Colloquium: Positronium physics and biomedical applications
S.D. Bass, S. Mariazzi, P. Moskal, E. Stępień
abstract
Positronium is the simplest bound state, built of an electron and a positron. Studies of positronium in vacuum and its decays in medium tell us about quantum electrodynamics (QED) and about the structure of matter and biological processes of living organisms at the nanoscale, respectively. Spectroscopic measurements constrain our understanding of QED bound state theory. Searches for rare decays and measurements of the effect of gravitation on positronium are used to look for new physics phenomena. In biological materials positronium decays are sensitive to the intermolecular and intramolecular structure and to the metabolism of living organisms ranging from single cells to human beings. This leads to new ideas of positronium imaging in medicine using the fact that during positron emission tomography (PET) as much as 40% of positron annihilation occurs through the production of positronium atoms inside the patient?s body. A new generation of the high sensitivity and multiphoton total-body PET systems opens perspectives for clinical applications of positronium as a biomarker of tissue pathology and the degree of tissue oxidation.
The eta- and eta'-nucleus interactions and the search for eta, eta'- mesic states
S. D. Bass, V. Metag, P. Moskal
abstract
The isoscalar eta and eta? mesons are special in QCD, being linked both to chiral symmetry and to non-perturbative glue associated with the axial anomaly. The properties of these mesons in medium are sensitive to how these dynamics work in the nuclear environment. In contrast to pionic and kaonic atoms which are mainly bound by the Coulomb interaction with some corrections due to the strong force (Coulomb assisted binding), the eta and eta' as neutral mesons can only be bound by the strong interaction. Is this interaction strong enough? This topic has inspired a vigorous program of experiments, conducted in close contact with theory, One has to determine the complex eta, eta'-nucleus potential. Does the real part V provide a sufficiently deep potential? Is the imaginary part W small enough to allow for narrow states that can more easily be detected experimentally, i.e. |W|<<|V|? The eta' effective mass is observed to be suppressed by ~40 MeV at nuclear matter density. Bound state searches are ongoing. This article gives an overview of the status of knowledge in this field together with an outlook to future experiments.
The J-PET detector - a tool for precision studies of ortho-positronium decays
K. Dulski, S.D. Bass, J. Chhokar, N. Chug, C. Curceanu, E. Czerwiński, M. Dadgar, J. Gajewski, A. Gajos, M. Gorgol, R. Del Grande, B.C. Hiesmayr, B. Jasińska, K. Kacprzak, Ł. Kapłon, H. Karimi, D. Kisielewska, K. Klimaszewski, P. Kopka, G. Korcyl, P. Kowalski, T. Kozik, N. Krawczyk, W. Krzemień, E. Kubicz, P. Małczak, M. Mohammed, Sz. Niedźwiecki, M. Pałka, M. Pawlik-Niedźwiecka, M. Pędziwiatr, L. Raczyński7, J. Raj, A. Ruciński, S. Sharma, Shivani, R.Y. Shopa, M. Silarski, M. Skurzok, E. Ł. Stępień, F. Tayefi, W. Wiślicki, B. Zgardzińska, P. Moskal
abstract
The J-PET tomograph is constructed from plastic scintillator strips arranged axially in concentric cylindrical layers. It enables investigations of positronium decays by measurement of the time, position, polarization and energy deposited by photons in the scintillators, in contrast to studies conducted so far with crystal and semiconductor based detection systems where the key selection of events is based on the measurement of the photons energies. In this article we show that the J-PET tomography system constructed solely from plastic scintillator detectors is capable of exclusive measurements of the decays of ortho-positronium atoms. We present the first positronium production results and its lifetime distribution measurements. The obtained results prove the capability of the J-PET tomograph for (i) fundamental studies of positronium decays (in particular test of discrete symmetries in purely leptonic systems), (ii) positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, as well as (iii) molecular imaging diagnostics and (iv) observation of entanglement
The cosmological constant and Higgs mass with emergent gauge symmetries
S.D. Bass, J. Krzysiak
abstract
We discuss the Higgs mass and cosmological constant in the context of an emergent Standard Model, where the gauge symmetries dissolve in the extreme ultraviolet. In this scenario the cosmological constant scale is suppressed by power of the large scale of emergence and expected to be of similar size to neutrino masses. Cosmology constraints then give an anthropic upper bound on the Higgs mass.
