Proton Structure Research Articles

Methodological and Conceptual Progresses in Studies on the Latent Tracks in PADC.

Modified structure along latent tracks and track formation process have been investigated in poly (allyl diglycol carbonate), PADC, which is well recognized as a sensitive etched track detector. This knowledge is essential to develop novel detectors with improved track registration property. The track structures of protons and heavy ions (He, C, Ne, Ar, Fe, Kr and Xe) have been examined by means of FT-IR spectrometry, covering the stopping power region between 1.2 to 12,000 eV/nm. Through a set of experiments on low-LET radiations—such as gamma ray-, multi-step damage process by electron hits was confirmed in the radiation-sensitive parts of the PADC repeat-unit. From this result, we unveiled for the first-time the layered structure in tracks, in relation with the number of secondary electrons. We also proved that the etch pit was formed when at least two repeat-units were destroyed along the track radial direction. To evaluate the number of secondary electrons around the tracks, a series of numerical simulations were performed with Geant4-DNA. Therefore, we are proposing new physical criterions to describe the detection thresholds. Furthermore, we propose a present issue of the definition of detection threshold for semi-relativistic C ions. Additionally, as a possible chemical criterion, formation density of hydroxyl group is suggested to express the response of PADC.

Resonant contributions to inclusive nucleon structure functions from exclusive meson electroproduction data

Nucleon resonance contributions to the inclusive proton ${F}_{2}$ and ${F}_{L}$ structure functions are computed from resonance electroexcitation amplitudes in the mass range up to 1.75 GeV extracted from CLAS exclusive meson electroproduction data, taking into account interference between different excited nucleon states. The resonance contributions are compared with inclusive proton structure functions evaluated from $(e,{e}^{\ensuremath{'}}X)$ cross section data and the longitudinal to transverse cross section ratio. Contributions from isospin-1/2 and -3/2 resonances remain substantial over the entire range of photon virtualities ${Q}^{2}\ensuremath{\lesssim}4\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$, where their electroexcitation amplitudes have been obtained, and their ${Q}^{2}$ evolution displays pronounced differences in the first, second, and third resonance regions. We compare the structure functions in the resonance region with those computed from parton distributions fitted to deep-inelastic scattering data, and extrapolated to the resonance region, providing new quantitative assessments of quark-hadron duality in inclusive electron-proton scattering.

Color charge correlations in the proton at NLO: Beyond geometry based intuition

Color charge correlators provide fundamental information about the proton structure. In this Letter, we evaluate numerically two-point color charge correlations in a proton on the light cone including the next-to-leading order corrections due to emission or exchange of a perturbative gluon. The non-perturbative valence quark structure of the proton is modelled in a way consistent with high-x proton structure data. Our results show that the correlator exhibits startlingly non-trivial behavior at large momentum transfer or central impact parameters, and that the color charge correlation depends not only on the impact parameter but also on the relative transverse momentum of the two gluon probes and their relative angle. Furthermore, from the two-point color charge correlator, we compute the dipole scattering amplitude. Its azimuthal dependence differs significantly from a impact parameter dependent McLerran-Venugopalan model based on geometry. Our results also provide initial conditions for Balitsky-Kovchegov evolution of the dipole scattering amplitude. These initial conditions depend not only on the impact parameter and dipole size vectors, but also on their relative angle and on the light-cone momentum fraction x in the target.

ATR-FTIR Spectroelectrochemical Study on the Mechanism of the pH Dependence of the Redox Potential of the Non-Heme Iron in Photosystem II.

