Target normal single-spin asymmetry in inclusive electron-nucleon scattering in the 1/Nc expansion

The target normal single-spin asymmetry in inclusive electron-nucleon scattering is studied in the low-energy regime that includes the $\Delta$ resonance. The particular interest in the asymmetry resides in that it is driven by two-photon exchange effects. It probes the spin-dependent absorptive part of the two-photon exchange amplitude, which is free of infrared and collinear singularities and represents the most pristine expression of two-photon exchange dynamics. The study presented here uses the 1/Nc expansion of QCD, which combines the $N$ and $\Delta$ through the emergent SU(4) spin-flavor symmetry in the baryon sector and allows for a systematic construction of the transition EM currents. The analysis includes the first subleading corrections in the 1/Nc expansion and presents results for elastic and inelastic final states. The asymmetry is found to be in the range $10^{-3}-10^{-2}$. The $\Delta$ resonance plays an important role as an intermediate state in the elastic asymmetry and as a final state in the inclusive asymmetry

QCD angular momentum in N→ΔN \rightarrow \Delta transitions

$N \rightarrow \Delta$ transitions offer new possibilities for exploring the isovector component of the QCD quark angular momentum (AM) operator causing the $J^{u - d}$ flavor asymmetry in the nucleon. We extend the concept of QCD AM to transitions between baryon states, using light-front densities of the energy-momentum tensor in transversely localized states. We calculate the $N \rightarrow \Delta$ transition AM in the $1/N_c$ expansion, connect it with the $J^{u - d}$ flavor asymmetry in the nucleon, and estimate the values using lattice QCD results. In the same setup we connect the transition AM to the transition GPDs sampled in hard exclusive electroproduction processes with $N \rightarrow \Delta$ transitions, enabling experimental study of the transition AM.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Induced pseudoscalar coupling of the proton weak interaction

The induced pseudoscalar coupling $g_p$ is the least well known of the weak coupling constants of the proton's charged--current interaction. Its size is dictated by chiral symmetry arguments, and its measurement represents an important test of quantum chromodynamics at low energies. During the past decade a large body of new data relevant to the coupling $g_p$ has been accumulated. This data includes measurements of radiative and non radiative muon capture on targets ranging from hydrogen and few--nucleon systems to complex nuclei. Herein the authors review the theoretical underpinnings of $g_p$, the experimental studies of $g_p$, and the procedures and uncertainties in extracting the coupling from data. Current puzzles are highlighted and future opportunities are discussed.Comment: 58 pages, Latex, Revtex4, prepared for Reviews of Modern Physic