On propagators and vertices of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory
We calculate the three-point functions of pure Landau gauge QCD and investigate their influence on the propagators. As expected, the ghost-gluon vertex leads only to minor modifications, while the three-gluon vertex has a sizeable impact on the mid-momentum regime of the gluon propagator. We describe an effective model of the three-gluon vertex that includes contributions from the neglected two-loop diagrams and thus allows to obtain propagators in good agreement with lattice results. We also determine the three-gluon vertex from these propagators and find good agreement with lattice results as well. In turn, these results allow us to assess the effect of the missing two-loop diagrams in the gluon propagator equation. Finally, we present the first self-consistent calculation that includes all two-and three-point functions.

title: Lower dimensional Yang-Mills theory as a laboratory to study the infrared regime
abstract: Lattice studies of the infrared regime of gauge theories are complicated by the required extensive limits, the performed gauge fixing and the demand for high statistics. Using a general power counting scheme for the infrared limit of Landau gauge SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in arbitrary dimensions we show that the infrared behavior of Greens functions is both qualitatively and quantitatively similar in two, three and four spacetime dimensions. Therefore, lower dimensional lattice simulations can serve as a simplified laboratory to analyze the presently applied approximations and to obtain first results for higher correlation functions.

title: On the influence of three-point functions on the propagators of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory
abstract: A bstractWe solve the Dyson-Schwinger equations of the ghost and gluon propagators of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory together with that of the ghost-gluon vertex. The latter plays a central role in many truncation schemes for functional equations. By including it dynamically we can determine its influence on the propagators. We also suggest a new model for the three-gluon vertex motivated by lattice data which plays a crucial role to obtain stable solutions when the ghost-gluon vertex is included. We find that both vertices have a sizable quantitative impact on the mid-momentum regime and contribute to the reduction of the gap between lattice and Dyson-Schwinger equation results. Furthermore, we establish that the three-gluon vertex dressing turns negative at low momenta as suggested by lattice results in three dimensions.

title: Going beyond the propagators of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory
abstract: We present results for the propagators and the ghost-gluon vertex of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory obtained from Dyson-Schwinger equations. Solving these three quantities simultaneously constitutes a new step in truncating these equations. We also introduce a new model for the three-gluon vertex that is motivated by lattice results. It features a zero crossing which is confirmed a posteriori by a Dyson-Schwinger calculation. Within our setup we can reproduce lattice data very well. We establish that also for the ghost-gluon vertex a difference between decoupling and scaling solutions is present. For the scaling solution we discuss the possibility of modifying the infrared exponents via an angle dependence of the ghost-gluon vertex. However, no such dependence is found in our calculations. Finally, we calculate the Schwinger function for the gluon propagator.

title: Infrared analysis of Dyson-Schwinger equations taking into account the Gribov horizon in Landau gauge
abstract: The low momentum behavior of the Landau gauge Gribov-Zwanziger action is investigated using the respective Dyson-Schwinger equations. Because of the mixing of the gluon and the auxiliary fields four scenarios can be distinguished for the infrared behavior. Two of them lead to inconsistencies and can be discarded. Another one corresponds to the case where the auxiliary fields behave exactly like the Faddeev-Popov ghosts and the same scaling relation as in standard Landau gauge, {kappa}{sub A}+2{kappa}{sub c}=0, is valid. Even the parameter {kappa} is found to be the same, 0.595. The mixed propagators, which appear, are suppressed in all loops, and their anomalous infrared exponent can also be determined. A fourth case provides an even stricter scaling relation that includes also the mixed propagators, but possesses the same qualitative feature, i.e. the propagators of the Faddeev-Popov ghost and the auxiliary fields are infrared enhanced and the mixed and the gluon propagators are infrared suppressed. In this case the system of equations to obtain the parameter {kappa} is nonlinear in all variables.

title: Spurious divergences in Dyson-Schwinger equations
abstract: A bstractWe revisit the treatment of spurious ultraviolet divergences in the equation of motion of the gluon propagator caused by a momentum cutoff and the resulting violation of gauge invariance. With present continuum studies of the gluon propagator from its Dyson-Schwinger equation reaching the level of quantitatively accurate descriptions, it becomes increasingly important to understand how to subtract these spurious divergences in an unambiguous way. Here we propose such a method. It is based entirely on the asymptotic perturbative behavior of the QCD Green’s functions without affecting non-perturbative aspects such as mass terms or the asymptotic infrared behavior. As a particular example, this allows us to assess the possible influence of the tadpole diagram beyond perturbation theory. Finally, we test this method numerically by solving the system of Dyson-Schwinger equations of the gluon and ghost propagators.

title: Photon and pion scattering on the basis of quark models
abstract: Within the framework of constituent quark models of simple and complex hadrons it is possible to investigate the interrelations of scattering observables and dynamical assumptions about the underlying quark structure of the participating hadrons. In the case of simple hadrons, here baryons, the inclusion of the coupling of bound q3-states to meson-baryon decay channels, accounts for the full complexity of the fact that all excited baryonic states are in fact resonances. We present here such a description of the baryonic excitation spectrum within the non-relativistic quarkmodel with all terms of the Fermi-Breit interaction. In this case the very hadronic vertices that are responsible for the dressing of hadrons also provide a semi realistic description of various scattering observables for pion scattering and photo-production of pions. The treatment of more complex hadronic systems within the framework of a quark shell model of nuclei is then used to investigate the role of the quark Pauli principle in intermediate energy excitations of nuclei with pionic or photonic probes.