The non-heme iron that bridges the two plastoquinone electron acceptors, QA and QB, in photosystem II (PSII) is known to have a redox potential (Em) of ∼+400 mV with a pH dependence of ∼-60 mV/pH. However, titratable amino acid residues that are coupled to the redox reaction of the non-heme ion and responsible for its pH dependence remain unidentified. In this study, to clarify the mechanism of the pH dependent change of Em(Fe2+/Fe3+), we investigated the protonation structures of amino acid residues correlated with the pH-induced Em(Fe2+/Fe3+) changes using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroelectrochemistry combined with the attenuated total reflection (ATR) and light-induced difference techniques. Flash-induced Fe2+/Fe3+ ATR-FTIR difference spectra obtained at different electrode potentials in the pH range of 5.0-8.5 showed a linear pH dependence of Em(Fe2+/Fe3+) with a slope of -52 mV/pH close to the theoretical value at 10 °C, the measurement temperature. The spectral features revealed that D1-H215, a ligand to the non-heme iron interacting with QB, was deprotonated to an imidazolate anion at higher pH with a pKa of ∼5.6 in the Fe3+ state, while carboxylate groups from Glu/Asp residues present on the stromal side of PSII were protonated at lower pH with a pKa of ∼5.7 in the Fe2+ state. It is thus concluded that the deprotonation/protonation reactions of D1-H215 and Glu/Asp residues located near the non-heme iron cause the pH-dependent changes in Em(Fe2+/Fe3+) at higher and lower pH regions, respectively, realizing a linear pH dependence over a wide pH range.

Multivariate Sulfonic-Based Titanium Metal-Organic Frameworks as Super-protonic Conductors.

The proton-conducting performances of a microporous Ti-based metal-organic framework (MOF), MIP-207, were successfully tuned using a multicomponent ligand replacement strategy to gradually introduce a controlled amount of sulfonic acid groups as a source of Brönsted acidic sites while keeping the robustness and ecofriendly synthesis conditions of the starting material. Typically, multivariate sulfonic-based solids MIP-207-(SO3H-IPA)x-(BTC)1-x were prepared by combining various ratios of trimesate 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) moieties and 5-SO3H-isophthalate (SO3H-IPA). The best sulfonic-MOF candidate that combines structural integrity with high proton conductivity values (e.g., σ = 2.6 × 10-2 S cm-1 at 363 K/95% relative humidity) was further investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. These calculations supported that the -SO3H groups act as proton donors and revealed that the proton transfer mechanism results from the solvation structure of protons through the fast Zundel/hydronium interconversion along the continuous H-bonded network connecting the adsorbed water molecules.

An evaluation of the proton structure functions F2 and FL at small x

We describe the determination of the DIS structure functions F2 and FL by using the singlet Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi (DGLAP) and Altarelli-Martinelli equations at small values of x. The determination of the longitudinal structure function is presented as a parameterization of F2(x,Q2) and its derivative. Analytical expressions for σr(x,Q2) in terms of the effective parameters of the parameterization of F2(x,Q2) and FL(x,Q2) are presented. This analysis is enriched by including the higher-twist effects in calculation of the reduced cross sections which is important at low-x and low-Q2 regions. Numerical calculations and comparison with H1 data demonstrate that the suggested method provides reliable FL(x,Q2) and σr(x,Q2) at low x in a wide range of the low absolute four-momentum transfers squared (1.5 GeV2<Q2<120 GeV2) at moderate and high inelasticity. Expanding the method to low and ultra low values of x can be considered in the process analysis of new colliders. We compare the obtained longitudinal structure function with respect to the LHeC simulated uncertainties (Agostini et al. (2020) [4]) with the results from CT18 (Hou et al. (2021) [54]) parametrization model.

Measurement of the proton spin structure at long distances

Measuring the spin structure of protons and neutrons tests our understanding of how they arise from quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks of nuclear matter. At long distances the coupling constant of the strong interaction becomes large, requiring non-perturbative methods to calculate quantum chromodynamics processes, such as lattice gauge theory or effective field theories. Here we report proton spin structure measurements from scattering a polarized electron beam off polarized protons. The spin-dependent cross-sections were measured at large distances, corresponding to the region of low momentum transfer squared between 0.012 and 1.0 GeV$^2$. This kinematic range provides unique tests of chiral effective field theory predictions. Our results show that a complete description of the nucleon spin remains elusive, and call for further theoretical works, e.g. in lattice quantum chromodynamics. Finally, our data extrapolated to the photon point agree with the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule, a fundamental prediction of quantum field theory that relates the anomalous magnetic moment of the proton to its integrated spin-dependent cross-sections.

