Polarized photoproduction of heavy quarks in next-to-leading order

Abstract

The results of a next-to-leading order calculation of heavy quark production in longitudinally polarized photon-nucleon collisions are presented. At c.m. energy S =10 GeV, for γ+ p→c+X , cross sections differential in the transverse momentum and rapidity of the charmed quark c and the corresponding asymmetries are presented; also, as functions of S , integrated cross sections, K-factors and the corresponding asymmetries are given. Errors in the asymmetries are estimated and the possibility to distinguish between three scenarios differing essentially in the polarized gluon distribution is discussed.