title: The Faint Sky Variability Survey — I. Goals and data reduction process
abstract: The Faint Sky Variability Survey is aimed at finding photometric and/or astrometric variable objects in the brightness range between ∼16th and ∼24th mag on time-scales between tens of minutes and years with photometric precisions ranging from 3 millimag for the brightest to 0.2 mag for the faintest objects. An area of ∼23 deg 2 , located at mid and high Galactic latitudes, has been covered using the Wide Field Camera on the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma. Here we describe the main goals of the Faint Sky Variability Survey and the data reduction process.

title: Galex and Pan-STARRS1 Discovery of SN IIP 2010aq: The First Few Days After Shock Breakout in a Red Supergiant Star
abstract: We present the early UV and optical light curve of Type IIP supernova (SN) 2010aq at z = 0.0862, and compare it to analytical models for thermal emission following SN shock breakout in a red supergiant star. SN 2010aq was discovered in joint monitoring between the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Time Domain Survey (TDS) in the NUV and the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS1 MDS) in the g, r, i, and z bands. The GALEX and Pan-STARRS1 observations detect the SN less than 1 day after the shock breakout, measure a diluted blackbody temperature of 31, 000 ± 6000 K 1 day later, and follow the rise in the UV/optical light curve over the next 2 days caused by the expansion and cooling of the SN ejecta. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the simultaneous UV and optical photometry allows us to fit for a progenitor star radius of 700 ± 200R sun, the size of a red supergiant star. An excess in UV emission two weeks after shock breakout compared with SNe well fitted by model atmosphere-code synthetic spectra with solar metallicity is best explained by suppressed line blanketing due to a lower metallicity progenitor star in SN 2010aq. Continued monitoring of PS1 MDS fields by the GALEX TDS will increase the sample of early UV detections of Type II SNe by an order of magnitude and probe the diversity of SN progenitor star properties.

title: PS1-10afx at z= 1.388: Pan-STARRS1 Discovery of a New Type of Superluminous Supernova
abstract: We present the Pan-STARRS1 discovery of PS1-10afx, a unique hydrogen-deficient superluminous supernova (SLSN) at redshift z = 1.388. The light curve peaked at z P1 = 21.7 mag, making PS1-10afx comparable to the most luminous known SNe, with Mu = –22.3 mag. Our extensive optical and near-infrared observations indicate that the bolometric light curve of PS1-10afx rose on the unusually fast timescale of ~12 days to the extraordinary peak luminosity of 4.1 × 1044 erg s–1 (M bol = –22.8 mag) and subsequently faded rapidly. Equally important, the spectral energy distribution is unusually red for an SLSN, with a color temperature of ~6800 K near maximum light, in contrast to previous hydrogen-poor SLSNe, which are bright in the ultraviolet (UV). The spectra more closely resemble those of a normal SN Ic than any known SLSN, with a photospheric velocity of ~11, 000 km s–1 and evidence for line blanketing in the rest-frame UV. Despite the fast rise, these parameters imply a very large emitting radius ( 5 × 1015 cm). We demonstrate that no existing theoretical model can satisfactorily explain this combination of properties: (1) a nickel-powered light curve cannot match the combination of high peak luminosity with the fast timescale; (2) models powered by the spindown energy of a rapidly rotating magnetar predict significantly hotter and faster ejecta; and (3) models invoking shock breakout through a dense circumstellar medium cannot explain the observed spectra or color evolution. The host galaxy is well detected in pre-explosion imaging with a luminosity near L*, a star formation rate of ~15 M ☉ yr–1, and is fairly massive (~2 × 1010 M ☉), with a stellar population age of ~108 yr, also in contrast to the young dwarf hosts of known hydrogen-poor SLSNe. PS1-10afx is distinct from known examples of SLSNe in its spectra, colors, light-curve shape, and host galaxy properties, suggesting that it resulted from a different channel than other hydrogen-poor SLSNe.

title: Testing LMC Microlensing Scenarios: The Discrimination Power of the SuperMACHO Microlensing Survey
abstract: Characterizing the nature and spatial distribution of the lensing objects that produce the previously measured microlensing optical depth toward the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) remains an open problem. We present an appraisal of the ability of the SuperMACHO Project, a next-generation microlensing survey directed toward the LMC, to discriminate between various proposed lensing populations. We consider two scenarios: lensing by a uniform foreground screen of objects and self-lensing by LMC stars. The optical depth for screen lensing is essentially constant across the face of the LMC, whereas the optical depth for self-lensing shows a strong spatial dependence. We have carried out extensive simulations, based on data obtained during the first year of the project, to assess the SuperMACHO survey's ability to discriminate between these two scenarios. In our simulations we predict the expected number of observed microlensing events for various LMC models for each of our fields by adding artificial stars to the images and estimating the spatial and temporal efficiency of detecting microlensing events using Monte Carlo methods. We find that the event rate itself shows significant sensitivity to the choice of the LMC luminosity function, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from the absolute rate. If instead we determine the differential event rate across the LMC, we will decrease the impact of these systematic biases and render our conclusions more robust. With this approach the SuperMACHO Project should be able to distinguish between the two categories of lens populations. This will provide important constraints on the nature of the lensing objects and their contributions to the Galactic dark matter halo.