arXiv subjects

W. Melnitchouk

Publications and source records attributed to W. Melnitchouk.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

arXiv1997

Nucleon Strange Magnetic Moment and Relativistic Covariance

We calculate the corrections to the strange matrix elements of the nucleon resulting from the breaking of rotational invariance on the light-cone. In the meson cloud model, the strange magnetic moment mu_S is seen to change sign once the spurious form factors arising from this violation are subtracted. The resulting mu_S is small and slightly positive, in agreement with the trend of the recent data from the SAMPLE experiment. The value of the strange magnetic form factor is predicted to be largely Q^2 independent over the range accessible in upcoming experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

Deuteron Structure Functions in the Context of Few-Body Physics

Few-body systems offer a unique challenge to those interested in deep inelastic scattering. Using the deuteron as the simplest and most easily solvable nuclear system we review the main physics issues in the valence and sea quark regimes. For the former the key issue is the understanding of Fermi motion and binding corrections, and our ability to extract the ratio F_2n/F_2p as x -> 1. The most recent analysis of deuteron data for F_2n/F_2p is consistent with perturbative QCD, but inconsistent with the assumptions common to all standard parton distribution fits. This should be taken into account in calculating event rates at HERA --- especially at large x and Q^2. The extraction of g_1n also presents an opportunity to refine the description of nuclear effects in spin-dependent structure functions. In the region of small x one must correct for shadowing and meson exchange current effects in order to explore the flavor structure of sea, which is, in turn, deeply related to the chiral structure of the nucleon.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

Probing the Origin of the EMC Effect via Tagged Structure Functions of the Deuteron

We demonstrate that measurement of tagged structure functions of the deuteron in (e,e'N) semi-inclusive reactions can discriminate between different hypotheses on the origin of the nuclear EMC effect. By choosing extreme backward kinematics for the spectator nucleon to minimize effects from the deuteron wave function and final state interactions, one can isolate the modifications in the structure of the bound nucleon within the impulse approximation. The same reaction can be used to extract the large-x neutron to proton structure function ratio.

nucl-th↗

arXiv1997

Spin-Dependent Twist-Four Matrix Elements from g_1 Data in the Resonance Region

Matrix elements of spin-dependent twist-four operators are extracted from recent data on the spin-dependent g_1 structure function of the proton and deuteron in the resonance region. We emphasize the need to include the elastic contributions to the first moments of the structure functions at Q^2 < 2 GeV^2. The coefficients of the 1/Q^2 corrections to the Ellis-Jaffe sum rules are found to be 0.04 \pm 0.02 and 0.03 \pm 0.04 GeV^2 for the proton and neutron, respectively.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

Large-x d/u Ratio in W-boson Production

Recent analysis of proton and deuteron deep-inelastic scattering data have suggested that the extracted d/u quark distribution ratio at large x may be significantly larger than previously believed, if the data are corrected for nuclear binding effects in the deuteron. We examine the sensitivity to the large-x d/u ratio of lepton asymmetries from W-boson production in p-pbar and p-p collisions at large rapidity, which do not suffer from nuclear contamination.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

A Study of Off-Forward Parton Distributions

An extensive theoretical analysis of off-forward parton distributions (OFPDs) is presented. The OFPDs and the form factors of the quark energy-momentum tensor are estimated at a low-energy scale using a bag model. Relations among the second moments of OFPDs, the form factors, and the fraction of the nucleon spin carried by quarks are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Strangeness in the Nucleon on the Light-Cone

Strange matrix elements of the nucleon are calculated within the light-cone formulation of the meson cloud model. The $Q^2$ dependence of the strange vector and axial vector form factors is computed, and the strangeness radius and magnetic moment extracted, both of which are found to be very small and slightly negative. Within the same framework one finds a small but non-zero excess of the antistrange distribution over the strange at large $x$. Kaon loops are unlikely, however, to be the source of a large polarized strange quark distribution.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Polarized Deep-Inelastic Scattering from Nuclei -- A Relativistic Approach

A covariant formulation of spin-dependent deep-inelastic scattering from nuclei is presented. In the relativistic impulse approximation the inclusive nuclear cross section is described in terms of the amplitude for forward, virtual-photon scattering from an off-mass-shell nucleon. The general structure of the off-shell nucleon hadronic tensor is derived, and the leading behavior of the off-shell nucleon structure functions computed in the Bjorken limit. The formalism, which is valid for nucleons bound inside nuclei with spin 1/2 or 1, is applied to the case of the deuteron.

nucl-th↗

arXiv1996

Neutron Structure Functions From Nuclear Data

The spin-averaged structure function of the neutron, F_2^n, is extracted from recent deuteron data, taking into account the small but significant corrections due to nuclear effects in the deuteron. At small x, the F_2D/F_2p ratio measured by the New Muon and Fermilab E665 Collaborations is interpreted to suggest a small amount of shadowing in deuterium, which acts to enhance F_2^n for x < 0.1. A careful treatment of Fermi motion, binding and nucleon off-shell effects in the deuteron also indicates that the neutron/proton structure function ratio as x -> 1 is consistent with the perturbative QCD expectation of 3/7, but larger than the traditional value of 1/4.

nucl-th↗

arXiv1996

Neutron/Proton Structure Function Ratio at Large x

We re-examine the large-x neutron/proton structure function ratio extracted from the latest deuteron data, taking into account the most recent developments in the treatment of Fermi motion, binding and nucleon off-shell effects in the deuteron. Our findings suggest that as x->1 the ratio of the neutron to proton structure functions (F_2^n/F_2^p) is consistent with the perturbative QCD expectation of 3/7, but larger than the value of 1/4 obtained in earlier analyses.

