arXiv subjects

Heikki Mäntysaari

Publications and source records attributed to Heikki Mäntysaari.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spatial imaging of polarized deuterons at the Electron-Ion Collider

We study diffractive vector meson production at small-$x$ in the collision of electrons and polarized deuterons $e+d^{\uparrow}$. We consider the polarization dependence of the nuclear wave function of the deuteron, which results in an azimuthal angular dependence of the produced vector meson when the deuteron is transversely polarized. The Fourier coefficients extracted from the azimuthal angular dependence of the vector meson differential cross-section exhibit notable differences between longitudinally and transversely polarized deuterons. The angular dependence of the extracted effective deuteron radius provides direct insight into the structure of the polarized deuteron wave function. Furthermore, we observe slightly increased gluon saturation effects when the deuteron is longitudinally polarized compared to the transversely polarized case. The small-$x$ observables studied in this work will be accessible at the future Electron-Ion Collider.

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arXiv2026

Constraining the Dipole Amplitude at NLO with HERA Data and Probing Gluon Saturation in SIDIS

We infer the initial condition for the Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) evolution equation at next-to-leading order accuracy from HERA proton structure function data. A simultaneous description of both the total cross section and charm production measurements is obtained. We then show that inclusive hadron production in deep inelastic scattering can provide complementary constraints on the non-perturbative initial condition of the BK equation. As a more differential observable, it serves as a sensitive probe of gluon saturation phenomena. We demonstrate this by calculating predictions for the nuclear modification factor in hadron production in photon-nucleus scattering at leading order in the dipole picture. We find that saturation effects lead to significant nuclear suppression at small $x_\mathrm{Bj}$.

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arXiv2026

The DIS dipole picture cross section at finite energy

We implement a finite energy constraint in the dipole picture of deep inelastic scattering, by restricting the invariant mass of the produced partonic system by the virtual photon-target center of mass energy. We show that, for $Q^2=1$GeV$^2$, the effect of this constraint can reach up to $\sim$35\% for charm quarks and $\sim$7\% for light quarks at $x=0.01$, but then rapidly decreases at smaller $x$ or larger $Q^2$.

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arXiv2026

Constraining Proton Spin at Small $x$ with Valence Quark Model

Recently, a global analysis has been performed for longitudinal spin asymmetries in polarized deep inelastic scattering (DIS) processes, combining the polarized valence quark model with the large-$N_c \& N_f$ helicity evolution equations. With a three-fold reduction in the number of free parameters, the valence quark model results in a six-fold reduction of uncertainty for the resulting prediction of total parton spin inside the proton, when compared to previous analysis performed with traditional moderate-$x$ model inspired by Born approximation. The fit based on valence quark model predicts a positive gluon hPDF and negative $g_1$ structure function at small $x$. However, the resulting increase in the $χ^2$-statistic of the fit warrants further examination into the physical uncertainty of the valence quark model, which is a work in progress. We also summarize other possibilities of future research directions towards the end of this article.

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arXiv2026

Probing gluon saturation through inclusive hadron production in DIS

We investigate gluon saturation effects in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) at small-$x$ within the Color Glass Condensate framework. We compute the SIDIS cross section at leading order in the dipole picture, expressing it in terms of the dipole-target scattering amplitude. We validate our framework by comparing with the charged hadron spectra measured at HERA. Our predictions for the EIC indicate that saturation effects result in significant nuclear suppression in the SIDIS cross section, and can provide complementary constraints on the initial condition for the Balitsky-Kovchegov evolution extracted from inclusive DIS data. These results demonstrate that SIDIS measurements at the EIC are sensitive to nonlinear QCD dynamics in the saturation regime.

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arXiv2026

A numerical implementation of the NLO DIS structure functions in the dipole picture

We present a numerical program that evaluates deep inelastic scattering (DIS) structure functions at next-to-leading order (NLO) accuracy in the dipole picture. In this numerical implementation the NLO DIS impact factors with massive quarks are written in a form that ensures a stable numerical evaluation of the DIS cross sections.

