Search

The mass-size relation is a fundamental galaxy scaling law closely tied to galaxy formation and evolution. Using added-value products of the Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY (CAVITY) and SDSS DR16 images, we examine the effect of large-scale environments on the stellar mass-size relation. We analyse the Petrosian R50 and R90 radii of approximately 140000 galaxies in voids, filaments, and clusters, with a mass range of $10^{8.5} - 10^{11} M_{\odot}$. We explore the relation in terms of galaxy morphology and star formation history, parametrised by T50, T70, and T90. We find that early-type void galaxies are, on average, 10-20% smaller than their counterparts in denser environments, regardless of their mass assembly history. Moreover, the mass-size relation for massive early-type void galaxies has a shallower slope compared to those in denser regions. In contrast, early-type galaxies in filaments, and clusters show a more uniform mass-size relation. Late-type cluster galaxies with stellar masses $log(M_{\star} / M_{\odot}) = 9 - 10.5$ are smaller and more concentrated than their counterparts in lower-density environments, such as filaments, and voids. We conclude that large-scale environments influence the mass-size relation. Early-type galaxies appear to grow most of their mass during the initial formation phase. Subsequent size growth in voids is less significant, likely due to slower evolution, reduced minor merger activity, fewer accretion events, or a combination. The flatter slope for massive void galaxies indicates a lower rate of minor accretion, a trend also observed in late-type void galaxies with $\approx 10^{10.5} M_{\odot}$, where minor mergers contribute to size growth. Conversely, late-type quenched cluster galaxies are smaller due to environmental interactions, with early infallers being most affected., Comment: 12 pages. Paper accepted for publication in A&A

Cosmic voids, distinguished by their low-density environment, provide a unique opportunity to explore the interplay between the cosmic environment and the processes of galaxy formation and evolution. Data on the molecular gas has been scarce so far. In this paper, we continue previous research done in the CO-CAVITY pilot project to study the molecular gas content and properties in void galaxies to search for possible differences compared to galaxies that inhabit denser structures. We observed at the IRAM 30 m telescope the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission of 106 void galaxies selected from the CAVITY survey. Together with data from the literature, we obtained a sample of 200 void galaxies with CO data. We conducted a comprehensive comparison of the specific star formation rate (sSFR = SFR/M$_*$), the molecular gas fraction (MH$_2$/M$_*$), and the star formation efficiency (SFE = SFR/MH$_2$) between the void galaxies and a comparison sample of galaxies in filaments and walls, selected from the xCOLD GASS survey. We found no statistically significant difference between void galaxies and the comparison sample in the molecular gas fraction as a function of stellar mass for galaxies on the star-forming main sequence (SFMS). However, for void galaxies, the SFE was found to be constant across all stellar mass bins, while there is a decreasing trend with M$_*$ for the comparison sample. Finally, we found some indications for a smaller dynamical range in the molecular gas fraction as a function of distance to the SFMS in void galaxies. Overall, our analysis finds that the molecular gas properties of void galaxies are not very different from denser environments. The physical origin of the most significant difference that we found - a constant SFE as a function of stellar mass in void galaxies - is unclear and requires further investigation and higher-resolution data., Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

We aim to investigate how the local environment influences the star formation history (SFH) of galaxies residing in various large-scale environments. We categorise a sample of 9384 galaxies into the three primary large scale structures (voids, walls \& filaments, and clusters) and further classify them based on their local environment (as either "singlets" or group members), through a search of companion galaxies within sky-projected distances $\Delta r_p < 0.45$ Mpc and velocity differences $\Delta v < 160$ $\text{km s}^{-1}$. Subsequently, we explore these subsamples through SFH data from previous works. Throughout the study, galaxies are divided into long-timescale SFH galaxies (LT-SFH), which assemble their mass steadily along cosmic time, and short-timescale SFH galaxies (ST-SFH), which form their stars early. We then compare characteristic mass assembly look-back times. The distributions of mass assembly look-back times in ST-SFH galaxies are statistically different for singlets and groups. These differences are only found in LT-SFH galaxies when studying these distributions in stellar mass bins. Our results indicate that the large-scale environment is related to a delay in mass assembly of up to $\sim$2 Gyr, while this delay is $<$1 Gyr in the case of local environment. The effect of both kinds of environment is more significant in less massive galaxies, and in LT-SFHs. Our results are consistent with galaxies in groups assembling their stellar mass earlier than singlets, especially in voids and lower mass galaxies. Local environment plays a relevant role in stellar mass assembly times, although we find that large-scale structures also cause a delay in mass assembly, more so in the case of cluster galaxies., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

