arXiv subjects

John Terry

Publications and source records attributed to John Terry.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Resummed Power Corrections in Nuclear DVCS

Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) encode the three-dimensional structure of hadrons, yet their modification in nuclear matter remains largely unconstrained. We report the first derivation of resummed QCD power corrections to deeply virtual Compton scattering on nuclei. Extending techniques from inclusive deep inelastic scattering, we identify the nuclear-enhanced higher-twist contributions generated by coherent final-state scattering of the struck quark in the medium and resum them to all orders. The corrections are enhanced by an effective nuclear size $A_{\rm eff}^{1/3}$ and result in an exclusive analogue of dynamical nuclear shadowing. The shift is controlled by a parameter already fixed by inclusive nuclear data, so no new nonperturbative input enters. We present quantitative predictions for nuclear modifications of beam-spin observables at the Electron--Ion Collider.

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arXiv2026

Centauric 1-Jettiness in DIS and Universal Power Corrections

We introduce the \emph{Centauric 1-jettiness}, $\tau_1^C$, a generalized event shape for Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) with adjustable beam and jet reference vectors and thus beam and jet regions. We demonstrate that a specific choice of weights allows this observable to exactly reproduce the geometric boundaries of the Centauro jet algorithm in the Breit frame. Within the framework of Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET), we derive a factorized cross section in the small-$\tau_1^C$ region in terms of known perturbative ingredients. This allows the resummation of large logarithms to N$^3$LL accuracy, which we then match to fixed-order NLO QCD ($\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^2)$) predictions from \texttt{NLOJet++}. We establish that the soft measurement reduces to a rescaled hemisphere measurement, placing Centauric 1-jettiness in the same universality class, for the leading non-perturbative corrections, as DIS thrust and jet mass. As a consequence, the leading non-perturbative shift depends on the same universal first-moment-shift parameter $\Omega_1$ and scales exactly as $1/R$ with the jet radius, thanks to the boost invariance of the Centauro algorithm along the photon axis in the Breit frame, a scaling that we test using \textsc{Pythia} simulations. These results open new strategies for determining the strong coupling from DIS event shapes, with $R$ providing a handle to break the degeneracy between $\alpha_s$ and the universal non-perturbative shift parameter $\Omega_1$.

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arXiv2026

Short-Range Correlations Between Partons in a Proton

A principal lesson from recreating droplets of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in heavy ion collisions is that it is a strongly coupled liquid, not a plasma of partons. The energy density and pressure of quarks and gluons confined within a proton are comparable to those of QGP at or just above the QCD transition temperature. Given this similarity between protons and QGP, we propose that the investigation of correlations between nearby partons within a proton must be a central goal for the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Here, we ask how EIC measurements can discern such short-range correlations (SRCs) of quark pairs. Doing so would characterize the strongly coupled interior of a proton, augmenting the one-parton-at-a-time understanding of protons via (generalized) parton distribution functions, and could at the same time yield a key ingredient for the microscopic understanding of the liquid nature of QGP. Motivated by the experiments that have been used to demonstrate the existence of SRCs between nucleon pairs within a nucleus, we propose using EIC observables involving measurements of a jet and a pion, together with the scattered electron, to seek and quantify the possible existence of SRCs between quark pairs within a nucleon. The pronounced isospin dependence observed in the dominance of $np$ SRCs over $pp$ or $nn$ SRCs has played a central role in establishing the importance of SRCs among nucleons in nuclei. Analogously, the QCD attraction in the $ud$ diquark channel can make the $ud$ SRC stronger than the $uu$ and $dd$ SRCs, allowing a first observation of partonic SRCs.

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arXiv2024

Anisotropic jet broadening and jet shape

In this paper, we explore the use of jet substructure as a way of probing phenomena which break the isotropic behavior of jets, such as jet propagation through an anisotropically flowing quark-gluon plasma or spin correlations. We introduce two novel observables for this purpose: the azimuthal-dependent jet broadening and the azimuthal-dependent jet shape, which generalize the traditional isotropic substructure studies. Using Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, we explicitly calculate the jet functions associated with these observables with a standard jet axis and with a Winner-Take-All jet axis in both the resummed and fixed order limits. While our analysis first and foremost establishes the formalism for the azimuthal-dependent jet substructure, it also brings to light new results for jet substructure in the azimuthally integrated case, such as the semi-inclusive jet function and the exclusive jet shape for the Winner-Take-All axis, and the jet broadening in the fixed order region. As an illustrative example for the new formalism we demonstrate that the azimuthal-dependent jet broadening can be used as a direct probe of the transversity parton distribution function in deep inelastic scattering.

