Abstract: We present an analysis of the baryon-octet and -decuplet masses using covariant SU(3)-flavor chiral perturbation theory up to next-to-leading order. Besides the description of the physical masses we address the problem of the lattice QCD extrapolation. Using the PACS-CS Collaboration data we show that a good description of the lattice points can be achieved at next-to-leading order with the covariant loop amplitudes and phenomenologically determined values for the meson-baryon couplings. Moreover, the extrapolation to the physical point up to this order is found to be better than the linear one given at leading-order by the Gell-Mann-Okubo approach. The importance that a reliable combination of lattice QCD and chiral perturbation theory may have for hadron phenomenology is emphasized with the prediction of the pion-baryon and strange-baryon sigma terms.

Abstract: We search for CP violation in a sample of 4.7 x 10(4) Cabibbo suppressed D-0 -> K+K-pi(+)pi(-) decays. We use 470 fb(-1) of data recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) storage rings running at center-of-mass energies near 10.6 GeV. CP violation is searched for in the difference between the T-odd asymmetries, obtained using triple product correlations, measured for D-0 and (D) over bar (0) decays. The measured CP violation parameter is A(T) = (1.0 +/- 5.1(stat) +/- 4.4(syst)) x 10(-3).

Abstract: We have revisited glueball mixing with the pseudoscalar mesons in the MIT bag model scheme. The calculation has been performed in the spherical cavity approximation to the bag using two different fermion propagators, the cavity and the free propagators. We obtain probabilities of mixing for the eta at the level of 0.006%-2.0%, while for the eta' one at the level of 0.6%-40%, depending on the choice of bag radius and, therefore, of the strong coupling constant. Our results differ from previous calculations. The origin of our difference stems from the treatment of the time integrations. The comparison of our calculation with experimental data, which is consistent with small eta – eta' – G mixing, implies that the pseudoscalar glueball is small, R similar to 0.5-0.6 fm and has a large mass, M-G similar to 2000-2500 MeV.

Abstract: We report the observation of electroweak single top quark production in 3: 2 fb(-1) of p (p) over bar collision data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab at root s = 1.96 TeV. Candidate events in the W + jets topology with a leptonically decaying W boson are classified as signal-like by four parallel analyses based on likelihood functions, matrix elements, neural networks, and boosted decision trees. These results are combined using a super discriminant analysis based on genetically evolved neural networks in order to improve the sensitivity. This combined result is further combined with that of a search for a single top quark signal in an orthogonal sample of events with missing transverse energy plus jets and no charged lepton. We observe a signal consistent with the standard model prediction but inconsistent with the background-only model by 5.0 standard deviations, with a median expected sensitivity in excess of 5.9 standard deviations. We measure a production cross section of 2.3-(+0.6)(0.5) (stat + sys) pb, extract the value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element vertical bar V-tb vertical bar = 0.91(-0.11)(+0.11) (stat + sys) +/- 0.07 (theory), and set a lower limit vertical bar V-tb vertical bar > 0.71 at the 95% C. L., assuming m(t) = 175 GeV/c(2).

Abstract: We present a detailed analytical analysis of the propagation of Bogoliubov phonons on top of Bose-Einstein condensates with spatial and temporal steplike discontinuities in the speed of sound in the hydrodynamic limit. We focus on some features in the correlations patterns, in particular, of density-density correlations. The application to the study of the Hawking signal in the formation of acoustic black hole-like configurations is also discussed.