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arXiv1996

Next-To-Leading Order Analysis of Polarized and Unpolarized Structure Functions

We present numerical solutions of the $Q^2$ evolution equations at next-to-leading order (NLO) for unpolarized and polarized parton distributions, in both the flavor non-singlet and singlet channels. The numerical method is based on a contour integration algorithm in complex-moment space, and, unlike most standard fitting techniques, is not restricted to the use of analytic moments of distributions. We also compute analytic continuations of the recently calculated singlet anomalous dimensions, needed for evolving polarized quark and gluon distributions at NLO. Using these we study the NLO effects on the $x$ dependence of the spin-dependent structure functions $g_1^p$ and $g_1^n$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Nucleon Structure Functions at Moderate Q**2: Relativistic Constituent Quarks and Spectator Mass Spectrum

We present a model description of the nucleon valence structure function applicable over the entire region of the Bjorken variable x, and above moderate values of Q**2 (> 1 GeV**2). We stress the importance of describing the complete spectrum of intermediate states which are spectator to the deep-inelastic collision. At a scale of 1 GeV**2 the relevant degrees of freedom are constituent quarks and pions. The large-x region is then described in terms of scattering from constituent quarks in the nucleon, while the dressing of constituent quarks by pions plays an important role at intermediate x values. The correct small-x behavior, which is necessary for the proper normalization of the valence distributions, is guaranteed by modeling the asymptotic spectator mass spectrum according to Regge phenomenology.

nucl-th↗

arXiv1995

Q**2 Dependence of Nuclear Shadowing

We re-examine the predictions of a two-phase model of shadowing in nuclear deep-inelastic scattering in light of new NMC data on the x, A and Q**2 dependence of the ratios of structure functions. The model, which combines vector meson dominance at low Q**2 with diffractive Pomeron exchange for large Q**2, agrees with the observed small, but non-zero, slopes in log Q**2, which indicate the importance of higher twist shadowing effects in the transition region, 0.1 < Q**2 < 1 GeV**2. We note also that the latest E665 data on the deuteron to proton ratio suggests the presence of a small amount of shadowing in the deuteron.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Meson Cloud of the Nucleon in Polarized Semi-Inclusive Deep-Inelastic Scattering

We investigate the possibility of identifying an explicit pionic component of the nucleon through measurements of polarized $Δ^{++}$ baryon fragments produced in deep-inelastic leptoproduction off polarized protons, which may help to identify the physical mechanism responsible for the breaking of the Gottfried sum rule. The pion-exchange model predicts highly correlated polarizations of the $Δ^{++}$ and target proton, in marked contrast with the competing diquark fragmentation process. Measurement of asymmetries in polarized $Λ$ production may also reveal the presence of a kaon cloud in the nucleon.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

SPIN-DEPENDENT NUCLEAR STRUCTURE FUNCTIONS: GENERAL APPROACH WITH APPLICATION TO THE DEUTERON

We study deep-inelastic scattering from polarized nuclei within a covariant framework. A clear connection is established between relativistic and non-relativistic limits, which enables a rigorous derivation of convolution formulae for the spin-dependent nuclear structure functions g_1^A and g_2^A in terms of off-mass-shell extrapolations of polarized nucleon structure functions, g_1^N and g_2^N. Approximate expressions for g_{1,2}^A are obtained by expanding the off-shell g_{1,2}^N about their on-shell limits. As an application of the formalism we consider nuclear effects in the deuteron, knowledge of which is necessary to obtain accurate information on the spin-dependent structure functions of the neutron.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

DEEP INELASTIC SCATTERING FROM POLARIZED DEUTERONS

The spin-dependent structure function of the deuteron, g_1D, is calculated within a covariant framework. The off-shell structure of the bound nucleon gives corrections to the convolution model at a level of half a percent for x below 0.7, increasing to more than five percent at larger x. Overall, the dominant source of error comes from the lack of knowledge associated with the deuteron D-state, which may introduce an uncertainty in the neutron spin structure function, g_1n, extracted from deuterium data of up to ten percent for x around 0.2.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1994

Pion Content of the Nucleon in Polarized Semi-Inclusive D.I.s

An explicit pionic component of the nucleon may be identified by measuring polarized $Δ^{++}$ fragments produced in deep-inelastic scattering off polarized protons. The pion-exchange model predicts highly correlated polarizations of the $Δ^{++}$ and target proton, in marked contrast with the competing diquark fragmentation process.

nucl-th↗

arXiv1994

Relativistic Deuteron Structure Function

We calculate the unpolarised deep inelastic structure function of a relativistic deuteron within a covariant framework. An exact treatment of nucleon off-shell effects is shown to give corrections to the widely-used convolution model, even in impulse approximation. Neglecting off-shell effects in the extraction of the neutron structure function from deuterium data introduces errors of order $1-2\%$.

nucl-th↗