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arXiv2024

Toward a first-principles description of transverse momentum dependent Drell-Yan production in proton-nucleus collisions

In this paper, we study the parton dynamics in Drell-Yan collisions involving proton-nuclei interactions in the limit of small transverse momentum, emphasizing the role of the cold nuclear matter effects. The distribution of transverse momentum that enter into these collisions differs from that in Drell-Yan collisions with free nucleons in two distinct ways: the intrinsic parton structure of the TMDs are altered, the perturbative dynamics undergo additional modification due to interactions with the nuclear medium. In this paper, we focus on the perturbative dynamics, which we demonstrate enter from forward scattering between the parton constituents of the proton and the nuclear medium. We then derive these partonic contributions to the TMD Drell-Yan cross section up to next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant and to the first order in the medium opacity. We demonstrate that the collinear and rapidity divergences related to parton showers in matter lead to i) an in-medium renormalization group equation that encodes the transverse momentum dependence of parton energy loss, and ii) a Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov evolution equation for the forward scattering cross section. We discuss the relation of our results to the phenomenological extraction of nuclear TMDs and apply the new formalism to Drell-Yan production at small transverse momenta in $p$+$A$ reactions.

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arXiv2023

Nuclear modified transverse momentum dependent parton distribution and fragmentation functions

In this study, we extend our previous global analysis of nuclear-modified transverse momentum distribution functions (nTMDs) to also consider the nuclear-modified collinear fragmentation function. Our methodology incorporates the global set of experimental data from both Drell-Yan production and Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering. Through a comprehensive global extraction of these distributions, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this extension by strongly describing the entire global dataset. A focal point of this paper is the impact of recent Jefferson Lab measurements. Most notably, to simultaneously describe experimental data at Jefferson Lab and HERMES we find that it is necessary to introduce a parameter which accounts for the non-perturbative scale evolution of the nTMDs. Additionally, we assess the kinematic coverage of the experimental data and provide insights into experimental opportunities at Jefferson Lab, future Electron-Ion Colliders, RHIC, and the LHC. These opportunities have the potential to significantly enhance and refine global analyses of nuclear-modified TMDs, contributing to a deeper understanding of the structure of cold nuclear matter.

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arXiv2023

Precision three-dimensional imaging of nuclei using recoil-free jets

In this study, we explore the azimuthal angle decorrelation of lepton-jet pairs in e-p and e-A collisions as a means for precision measurements of the three-dimensional structure of bound and free nucleons. Utilizing soft-collinear effective theory, we perform the first-ever resummation of this process in e-p collisions at NNLL accuracy using a recoil-free jet axis. Our results are validated against Pythia simulations. In e-A collisions, we address the complex interplay between three characteristic length scales: the medium length $L$, the mean free path of the energetic parton in the medium $\lambda$, and the hadronization length $L_h$. We demonstrate that in the thin-dilute limit, where $L \ll L_h$ and $L \sim \lambda$, this process can serve as a robust probe of the three-dimensional structure for bound nucleons. We conclude by offering predictions for future experiments at the Electron-Ion Collider within this limit.

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arXiv2023

QCD resummation of dijet azimuthal decorrelations in pp and pA collisions

We study the azimuthal angular decorrelations of dijet production in both proton-proton (pp) and proton-nucleus (pA) collisions. By utilizing soft-collinear effective theory, we establish the factorization and resummation formalism at the next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy for the azimuthal angular decorrelations in the back-to-back limit in pp collisions. We propose an approach where the nuclear modifications to dijet production in pA collisions are accounted for in the nuclear modified transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (nTMDPDFs), which contain both collinear and transverse dynamics. This approach naturally generalizes the well-established formalism related to the nuclear modified collinear parton distribution functions (nPDFs). We demonstrate strong consistency between our methodology and the CMS measurements in both pp and pA collisions, and make predictions for dijet production in the forward rapidity region in pA collisions at LHC kinematics and for mid-rapidity kinematics at sPHENIX. Throughout this paper, we focus on the application of this formalism to a simultaneous fit to both collinear and transverse momentum dependent contributions to the transverse momentum dependent distributions.