We have learnt in the last decades that the majority of galaxies belong to high density regions interconnected in a sponge-like fashion. This large-scale structure is characterised by clusters, filaments, walls, where most galaxies concentrate, but also under-dense regions, called voids. The void regions and the galaxies within represent an ideal place for the study of galaxy formation and evolution as they are largely unaffected by the complex physical processes that transform galaxies in high-density environments. These void galaxies can hold the key as well to answer current challenges to the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. The Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY (CAVITY) is a Legacy project approved by the Calar Alto Observatory to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopic information of $\sim300$ void galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005 < z < 0.050) covering from -17.0 to -21.5 in $\rm r$ band absolute magnitude. It officially started in January 2021 and has been awarded 110 useful dark observing nights at the 3.5 m telescope using the PMAS spectrograph. Complementary follow-up projects including deep optical imaging, integrated, as well as resolved CO data, and integrated HI spectra, have joint the PMAS observations and naturally complete the scientific aim of characterising galaxies in cosmic voids. The extension data has been denominated CAVITY+. The data will be available to the whole community in different data releases, the first of which is planned for July 2024, and it will provide the community with PMAS data cubes for around 100 void galaxies through a user friendly, and well documented, database platform. We present here the survey, sample selection, data reduction, quality control schemes, science goals, and some examples of the scientific power of the CAVITY and CAVITY+ data., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A - Replacement after A&A minor language edition

The Auger Muon Infill Ground Array (AMIGA) is part of the AugerPrime upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory. It consists of particle counters buried 2.3 m underground next to the water-Cherenkov stations that form the 23.5 km$^2$ large infilled array. The reduced distance between detectors in this denser area allows the lowering of the energy threshold for primary cosmic ray reconstruction down to about 10$^{17}$ eV. At the depth of 2.3 m the electromagnetic component of cosmic ray showers is almost entirely absorbed so that the buried scintillators provide an independent and direct measurement of the air showers muon content. This work describes the design and implementation of the AMIGA embedded system, which provides centralized control, data acquisition and environment monitoring to its detectors. The presented system was firstly tested in the engineering array phase ended in 2017, and lately selected as the final design to be installed in all new detectors of the production phase. The system was proven to be robust and reliable and has worked in a stable manner since its first deployment., Comment: Accepted for publication at JINST. Published version, 34 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables

We propose a method to study the nature of exotic hadrons by determining the wave function renormalization constant $Z$ from lattice simulations. It is shown that, instead of studying the volume-dependence of the spectrum, one may investigate the dependence of the spectrum on the twisting angle, imposing twisted boundary conditions on the fermion fields on the lattice. In certain cases, e.g., the case of the $DK$ bound state which is addressed in detail, it is demonstrated that the partial twisting is equivalent to the full twisting up to exponentially small corrections.

We discuss in general terms pole trajectories of resonances coupling to a continuum channel as some strength parameter is varied. It is demonstrated that, regardless the underlying dynamics, the trajectories of poles that couple to the continuum in a partial wave higher than s-wave are qualitatively the same, while in case of s-waves the pole trajectory can reveal important information on the internal structure of the resonance. In addition we show that only molecular (or extraordinary) states appear near thresholds naturally, while more compact structures need a significant fine tuning in the parameters. This study is of current relevance especially in strong interaction physics, since lattice QCD may be employed to deduce the pole trajectories for hadronic resonances as a function of the quark mass thus providing additional, new access to the structure of s-wave resonances., Comment: 15 pages 6 figures

We make a theoretical study of $\pi\pi$ scattering with quantum numbers $J^{PC}=1^{--}$ in a finite box. To calculate physical observables for infinite volume from lattice QCD, the finite box dependence of the potentials is not usually considered. We quantify such effects by means of two different approaches for vector-isovector $\pi\pi$ scattering based on Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory results: the Inverse Amplitude Method and another one based on the $N/D$ method. We take into account finite box effects stemming from higher orders through loops in the crossed $t,u-$channels as well as from the renormalization of the coupling constants. The main conclusion is that for $\pi\pi$ phase shifts in the isovector channel one can safely apply L\"uscher based methods for finite box sizes of $L$ greater than $2 m_\pi^{-1}$., Comment: v2: References and acknowledgments added

