ( 67 ) ( 69 ) for the pion-nucleon coupling constant, and G P ( 0.88 m μ 2 ) ≡ g P * = 8.99 ( 39 ) ( 49 ) for the induced pseudoscalar form factor at the muon capture point. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Extracting transition generalized parton distributions from hard exclusive pion-nucleon scattering

We study the extraction of transition generalized parton distributions (GPDs) from production of two back-to-back high transverse momentum photons ( γ γ ) and a massive pair of leptons ( ℓ + ℓ − ) in hard exclusive pion-nucleon scattering. We argue that the exclusive scattering amplitude of both processes could be factorized into nonperturbative pion distribution amplitude and nucleon transition GPDs that are convoluted with perturbatively calculable short-distance matching coefficients. We demonstrate that the exclusive diphoton production not only is complementary to the Drell-Yan-type dilepton production for extracting the GPDs but also provides enhanced sensitivities for extracting the parton momentum fraction x dependence of the GPDs. We show that both exclusive observables are physically measurable at the J-PARC and AMBER experiment energies. If the target nucleon can be polarized, corresponding spin asymmetries can offer additional sensitivities for extracting transition GPDs. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dissecting a strongly coupled scalar nucleon

We continue our investigation of the stress within a strongly coupled scalar nucleon, and now dissect the gravitational form factors into contributions from its constituents, the (mock) nucleon and the (mock) pion. The computation is based on a nonperturbative solution of the scalar Yukawa model in the light-front Hamiltonian formalism with a Fock sector expansion, including up to one nucleon and two pions. By employing the “good currents” T i + + , T i + − and T i 12 , we extract the full set of gravitational form factors A i , D i , c ¯ i without the contamination of the spurious form factors and free of uncanceled UV divergences. With these results, we decompose the mass of the system into its constituents and compute the matter and mechanical radii, gaining insights into the strongly coupled system. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Cao, Xianghui (ORCID:0009000359096713)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exactness of the normal-ordered two-body truncation of three-nucleon forces

Reference-state-based many-body methods start from Hamiltonians that are normal ordered with respect to the reference state. In low-energy nuclear physics applications, normal-ordered Hamiltonians consisting of two- and three-nucleon forces are usually truncated at the two-body rank with residual three-nucleon operators being discarded. Benchmark computations have shown that this truncation is accurate, but we lack an understanding about why it works. Here, we show that the normal-ordered two-body truncation is exact for zero-range three-body forces when nuclei are computed using the coupled cluster with singles and doubles method. As the nuclear three-nucleon force is short ranged and a three-body contact is a leading term in effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics, our result provides an analytical basis for the popular normal-ordered two-body approximation.

Rothman, Maxwell [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, T↗