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arXiv2026

Nuclear structure and saturation effects from diffractive vector meson production

We study exclusive vector meson production in ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs) of a wide range of nuclei, and assess the potential of measurements to constrain the small-$x$ structure of oxygen and neon nuclei. We employ an impact-parameter-dependent color glass condensate framework incorporating JIMWLK evolution, with parameters constrained by a recent global Bayesian analysis of $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ data. We present predictions for coherent and incoherent $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ production in $\mathrm{O}+\mathrm{O}$ and $\mathrm{Ne}+\mathrm{Ne}$ UPCs at LHC energies, and quantify theoretical uncertainties using posterior samples from the calibration. We employ several nuclear structure models and find that $t$-differential observables are sensitive to the chosen model. We further study the mass-number dependence of saturation effects through nuclear suppression factors for coherent and incoherent vector meson production. Saturation-induced suppression increases systematically with both nuclear mass number and energy. Our results provide a unified framework for the systematic study of the onset of gluon saturation and nuclear structure at high energy, accessible in future UPC measurements at the LHC and at the Electron-Ion Collider.

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arXiv2026

Revisiting the role of saturation in diffractive vector meson production

We perform a global Bayesian analysis of coherent and incoherent diffractive $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ photoproduction in $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions using a Color Glass Condensate (CGC)-based framework and ultraperipheral collision data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), corrected for the expected effect of electromagnetic dissociation (EMD). Using Gaussian-process emulators of the underlying CGC calculations, we infer model parameters from a combined set of HERA and LHC measurements. We find that the $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ data with EMD correction substantially reduce the previously observed tension between proton and nuclear datasets, enabling a consistent simultaneous description of diffractive $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ production in $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions within the CGC framework.

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arXiv2026

Gluonic nucleon energy correlators and fracture functions for Color Glass Condensate

Nucleon energy correlators (NECs) and fracture functions provide novel tools for probing nucleon and nuclear structure at small $x$ through measurements in the target fragmentation region (TFR) of deep inelastic scattering (DIS). We investigate gluonic NECs and fracture functions using the Color Glass Condensate effective theory at eikonal accuracy. We find that only the unpolarized and linearly polarized gluon components in an unpolarized target are nonvanishing at this order, and that both are determined by the adjoint dipole $S$-matrix. Furthermore, we show that the linearly polarized gluonic NEC $h_{1}^{t,g}$ generates a characteristic $\cos 2ϕ$ azimuthal asymmetry in the DIS energy pattern in the TFR. Unlike analogous observables in the current fragmentation region, this asymmetry is governed by the ratio of the linearly polarized gluon NEC $h_{1}^{t,g}$ to the unpolarized quark NEC $f_{1}^{q}$, making it particularly sensitive to the saturation scale. Our numerical analysis shows that this asymmetry exhibits substantial nuclear suppression, providing a novel window into the onset of gluon saturation at the future Electron-Ion Collider.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Diffractive structure functions from JIMWLK evolution

We compute diffractive structure functions from Wilson line configurations whose energy evolution is given by the JIMWLK equation. We use a JIMWLK evolution setup that has already been constrained with exclusive vector meson production data from HERA. We compare our results to HERA measurements and also extended to heavy nuclei. In particular we can calculate predictions for the nuclear modification factor and diffractive-to-total cross section ratios at the EIC.

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arXiv2026

Diffractive deep inelastic scattering in the dipole picture: the $q\bar{q}g$ contribution in exact kinematics

We compute the $q\bar{q}g$ contribution to the diffractive structure functions in high-energy deep inelastic scattering. The obtained result corresponds to a finite part of the next-to-leading-order contribution to the diffractive cross section. Previous phenomenological applications have included this contribution only in the high-$Q^2$ or high-$M_X^2$ limits in the case of a soft gluon, and we numerically demonstrate that these existing estimates do not provide a good approximation for the full $q\bar{q}g$ contribution. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in addition to the soft gluon contribution, there is an equally important soft quark contribution to the diffractive structure functions at high $Q^2$.

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arXiv2026

Confronting Color Glass Condensate at next-to-leading order with HERA data

We perform a global analysis of HERA total inclusive cross section and charm quark production data to extract the non-perturbative initial condition for the next-to-leading order Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) equation. We extend our previous analyses to full next-to-leading order + next-to-leading logarithm (NLO+NLL) accuracy by combining the NLO DIS impact factors with the NLO BK equation that includes the resummation of large double and single logarithms. The developed Bayesian setup extracts the posterior that describes the distribution of the parameters that best fit the data. The posterior distribution allows for estimates of the theoretical uncertainty of the dipole amplitude and, hence, offers a streamlined method for propagating uncertainties in the BK initial condition in NLO CGC calculations.

