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arXiv · hep-th/0209211

Deep Inelastic Scattering and Gauge/String Duality

Joseph Polchinski·Matthew J. Strassler
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Abstract

We study deep inelastic scattering in gauge theories which have dual string descriptions. As a function of $gN$ we find a transition. For small $gN$, the dominant operators in the OPE are the usual ones, of approximate twist two, corresponding to scattering from weakly interacting partons. For large $gN$, double-trace operators dominate, corresponding to scattering from entire hadrons (either the original `valence' hadron or part of a hadron cloud.) At large $gN$ we calculate the structure functions. As a function of Bjorken $x$ there are three regimes: $x$ of order one, where the scattering produces only supergravity states; $x$ small, where excited strings are produced; and, $x$ exponentially small, where the excited strings are comparable in size to the AdS space. The last regime requires in principle a full string calculation in curved spacetime, but the effect of string growth can be simply obtained from the world-sheet renormalization group.

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Joseph Polchinski, Matthew J. Strassler. 2002-09-25. Deep Inelastic Scattering and Gauge/String Duality. https://doi.org/10.1088/1126-6708%2F2003%2F05%2F012

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