arXiv subjects

Chandan Mondal

Publications and source records attributed to Chandan Mondal.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Exclusive $J/\psi$ photoproduction in photon-proton diffractive scattering: A light-front Hamiltonian approach

We investigate the cross-section for exclusive $J/\psi$ production in photon-proton diffractive scattering within the Basis Light-Front Quantization (BLFQ) framework. The leading-order contribution to this process is well approximated by the charge conjugation-even two-gluon (``pomeron") exchange mechanism in the dipole model, which factorizes the total amplitude into the dipole scattering amplitude and the convolution of the $J/\psi$ and photon light-front wave functions (LFWFs). We express the dipole scattering amplitude as the matrix element of gluon field operators inserted between proton states, with the element being sensitive to the proton LFWFs and the Bjorken scaling variable, $x$. The proton and $J/\psi$ LFWFs are obtained by diagonalizing their respective light-front Hamiltonians within the BLFQ approach, while the virtual photon LFWFs are employed from perturbative QCD. Our results provide initial conditions for the Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) equation, which can be used to probe the proton structure at smaller Bjorken scales. This work offers valuable theoretical insights for future electron-ion collider experiments.

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arXiv2026

Nuclear matter and proton parton distributions in a light-front Hamiltonian framework

We develop a light-front Hamiltonian formulation of symmetric nuclear matter within the quark-meson coupling model, using Basis Light-Front Quantization to solve the in-medium nucleon eigenvalue problem. The Hamiltonian incorporates confinement in the valence sector and is truncated to include up to one dynamical gluon. Medium effects are introduced via scalar and vector mean fields, yielding a self-consistent, density-dependent effective quark mass and modified nucleon structure. The resulting energy per nucleon, pressure, and incompressibility are consistent with empirical constraints at the saturation point. At nuclear saturation density, the gluon probability in the nucleon wave function increases slightly, while the valence probability and quark momentum fraction decrease. The unpolarized quark and gluon distributions show a noticeable enhancement at large momentum fraction ($x \gtrsim 0.4$), illustrated at an evolved scale of $Q^{2} = 10 \mathrm{GeV}^{2}$.

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arXiv2026

Gravitational form factors of light mesons from Basis Light-Front Quantization

We compute the gravitational form factors (GFFs) of the pion and kaon using their light-front wave functions within the Basis Light-Front Quantization framework. The wave functions are obtained by solving a light-front effective Hamiltonian that incorporates three-dimensional confinement along with a color-singlet Nambu--Jona-Lasinio interaction between the constituent quark and antiquark. The form factor $A(Q^2)$ is found to be in overall agreement with recent lattice QCD and dispersive results. In contrast, $D(Q^2)$ is enhanced in magnitude at low $Q^2$ relative to both lattice QCD and dispersive determinations. This behavior arises from extracting the $D$-term using transverse components of the QCD energy--momentum tensor, which are more sensitive to the small-$x$ region and to light-front zero-mode effects in the present truncated framework. Using the resulting GFFs, we determine the mass (matter) and mechanical radii of the pion and kaon and analyze their mechanical structure through the corresponding pressure and shear-force distributions.

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arXiv2026

Pion parton distribution functions and pion-nucleus induced $J/\psi$ production in extended light-front holographic QCD

We determine the pion parton distribution functions (PDFs) from its light-front wave functions, obtained using the holographic Schr\"odinger equation of light-front chiral QCD combined with the 't Hooft equation in (1+1)-dimensional QCD at large $N_c$. We analyze the large-$x$ behavior of the valence PDF, $\sim (1-x)^{\beta^{\rm eff}_v}$, finding overall consistency with global analyses. These pion PDFs, together with nuclear PDFs, are then used to compute the differential cross sections up to next-to-leading order for inclusive $J/\psi$ production in pion--nucleus collisions, which show good agreement with experimental data across different energies and nuclear targets.