New fit of timelike proton electromagnetic formfactors from e+e− colliders

The data on the proton form factors in the time-like region from the BaBar, BESIII and CMD-3 Collaborations are examined to have coherent pieces of information on the proton structure. Oscillations in the annihilation cross section, previously observed, are determined with better precision. The moduli of the individual form factors, determined for the first time, their ratio and the angular asymmetry of the annihilation reaction $e^+e^-\to\bar p p$ are discussed. Fiits of the available data on the cross section, the effective form factor, and the form factor ratio, allow to propose a description of the electric and magnetic time-like form factors from the threshold up to the highest momenta.

Determination of the Interaction Term in Deuteron Nucleus

In this paper, the contribution of the interaction in the structure function of the deuteron is investigated. For this study we use two different methods, constituted nucleons model and the DGLAP evolution equations. We obtain the interaction term using calculated proton, neutron and deuteron structure functions. The extracted results are in agreement with experimental data. The results achieved from the DGLAP equations show better consequence with experimental data. Also the ratio $${{F_{2}^{d}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{F_{2}^{d}} {(F_{2}^{n} + F_{2}^{p})}}} \right. \kern-0em} {(F_{2}^{n} + F_{2}^{p})}}$$ is studied and compared with the experimental data and the deuteron correction factor.

Research progress of Dark Matter Particle Explorer

Quite a lot of astronomical and cosmological observations reveal that dark matter widely exists in our Universe. It occupies nearly 1/4 of the total energy budget of the Universe, and is about 5 times more abundant than the normal matter. The nature of dark matter is one of the most important fundamental questions of modern physics and astronomy. To probe dark matter particles is also highly competitive among many countries around the world. China has launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE; also known as “Wukong”) to indirectly detect dark matter via high-precision observations of high-energy electrons and gamma-rays. As a high-energy particle detector, the DAMPE data can also be useful for probing the origin and propagation of cosmic rays, which is another century-long problem, and the energetic activities of extreme objects such as black holes and neutron stars. DAMPE has the highest energy resolution for electron and gamma-ray measurements, and the highest electron-proton discrimination capability above TeV energies. Using the data recorded by DAMPE, we obtain by far the most precise measurements of the spectra of cosmic ray electrons and protons, and reveal new spectral features which were not discovered or clarified before. For the total electron plus positron spectrum, the DAMPE result covers an energy range of 25 GeV–4. 6 TeV, which reaches the highest energy among all the space direct detections. A spectral hardening around 50 GeV, and a softening around 0.9 TeV have been revealed by DAMPE. Some hint of fine structures of the spectrum is also shown which requires more data for confirmation or exclusion. The spectral features of the DAMPE electron plus positron spectrum have very interesting and important implications on the origin and distribution of high-energy electron sources. Particularly, the 0.9 TeV break may reveal the fact that sources of TeV electrons distribute discretely in the Galaxy. The energy range coverage of the DAMPE proton spectrum is from 40 GeV to 100 TeV. For the first time, DAMPE measures the proton spectrum up to 100 TeV with a high statistics. Besides the hundreds of GeV spectral hardening, the DAMPE measurement further reveals a clear spectral softening around 14 TeV. The softening feature of the proton spectrum may be an imprint of nearby cosmic ray acceleration sources. Alternatively, the spectral structures of protons may be due to the superposition of multiple source populations. High-energy gamma-rays have also been robustly identified from the DAMPE data. The analysis shows the detection of luminous diffuse emission from the Galactic plane and nearly 250 pointlike sources in the gamma-ray sky, most of which are active galactic nuclei and pulsars. The DAMPE results offer important data in constraining/understanding the properties of dark matter and cosmic rays. We review the design, operation and data analysis of DAMPE in this work, with a focus on the analyses of spectra of cosmic ray electrons and protons.

Parton Density Uncertainties and the Determination of Electroweak Parameters at Hadron Colliders.