We consider nucleon-nucleon ($NN$) interactions from Chiral Effective Field Theory applying the $N/D$ method. The dynamical input is given by the discontinuity of the $NN$ partial-wave amplitudes across the left-hand cut (LHC) calculated in Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) by including one-pion exchange (OPE), once-iterated OPE and leading irreducible two-pion exchange (TPE). We discuss both uncoupled and coupled partial-waves. We show algebraically that the resulting integral equation has a unique solution when the input is taken only from OPE because it is of the Fredholm type with a squared integrable kernel and an inhomogeneous term. Phase shifts and mixing angles are typically rather well reproduced, and a clear improvement of the results obtained previously with only OPE is manifest. We also show that the contributions to the discontinuity across the LHC are amenable to a chiral expansion. Our method also establishes correlations between the $S$-wave effective ranges and scattering lengths based on unitarity, analyticity and chiral symmetry., Comment: 58 pages, 26 figures, 2 tables. To match the published version. New mathematical developments are added. OPE is shown to have a unique solution. Necessary conditions for having solution are given

In this talk we review our recent developments on the understanding of the nature of the f_0(500) resonance---or sigma meson---coming from the N_c expansion, dispersion relations with Chiral Perturbation Theory, as well as finite energy sum rules and semi-local duality., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the "Excited QCD" workshop. Bjeliasnica Mountain, Sarajevo, 3-9 February 2013. Additional lattice references added in this version

We determine the values of the one- and two-loop low energy constants appearing in the SU(2) Chiral Perturbation Theory calculation of pion-pion scattering. For this we use a recent and precise sum rule determination of some scattering lengths and slopes that appear in the effective range expansion. In addition we provide sum rules for these coefficients up to third order in the expansion. Our results when using only the scattering lengths and slopes of the S, P, D and F waves are consistent with previous determinations, but seem to require higher order contributions if they are to accommodate the third order coefficients of the effective range expansion., Comment: 16 pages. Version published in Phys. Rev. D. Enlarged discussions in several sections, appendices and many references added. Results and conclusions unchanged

We study theoretically the effects of finite volume for pipi scattering in order to extract physical observables for infinite volume from lattice QCD. We compare three different approaches for pipi scattering (lowest order Bethe-Salpeter approach, N/D and inverse amplitude methods) with the aim to study the effects of the finite size of the box in the potential of the different theories, specially the left-hand cut contribution through loops in the crossed t,u-channels. We quantify the error made by neglecting these effects in usual extractions of physical observables from lattice QCD spectra. We conclude that for pipi phase-shifts in the scalar-isoscalar channel up to 800 MeV this effect is negligible for box sizes bigger than 2.5m_pi^-1 and of the order of 5% at around 1.5-2m_pi^-1. For isospin 2 the finite size effects can reach up to 10% for that energy. We also quantify the error made when using the standard Luscher method to extract physical observables from lattice QCD, which is widely used in the literature but is an approximation of the one used in the present work., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures

We report on our recent results in the study of the chiral extrapolation of the phase-shifts in elastic pion-pion scattering, using both standard and unitarized ChPT to one and two loops. In the standard ChPT approach, limited to low momenta, we study the S, P and D waves. Unitarization extends the analysis to energies of around 1 GeV, being compatible with standard ChPT at low energies for the S and P waves. We then compare with lattice results and find a good agreement of standard ChPT below p \sim 200 MeV for the I=2, J=0 and I=1, J=1 channels and up to p \sim 500 MeV for the I=2, J=2 channel. Unitarized ChPT improves the agreement in the scalar and vector channels at higher energies. We have also performed a Montecarlo analysis to provide an estimation of the uncertainties., Comment: Proceedings XIV International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy (hadron2011), 13-17 June 2011, Munich, Germany