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arXiv2026

Baryon Bethe-Salpeter Equation in Minkowski-Space QCD$_2$

We study the three-quark ladder Bethe--Salpeter equation in Minkowski-space QCD$_2$ in the light-cone gauge. Using the quasi-potential expansion, we project the baryon equation onto the light front and show that, at leading order in the valence truncation, the resulting mass-squared eigenvalue equation is equivalent to the Bars--Durgut equation. We also derive the endpoint power-law behavior of the valence wave function in terms of the quark mass and coupling, closely paralleling the original 't Hooft analysis for mesons. The resulting three-quark equation is solved numerically for $N_c=3$, and the ground-state baryon mass is found to be in reasonable agreement with previous light-cone quantization results in QCD$_2$, suggesting that the valence sector provides the dominant contribution to the ground state. The excited-state spectrum further yields a Regge trajectory that captures the overall trend of the experimental nucleon spectrum, and we compute selected structure observables, including parton distribution functions, double distribution amplitudes, and coordinate-space densities. This framework provides a useful confining test bed for Minkowski-space bound-state methods and for future developments toward confining formulations in 3+1 dimensions beyond the valence truncation.

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arXiv2026

Generalized parton distributions of valence, sea, and gluon components of the proton

We compute the generalized parton distributions (GPDs) of valence quarks, sea quarks, and gluons in the proton using light-front wave functions obtained within the basis light-front quantization (BLFQ) framework, providing a realistic description of the nucleon at a low resolution scale. The wave functions are derived from a light-front QCD Hamiltonian without an explicit confining potential and include the three-quark, three-quark-gluon, and three-quark-quark-antiquark Fock sectors. For the first time within BLFQ, we evaluate quark GPDs at nonzero skewness in both the DGLAP and ERBL regions, while gluon GPDs are computed in the DGLAP region. The resulting GPDs exhibit qualitative features similar to, but smaller than the GUMP1.0 global extraction of GPDs based on experimental and lattice QCD data at next-to-leading order accuracy. We further compute the associated Compton form factors and obtain results consistent with the global analysis.

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arXiv2026

Transverse force tomography inside a proton from Basis Light-front Quantization

The twist-3 transverse spin--dependent nucleon structure function $g_2$ arises in high-energy processes involving a transversely polarized nucleon. Its connection to quark--gluon correlations allows for an interpretation in terms of the average transverse color Lorentz force acting on unpolarized quarks inside a transversely polarized nucleon. In this work, we investigate this force using light-front wave functions obtained by diagonalizing the light-front Hamiltonian with quantum chromodynamics inputs within the Basis Light-front Quantization approach. We evolve our results to a common scale of $5~\mathrm{GeV}^2$ and present the corresponding form factors in momentum space as well as the transverse force components in impact-parameter space. These distributions provide a complementary perspective on the Sivers asymmetry in transversely polarized deep-inelastic scattering. In the forward limit, we extract the twist-3 reduced matrix element $d_2$, and our results are found to be comparable with those from other theoretical calculations and experimental determinations.

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arXiv2026

Unified description of Sivers and Boer-Mulders asymmetries from twist-3 correlations

We present the first calculation of the Efremov-Teryaev-Qiu-Sterman functions and associated twist-3 quark-gluon correlation functions for both the proton and pion. These functions are determined using the light-front wave functions obtained by diagonalizing a light-front effective Hamiltonian within a Fock space truncated to include a dynamical gluon. We compute the twist-3 correlations in the hard-pole region and extrapolate them to the soft-gluon pole limit. After the scale evolutions, our predictions demonstrate quantitative consistency with recent experimental extractions, providing a unified description of the Sivers and Boer-Mulders asymmetries from a light-front Hamiltonian approach.

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arXiv2026

Transverse Structure of the Kaon: A light-front Hamiltonian Approach

We employ the Basis Light-Front Quantization (BLFQ) framework to compute the leading-twist (twist-2) and subleading-twist (twist-3) transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs) of the kaon. The light-front wave functions are obtained by diagonalizing a light-front QCD Hamiltonian that includes quark-antiquark (|q\bar{q}\rangle) and quark-antiquark-gluon (|q\bar{q}g\rangle) Fock components together with a three-dimensional confinement. Using the QCD equations of motion, the twist-3 TMDs are decomposed into twist-2 constributions and genuine twist-3 terms, the latter encoding quark-quark-gluon correlations beyond the probabilistic picture. These genuine twist-3 constributions arise from the interference between the |q\bar{q}\rangle and |q\bar{q}g\rangle sectors, which are usually negelected in the Wandzura-Wilczek approximation. This work provides the first theoretical predictions of kaon subleading-twist TMDs that explicitly account for Fock-sector interference. In addition, we present results for the kaon's twist-2 and twist-3 collinear parton distribution functions (PDFs). The twist-2 PDFs are found to be in good agreement with the recent global analysis by the JAM collaboration.

