P. E. Shanahan

Sigma terms from an SU(3) chiral extrapolation

We report a new analysis of lattice simulation results for octet baryon masses in 2+1-flavor QCD, with an emphasis on a precise determination of the strangeness nucleon sigma term. A controlled chiral extrapolation of a recent PACS-CS Collaboration data set yields baryon masses which exhibit remarkable agreement both with experimental values at the physical point and with the results of independent lattice QCD simulations at unphysical meson masses. Using the Feynman-Hellmann relation, we evaluate sigma commutators for all octet baryons. The small statistical uncertainty, and considerably smaller model-dependence, allows a signifcantly more precise determination of the pion-nucleon sigma commutator and the strangeness sigma term than hitherto possible, namely {sigma}{pi}N=45 pm 6 MeV and {sigma}s = 21 pm 6 MeV at the physical point.

Mass of the H Dibaryon

Recent lattice QCD calculations have reported evidence for the existence of a bound state with strangeness -2 and baryon number 2 at quark masses somewhat higher than the physical values. By developing a description of the dependence of this binding energy on the up, down and strange quark masses that allows a controlled chiral extrapolation, we explore the hypothesis that this state is to be identified with the H dibaryon. Taking as input the recent results of the HAL and NPLQCD Collaborations, we show that the H dibaryon is likely to be unbound by 13±14u2009u2009MeV at the physical point.

Determination of the Strange Nucleon Form Factors

The strange contribution to the electric and magnetic form factors of the nucleon is determined at a range of discrete values of Q^{2} up to 1.4u2009u2009GeV^{2}. This is done by combining a recent analysis of lattice QCD results for the electromagnetic form factors of the octet baryons with experimental determinations of those quantities. The most precise result is a small negative value for the strange magnetic moment: G_{M}^{s}(Q^{2}=0)=-0.07±0.03μ_{N}. At larger values of Q^{2} both the electric and magnetic form factors are consistent with zero to within 2 standard deviations.

Isotensor Axial Polarizability and Lattice QCD Input for Nuclear Double-β Decay Phenomenology

The potential importance of short-distance nuclear effects in double-β decay is assessed using a lattice QCD calculation of the nn→pp transition and effective field theory methods. At the unphysical quark masses used in the numerical computation, these effects, encoded in the isotensor axial polarizability, are found to be of similar magnitude to the nuclear modification of the single axial current, which phenomenologically is the quenching of the axial charge used in nuclear many-body calculations. This finding suggests that nuclear models for neutrinoful and neutrinoless double-β decays should incorporate this previously neglected contribution if they are to provide reliable guidance for next-generation neutrinoless double-β decay searches. The prospects of constraining the isotensor axial polarizabilities of nuclei using lattice QCD input into nuclear many-body calculations are discussed.

Proton-Proton Fusion and Tritium β Decay from Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics

The nuclear matrix element determining the pp→de^{+}ν fusion cross section and the Gamow-Teller matrix element contributing to tritium β decay are calculated with lattice quantum chromodynamics for the first time. Using a new implementation of the background field method, these quantities are calculated at the SU(3) flavor-symmetric value of the quark masses, corresponding to a pion mass of m_{π}∼806u2009u2009MeV. Thexa0Gamow-Teller matrix element in tritium is found to be 0.979(03)(10) at these quark masses, which is within 2σ of the experimental value. Assuming that the short-distance correlated two-nucleon contributions to the matrix element (meson-exchange currents) depend only mildly on the quark masses, as seen for the analogous magnetic interactions, the calculated pp→de^{+}ν transition matrix element leads to a fusion cross section at the physical quark masses that is consistent with its currently accepted value. Moreover, the leading two-nucleon axial counterterm of pionless effective field theory is determined to be L_{1,A}=3.9(0.2)(1.0)(0.4)(0.9)u2009u2009fm^{3} at a renormalization scale set by the physical pion mass, also agreeing within the accepted phenomenological range. This work concretely demonstrates that weak transition amplitudes in few-nucleon systems can be studied directly from the fundamental quark and gluon degrees of freedom and opens the way for subsequent investigations of many important quantities in nuclear physics.

Double- β decay matrix elements from lattice quantum chromodynamics

A lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) calculation of the nuclear matrix element relevant to the

Baryon-baryon interactions and spin-flavor symmetry from lattice quantum chromodynamics

nnto ppeeoverline{nu}_eoverline{nu}_e

Dispersive estimate of the electromagnetic charge symmetry violation in the octet baryon masses

transition is described in detail, expanding on the results presented in Ref. [1]. This matrix element, which involves two insertions of the weak axial current, is an important input for phenomenological determinations of double-

First lattice QCD study of the gluonic structure of light nuclei

beta

Charge symmetry violation in the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon

decay rates of nuclei. From this exploratory study, performed using unphysical values of the quark masses, the long-distance deuteron-pole contribution to the matrix element is separated from shorter-distance hadronic contributions. This polarizability, which is only accessible in double-weak processes, cannot be constrained from single-