New insight on the Sivers transverse momentum dependent distribution function

Polarised Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) processes allow to study Transverse Momentum Dependent partonic distributions (TMDs), which reveal a non trivial three dimensional internal structure of the hadrons in momentum space. One of the most representative of the TMDs is the so-called Sivers function that describes the distribution of unpolarized quarks inside a transversely polarized proton. We present a novel extraction of the Sivers distribution functions from the most recent experimental data of HERMES and COMPASS experiments. Using suitable parametrizations, within the TMD factorization scheme, and a simple fitting strategy, we also perform a preliminary exploration of the role of the proton sea quarks.Comment: Talk delivered by M. Boglione at SPIN2010, September 27-October 2, 2010, Juelich, Germany. Left panel of Fig. 5 replace

Transverse spin effects of sea quarks in unpolarized nucleons

We calculate the non-zero Boer-Mulders functions of sea quarks inside the proton in a meson-baryon fluctuation model. The results show that the transverse spin effects of sea quarks in an unpolarized nucleon are sizable. Using the obtained antiquark Boer-Mulders functions, we estimate the $\cos 2 \phi$ asymmetries in the unpolarized $pp$ and $p D$ Drell-Yan processes at FNAL E866/NuSea experiments. The prediction for the $\cos 2 \phi$ asymmetries in the unpolarized $pp$ Drell-Yan process at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is also given.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Asymmetries involving dihadron fragmentation functions: from DIS to e+e- annihilation

Using a model calculation of dihadron fragmentation functions, we fit the spin asymmetry recently extracted by HERMES for the semi-inclusive pion pair production in deep-inelastic scattering on a transversely polarized proton target. By evolving the obtained dihadron fragmentation functions, we make predictions for the correlation of the angular distributions of two pion pairs produced in electron-positron annihilations at BELLE kinematics. Our study shows that the combination of two-hadron inclusive deep-inelastic scattering and electron-positron annihilation measurements can provide a valid alternative to Collins effect for the extraction of the quark transversity distribution in the nucleon.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX style, 6 figures in eps forma

Constraints on the gluon Sivers distribution via transverse single spin asymmetries at midrapidity in p(transv. polarized) p -> pi^0 X processes at BNL RHIC

We consider the recent RHIC data on the transverse single spin asymmetry (SSA) A_N, measured in p(transv. polarized) p -> pi^0 X processes at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX collaboration. The measurement is consistent with a vanishing SSA. We analyze this experimental information within a hard scattering approach based on a generalized QCD factorization scheme, with unintegrated, transverse momentum dependent (TMD), parton distribution and fragmentation functions. It turns out that, in the kinematical region of the data, only the gluon Sivers effect could give a large contribution to A_N; its vanishing value is thus an indication about the possible size of the gluon Sivers function (GSF). Approximate upper limits on its magnitude are derived. Additional constraints obtained combining available parameterizations of the quark Sivers function and the Burkardt sum rule (BSR) for the Sivers distributions are also discussed.Comment: RevTeX, 8 pages, 2 ps figures; v2: few clarifying comments, a "note added in proof" and some references added; version published in Phys. Rev.

Unified framework for generalized and transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions within a 3Q light-cone picture of the nucleon

We present a systematic study of generalized transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions (GTMDs). By taking specific limits or projections, these GTMDs yield various transverse-momentum dependent and generalized parton distributions, thus providing a unified framework to simultaneously model different observables. We present such simultaneous modeling by considering a light-cone wave function overlap representation of the GTMDs. We construct the different quark-quark correlation functions from the 3-quark Fock components within both the light-front constituent quark model as well as within the chiral quark-soliton model. We provide a comparison with available data and make predictions for different observables.Comment: version to appear in JHE

Effective role of unpolarized nonvalence partons in Drell-Yan single spin asymmetries

We perform numerical simulations of the Sivers effect from single spin asymmetries in Drell-Yan processes on transversely polarized protons. We consider colliding antiprotons and pions at different kinematic conditions of interest for the future planned experiments. We conventionally name "framework I" the results obtained when properly accounting for the various flavor dependent polarized valence contributions in the numerator of the asymmetry, and for the unpolarized nonvalence contribution in its denominator. We name "framework II" the results obtained when taking a suitable flavor average of the valence contributions and neglecting the nonvalence ones. We compare the two methods, also with respect to the input parametrization of the Sivers function which is extracted from data with approximations sometimes intermediate between frameworks I and II. Deviations between the two approaches are found to be small except for dilepton masses below 3 GeV. The Sivers effect is used as a test case; the arguments can be generalized to other interesting azimuthal asymmetries in Drell-Yan processes, such as the Boer-Mulders effect.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures in eps forma

Azimuthal asymmetries in lepton-pair production at a fixed-target experiment using the LHC beams (AFTER)

A multi-purpose fixed-target experiment using the proton and lead-ion beams of the LHC was recently proposed by Brodsky, Fleuret, Hadjidakis and Lansberg, and here we concentrate our study on some issues related to the spin physics part of this project (referred to as AFTER). We study the nucleon spin structure through $pp$ and $pd$ processes with a fixed-target experiment using the LHC proton beams, for the kinematical region with 7 TeV proton beams at the energy in center-of-mass frame of two nucleons $\sqrt{s}=115$ GeV. We calculate and estimate the $\cos2\phi$ azimuthal asymmetries of unpolarized $pp$ and $pd$ dilepton production processes in the Drell--Yan continuum region and at the $Z$-pole. We also calculate the $\sin(2\phi-\phi_S)$, $\sin(2\phi+\phi_S)$ and $\sin2\phi$ azimuthal asymmetries of $pp$ and $pd$ dilepton production processes with the target proton and deuteron longitudinally or transversally polarized in the Drell--Yan continuum region and around $Z$ resonances region. We conclude that it is feasible to measure these azimuthal asymmetries, consequently the three-dimensional or transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (3dPDFs or TMDs), at this new AFTER facility.Comment: 15 pages, 40 figures. Version accepted for publication in EPJ