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arXiv2026

Origin of the nucleon gravitational form factor $B_N(t)$: Exposition in light-front holographic QCD

Recent lattice QCD simulations and phenomenological models indicate that the nucleon's gravitational form factor $B_N(t)$ remains remarkably small at finite momentum transfer $t$. While $B_N(0) = 0$ is a known consequence of the equivalence principle, the physical origin of its suppression at finite $t$ has not been fully elucidated. In this work, we demonstrate that the smallness of $B_N(t)$ arises from a fundamental cancellation within the nucleon's wave functions. Using light-front holographic QCD, we show that $B_N(t)$ is governed by an antisymmetric factor in the longitudinal dynamics that leads to the exact vanishing of the form factor in the symmetric limit and significant suppression for realistic nucleon structures. Our results suggest that the smallness of $B_N(t)$ is a signature of the nucleon's dominant S-wave character, providing a formal justification for its frequent omission in practical applications like near-threshold $J/\psi$ production.

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arXiv2026

Dynamical gluon effects in twist-3 generalized parton distributions of the proton

Within the Basis Light-Front Quantization framework, we systematically investigate the subleading-twist (twist-3) generalized parton distributions (GPDs) of the proton's valence quarks beyond the Wandzura--Wilczek (WW) approximation. The twist-3 GPDs are not independent; through the equations of motion they decompose into a non-genuine contribution and a genuine twist-3 term. The latter encodes quark--quark--gluon correlations and involves interference between the light-front Fock sectors |qqq> and |qqqg>, which are typically neglected in the WW approximation. Using light-front wave functions obtained from diagonalizing the proton light-front Hamiltonian for its |qqq> and |qqqg> Fock components, we compute these GPDs via their overlap representations. To further explore their physical implications, we also evaluate several twist-3--related quantities, including the quark orbital angular momentum, the total quark spin contribution, and the quark spin--orbit correlation. Our results provide new nonperturbative input on higher-twist dynamics particularly multi-parton interference effects relevant for future measurements at the EicC and the EIC.

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arXiv2026

Near-threshold heavy quarkonium photoproduction in a light-front spectator model

The near-threshold photo- and electroproduction of heavy vector quarkonia off the proton provides direct access to its gluonic structure. In particular, the cross section for $J/\Psi$ photoproduction near threshold is governed by the proton's gluon gravitational form factors (GFFs). In this work, we employ the generalized parton distribution framework together with gluon GFFs calculated in a light-front gluon-spectator model inspired by soft-wall AdS/QCD to predict both the differential and total cross sections for near-threshold $J/\Psi$ and $\Upsilon$ photoproductions. Our results for $J/\Psi$ photoproduction show good agreement with recent experimental data from the $J/\Psi$-007 and GlueX Collaborations at Jefferson Lab, as well as with earlier measurements from SLAC and Cornell.

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arXiv2025

Nucleon Structure from Basis Light-Front Quantization : Status and Prospects

We review recent advancements in understanding nucleon structure within the Basis Light-Front Quantization (BLFQ) framework--a fully relativistic, nonperturbative approach to solving quantum field theories. In its initial phase, we start with the leading Fock sector $|qqq\rangle$ and an effective light-front Hamiltonian incorporating confinement and one-gluon exchange within which BLFQ can already successfully describe key nucleon observables. The framework has since been extended to include the next-to-leading Fock sector $|qqqg\rangle$, enabling studies of gluonic contributions to the nucleon's internal structure, including gluon helicity, orbital angular momentum, and three-dimensional imaging through generalized and transverse momentum dependent parton distributions (GPDs and TMDs). Most recently, BLFQ has achieved a significant milestone by computing nucleon light-front wavefunctions as eigenstates of the QCD Hamiltonian without an explicit confining potential. These calculations, including Fock sectors up to $|qqqq\bar{q}\rangle$, further develop the path to first-principles predictions of quark and gluon matter densities, helicity and transversity distributions, and spin observables, showing qualitative agreement with experimental and phenomenological results. Together, these developments highlight BLFQ's growing capacity to provide an increasingly complete and realistic picture of nucleon structure grounded in QCD.

