arXiv subjects

Khepani Raya

Publications and source records attributed to Khepani Raya.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Symmetry Constraints on Pion Valence Structure

The profile of the pion valence quark distribution function (DF) remains controversial. Working from the concepts of QCD effective charges and generalised parton distributions, we show that since the pion elastic electromagnetic form factor is well approximated by a monopole, then, at large light-front momentum fraction, the pion valence quark DF is a convex function described by a large-$x$ power law that is practically consistent with expectations based on quantum chromodynamics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Revealing pion and kaon structure via generalised parton distributions

Clear windows onto emergent hadron mass (EHM) and modulations thereof by Higgs boson interactions are provided by observable measures of pion and kaon structure, many of which are accessible via generalised parton distributions (GPDs). Beginning with algebraic GPD Ansaetze, constrained entirely by hadron-scale $π$ and $K$ valence-parton distribution functions (DFs), in whose forms both EHM and Higgs boson influences are manifest, numerous illustrations are provided. They include the properties of electromagnetic form factors, impact parameter space GPDs, gravitational form factors and associated pressure profiles, and the character and consequences of all-orders evolution. The analyses predict that mass-squared gravitational form factors are stiffer than electromagnetic form factors; reveal that $K$ pressure profiles are tighter than $π$ profiles, with both mesons sustaining near-core pressures at magnitudes similar to that expected at the core of neutron stars; deliver parameter-free predictions for $π$ and $K$ valence, glue, and sea GPDs at the resolving scale $ζ=2$GeV; and predict that at this scale the fraction of meson mass-squared carried by glue and sea combined matches that lodged with the valence degrees-of-freedom, with a similar statement holding for mass-squared radii.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Revealing the structure of light pseudoscalar mesons at the Electron-Ion Collider

How the bulk of the Universe's visible mass emerges and how it is manifest in the existence and properties of hadrons are profound questions that probe into the heart of strongly interacting matter. Paradoxically, the lightest pseudoscalar mesons appear to be the key to the further understanding of the emergent mass and structure mechanisms. These mesons, namely the pion and kaon, are the Nambu-Goldstone boson modes of QCD. Unravelling their partonic structure and the interplay between emergent and Higgs-boson mass mechanisms is a common goal of three interdependent approaches -- continuum QCD phenomenology, lattice-regularised QCD, and the global analysis of parton distributions -- linked to experimental measurements of hadron structure. Experimentally, the foreseen electron-ion collider will enable a revolution in our ability to study pion and kaon structure, accessed by scattering from the "meson cloud" of the proton through the Sullivan process. With the goal of enabling a suite of measurements that can address these questions, we examine key reactions to identify the critical detector system requirements needed to map tagged pion and kaon cross sections over a wide range of kinematics. The excellent prospects for extracting pion structure function and form factor data are shown, and similar prospects for kaon structure are discussed in the context of a worldwide programme. Successful completion of the programme outlined herein will deliver deep, far-reaching insights into the emergence of pions and kaons, their properties, and their role as QCD's Goldstone boson modes.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Higgs modulation of emergent mass as revealed in kaon and pion parton distributions

Strangeness was discovered roughly seventy years ago, lodged in a particle now known as the kaon, $K$. Kindred to the pion, $π$; both states are massless in the absence of Higgs-boson couplings. Kaons and pions are Nature's most fundamental Nambu-Goldstone modes. Their properties are largely determined by the mechanisms responsible for emergent mass in the standard model, but modulations applied by the Higgs are crucial to Universe evolution. Despite their importance, little is known empirically about $K$ and $π$ structure. This study delivers the first parameter-free predictions for all $K$ distribution functions (DFs) and comparisons with the analogous $π$ distributions, i.e. the one-dimensional maps that reveal how the light-front momentum of these states is shared amongst the gluons and quarks from which they are formed. The results should stimulate improved analyses of existing data and motivate new experiments sensitive to all $K$ and $π$ DFs.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Symmetry, symmetry breaking, and pion parton distributions

Pion valence, glue and sea distributions are calculated using a continuum approach to the two valence-body bound-state problem. Since the framework is symmetry preserving, physical features of the distributions are properly expressed. The analysis reveals that the emergent phenomenon of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking causes a hardening of the valence-quark distribution function, ${q}^π(x)$. Nevertheless, this distribution exhibits the $x\simeq 1$ behaviour predicted by quantum chromodynamics (QCD). At the scale $ζ_2:=2\,$GeV, the following momentum fractions are predicted: $\langle x_{\rm valence} \rangle = 0.48(3)$, $\langle x_{\rm glue} \rangle = 0.41(2)$, $\langle x_{\rm sea} \rangle = 0.11(2)$. Evolving to $ζ=5.2\,$GeV, the result for ${q}^π(x)$ agrees with that computed using lattice QCD. These outcomes should both spur improved analyses of existing experiments and stimulate efforts to obtain new data on the pion distribution functions using available and envisioned facilities.

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arXiv2018

$γ^\ast γ\to η, η^\prime$ transition form factors

Using a continuum approach to the hadron bound-state problem, we calculate $γ^\ast γ\to η, η^\prime$ transition form factors on the entire domain of spacelike momenta, for comparison with existing experiments and in anticipation of new precision data from next-generation $e^+ e^-$ colliders. One novel feature is a model for the contribution to the Bethe-Salpeter kernel deriving from the non-Abelian anomaly, an element which is crucial for any computation of $η, η^\prime$ properties. The study also delivers predictions for the amplitudes that describe the light- and strange-quark distributions within the $η, η^\prime$. Our results compare favourably with available data. Important to this at large-$Q^2$ is a sound understanding of QCD evolution, which has a visible impact on the $η^\prime$ in particular. Our analysis also provides some insights into the properties of $η, η^\prime$ mesons and associated observable manifestations of the non-Abelian anomaly.

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arXiv2016

Partonic structure of neutral pseudoscalars via two photon transition form factors

The $γγ^\ast \to η_{c,b}$ transition form factors are computed using a continuum approach to the two valence-body bound-state problem in relativistic quantum field theory, and thereby unified with equivalent calculations of electromagnetic pion elastic and transition form factors. The resulting $γγ^\ast \to η_c$ form factor, $G_{η_c}(Q^2)$, is consistent with available data: significantly, at accessible momentum transfers, $Q^2 G_{η_c}(Q^2)$ lies well below its conformal limit. These observations confirm that the leading-twist parton distribution amplitudes (PDAs) of heavy-heavy bound-states are compressed relative to the conformal limit. A clear understanding of the distribution of valence-quarks within mesons thus emerges; a picture which connects Goldstone modes, built from the lightest-quarks in Nature, with systems containing the heaviest valence-quarks that can now be studied experimentally, and highlights basic facts about manifestations of mass within the Standard Model.

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