Non-Gaussian Correlations in the McLerran-Venugopalan Model

We argue that the statistical weight function W[rho] appearing in the McLerran-Venugopalan model of a large nucleus is intrinsically non-Gaussian, even if we neglect quantum corrections. Based on the picture where the nucleus of radius R consists of a collection of color-neutral nucleons, each of radius a<<R, we show that to leading order in alpha_s and a/R only the Gaussian part of W[rho] enters into the final expression for the gluon number density. Thus, the existing results in the literature which assume a Gaussian weight remain valid.Comment: 21 pages with 4 figures (revtex

Unitarization of the BFKL Pomeron on a Nucleus

We analyze the evolution equation describing all multiple hard pomeron exchanges in a hadronic or nuclear structure functions that was proposed earlier. We construct a perturbation series providing us with an exact solution to the equation outside of the saturation region. The series demonstrates how at moderately high energies the corrections to the single BFKL pomeron exchange contribution which are due to the multiple pomeron exchanges start unitarizing total deep inelastic scattering cross section. We show that as energy increases the scattering cross section of the quark-antiquark pair of a fixed transverse separation on a hadron or nucleus given by the solution of our equation inside of the saturation region unitarizes and becomes independent of energy. The corresponding F_2 structure function also unitarizes and becomes linearly proportional to ln s. We also discuss possible applications of the developed technique to diffraction.Comment: REVTeX, 20 pages, 6 figure

Quantum structure of the non-Abelian Weizsacker-Williams field for a very large nucleus

We consider the McLerran-Venugopalan model for calculation of the small-$x$ part of the gluon distribution function for a very large ultrarelativistic nucleus at weak coupling. We construct the Feynman diagrams which correspond to the classical Weizs\"{a}cker-Williams field found previously [Yu. V. Kovchegov, Phys. Rev. D 54, 5463 (1996)] as a solution of the classical equations of motion for the gluon field in the light-cone gauge. Analyzing these diagrams we obtain a limit for the McLerran-Venugopalan model. We show that as long as this limit is not violated a classical field can be used for calculation of scattering amplitudes.Comment: 13 pages, REVTeX, 9 figure

Quantum collisions of finite-size ultrarelativistic nuclei

We show that the boost variable, the conjugate to the coordinate rapidity, which is associated with the center-of-mass motion, encodes the information about the finite size of colliding nuclei in a Lorentz-invariant way. The quasi-elastic forward color-changing scattering between the quantum boost states rapidly grows with the total energy of the collision and leads to an active breakdown of the color coherence at the earliest moments of the collision. The possible physical implications of this result are discussed.Comment: 23 pages, RevTeX. New references and two figures added. Final version accepted for publication in Physical Review

Gluon Radiation and Coherent States in Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Collisions

We explore the correspondence between classical gluon radiation and quantum radiation in a coherent state for gluons produced in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions. The expectation value of the invariant momentum distribution of gluons in the coherent state is found to agree with the gluon number distribution obtained classically from the solution of the Yang-Mills equations. A criterion for the applicability of the coherent state formalism to the problem of radiation in ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is discussed. This criterion is found to be fulfilled for midrapidity gluons with perturbative transverse momenta larger than about 1-2 GeV and produced in collisions between valence partons.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX (with epsf, psfig style files

Parton Saturation-An Overview

The idea of partons and the utility of using light-cone gauge in QCD are introduced. Saturation of quark and gluon distributions are discussed using simple models and in a more general context. The Golec-Biernat W\usthoff model and some simple phenomenology are described. A simple, but realistic, equation for unitary, the Kovchegov equation, is discussed, and an elementary derivation of the JIMWLK equation is given.Comment: Cargese Lectures, 34 pages, 19 figure

Eikonal Evolution and Gluon Radiation

We give a simple quantum mechanical formulation of the eikonal propagation approximation, which has been heavily used in recent years in problems involving hadronic interactions at high energy. This provides a unified framework for several approaches existing in the literature. We illustrate this scheme by calculating the total, elastic, inelastic and diffractive DIS cross sections, as well as gluon production in high energy hadronic collisions. From the q-qbar-g-component of the DIS cross sections, we straightforwardly derive low x evolution equations for inelastic and diffractive DIS distribution functions. In all calculations, we provide all order 1/N corrections to the results existing in the literature.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps-figures, typos corrected, to be published in PR

Has HERA reached a new QCD regime?

These notes are a summary of our efforts to answer the question in the title. Our answer is in the affirmative as: (i) HERA data indicate a large value of the gluon structure function; (ii) no contradictions with the asymptotic predictions of high density QCD have been observed; and (iii) the numerical estimates of our model give a natural description of the size of deviation from the routine DGLAP explanation. We discuss the alternative approaches and possible new experiments.Comment: 29 pages, 37 figures in eps file