We show that the latest and very precise dispersive data analyses require a large and very unnat- ural fine-tuning of the 1/Nc expansion at Nc = 3 if the f_0(600) and K(800) light scalar mesons are to be considered predominantly quark-antiquark states, which is not needed for light vector mesons. For this, we use scattering observables whose 1/Nc corrections are suppressed further than one power of 1/Nc for quark-antiquark or glueball states, thus enhancing contributions of other nature. This is achieved without using unitarized ChPT, but if it is used we can also show that it is not just that the coefficients of the 1/Nc expansion are unnatural, but that the expansion itself does not even follow the expected 1/Nc scaling of a glueball or a quark-antiquark meson., Comment: Discussion disfavoring a glueball interpretation added. Version published in Phys. Rev. D

We calculate the pion-pion elastic scattering phase shifts for pion masses from the chiral limit to values of interest for lattice studies. At low energies, we use the standard Chiral Perturbation Theory expressions to one and two loops. In addition, we study the phase shifts mass dependence in the resonance region by means of dispersion theory in the form of unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory and the Inverse Amplitude Method. We pay particular attention to the case when resonances are close to threshold, illustrating the different behavior between scalar and vector resonances. We also provide the estimation of uncertainties, which are dominated by those of the O(p^6) chiral parameters., Comment: Updated parameters. Dispersive data added to plots. Version published in Phys. Rev. D

We review our work on the rho and sigma resonances derived from the Inverse Amplitude Method. In particular, we study the leading 1/N_c behavior of the resonances masses and widths and their evolution with changing m_pi. The 1/N_c expansion gives a clear definition of quark-antiquark states, which is neatly satisfied by the rho but not by the sigma, showing that its dominant component is not quark-antiquark. The m_pi dependence of the resonance properties is relevant to connect with lattice studies. We show that our predictions compare well with some lattice results and we find that the rho-pi-pi coupling constant is m_pi independent, in contrast with the sigma-pi-pi coupling, that shows a strong m_pi dependence., Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the Chiral10 Workshop, June 21-24 2010. Valencia, Spain

We study the pion mass dependence of the rho(770) and f_0(600) masses and widths from one and two-loop unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory. We show the consistency of one-loop calculations with lattice results for the M_rho, f_pi and the isospin 2 scattering length a_20.Then, we develop and apply the modified Inverse Amplitude Method formalism for two-loop ChPT. In contrast to the f_0(600), the rho(770) is rather sensitive to the two-loop ChPT parameters --our main source of systematic uncertainty. We thus provide two-loop unitarized fits constrained by lattice information on M_rho, f_pi, by the qqbar leading 1/N_c behavior of the rho and by existing estimates of low energy constants. These fits yield relatively stable predictions up to m_pi\simeq 300-350 MeV for the rho coupling and width as well as for all the f_0(600) parameters. We confirm, to two-loops, the weak m_pi dependence of the rho coupling and the KSRF relation, and the existence of two virtual f_0(600) poles for sufficiently high m_pi. At two loops one of these poles becomes a bound state when m_pi is somewhat larger than 300 MeV., Comment: 15 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev. D

We review our studies on the rho and sigma resonances properties derived from the Inverse Amplitude Method. In particular, we study the leading $1/N_c$ behavior of the resonances masses and widths and their evolution with changing $m_\pi$. The $1/N_c$ expansion gives a clear definition of $\bar qq$ states, which is neatly satisfied by the $\rho$ but not by the sigma, showing that its dominant component is not $\bar qq$. The $m_\pi$ dependence of the resonance properties is relevant to connect with lattice studies. We show that our predictions compare well with some lattice results and we find that the rho-pi-pi coupling constant is $m_\pi$ independent, in contrast with the sigma-pi-pi$ coupling, that shows a strong $m_\pi$ dependence., Comment: Invited talk at the 12th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon (MENU2010), May 31-June 4, 2010, Williamsburg, Virginia. Added references

We review the unitarization of Chiral Perturbation Theory with dispersion relations and how it describes meson-meson scattering data, generating light resonances whose mass, width and nature can be related to QCD parameters like quark masses and the number of colors., Comment: Invited review talk for the New Frontiers in QCD 2010, Yukawa International Program for Quark-Hadron Sciences (YIPQS), January 18 (Mon) - March 19 (Fri), 2010 Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto, Japan. To appear in Progress of Theoretical Physics

