Abstract
We show how exclusive vector meson production off light ions can be used to probe the spatial distribution of small-$x$ gluons in the deuteron and $^3$He wave functions. In particular, we demonstrate how short range repulsive nucleon-nucleon interactions affect the predicted coherent $J/\Psi$ production spectra. Fluctuations of the nucleon substructure are shown to have a significant effect on the incoherent cross section above $|t|\gtrsim 0.2\,\mathrm{GeV}^2$. By explicitly performing the JIMWLK evolution, we predict the $x$-dependence of coherent and incoherent cross sections in the EIC energy range. Besides the increase of the average size of the nucleus with decreasing $x$, both the growth of the nucleons and subnucleonic hot spots are visible in the cross sections. The decreasing length scale of color charge fluctuations with decreasing $x$ is also present, but may not be observable for $|t|<1\,\mathrm{GeV}^2$, if subnucleonic spatial fluctuations are present.
Highlights
Electron-proton and electron-nucleus collisions can be used to precisely probe the internal structure and dynamics of protons and nuclei
We show how exclusive vector meson production off light ions can be used to probe the spatial distribution of small-x gluons in the deuteron and 3He wave functions
We presented predictions for exclusive J/ photoproduction in the electron-ion collider (EIC) kinematics with deuteron and helium-3 targets
Summary
Electron-proton and electron-nucleus collisions can be used to precisely probe the internal structure and dynamics of protons and nuclei. Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) measurements of electrons on protons, performed at HERA, in which the electron emits a virtual photon which scatters off the target proton, have provided a detailed picture of the internal quark and gluon structure of the proton [1,2]. The authors argued that the spatial distribution of small-x gluons in the proton fluctuates event by event This is evident from studying exclusive vector meson production. To access the fundamental information on the small-x gluon structure in light nuclei, as well as to provide input to models aimed at describing deuteron-gold and helium-gold collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) [17,18,19], one needs new measurements possible at a future electron-ion collider (EIC) [20]. In this work we study the EIC’s potential to constrain the spatial distribution of small-x gluons in light nuclei via measurements of exclusive vector meson production.
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