First Monte Carlo Global QCD Analysis of Pion Parton Distributions

Accessing the Pion 3D Structure at US and China Electron-Ion Colliders

We present the first systematic feasibility study of accessing generalized parton distributions of the pion at an electron-ion collider through deeply virtual Compton scattering. Relying on state-of-the-art models for pion GPDs, we show that quarks and gluons interfere destructively, modulating the expected event rate and maximizing it when parton content is generated via radiation from valence dressed quarks. Moreover, gluons are found to induce a sign inversion for the beam-spin asymmetry in every model studied, being a clear signal for pinning down the regime of gluon superiority.

Overview of lattice calculations of the x-dependence of PDFs, GPDs and TMDs

For a long time, lattice QCD was unable to address the x-dependence of partonic distributions, direct access to which is impossible in Euclidean spacetime. Recent years have brought a breakthrough for such calculations when it was realized that partonic light-cone correlations can be accessed through spatial correlations computable on the lattice. Appropriately devised observables can be factorized into physical PDFs via a perturbative procedure called matching, analogous to the standard factorization of experimental cross sections. In this short review, aimed at a broader high-energy and nuclear physics community, we discuss the recent highlights of this research program. Key concepts are outlined, followed by a case study illustrating the typical stage of current lattice extractions and by a brief review of the most recent explorations. We finalize with a number of messages for the prospects of lattice determinations of partonic structure.

Quark and Gluon Momentum Fractions in the Pion from N_{f}=2+1+1 Lattice QCD

We perform the first full decomposition of the pion momentum into its gluon and quark contributions. We employ an ensemble generated by the Extended Twisted Mass Collaboration with N_{f}=2+1+1 Wilson twisted mass clover fermions at maximal twist tuned to reproduce the physical pion mass. We present our results in the MS[over ¯] scheme at 2 GeV. We find ⟨x⟩_{u+d}=0.601(28), ⟨x⟩_{s}=0.059(13), ⟨x⟩_{c}=0.019(05), and ⟨x⟩_{g}=0.52(11) for the separate contributions, respectively, whose sum saturates the momentum sum rule.

Global QCD Analysis of Pion Parton Distributions with Threshold Resummation

We perform the first global QCD analysis of pion valence, sea quark, and gluon distributions within a Bayesian Monte Carlo framework with threshold resummation on Drell-Yan cross sections at next-to-leading log accuracy. Exploring various treatments of resummation, we find that the large-x asymptotics of the valence quark distribution ∼(1-x)^{β_{v}} can differ significantly, with β_{v} ranging from ≈1 to >2.5 at the input scale. Regardless of the specific implementation, however, the resummation induced redistribution of the momentum between valence quarks and gluons boosts the total momentum carried by gluons to ≈40%, increasing the gluon contribution to the pion mass to ≈40  MeV.

A Novel Feature of Valence Quark Distributions in Hadrons

Examining the evolution of the maximum of valence quark distribution, qV, weighted by Bjorken x, h(x,t)≡xqV(x,t), it is observed that h(x,t) at the peak becomes a one-parameter function; h(xp,t)=Φ(xp(t)), where xp is the position of the peak, t=logQ2, and Q2 is the resolution scale. This observation is used to derive a new model-independent relation which connects the partial derivative of the valence parton distribution functions (PDFs) in xp to the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) evolution equation through the xp derivative of the logarithm of the function Φ(xp(t)). A numerical analysis of this relation using empirical PDFs results in an observation of the exponential form of the Φ(xp(t))=h(xp,t)=CeDxp(t) for leading to next-to-next leading order approximations of PDFs for the range of Q2, covering four orders in magnitude. The exponent, D, of the observed “height-position” correlation function converges with the increase in the order of approximation. This result holds for all the PDF sets considered. A similar relation is observed also for the pion valence quark distribution, indicating that the obtained relation may be universal for any non-singlet partonic distribution. The observed “height-position” correlation is used also to indicate that no finite number of exchanges can describe the analytic behavior of the valence quark distribution at the position of the peak at fixed Q2.

The x-dependence of hadronic parton distributions: A review on the progress of lattice QCD

In this article, we review recent lattice calculations on the x-dependence of parton distributions, with the latter providing information on hadron structure. These calculations are based on matrix elements of boosted hadrons coupled to non-local operators and can be related to the standard, light-cone distribution functions via an appropriate factorization formalism. There is significant progress in several directions, including calculations of flavor-singlet parton distribution functions (PDFs), first calculations of generalized parton distributions (GPDs), as well as the implementation of some of the approaches for the transverse-momentum-dependent PDFs (TMD PDFs). This new direction of lattice calculations is particularly interesting for phenomenological fits on experimental data sets, as the lattice results can help improve the constraints on the distribution functions.

Empirical Consequences of Emergent Mass

The Lagrangian that defines quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the strong interaction piece of the Standard Model, appears very simple. Nevertheless, it is responsible for an astonishing array of high-level phenomena with enormous apparent complexity, e.g., the existence, number and structure of atomic nuclei. The source of all these things can be traced to emergent mass, which might itself be QCD’s self-stabilising mechanism. A background to this perspective is provided, presenting, inter alia, a discussion of the gluon mass and QCD’s process-independent effective charge and highlighting an array of observable expressions of emergent mass, ranging from its manifestations in pion parton distributions to those in nucleon electromagnetic form factors.

Distinguishing Quarks and Gluons in Pion and Kaon Parton Distribution Functions

The leading-twist parton distribution functions of the pion and kaon are calculated for the first time using a rainbow-ladder truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSEs) that self-consistently sums all planar diagrams. The nonperturbative gluon dressing of the quarks is thereby correctly accounted for, which in practice means solving the inhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) for the quark operator that defines the spin-independent quark distribution functions. An immediate consequence of using this dressed vertex is that gluons carry 35% of the pion's and 30% of the kaon's light-cone momentum, with the remaining momentum carried by the quarks. The scale associated with these DSE results is μ_{0}=0.78  GeV. The gluon effects generated by the inhomogeneous BSE are inherently nonperturbative and cannot be mimicked by the perturbative QCD evolution equations. A key consequence of this gluon dressing is that the valence quarks have reduced support at low-to-intermediate x, where the gluons dominate, and increased support at large x. As a result, our DSE calculation of the pion's valence quark distribution is in excellent agreement with the Conway et al. pion-induced Drell-Yan data, but nevertheless exhibits the q_{π}(x)≃(1-x)^{2} behavior as x→1 predicted by perturbative QCD.

Parton Distribution Functions from a Light Front Hamiltonian and QCD Evolution for Light Mesons

We obtain the pion and the kaon parton distribution functions from the eigenstates of a light front effective Hamiltonian in the constituent quark-antiquark representation suitable for low-momentum scale applications. By taking these scales as the only free parameters, the valence quark distribution functions of the pion, after QCD evolution, are consistent with the data from the FNAL-E615 experiment. The ratio of the up quark distribution of the kaon to that of the pion also agrees with the CERN-NA3 experiment. Supplemented by known parton distribution functions for the nucleons, we further obtain the cross section consistent with experimental data for the π^{-}nucleus→μ^{+}μ^{-}X Drell-Yan process.