Emergent Gauge Symmetries and Particle Physics
S.D. Bass
abstract
Hadron properties and interactions are emergent from QCD. Atomic and condensed matter physics are emergent from QED. Could the local gauge symmetries of particle physics also be emergent? We give an introduction to this question and recent ideas connecting it to the (meta)stability of the Standard Model Higgs vacuum. With an emergent Standard Model the gauge symmetries would dissolve in the ultraviolet. This scenario differs from unification models which exhibit maximum symmetry in the extreme ultraviolet. With emergence, new global symmetry violations would appear in higher dimensional operators.
Vacuum energy with mass generation and Higgs bosons
S.D. Bass, J. Krzysiak
abstract
We discuss the Higgs mass and cosmological constant hierarchy puzzles with emphasis on the interplay of Poincare invariance, mass generation and renormalization group invariance. A plausible explanation involves an emergent Standard Model with the cosmological constant scale suppressed by power of the large scale of emergence. In this scenario the cosmological constant scale and neutrino masses should be of similar size.
Positronium in medicine and biology
P. Moskal, B. Jasińska, E. Ł. Stępień, S. D. Bass
abstract
In positron emission tomography, as much as 40% of positron annihilation occurs through the production of positronium atoms inside the patient's body. The decay of these positronium atoms is sensitive to metabolism and could provide information about disease progression. New research is needed to take full advantage of what positronium decays reveal.
Etaprime and Eta Mesons with Connection to Anomalous Glue
S. D. Bass, P. Moskal
abstract
We review the present understanding of etaprime and eta meson physics and these mesons as a probe of gluon dynamics in low-energy QCD. Recent highlights include the production mechanism of eta and etaprime mesons in proton-nucleon collisions from threshold to high-energy, the etaprime effective mass shift in the nuclear medium, searches for possible eta and etaprime bound states in nuclei as well as precision measurements of eta decays as a probe of light-quark masses. We discuss recent experimental data, theoretical interpretation of the different measurements and the open questions and challenges for future investigation.
QED and Fundamental Symmetries in Positronium Decays
Steven D. Bass
abstract
We discuss positronium decays with emphasis on tests of fundamental symmetries and the constraints from measurements of other precision observables involving electrons and photons.
Updating spin-dependent Regge intercepts
S. D. Bass, M. Skurzok, P. Moskal
abstract
We use new high statistics data from CLAS and COMPASS on the nucleon's spin structure function at low Bjorken x and low virtuality, Q^2 < 0.5 GeV^2, together with earlier measurements from the SLAC E-143, HERMES and GDH experiments to estimate the effective intercept(s) for spin dependent Regge theory. We find alpha_{a_1} = 0.31 pm 0.04 for the intercept describing the high-energy behaviour of spin dependent photoabsorption together with a new estimate for the high-energy part of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum-rule, -15 pm 2 mu b from photon-proton centre-of-mass energy greater than 2.5 GeV. Our value of alpha_{a_1} suggests QCD physics beyond a simple straight-line a_1 trajectory.
Emergence in Particle Physics
S.D. Bass
abstract
Hadron properties and interactions are emergent from QCD. Atomic and condensed matter physics are emergent from QED. Could the local gauge symmetries of particle physics also be emergent? We give an introduction to this question and recent ideas connecting it to the stability of the Standard Model Higgs vacuum and the value of the cosmological constant.
