Descripción: We perform a detailed study of the consistency between different sets of polarized deep inelastic scattering data and theory, from the standpoint of a next to leading order QCD global analysis, and following the criteria proposed by Collins and Pumplin. In face of recent suggestions that challenge the usual assumption about parent parton spin independence of unpolarized fragmentation functions, we specially focus on polarized semi-inclusive data.

Descripción: We present a quantitative assessment of the impact a future electron-ion collider will have on determinations of helicity quark and gluon densities and their contributions to the proton spin. Our results are obtained by performing a series of global QCD analyses at next-to-leading order accuracy based on realistic sets of pseudo-data for the inclusive and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons and protons at different, conceivable center-of-mass system energies. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Descripción: We compute the order αs2 corrections to the one particle inclusive electroproduction cross section of hadrons with non vanishing transverse momentum. We compare our results with H1 data on forward production of π0, and conclude that the data is well described by the DGLAP approach. within the theoretical uncertainties. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: We present results on the quark and gluon polarization in the nucleon obtained in a combined next to leading order analysis to the available inclusive and semi-inclusive polarized deep inelastic scattering data. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: We investigate the potential impact of forthcoming Jefferson Lab semi-inclusive polarized deep inelastic scattering proton measurements in the determination of the sea quark polarization in the nucleons by means of a next to leading order global QCD analysis. Specifically, we estimate the resulting improvement in the constraints on polarized parton densities for different flavors, which is found to be significant for up and strange quarks, and the correlation between remaining uncertainty ranges for each of the parton species.

Descripción: We analyze the order α2 s corrections to the single inclusive jet and hadron cross sections in lepton-nucleon deep inelastic scattering. The full calculations are done analytically, obtaining finite NLO partonic level cross sections for these processes. We show that in both cases the dominant partonic mechanism starts at order α2 s, being effectively a lowest order estimate, with the consequent large factorization scale uncertainty, and the likelihood of non-negligible corrections at the subsequent order in perturbation theory.

Descripción: Fragmentation functions for eta mesons are extracted at next-to-leading order accuracy of QCD in a global analysis of data taken in electron-positron annihilation and proton-proton scattering experiments. The obtained parametrization is in good agreement with all data sets analyzed and can be utilized, for instance, in future studies of double-spin asymmetries for single-inclusive eta production. The Lagrange multiplier technique is used to estimate the uncertainties of the fragmentation functions and to assess the role of the different data sets in constraining them. © 2011 American Physical Society.

Descripción: We present a new global QCD analysis of nuclear parton distribution functions and their uncertainties. In addition to the most commonly analyzed data sets for the deep-inelastic scattering of charged leptons off nuclei and Drell-Yan dilepton production, we include also measurements for neutrino-nucleus scattering and inclusive pion production in deuteron-gold collisions. The analysis is performed at next-to-leading order accuracy in perturbative QCD in a general mass variable flavor number scheme, adopting a current set of free nucleon parton distribution functions, defined accordingly, as reference. The emerging picture is one of consistency, where universal nuclear modification factors for each parton flavor reproduce the main features of all data without any significant tension among the different sets. We use the Hessian method to estimate the uncertainties of the obtained nuclear modification factors and examine critically their range of validity in view of the sparse kinematic coverage of the present data. We briefly present several applications of our nuclear parton densities in hard nuclear reactions at BNL-RHIC, CERN-LHC, and a future electron-ion collider. © 2012 American Physical Society.