Pla, S., Newsome, I. M., Link, R. S., Anderson, P. R., & Navarro-Salas, J. (2021). Pair production due to an electric field in 1+1 dimensions and the validity of the semiclassical approximation. Phys. Rev. D, 103(10), 105003–23pp.
Abstract: Solutions to the backreaction equation in 1 + 1-dimensional semiclassical electrodynamics are obtained and analyzed when considering a time-varying homogeneous electric field initially generated by a classical electric current, coupled to either a quantized scalar field or a quantized spin-1/2 field. Particle production by way of the Schwinger effect leads to backreaction effects that modulate the electric field strength. Details of the particle production process are investigated along with the transfer of energy between the electric field and the particles. The validity of the semiclassical approximation is also investigated using a criterion previously implemented for chaotic inflation and, in an earlier form, semiclassical gravity. The criterion states that the semiclassical approximation will break down if any linearized gauge-invariant quantity constructed from solutions to the linear response equation, with finite nonsingular data, grows rapidly for some period of time. Approximations to homogeneous solutions of the linear response equation are computed and it is found that the criterion is violated when the maximum value, E-max, obtained by the electric field is of the order of the critical scale for the Schwinger effect, E-max similar to E-crit m(2)/q, where m is the mass of the quantized field and q is its electric charge. For these approximate solutions the criterion appears to be satisfied in the extreme limits qE(max)/m(2) << 1 and qE(max)/m(2) >> 1.
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Piriz, G. H., Gonzalez-Sprinberg, G. A., Ballester, F., & Vijande, J. (2024). Dosimetry of Large Field Valencia applicators for Cobalt-60-based brachytherapy. Med. Phys., , 5pp.
Abstract: BackgroundNon-melanoma skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the main approaches is brachytherapy. For small lesions, the treatment of this cancer with brachytherapy can be done with two commercial applicators, one of these is the Large Field Valencia Applicators (LFVA).PurposeThe aim of this study is to test the capabilities of the LFVA to use clinically 60Co sources instead of the 192Ir ones. This study was designed for the same dwell positions and weights for both sources.MethodsThe Penelope Monte Carlo code was used to evaluate dose distribution in a water phantom when a 60Co source is considered. The LFVA design and the optimized dwell weights reported for the case of 192Ir are maintained with the only exception of the dwell weight of the central position, that was increased. 2D dose distributions, field flatness, symmetry and the leakage dose distribution around the applicator were calculated.ResultsWhen comparing the dose distributions of both sources, field flatness and symmetry remain unchanged. The only evident difference is an increase of the penumbra regions for all depths when using the 60Co source. Regarding leakage, the maximum dose within the air volume surrounding the applicator is in the order of 20% of the prescription dose for the 60Co source, but it decreases to less than 5% at about 1 cm distance.ConclusionsFlatness and symmetry remains unaltered as compared with 192Ir sources, while an increase in leakage has been observed. This proves the feasibility of using the LFVA in a larger range of clinical applications.
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Pinto-Gomez, F., De Soto, F., Ferreira, M. N., Papavassiliou, J., & Rodriguez-Quintero, J. (2023). Lattice three-gluon vertex in extended kinematics: Planar degeneracy. Phys. Lett. B, 838, 137737–8pp.
Abstract: We present novel results for the three-gluon vertex, obtained from an extensive quenched lattice simulation in the Landau gauge. The simulation evaluates the transversely projected vertex, spanned on a special tensorial basis, whose form factors are naturally parametrized in terms of individually Bosesymmetric variables. Quite interestingly, when evaluated in these kinematics, the corresponding form factors depend almost exclusively on a single kinematic variable, formed by the sum of the squares of the three incoming four-momenta, q, r, and p. Thus, all configurations lying on a given plane in the coordinate system (q2, r2, p2) share, to a high degree of accuracy, the same form factors, a property that we denominate planar degeneracy. We have confirmed the validity of this property through an exhaustive study of the set of configurations satisfying the condition q2 = r2, within the range [0, 5 GeV]. This drastic simplification allows for a remarkably compact description of the main bulk of the data, which is particularly suitable for future numerical applications. A semi-perturbative analysis reproduces the lattice findings rather accurately, once the inclusion of a gluon mass has cured all spurious divergences.
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Pich, A., Solomonidi, E., & Vale Silva, L. (2023). Final-state interactions in the CP asymmetries of charm-meson two-body decays. Phys. Rev. D, 108, 036026–25pp.
Abstract: Urgent theoretical progress is needed in order to provide an estimate in the Standard Model of the recent measurement by LHCb of direct CP violation in charm-meson two-body decays. Rescattering effects must be taken into account for a meaningful theoretical description of the amplitudes involved in such category of observables, as signaled by the presence of large strong phases. We discuss the computation of the latter effects based on a two-channel coupled dispersion relation, which exploits isospin-zero phase shifts and inelasticity parametrizations of data coming from the rescattering processes ππ→ππ, πK→πK, and ππ→K¯K. The determination of the subtraction constants of the dispersive integrals relies on the leading contributions to the transition amplitudes from the 1/NC counting, where NC is the number of QCD colors. Furthermore, we use the measured values of the branching ratios to help in selecting the nonperturbative inputs in the isospin limit, from which we predict values for the CP asymmetries. We find that the predicted level of CP violation is much below the experimental value.
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Pich, A., Rosell, I., & Sanz-Cillero, J. J. (2020). Bottom-up approach within the electroweak effective theory: Constraining heavy resonances. Phys. Rev. D, 102(3), 035012–12pp.
Abstract: The LHC has confirmed the existence of a mass gap between the known particles and possible new states. Effective field theory is then the appropriate tool to search for low-energy signals of physics beyond the Standard Model. We adopt the general formalism of the electroweak effective theory, with a nonlinear realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking, where the Higgs is a singlet with independent couplings. At higher energies we consider a generic resonance Lagrangian which follows the above-mentioned nonlinear realization and couples the light particles to bosonic heavy resonances with J(P) = 0(+/-) and J(P) = 1(+/-). Integrating out the resonances and assuming a proper short-distance behavior, it is possible to determine or to constrain most of the bosonic low-energy constants in terms of resonance masses. Therefore, the current experimental bounds on these bosonic low-energy constants allow us to constrain the resonance masses above the TeV scale, by following a typical bottom-up approach, i.e., the fit of the low-energy constants to precise experimental data enables us to learn about the high-energy scales, the underlying theory behind the Standard Model.
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