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arXiv2022

Transverse-momentum-dependent factorization at next-to-leading power

We study transverse momentum dependent factorization and resummation at sub-leading power in Drell-Yan and semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering. In these processes the sub-leading power contributions to the cross section enter as a kinematic power correction to the leptonic tensor, and the kinematic, intrinsic, and dynamic sub-leading contributions to the hadronic tensor. By consistently treating the power counting of the interactions, we demonstrate renormalization group consistency. We calculate the anomalous dimensions of the kinematic and intrinsic sub-leading correlation functions at one loop and find that the evolution equations give rise to anomalous dimension matrices which mix leading and sub-leading power distribution functions. Additionally we calculate the hard and soft functions associated with each of these contributions. We find that these hard and soft contributions differ from those at the leading power. Finally, we calculate the rapidity anomalous dimension for the dynamic sub-leading distributions and find that it is the same as the leading power anomalous dimension. We then comment on the implications for the soft function associated with this contribution. Using this information, we establish the factorization formalism at sub-leading power for these processes at the one-loop level.

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arXiv2022

Nuclear Modified Transverse Momentum Distributions and 3D Imaging in Nuclei

In this proceeding, we review our recent work in which we performed the first global analysis of nuclear modified Transverse Momentum Distribution Functions (TMDs). We demonstrate for the first time that the global set of TMD experimental data from HERMES, E866, E772, RHIC, ATLAS, and CMS, can be described using a simple model which accounts for the nuclear modifications for the TMDs as a non-perturbative correction. Using this model, we extract the nuclear modified TMDs for the first time.

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arXiv2021

Resummation of the Sivers asymmetry in heavy flavor dijet production at the Electron-Ion Collider

We review our transverse momentum dependent factorization and resummation formalism for heavy flavor dijet production at the EIC. In this formalism, we have calculated the heavy flavor mass corrections in the collinear-soft and jet functions, and in the resummed expression for the cross section. By establishing this formalism, we then study the effects of the mass corrections by providing predictions at the EIC for the massive case and for the case where the mass is neglected. We find that the heavy flavor mass effects can give sizable corrections to the predicted asymmetry.

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arXiv2021

Transverse Lambda production at the future Electron-Ion Collider

We provide a comprehensive overview of transversely polarized $\Lambda$ production at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). In particular, we study both spontaneous transverse $\Lambda$ polarization as well as the transverse spin transfer within the Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) factorization region. To describe spontaneous $\Lambda$ polarization, we consider the contribution from the TMD Polarizing Fragmentation Function (TMD PFF). Similarly, we study the contribution of the transverse spin transfer originating from the transversity TMD Fragmentation Function (TMD FF). We provide projections for the statistical uncertainties in the corresponding spin observables at the future EIC. Using these statistical uncertainties, we characterize the role that the future EIC will play in constraining these distributions. We perform an impact study in the semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering process for spontaneous $\Lambda$ polarization with a proton beam. We find that the projected experimental data leads to a significant decrease in the uncertainties for the $u$ and sea TMD PFFs. Furthermore, to access the impact of the EIC on the transversity TMD FF, we perform the first extraction of the transversity TMD FF from the recent COMPASS data. We compare the statistical uncertainties of the future EIC with the theoretical uncertainties from our extraction and find that the EIC could have a significant role in constraining this distribution. Finally, we also provide projections for both spontaneous $\Lambda$ polarization as well as the transverse spin transfer inside the jets in back-to-back electron-jet production at the EIC.

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arXiv2021

Three-dimensional imaging in nuclei

We perform the first simultaneous global QCD extraction of the transverse momentum dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions and the TMD fragmentation functions in nuclei. We have considered the world set of data from semi-inclusive electron-nucleus deep inelastic scattering and Drell-Yan di-lepton production. In total, this data set consists of 126 data points from HERMES, Fermilab, RHIC and LHC. Working at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, we achieve a $\chi^2/dof = 1.045$. In this analysis, we quantify the broadening of TMDs in nuclei comparing with those in free nucleons for the first time. We also make predictions for the ongoing JLab 12 GeV program and future EIC measurements.

