Abstract: We study the decay J=& psi; & RARR; & pi; thorn & pi;-& pi;0 within the framework of the Khuri-Treiman equations. We find that the BESIII experimental dipion mass distribution in the & rho;o770 thorn -region is well reproduced with a once-subtracted P-wave amplitude. Furthermore, we show that F-wave contributions to the amplitude improve the description of the data in the & pi;& pi; mass region around 1.5 GeV. We also present predictions for the J=& psi; & RARR; & pi;0 & gamma;* transition form factor.

Abstract: We study the weak decay of the Lambda(b) into J/psi K Xi. and J/psi eta Lambda states, and relate these processes to the Lambda(b) -> J/psi(K) over barN decay mode. The elementary weak transition at the quark level proceeds via the creation of a J/psi meson and an excited sud system with I = 0, which upon hadronization leads to (K) over barN or eta Lambda pairs. These states undergo final-state interaction in coupled channels and produce a final meson-baryon pair. The K. state only occurs via rescattering, hence making the Lambda(b) -> J/psi K Xi process very sensitive to the details of the meson-baryon interaction in strangeness S = -1 and isospin I = 0. We show that the corresponding invariant mass distribution is dominated by the next-to-leading-order terms of the chiral interaction. The I = 0 selectivity of this decay, and its large sensitivity to the higher-order terms, makes its measurement very useful and complementary to the K- p -> K Xi cross section data. The rates of the Lambda(b) -> J/psi K Xi and Lambda(b) -> J/psi eta Lambda invariant mass distributions are sizable compared to those of the Lambda(b) -> J/psi(K) over barN decay, which is measured experimentally, and thus, we provide arguments for an experimental determination of these decay modes that will help us understand better the chiral dynamics at higher energies.

Abstract: Recent studies have shown that the well-established Lambda(c) (2595) resonance contains a large meson-baryon component, which can vary depending on the specific formalism. In this work, we examine such a picture by utilizing the compositeness condition and the large number of colors (N-c) expansion. We examine three different models fulfilling two body unitarily in coupled-channels, and adopting renormalization schemes where the mass of the Lambda(c)(2595) resonance is well described, but not necessarily its width, since we do not consider three body channels and work at the isospin symmetric limit. Both approximations might have an effect larger on the width than on the mass. In this context, our studies show that the compositeness of the Lambda(c)(2595) depends on the number of considered coupled channels, and on the particular regularization scheme adopted in the unitary approaches and, therefore, is model dependent. In addition, we perform an exploratory study of the Lambda(c)(2595) in the large N-c expansion, within a scheme involving only the pi Sigma(c) and K Xi(c)', channels, whose dynamics is mostly fixed by chiral symmetry. In this context and formulating the leading-order interaction as a function of N-c, we show that for moderate N-c > 3 values, the mass and width of the Lambda(c)(2595) deviate from those of a genuine qqq baryon, implying the relevance of meson-baryon components in its wave function. Furthermore, we study the properties of the Lambda(c)(2595), in the strict N-c -> infinity limit, using an extension of the chiral Weinberg-Tomozawa interaction to an arbitrary number of flavors and colors. This latter study hints at the possible existence of a (perhaps) subdominant qqq component in the Lambda(c)(2595) resonance wave function, which would become dominant when the number of colors gets sufficiently large.

Abstract: The analysis of hadronic interactions with effective field theory techniques is complicated by the appearance of a large number of low-energy constants, which are usually fitted to data. On the other hand, the large-N-c limit helps to impose natural short-distance constraints on these low-energy constants, providing a parameter reduction. A Bayesian interpretation of the expected 1/N-c accuracy allows for an easy and efficient implementation of these constraints, using an augmented chi(2). We apply this approach to the analysis of meson-meson scattering, in conjunction with chiral perturbation theory to one loop and coupled-channel unitarity, and show that it helps to largely reduce the many existing ambiguities and simultaneously provide an acceptable description of the available phase shifts.

Abstract: In this manuscript we reassess the potential of interacting dark matter-dark energy models in solving the Hubble constant tension. These models have been proposed but also questioned as possible solutions to the H0 problem. Here we examine several interacting scenarios against cosmological observations, focusing on the important role played by the calibration of supernovae data. In order to reassess the ability of interacting dark matter-dark energy scenarios in easing the Hubble constant tension, we systematically confront their theoretical predictions using a prior on the supernovae Ia absolute magnitude MB, which has been argued to be more robust and certainly less controversial than using a prior on the Hubble constant H0. While some data combinations do not show any preference for interacting dark sectors and in some of these scenarios the clustering sigma 8 tension worsens, interacting cosmologies with a dark energy equation of state w < -1 are preferred over the canonical lambda CDM picture even with cosmic microwave background data alone and also provide values of sigma 8 in perfect agreement with those from weak lensing surveys. Future cosmological surveys will test these exotic dark energy cosmologies by accurately measuring the dark energy equation of state and its putative redshift evolution.