Abstract: We study the pion distribution amplitude (pi DA) in the context of a nonlocal chiral quark model. The corresponding Lagrangian reproduces the phenomenological values of the pion mass and decay constant, as well as the momentum dependence of the quark propagator obtained in lattice calculations. It is found that the obtained pi DA has two symmetric maxima, which arise from the new contributions generated by the nonlocal character of the interactions. This pi DA is applied to leading order and next-to-leading order calculations of the pion-photon transition form factor. Implications of the results are discussed.

Abstract: We use the formalism of Gould and Raffelt [1] to compute the dimensionless thermal conduction coefficients for scattering of dark matter particles with standard model nucleons via cross-sections that depend on the relative velocity or momentum exchanged between particles. Motivated by models invoked to reconcile various recent results in direct detection, we explicitly compute the conduction coefficients alpha and kappa for cross-sections that go as v(rel)(2), v(rel)(4), v(rel)(-2), q(2), q(4) and q(-2), where v(rel) is the relative DM-nucleus velocity and q is the momentum transferred in the collision. We find that a v(rel)(-2) depend ence can significantly enhance energy transport from the inner solar core to the outer core. The same can true for any q-dependent coupling, if the dark matter mass lies within some specific range for each coupling. This effect can complement direct searches for dark matter; combining these results with state-of-the-art solar simulations should greatly increase sensitivity to certain DM models. It also seems possible that the so-called Solar Abundance Problem could be resolved by enhanced energy transport in the solar core due to such velocity-or momentum-dependent scatterings.

Abstract: A measurement of the cross section for the production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV is presented. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The cross section is measured as a function of photon pseudorapidity eta(gamma) and transverse energy E-T(gamma) in the kinematic range 100 <= E-T(gamma) < 1000 GeV and in the regions vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 1.37 and 1.52 <= vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 2.37. The results are compared to leading-order parton-shower Monte Carlo models and next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations agree well with the measured cross sections as a function of E-T(gamma) and eta(gamma) .

Abstract: We present results for exclusive semileptonic decay widths of ground state spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 cb baryons corresponding to a c -> s, d transition at the quark level. The relevance of hyperfine mixing in spin-1/2 cb baryons is shown. Our form factors are compatible with heavy quark spin symmetry constraints obtained in the infinite heavy quark mass limit.

Abstract: A measurement of the mass difference between top and anti-top quarks is presented. In a 4.7 fb(-1) data sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, events consistent with t (t) over bar production and decay into a single charged lepton final state are reconstructed. For each event, the mass difference between the top and anti-top quark candidate is calculated. A two b-tag requirement is used in order to reduce the background contribution. A maximum likelihood fit to these per-event mass differences yields Delta m = m(t) – m((t) over bar) = 0.67 +/- 0.61 (stat) +/- 0.41 (syst) GeV, consistent with CPT invariance.