We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories: challenges and perspectives

We compute the spectrum of light hadrons in a holographic dual of QCD defined on AdS5 x S5 which has conformal behavior at short distances and confinement at large interquark separation. Specific hadrons are identified by the correspondence of string modes with the dimension of the interpolating operator of the hadron's valence Fock state. Higher orbital excitations are matched quanta to quanta with fluctuations about the AdS background. Since only one parameter, the QCD scale Lambda(QCD), is used, the agreement with the pattern of physical states is remarkable. In particular, the ratio of delta to nucleon trajectories is determined by the ratio of zeros of Bessel functions.

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Hadronic spectrum of a holographic dual of QCD.

SU(N) gauge theories at large N

The composite nature of baryons manifests itself in the existence of a rich spectrum of excited states, in particular in the important mass region 1–2 GeV for the light-flavoured baryons. The properties of these resonances can be identified by systematic investigations using electromagnetic and strong probes, primarily with beams of electrons, photons, and pions. After decades of research, the fundamental degrees of freedom underlying the baryon excitation spectrum are still poorly understood. The search for hitherto undiscovered but predicted resonances continues at many laboratories around the world. Recent results from photo- and electroproduction experiments provide intriguing indications for new states and shed light on the structure of some of the known nucleon excitations. The continuing study of available data sets with consideration of new observables and improved analysis tools have also called into question some of the earlier findings in baryon spectroscopy. Other breakthrough measurements have been performed in the heavy-baryon sector, which has seen a fruitful period in recent years, in particular at the B factories and the Tevatron. First results from the large hadron collider indicate rapid progress in the field of bottom baryons. In this review, we discuss the recent experimental progress and give an overview of theoretical approaches.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/76/7/076301/pdf

Progress towards understanding baryon resonances.

Studies of the structure of excited baryons are key factors to the N* program at Jefferson Lab (JLab). Within the first year of data taking with the Hall B CLAS12 detector following the 12 GeV upgrade, a dedicated experiment will aim to extract the N* electrocouplings at high photon virtualities Q2. This experiment will allow exploration of the structure of N* resonances at the highest photon virtualities ever achieved, with a kinematic reach up to Q2 = 12 GeV2. This high-Q2 reach will make it possible to probe the excited nucleon structures at distance scales ranging from where effective degrees of freedom, such as constituent quarks, are dominant through the transition to where nearly massless bare-quark degrees of freedom are relevant. In this document, we present a detailed description of the physics that can be addressed through N* structure studies in exclusive meson electroproduction. The discussion includes recent advances in reaction theory for extracting N* electrocouplings from meson electropro...

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Studies of nucleon resonance structure in exclusive meson electroproduction

http://www.tandar.cnea.gov.ar/~scoccola/papers/papers/plb564-03-83.pdf

Analysis of the [56,2+] baryon masses in the 1/Nc expansion

The mass spectrum of the positive parity [56,2^+] baryons is studied in the 1/Nc expansion up to and including O(1/Nc) effects with SU(3) symmetry breaking implemented to first order. A total of eighteen mass relations result, several of which are tested with the available data. The breaking of spin-flavor symmetry is dominated by the hyperfine interactions, while spin-orbit effects are found to be small.

C. Schat

Papers

Analysis of the [56,2+] baryon masses in the 1/Nc expansion

Analysis of the [56,2^+] Baryon Masses in the 1/Nc Expansion