In this talk we briefly review how the unitarization of Chiral Perturbation Theory with dispersion relations can successfully describe the meson-meson scattering data and generate light resonances, whose mass, width and nature can be related to QCD parameters like quark masses and the number of colors., Comment: Invited plenary talk to HADRON09, the XIII International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy Nov.29-Dec.4, 2009, Florida State University

We briefly review how light meson resonances are described within one and two-loop Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory amplitudes and how, close to Nc=3, light vectors follow the Nc behavior of $q\bar q$ mesons whereas light scalars do not. This supports the hypothesis that the lightest scalar is not predominantly a $q\bar q$ meson, although a subdominant $q\bar q$ component is suggested around 1 GeV at somewhat larger Nc. In contrast, when Nc is very far from 3, like in the Nc --> infinity limit, we explain again in detail why unitarization is not, a priori, reliable nor robust and why this limit should not be used to drag any conclusions about the dominant nature of physical light scalar mesons., Comment: Invited talk at the Exicted QCD Meeting. 8-14 February 2009. Zakopane. Poland

We review our recent study of the pion mass dependence of the rho and sigma resonances, generated from one-loop SU(2) Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) with the Inverse Amplitude Method (IAM). In order to properly account for the Adler zero region, we also review the recently obtained modified version of the IAM; which is based on analyticity, elastic unitarity and ChPT at low energies, thus yielding the correct pion mass dependence of the resonance pole positions up to next-to-leading order in ChPT. As main results we find that the rho-pi-pi coupling constant is almost pion mass independent and that the rho mass shows a smooth pion mass dependence while that of the sigma shows a strong non-analyticity. These findings are important for studies of the meson spectrum on the lattice., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the "Scalar Mesons and Related Topics" workshop. Lisbon, February 11-16, 2008

We use the one-loop Chiral Perturbation Theory pion-pion scattering amplitude and dispersion theory in the form of the inverse amplitude method, to study the quark mass dependence of the two lightest resonances of the strong interactions, the f_0(600) (sigma) and the rho-meson. As main results we find that the rho-pion-pion coupling constant is almost quark mass independent and that the rho mass shows a smooth quark mass dependence while that of the sigma shows a strong non-analyticity. These findings are important for studies of the meson spectrum on the lattice., Comment: Final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. References added and typos corrected. 4 pages, three figures

The Inverse Amplitude Method is a powerful unitarization technique to enlarge the energy applicability region of Effective Lagrangians. It has been widely used to describe resonances from Chiral Perturbation Theory as well as for the Strongly Interacting Symmetry Breaking Sector. In this work we show how it can be slightly modified to account also for the sub-threshold region, incorporating correctly the Adler zeros required by chiral symmetry and eliminating spurious poles. These improvements produce negligible effects on the physical region., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures

Both scalar and vector light resonances can be generated from the unitarization of one-loop chiral perturbation theory. This amounts to using in a dispersion relation the chiral expansion, which incorporates the correct QCD quark mass dependence. We can thus predict the quark mass dependence of the poles associated to those light resonances. Our results compare well with some recent lattice results for the rho(770) mass and can be used as a benchmark for future lattice results on the rho(770) or the f0(600) also known as the sigma., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the XII Int. Conf. on Hadron Spectroscopy. HADRON07. Frascati, October, 2007. 8 pages, 3 figures. References added and updated, typos corrected

We review recent studies of light scalar meson properties by means of unitarization techniques, obtained from dispersion theory, and applied to the Chiral Perturbation Theory expansion. In particular, light scalars do not follow the N_c dependence of $\bar q q$ states although a subdominant quark-antiquark component may be observed to arise for the f_0(600) around 1 GeV, where another quark-antiquark multiplet is believed to exist. Finally, we present our preliminary results on the quark mass dependence of the f_0(600) and rho(770) resonances., Comment: Invited talk to the 11th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon, Sept. 10th-14th 2007 (MENU 2007), Juelich, Germany. 10 pages, 3 figures

By using unitarized two-loop Chiral Perturbation Theory partial waves to describe pion-pion scattering we find that the dominant component of the lightest scalar meson does not follow the q-qbar dependence on the number of colors that, in contrast, is obeyed by the lightest vectors. The method suggests that a subdominant q-qbar component of the f_0(600) possibly originates around 1 GeV., Comment: 4 pages, 1 Figure. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett