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At least 19 records

Transverse structure of the pion beyond leading twist with basis light-front quantization

We investigate the twist-3transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs) of the pion with basis light-front quantization. The twist-3 TMDs are not independent and can be decomposed into twist-2and genuine twist-3 terms from the equations of motion (EOM). We compute the TMDs from the resulting light-front wave functions obtained by diagonalizing the light-front QCD Hamiltonian, determined for pion’s constituent quark-antiquark and quark-antiquark-gluon Fock sectors, with three-dimensional confinement. We also obtain the twist-3 parton distribution functions (PDFs) and show that they preserve the sum rule, which affirms the robustness of our approach. This is the first time that theoretical predictions are made for subleading twist structures of the pion containing interference terms between two light-front Fock sectors.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Basis light-front quantization for the Λ b and Σ b baryons

Within the basis light-front quantization framework, we compute the masses and light-front wave functions of the Λ b baryon and its isospin triplet counterparts Σ b + , Σ b 0 , and Σ b − using a light-front effective Hamiltonian in the leading Fock sector. These wave functions are obtained as eigenstates of the effective Hamiltonian, which incorporates the one-gluon exchange interaction with fixed coupling and a three-dimensional confinement potential. With the quark masses and the couplings as adjustable parameters, the computed masses are set within the experimental range. The resulting predictions for their electromagnetic properties align well with other theoretical calculations. Additionally, the parton distribution functions (PDFs) of these baryons are obtained for the first time, with gluon and sea quark distributions dynamically generated through QCD evolution of the valence quark PDFs. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Meng, Lingdi (ORCID:0009000096439904)↗

Transverse momentum structure of proton within the basis light-front quantization framework

We obtain the leading-twist valence quark transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMD PDFs) for the proton within the basis light-front quantization (BLFQ) framework. Our results are consistent with lattice QCD calculations and our previous results for the collinear limit. We also obtain consistency with the Soffer-type bounds. Within our approach, we find that six T-even TMDs in the leading twist are all independent of each other, and previously found model-dependent relations do not hold. This is a promising sign that our results are representative of future, more extensive treatments of QCD. Furthermore, we obtain a non-trivial x-dependence of the <(p ⊥ ) 2 > and some consistency with the Gaussian ansatz but only in the small <(p ⊥ ) 2 > region. Those features suggest our results may be a useful alternative in future experimental extractions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Twist-3 generalized parton distribution for the proton from basis light-front quantization

We investigate the twist-3 generalized parton distributions (GPDs) for the valence quarks of the proton within the basis light-front quantization (BLFQ) framework. We first solve for the mass spectra and light-front waved functions (LFWFs) in the leading Fock sector using an effective Hamiltonian. Using the LFWFs we then calculate the twist-3 GPDs via the overlap representation. By taking the forward limit, we also get the twist-3 parton distribution functions (PDFs), and discuss their properties. Our prediction for the twist-3 scalar PDF agrees well with the CLAS experimental extractions.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Massless and massive photons within basis light-front quantization

We compute the structure function, transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs), and generalized parton distributions (GPDs) for the photon from the light-front quantum electrodynamics (QED) Hamiltonian, determined for its constituent bare photon and electron-positron Fock components within the basis light-front quantization framework. While the structure function and GPDs align well with expectations, some oscillatory behavior in the TMDs emerges as a finite-basis artifact. We also compute the GPD and the corresponding structure function for the longitudinal polarization mode of the massive photon. We further study the photon mass dependence of the calculated observables. After performing nonperturbative renormalization, we obtain a good quality description of the perturbative QED properties of the photon, as well as good agreement with the experimental data for the massless photon’s structure function.

Ab initio calculations↗

Spatial imaging of proton via leading-twist nonskewed GPDs with basis light-front quantization

The internal image of the proton is unveiled by examining the generalized parton distributions (GPDs) at zero skewness, within the basis light-front quantized environment. Several distributions emerge when a quark is sampled with different currents depending upon the helicity arrangements of the active quark and the proton target. We investigate six of the eight leading-twist proton GPDs of the valence quarks, the helicity conserving distributions ( H , E , H ˜ ) and the helicity nonconserving ( H T , E T , H ˜ T ) distributions at skewness set to zero ( ζ = 0 ). We consider purely transverse momentum transfer and, hence, obtain results describe only the proton’s two-dimensional structure in the transverse plane. We present the Mellin moments of these distribution functions, where the first moment produces a form factor and the second Mellin moments help extract the information on partonic contributions to the hadronic angular momentum. We compare our results for the Mellin moments with those from lattice QCD and other approaches where available. We also present the GPDs in transverse position space. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Gravitational form factors and mechanical properties of quarks in protons: A basis light-front quantization approach

We compute the gravitational form factors (GFFs) and study their applications for the description of the mechanical properties such as the pressure, shear force distributions, and the mechanical radius of the proton from its light-front wave functions (LFWFs) based on basis light-front quantization (BLFQ). The LFWFs of the proton are given by the lowest eigenvector of a light-front effective Hamiltonian that incorporates a three-dimensional confining potential and a one-gluon exchange interaction with fixed coupling between the constituent quarks solved in the valence Fock sector. We find acceptable agreement between our BLFQ computations and the lattice QCD for the GFFs. Our D -term form factor also agrees well with the extracted data from the deeply virtual Compton scattering experiments at Jefferson Lab, and the results of different phenomenological models. The distributions of pressures and shear forces are similar to those from different models. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Artificial dynamical effects in quantum field theory

In Newtonian mechanics, studying a system in a non-Galilean reference frame can lead to inertial pseudoforces appearing, such as the centrifugal force that seems to arise in dynamics analysed in a rotating frame. Likewise, artificial effects may arise in relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) if a system is studied in a framework that violates Poincaré invariance. Here, we highlight how such issues complicate the traditional canonical quantization of QFTs and can lead to a subjective description of natural phenomena. By contrast, the treatment of the same problem using light-front quantization is free from spurious pseudoeffects because Poincaré invariance is effectively preserved for all practical intents and purposes. We illustrate these statements using several examples: the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) relation, a fundamental feature of QFT; the absence of any measurable impact of Lorentz contraction in high-energy collisions; and the fictitious character of vacuum fluctuation contributions to the cosmological constant.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Gravitational form factors of charmonia

We investigate the gravitational form factors of charmonium. Our method is based on a Hamiltonian formalism on the light front known as basis light-front quantization. The charmonium mass spectrum and light-front wave functions were obtained from diagonalizing an effective Hamiltonian that incorporates confinement from holographic QCD and one-gluon exchange interaction from light-front QCD. We proposed a quantum many-body approach to construct the hadronic matrix elements of the energy momentum tensor T + + and T + − , which are used to extract the gravitational form factors A ( Q 2 ) and D ( Q 2 ) . The obtained form factors satisfy the known constraints, e.g., the von Laue condition. From these quantities, we also extract the energy, pressure and light-front energy distributions of the system. We find that hadrons are multilayer systems. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a polarized spin-1 target. II. Deuteron and spectator nucleon tagging

We develop the theoretical framework for semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a polarized spin-1 target and apply it to scattering on the polarized deuteron with spectator nucleon tagging. In Part I (previous article), we present the general form of the semi-inclusive cross section and polarization observables for the spin-1 target. In Part II (this article), we consider deep-inelastic scattering on the polarized deuteron with spectator nucleon tagging as a special case of target fragmentation. Methods of light-front quantization are employed to separate nuclear and hadronic structure in the high-energy process and achieve a composite description. The light-front wave function of the polarized deuteron is obtained from a rotationally covariant three-dimensional wave function in the center-of-mass frame of the proton-neutron system. The tagged structure functions are computed in the impulse approximation. The momentum and spin distribution of the active nucleon are controlled by the deuteron polarization and the detected spectator momentum (𝐷/𝑆 wave ratio). The cross section and spin asymmetries are evaluated for general deuteron polarization (vector and tensor, longitudinal and transverse) as functions of the spectator momentum. Tensor-polarized spin asymmetries of order unity are achieved for spectator momenta of approximately 300 MeV, which select configurations with a large 𝐷 wave. Sum rules for the tagged spin structure functions are derived. The results can be used for simulations of spectator tagging in future polarized fixed-target experiments (Jefferson Lab) or at the Electron-Ion Collider.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