Identifying multiquark hadrons from heavy ion collisions.

Identifying hadronic molecular states and/or hadrons with multiquark components either with or without exotic quantum numbers is a long-standing challenge in hadronic physics. We suggest that studying the production of these hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions offers a promising resolution to this problem as yields of exotic hadrons are expected to be strongly affected by their structures. Using the coalescence model for hadron production, we find that, compared to the case of a nonexotic hadron with normal quark numbers, the yield of an exotic hadron is typically an order of magnitude smaller when it is a compact multiquark state and a factor of 2 or more larger when it is a loosely bound hadronic molecule. We further find that some of the newly proposed heavy exotic states could be produced and realistically measured in these experiments.

Model independent tests of Skyrmions and their holographic cousins.

We describe a new exact relation for large Nc QCD for the long-distance behavior of baryon form factors in the chiral limit. This model-independent relation is used to test the consistency of the structure of several baryon models. All 4D semiclassical chiral soliton models satisfy the relation, as does the Pomarol-Wulzer holographic model of baryons as 5D Skyrmions. However, remarkably, we find that the holographic model treating baryons as instantons in the Sakai-Sugimoto model does not satisfy the relation.

The effect of citric acid and pH on growth and metabolism of anaerobic Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces bailii cultures.

The effects of citric acid at pH values of 3.0, 4.0, and 4.5 on growth and metabolism of anaerobic Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces bailii cultures were investigated. S. cerevisiae and Z. bailii exhibited similar tolerances to citric acid, as determined by growth measurements, at all three pH values investigated. The citric-acid-induced growth inhibition of both yeast species increased with increasing pH values, indicating that the antimicrobial mechanism of citric acid differs from that of classical weak-acid preservatives. In S. cerevisiae, citric acid shifted the primary energy metabolism towards lower ethanol production and higher glycerol production, thus resulting in lower ATP production. These metabolic changes in S. cerevisiae were pH-dependent; i.e. the higher the pH, the lower the ATP production, and they may explain why growth of S. cerevisiae is more inhibited by citric acid at higher pH values. In Z. bailii, citric acid also caused an increased glycerol production, although to a lesser extent than in S. cerevisiae, but it caused virtually no changes in ethanol and ATP production.