Q^2 dependence of diffractive vector meson electroproduction

We give a general formula for the cross section for diffractive vector meson electroproduction, gamma^* p -> Vp. We first calculate diffractive qqbar production, and then use parton-hadron duality by projecting out the J^P = 1^- state in the appropriate mass interval. We compare the Q^2 dependence of the cross section for the diffractive production of rho and J/psi mesons with recent HERA data. We include the characteristic Q^2 dependence associated with the use of the skewed gluon distribution. We give predictions for sigma_L/sigma_T for both rho and J/psi production.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, including five PostScript figure

On a possible manifestation of f_1 trajectory in J/psi photoproduction

We analyze a possible manifestation of f_1-trajectory in elastic J/psi photoproduction at high energy and large momentum transfer. Inspite of the small contribution of f_1-trajectory in total cross sections, it becomes significant in various spin observables. In particular, we show that the crucial test for f_1-exchange can be made by measuring the single beam- and double parity- and beam-target asymmetries at large momentum transfers, where a strong deviation from the exchange of conventional Pomerons is expected. This effect is caused by the interference of natural (Pomeron) and unnatural (f_1) parity exchange parts of amplitude in the region where their contributions become comparable to each other and might be interesting to observe in forthcoming experiments, if feasible. .Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. To be published in PL

Open Heavy Flavor Production in QCD -- Conceptual Framework and Implementation Issues

Heavy flavor production is an important QCD process both in its own right and as a key component of precision global QCD analysis. Apparent disagreements between fixed-flavor scheme calculations of b-production rate with experimental measurements in hadro-, lepto-, and photo-production provide new impetus to a thorough examination of the theory and phenomenology of this process. We review existing methods of calculation, and place them in the context of the general PQCD framework of Collins. A distinction is drawn between scheme dependence and implementation issues related to quark mass effects near threshold. We point out a so far overlooked kinematic constraint on the threshold behavior, which greatly simplifies the variable flavor number scheme. It obviates the need for the elaborate existing prescriptions, and leads to robust predictions. It can facilitate the study of current issues on heavy flavor production as well as precision global QCD analysis.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, Proceedings of Ringberg Workshop: New Trends in HERA Physics 2001, Munich, German

Moments of the Proton F2 Structure Function at Low Q2

The Q^2 dependence of inclusive electron-proton scattering F_2 structure function data in both the nucleon resonance region and the deep inelastic region, at momentum transfers below 5 (GeV/c)^2, is investigated. Moments of F_2 are constructed, down to momentum transfers of Q^2 ~ 0.1 (GeV/c)^2. The second moment is only slowly varying with Q^2 down to Q^2 ~ 1 (GeV/c)^2, which is a reflection of duality. Below Q^2 of 1 (GeV/c)^2, the Q^2 dependence of the moments is predominantly governed by the elastic contribution, whereas the inelastic channels still seem governed by local duality.Comment: 11 page paper, 1 LaTeX file, 10 postscript figure file

Perturbative QCD Analysis of Local Duality in a fixed W^2 Framework

We study the global Q^2 dependence of large x, F_2 nucleon structure function data, with the aim of providing a perturbative-QCD based, quantitative analysis of parton-hadron duality. As opposed to previous analyses at fixed x, we use a framework in fixed W^2. We uncover a breakdown of the twist-4 approximation with a renormalon type improvement at O(1/Q^4) which, by affecting the initial evolution of parton distributions, will have consequences for pQCD analyses also at large x and very large Q^2.Comment: RevTex4, 8 pages, 3 figure

Inelastic diffraction and color-singlet gluon-clusters in high-energy hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions

It is proposed, that ``the colorless objects'' which manifest themselves in large-rapidity-gap events are color-singlet gluon-clusters due to self-organized criticality (SOC), and that optical-geometrical concepts and methods are useful in examing the space-time properties of such objects. A simple analytical expression for the $t$-dependence of the inelastic single diffractive cross section $d\sigma/dt$ ($t$ is the four-momentum transfer squared) is derived. Comparison with the existing data and predictions for future experiments are presented. The main differences and similarities between the SOC-approach and the ``Partons in the Pomeron (Pomeron and Reggeon)''-approach are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

The hard scale in the exclusive rho-meson production in diffractive DIS

We re-examine the issue of the pQCD factorization scale in the exclusive rho production in diffractive DIS from the k_t-factorization point of view. We find that this scale differs significantly from, and possesses much flatter Q^2 behavior than widely used value (Q^2 + m_\rho^2)/4. With these results in mind, we discuss the Q^2 shape of the rho meson production cross section. We introduce rescaled cross sections, which might provide further insight into the dynamics of rho production. We also comment on the recent ZEUS observation of energy-independent ratio sigma(gamma* p --> rho p) / sigma_{tot}(gamma*p).Comment: 14 pages, 7 eps figure

Beauty photoproduction at HERA: kt-factorization versus experimental data

We present calculations of the beauty photoproduction at HERA collider in the framework of the kt-factorization approach. Both direct and resolved photon contributions are taken into account. The unintegrated gluon densities in a proton and in a photon are obtained from the full CCFM, from unified BFKL-DGLAP evolution equations as well as from the Kimber-Martin-Ryskin prescription. We investigate different production rates (both inclusive and associated with hadronic jets) and compare our theoretical predictions with the recent experimental data taken by the H1 and ZEUS collaborations. Special attention is put on the x_{\gamma}^{obs} variable which is sensitive to the relative contributions to the beauty production cross section.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

Geometric Scaling in Inclusive Charm Production

We show that the cross section for inclusive charm production exhibits geometric scaling in a large range of photon virtualities. In the HERA kinematic domain the saturation momentum $Q_{sat}^2(x)$ stays below the hard scale $\mu_c^2=4m_c^2$, implying charm production probing mostly the color transparency regime and unitarization effects being almost negligible. We derive our results considering two saturation models which are able to describe the DESY ep collider HERA data for the proton structure function at small values of the Bjorken variable $x$. A striking feature is the scaling on $\tau=Q_2^2/Q_{sat}^2(x)$ above saturation limit, corroborating recent theoretical studies.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Version to be published in Physical Review Letter

A mechanism for the Double-Spin Asymmetry in Electromagnetic ρ\rho Production at HERMES

We calculate the contribution of meson and pomeron exchanges to the double-spin asymmetry in $\rho$-meson electromagnetic production at HERMES energies. We show that the observed double-spin asymmetries, which are large, can be explained by the interference between the natural parity $f_2$-secondary Reggeon and the unnatural parity anomalous $f_1$ exchanges.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Late