Dynamical next-to-next-to-leading order parton distributions and the perturbative stability of F_L(x,Q^2)

It is shown that the previously noted extreme perturbative instability of the longitudinal structure function F_L(x,Q^2) in the small Bjorken-$x$ region, is a mere artefact of the commonly utilized `standard' gluon distributions. In particular it is demonstrated that using the appropriate -- dynamically generated -- parton distributions at NLO and NNLO, F_L(x,Q^2) turns out to be perturbatively rather stable already for Q^2 $\geq$ O(2-3 GeV^2).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, to appear in the proceedings of 14th International QCD Conference (QCD08), Montpellier, France, 7-12 July 200

Linear polarization of gluons and Higgs plus jet production at the LHC

We show that the production of a Higgs boson in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions is sensitive to the linear polarization of gluons inside unpolarized protons. We present the analytical expressions, at leading order in perturbative QCD, for various transverse momentum dependent observables, which can be measured at the LHC. Since there are no experimental constraints on the linearly polarized gluon distribution, its effects are studied by adopting two different models. In particular, we find that the $\cos2\phi$ azimuthal asymmetry is a very promising observable because it could give access to the sign of this new distribution.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of XXIII International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering (DIS 2015), Dallas, Texas (USA), 27 April - May 1 201

The Curvature of F_2^p(x, Q^2) as a Probe of Perturbative QCD Evolutions in the small-x Region

Perturbative NLO and NNLO QCD evolutions of parton distributions are studied, in particular in the (very) small-x region, where they are in very good agreement with all recent precision measurements of F_2^p(x,Q^2). These predictions turn out to be also rather insensitive to the specific choice of the factorization scheme (MS or DIS). A characteristic feature of perturbative QCD evolutions is a positive curvature of F_2^p which increases as x decreases. This perturbatively stable prediction provides a sensitive test of the range of validity of perturbative QCD.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the XVth International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS07), Munich, Germany, April 16-20 200

Probing the transverse dynamics and polarization of gluons inside the proton at the LHC

Transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions encode fundamental information on the structure of the proton. Here we show how they can be accessed in heavy quarkonium production in proton-proton collisions at the LHC. In particular, their first determination could come from the study of an isolated J/psi or Upsilon particle, produced back to back with a photon.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 49th Rencontres de Moriond, QCD and High Energy Interactions, La Thuile (Italy), 22 - 29 March 201

Transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions at the LHC

Linearly polarized gluons inside an unpolarized proton contribute to the transverse momentum distributions of (pseudo)scalar particles produced in hadronic collisions, such as Higgs bosons and quarkonia with even charge conjugation ($\eta_c$, $\eta_b$, $\chi_{c0}$, $\chi_{b0}$). Moreover, they can produce azimuthal asymmetries in the associated production of a photon and a $J/\psi$ or a $\Upsilon$ particle, in a kinematic configuration in which they are almost back to back. These observables, which can be measured in the running experiments at the LHC, could lead to a first extraction of both the polarized and the unpolarized gluon distributions and allow for a study of their process and energy scale dependences.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the QCD Evolution Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, May 12-16 201

Green Bank Telescope observations of low column density HI around NGC 2997 and NGC 6946

Observations of ongoing HI accretion in nearby galaxies have only identified about 10% of the needed fuel to sustain star formation in these galaxies. Most of these observations have been conducted using interferometers and may have missed lower column density, diffuse, HI gas that may trace the missing 90% of gas. Such gas may represent the so-called "cold flows" predicted by current theories of galaxy formation to have never been heated above the virial temperature of the dark matter halo. As a first attempt to identify such cold flows around nearby galaxies and complete the census of HI down to N(HI)~10^18 cm^-2, I used the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to map the circumgalactic (r < 100-200 kpc) HI environment around NGC 2997 and NGC 6946. The resulting GBT observations cover a four square degree area around each galaxy with a 5-sigma detection limit of N(HI)~10^18 cm^-2 over a 20 km/s linewidth. This project complements absorption line studies, which are well-suited to the regime of lower N(HI). Around NGC 2997, the GBT HI data reveal an extended HI disk and all of its surrounding gas-rich satellite galaxies, but no filamentary features. Furthermore, the HI mass as measured with the GBT is only 7% higher than past interferometric measurements. After correcting for resolution differences, the HI extent of the galaxy is 23% larger at the N(HI)~1.2x10^18 cm^-2 level as measured by the GBT. On the other hand, the HI observations of NGC 6946 reveal a filamentary feature apparently connecting NGC 6946 with its nearest companions. This HI filament has N(HI)~10^18 cm^-2 and a FWHM of 55+-5 km/s and was invisible in past interferometer observations. The properties of this filament are broadly consistent with being a cold flow or debris from a past tidal interaction between NGC 6946 and its satellites.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A

Reply to ``Comment on `Majoron emitting neutrinoless double beta decay in the electroweak chiral gauge extensions' ''

We demonstrate that in the process of deducing the constraint on the electroweak mixing angle $\theta_{W}$ in our paper, we have indeed been working with three mass scales while implementing (331) model.Comment: Revtex, 3pages, Reply to hep-ph/9902448, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Impact of gluon polarization on Higgs plus jet production at the LHC

In this paper we consider Higgs plus jet production as a process that is sensitive to the linear polarization of gluons inside the unpolarized protons of the LHC. The leading order expressions for the transverse momentum distribution of the Higgs plus jet pair are provided in terms of transverse momentum dependent quark and gluon distributions. This includes both angular independent and azimuthal angular dependent contributions, presented directly in the laboratory frame. Lacking experimental constraints on the linearly polarized gluon distribution, we study its effects on Higgs plus jet production using two different models to illustrate the generic features and maximal effects. It is found that the $\cos 2 \phi$ distribution may be the most promising observable, as it is driven by only one initial linearly polarized gluon. The potential advantages of the Higgs plus jet process compared to other processes sensitive to the linear polarization of gluons are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures; final version to appear in Physical Review