Kinematics for the nuclear Drell-Yan process

Abstract

Nuclear Drell-Yan cross sections are presented as convolutions of the nucleon Drell-Yan cross sections with the nucleon density distribution function. The detailed kinematics relating the projectile-nucleus with the projectile-nucleon cross sections are obtained using the fact that Drell-Yan cross sections are expressed in the centre-of-mass system. The independent variables in the projectile-nucleon system are shown to be dependent on the integral variable of the convolution formalism, thus leading to the convolution of the differential cross sections instead of the convolution of the target quark distribution function. A detailed examination of the results shows a substantial nuclear effect on the cross sections.