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arXiv2025

Dynamical gluon effects in the three-dimensional structure of pion

We investigate the internal structure of the pion, including the contributions from one dynamical gluon, using the basis light-front quantization (BLFQ) approach. By solving a light-front QCD Hamiltonian with a three-dimensional confining potential, we obtain the light-front wavefunctions (LFWFs) for both the quark-antiquark and quark-antiquark-gluon Fock sectors. These wavefunctions are then employed to compute the unpolarized generalized parton distributions (GPDs) and the transverse-momentum-dependent parton distributions (TMDs) of valence quarks and gluons. We also extract the transverse spatial distributions, providing the squared radii of quark and gluon densities in the impact-parameter space. This work contributes toward a three-dimensional understanding of the pion's internal structure in both momentum and coordinate space.

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arXiv2025

Structure of lightest nuclei in the visible Universe

The simplest atomic nucleus, deuteron, provides key insights into the strong nuclear interactions among quarks and gluons that shape the visible universe. We present the first attempt to calculate the internal structure of the deuteron by incorporating hidden-color degrees of freedom, modeling it as an effective mixture of singlet-singlet and octet-octet color clusters beyond the traditional proton-neutron picture. By employing the separation of variables for the light-front two-cluster bound-state equation, we explore how these hidden color correlations shape both its spin and electromagnetic structure. We incorporate the transverse and longitudinal dynamics by two Schr\"odinger-like equations, namely the light-front holography and the 't Hooft equation, respectively. Our predictions of the electromagnetic form factors and structure functions, including tensor-polarized function, align well with experimental data, offering insights into the partonic structure of the deuteron. Its tensor property could pave the way for a new era in spin physics, guiding future experimental investigations.

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arXiv2025

Gluon Distributions in the Pion

We formulate a light-front model for the pion that explicitly incorporates the gluonic degree of freedom. In this framework, high-energy scattering off the pion is described by an active gluon, while the remaining constituents are treated as a spectator system with an effective mass. The mass spectrum and light-front wave functions (LFWFs) of the pion are determined by solving two Schr\"odinger-like equations derived from quantum chromodynamics: the light-front holographic equation in the chiral limit and the 't~Hooft equation. Using the resulting LFWFs, we compute the gluon distributions within pion, including the parton distribution functions in comparison with the available global fits, generalized parton distributions, and transverse momentum-dependent distributions. The present analysis is restricted to the Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi (DGLAP) domain of the pion's gluon GPD, without explicit construction of the Efremov-Radyushkin-Brodsky-Lepage (ERBL) region. Consequently, the polynomiality condition for full Mellin moments is not satisfied by construction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the obtained LFWFs provide a good description of the gravitational form factors of pion when compared with the recent lattice QCD results.

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arXiv2025

Proton Gravitational Structure and Mass Decomposition on the Light Front

Gravitational form factors (GFFs) of hadrons encode essential information about the internal distributions of mass, spin, pressure, and shear among their quark and gluon constituents. We compute the quark and gluon GFFs of the proton using a fully relativistic, nonperturbative framework based on a light-front quantized Hamiltonian with quantum chromodynamics (QCD) input. This allows us to quantify the impact of a dynamical gluon on the proton's mechanical properties, such as pressure and shear distributions. Our predictions agree well with recent lattice QCD results and experimental extractions. We also determine the proton's mass and mechanical radii and address the long-standing puzzle of its mass decomposition. At the scale $\mu^2 = 4~\mathrm{GeV}^2$, we find that quark energy, gluon field energy, the quark condensate, and the QCD trace anomaly contribute $31.5\%$, $34.7\%$, $11.3\%$, and $22.5\%$, respectively, which are consistent with lattice QCD findings.

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arXiv2025

Basis light-front quantization approach to deuteron

We obtain the deuteron's wave functions as eigenstates of the light-front quantum chromodynamics (QCD) Hamiltonian using a fully relativistic and nonperturbative approach based on light-front quantization, without an explicit confining potential. These eigenstates include six-quark and six-quark--one-gluon components. The deuteron wave function consists of both a singlet-singlet color state and additional hidden color states arising from non-trivial color rearrangements. Our results reveal that while the singlet-singlet state is present, the hidden color states collectively dominate, contributing a larger probability to the deuteron wave function. This highlights the significant role of hidden color components in the QCD description of nuclear structure. Using these wave functions, we investigate the deuteron's electromagnetic properties.

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