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arXiv2021

Transverse $\Lambda$ Polarization in $e^+ e^-$ collisions

In this paper we study transverse polarization of $\Lambda$ hyperons in single-inclusive leptonic annihilation. We show that when the transverse momentum of the $\Lambda$ baryon is measured with respect to the thrust axis, a transverse momentum dependent (TMD) factorization formalism is required and the polarization is generated by the TMD polarizing fragmentation function (TMD PFF), $D_{1T}^\perp$. However, when the transverse momentum of the $\Lambda$ baryon is measured with respect to the momentum of the initial leptons, a collinear twist-3 formalism is required and the polarization is generated by the intrinsic collinear twist-3 fragmentation function $D_{T}$. Thus while these measurements differ from one another only by a change in the measurement axis, they probe different distribution functions. Recently, Belle measured a significant polarization in single-inclusive $\Lambda$ baryon production as a function of the transverse momentum with respect to the thrust axis. However, this data can in principle be re-analyzed to measure the polarization as a function of the transverse momentum of the $\Lambda$ baryon with respect to the lepton pair. This observable could be the first significant probe of the function, $D_{T}$. In this paper, we first develop a TMD formalism for $\Lambda$ polarization; we then present a recent twist-3 formalism that was established to describe $\Lambda$ polarization. Using the TMD formalism, we demonstrate that the $\Lambda$ polarization at OPAL and Belle can be described using the twist-2 TMD factorization formalism. Finally, we make a theoretical prediction for this polarization in the collinear twist-3 formalism at Belle.

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arXiv2020

QCD evolution of the gluon Sivers function in heavy flavor dijet production at the Electron-Ion Collider

Using Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, we develop the transverse-momentum-dependent factorization formalism for heavy flavor dijet production in polarized-proton-electron collisions. We consider heavy flavor mass corrections in the collinear-soft and jet functions, as well as the associated evolution equations. Using this formalism, we generate a prediction for the gluon Sivers asymmetry for charm and bottom dijet production at the future Electron-Ion Collider. Furthermore, we compare theoretical predictions with and without the inclusion of finite quark masses. We find that the heavy flavor mass effects can give sizable corrections to the predicted asymmetry.

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arXiv2020

Global analysis of the Sivers functions at NLO+NNLL in QCD

We perform global fit to the quark Sivers function within the transverse momentum dependent (TMD) factorization formalism in QCD. We simultaneously fit Sivers asymmetry data from Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) at COMPASS, HERMES, and JLab, from Drell-Yan lepton pair production at COMPASS, and from $W/Z$ boson at RHIC. This extraction is performed at next-to-leading order (NLO) and next-to-next-to leading logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy. We find excellent agreement between our extracted asymmetry and the experimental data for SIDIS and Drell-Yan lepton pair production, while tension arises when trying to describe the spin asymmetries of $W/Z$ bosons at RHIC. We carefully assess the situation, and we study in details the impact of the RHIC data and their implications through different ways of performing the fit. In addition, we find that the quality of the description of $W/Z$ vector boson asymmetry data could be strongly sensitive to the DGLAP evolution of Qiu-Sterman function, besides the usual TMD evolution. We present discussion on this and the implications for measurements of the transverse-spin asymmetries at the future Electron Ion Collider.

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arXiv2020

The Sivers Asymmetry in Hadronic Dijet Production

We study the single spin asymmetry in the back-to-back dijet production in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions. Such an asymmetry is generated by the Sivers functions in the incoming polarized proton. We propose a QCD formalism in terms of the transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions, which allow us to resum the large logarithms that arise in the perturbative calculations. We make predictions for the Sivers asymmetry of hadronic dijet production at the kinematic region that is relevant to the experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We further compute the spin asymmetries in the selected positive and negative jet charge bins, to separate the contributions from $u$- and $d$-quark Sivers functions. We find that both the sign and size of our numerical results are roughly consistent with the preliminary results from the STAR collaboration at the RHIC.

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arXiv2020

Extracting the Transverse Momentum Dependent Polarizing Fragmentation Functions

We demonstrate that spontaneous transverse polarization of Lambda baryon ($\Lambda$) production in $e^+e^-$ annihilation can be described using the transverse momentum dependent polarizing fragmentation functions (TMD PFFs). Using a simple Gaussian model, we perform an extraction of the TMD PFFs by fitting the BELLE collaboration's recent measurement of the $\Lambda$ transverse polarization in back-to-back $\Lambda+h$ production in $e^+ e^-$ collisions, $e^{-} + e^{+} \rightarrow \Lambda^{\uparrow}+h+X$. We find that this simple model accurately describes the experimental data for $\Lambda$ production associated with pions and kaons, and we are able to determine TMD PFFs for different quark flavors. We use these newly extracted TMD PFFs to make predictions for the transverse polarization of $\Lambda$ produced in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering at a future electron-ion collider, and find that such a polarization is around $10\%$ and should be measurable.

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