Spin-dependent structure functions of real and virtual photons

Abstract

The implications of the positivity constraint, $|g_1^{\gamma(P^2)}(x,Q^2)| \leq F_1^{\gamma(P^2)}(x,Q^2)$, on the presently unknown spin--dependent structure function $g_1^{\gamma(P^2)}(x,Q^2)$ of real and virtual photons are studied at scales $Q^2\gg P^2$ where longitudinally polarized photons dominate physically relevant cross sections. In particular it is shown how to implement the physical constraints of positivity and continuity at $P^2=0$ in NLO calculations which afford a nontrivial choice of suitable (DIS) factorization schemes related to $g_1^{\gamma}$ and $F_1^{\gamma}$ and appropriate boundary conditions for the polarized parton distributions of real and virtual photons. The predictions of two extreme `maximal' and `minimal' saturation scenarios are presented and compared with results obtained within the framework of a simple quark `box' calculation expected to yield reasonable estimates in the not too small regions of $x$ and $P^2$.