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arXiv2026

Impact of QCD Energy Evolution on Observables in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We study how the inclusion of energy dependence as dictated by quantum chromodynamic (QCD) small-$x$ evolution equations affects key observables in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Specifically, we incorporate JIMWLK evolution into the IP-Glasma framework, which serves as the initial condition for a simulation pipeline that includes viscous relativistic hydrodynamics and a hadronic afterburner. This approach enables a consistent modeling of highly energetic nuclei across varying Bjorken-$x$ values, which are relevant for different collision energies and rapidity regions. In comparison to the standard IP-Glasma setup without small-$x$ evolution, we observe pronounced changes in particle multiplicities and spectral distributions, especially in smaller systems and at the highest available energies. We further explore effects on anisotropic flow observables and correlations between mean transverse momentum and elliptic flow. Our findings underscore the critical role of nonlinear QCD evolution in accurately modeling the early stages of heavy-ion collisions, as well as its implications for extracting transport properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

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arXiv2026

Global Bayesian Analysis of $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ Photoproduction on Proton and Lead Targets

We perform a global Bayesian analysis of diffractive $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ production in $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions using a color glass condensate (CGC) based calculation framework. As past calculations have shown that CGC-based models typically overpredict the $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ production in $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions at high center of mass energy, we address the question of whether it is possible to describe coherent and incoherent diffractive $\mathrm{J}/ψ$ data from $γ+p$ collisions at HERA and the LHC, and from $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions at the LHC simultaneously. Our results indicate that a simultaneous description of $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ data is challenging, with results improving when an overall $K$-factor -- scaling $γ+p$ and $γ+\mathrm{Pb}$ cross sections to absorb model uncertainties -- is introduced.

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arXiv2025

Bayesian constraint of the initial condition for the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation at NLO

We use Bayesian inference to constrain the parameters describing the initial amplitude input to the Balitsky-Kovchegov evolution equation at next-to-leading order accuracy against precise HERA total inclusive cross section and heavy quark data. The datasets are found to provide stringent constraints and, with consistent NLO treatment, a successful description of the data is obtained. The posterior distributions define the theoretical uncertainites that surround the non-perturbative initial condition and, thus, provide a way to propagate said uncertainties to CGC calculations at NLO.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Proton spin from small-$x$ with constraints from the valence quark model

We apply the valence quark model recently calculated for polarized proton to constrain the non-perturbative initial condition for the small-$x$ helicity evolution. The remaining free parameters are constrained by performing a global analysis to the available polarized small-$x$ deep inelastic scattering data. A good description of the world data is obtained with only 8 free parameters. The model parameters are tightly constrained by the data, allowing us to predict the proton polarized structure function $g_1^p$ to be negative at small $x$. Furthermore, we obtain the small-$x$ quark and gluon spins to give a contribution $\int_{10^{-5}}^{0.1} dx \left( \frac{1}{2}ΔΣ+ ΔG \right) = 0.76 \pm 0.13$ or $1.70\pm 0.20$ to the proton spin, depending on the applied running coupling prescription.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Heavy flavor angular correlations as probes of the glasma

We study the effect of the glasma fields, formed in the early stage of heavy-ion collisions, on the transport of $Q\bar{Q}$ pairs produced back-to-back. We find that for pairs with moderate initial transverse momentum $p_T$ evolving in glasma fields with sufficiently large saturation momentum $Q_s$, the azimuthal correlation $C({Δϕ})$ is quickly affected. The decorrelation widths $σ_{Δϕ}$ during the glasma and Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) phases are comparable.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Testing hydrodynamic response to initial-state geometry in Pb+$d^\uparrow$ collisions

Deuterons with different polarization states have distinct shapes for their wavefunctions. This offers a unique opportunity to experimentally control the initial-state collision geometry with the polarization of the light-ion targets in relativistic heavy-ion experiments. We study the charged hadron elliptic flow coefficients with respect to the polarization angle of deuterons in Pb + polarized deuteron collisions using a hydrodynamics + hadronic transport model. Hydrodynamic response to initial-state geometry predicts a distinct sign of $v_2$ correlated with the deuteron's polarization states, providing a clean test case for elucidating the collective origin in small collision systems.

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