Spinning Gluons in the Proton
S.D. Bass
abstract
Computer simulations indicate that about 50% of the proton?s spin comes from the spin of the gluons that bind its quark constituents.
eta' Interactions with Nucleons and Nuclei
S. D. Bass, P. Moskal
abstract
We summarise recent progress in theory and experiment towards understanding of ??-meson interactions with nucleons and nuclei. Highlights include the production mechanism of ?? mesons in proton?proton collisions close to the threshold, the ?? effective mass shift in nuclei and the determination of the ??-nucleon scattering length in free space.
Determination of the eta prime - proton scattering length in free space
E. Czerwiński, P. Moskal, M. Silarski, S. D. Bass, D. Grzonka, B. Kamys, A. Khoukaz, J. Klaja, W. Krzemień, W. Oelert, J. Ritman, T. Sefzick, J. Smyrski, A. Täschner, M. Wolke, M. Zieliński
abstract
Taking advantage of both the high mass resolution of the COSY--11 detector and the high energy resolution of the low-emittance proton-beam of the Cooler Synchrotron COSY we determine the excitation function for the pp --> pp eta' reaction close-to-threshold. Combining these data with previous results we extract the scattering length for the eta'-proton potential in free space to be Re (a p eta') = 0 +/- 0.43 fm and Im a_(p eta') = 0.37^{+0.40}_{-0.16} fm.
Upper limit of the total cross section for the pn->pn eta-prime reaction
J. Klaja, P. Moskal, S. D. Bass, E. Czerwiński, R. Czyżykiewicz, D. Gil, D. Grzonka, T. Johansson, B. Kamys, A. Khoukaz, P. Klaja, W. Krzemień, W. Oelert, B. Rejdych, J. Ritman, T. Sefzick, M. Siemaszko, M. Silarski, J. Smyrski, A. Täschner, M. Wolke, P. Wüstner, J. Zdebik, M. Zieliński, W. Zipper
abstract
The upper limit of the total cross section for the pn->pneta-prime reaction has been determined near the kinematical threshold in the excess energy range from 0 to 24 MeV. The measurement was performed using the COSY-11 detector setup, a deuteron cluster target, and the proton beam of COSY with a momentum of 3.35 GeV/c. The energy dependence of the upper limit of the cross section was extracted exploiting the Fermi momenta of nucleons inside the deuteron. Comparison of the determined upper limit of the ratio R(eta-prime)=sigma(pn->pneta-prime)/sigma(pp->ppeta-prime) with the corresponding ratio for eta-meson production does not favor the dominance of the N*(1535) resonance in the production process of the eta-prime meson and suggests nonidentical production mechanisms for eta and eta-prime mesons.
Near-threshold production of the eta meson via the quasi-free pn->pneta reaction
P. Moskal, R. Czyżykiewicz, H.-H. Adam, S. D. Bass, A. Budzanowski, E. Czerwiński, D. Gil, D. Grzonka, M. Janusz, L. Jarczyk, T. Johansson, B. Kamys, A. Khoukaz, K. Kilian, P. Klaja, J. Majewski, W. Oelert, C. Piskor-Ignatowicz, J. Przerwa, B. Rejdych, J. Ritman, T. Rozek, T. Sefzick, M. Siemaszko, M. Silarski, J. Smyrski, A. Taeschner, M. Wolke, P. Wuestner, M. Zieliński, W. Zipper, J. Zdebik
abstract
Total cross sections for the quasifree pn->pn? reaction in the range from the kinematical threshold up to 20 MeV excess energy have been determined. At threshold they exceed corresponding cross sections for the pp?pp? reaction by a factor of about 3 in contrast to the factor of 6 established for higher excess energies. To large extent, the observed decrease of the ratio sigma(pn->pn?)/sigma(pp->pp?) toward threshold may be assigned to the different energy dependence of the proton-proton and proton-neutron final-state interactions. The experiment was conducted using a proton beam of the cooler synchrotron COSY and a cluster jet deuteron target. The proton-neutron reactions were tagged by the spectator proton whose momentum was measured for each event. Protons and neutron outgoing from the pn?pn? reaction have been registered by means of the COSY-11 facility, an apparatus dedicated for threshold meson production.