We discuss the determination of electroweak parameters from hadron collider observables, focusing on the W-boson mass measurement. We revise the procedures adopted in the literature to include in the experimental analysis the uncertainty due to our imperfect knowledge of the proton structure. We show how the treatment of the proton parton density functions' (PDFs') uncertainty as a source of systematic error leads to the automatic inclusion in the fit of the bin-bin correlation of the kinematic distributions with respect to PDF variations. In the case of the determination of M_{W} from the charged lepton transverse momentum distribution, we observe that the inclusion of this correlation factor yields a strong reduction of the PDF uncertainty, given a sufficiently good control over all the other error sources. This improvement depends on a systematic accounting of the features of the QCD-based PDF model, and it is achieved by relying only on the information available in current PDF sets. While a realistic quantitative estimate requires taking into account the details of the experimental systematics, we argue that, in perspective, the proton PDF uncertainty will not be a bottleneck for precision measurements.

Examining the EMC effect using the F2n neutron structure function

The persistently mysterious deviations from unity of the ratio of nuclear target structure functions to those of deuterium as measured in deep inelastic scattering (often termed the "EMC Effect") have become the canonical observable for studies of nuclear medium modifications to free nucleon structure in the valence regime. The structure function of the free proton is well known from numerous experiments spanning decades. The free neutron structure function, however, has remained difficult to access. Recently it has been extracted in a systematic study of the global data within a parton distribution function extraction framework and is available from the CTEQ-Jefferson Lab (CJ) Collaboration. Here, we leverage the latter to introduce a new method to study the EMC Effect in nuclei by re-examining existing data in light of the the magnitude of the medium modifications to the free neutron and proton structure functions independently. From the extraction of the free neutron from world data, it is possible to examine the nuclear effects in deuterium and their contribution to our interpretation of the EMC Effect. In this study, we observe that the ratio of the deuteron to the sum of the free neutron and proton structure functions has some $x_{B}$ and $Q^{2}$ dependencies that impact the magnitude of the EMC Effect as typically observed. Specifically, different EMC slopes are obtained when data from different $x_{B}$ and $Q^{2}$ values are utilized. While a linear correlation persists between the EMC and short range correlation effects, the slope is modified when deuteron nuclear effects are removed.

Improved proton conductivity and structure stability of an SPEEK/SPPS blend membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries

The excellent cycle efficiency in the SPEEK/SPPS-15% membrane demonstrates that the incorporation of SPPS effectively regulates the membrane structure and ensures stable proton transport channels.

Site-selective soft X-ray absorption as a tool to study protonation and electronic structure of gas-phase DNA.

The conformation and the electronic structure of gas-phase oligonucleotides depends strongly on the protonation site. 5'-d(FUAG) can either be protonated at the A-N1 or at the G-N7 position. We have stored protonated 5'-d(FUAG) cations in a cryogenic ion trap held at about 20 K. To identify the protonation site and the corresponding electronic structure, we have employed soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the nitrogen K-edge. The obtained spectra were interpreted by comparison to time-dependent density functional theory calculations using a short-range exchange correlation functional. Despite the fact that guanine has a significantly higher proton affinity than adenine, the agreement between experiment and theory is better for the A-N1 protonated system. Furthermore, an inverse site sensitivity is observed in which the yield of the nucleobase fragments that contain the absorption site appears substantially reduced, which could be explained by non-statistical fragmentation processes, localized on the photoabsorbing nucleobase.

Future Tests of Parton Distributions

We discuss a test of the generalization power of the methodology used in the determination of parton distribution functions (PDFs). The "future test" checks whether the uncertainty on PDFs, in regions in which they are not constrained by current data, are compatible with future data. The test is performed by using the current optimized methodology for PDF determination, but with a limited dataset, as available in the past, and by checking whether results are compatible within uncertainty with the result found using a current more extensive dataset. We use the future test to assess the generalization power of the NNPDF4.0 unpolarized PDF and the NNPDFpol1.1 polarized PDF methodology. Specifically, we investigate whether the former would predict the rise of the unpolarized proton structure function $F_2$ at small $x$ using only pre HERA data, and whether the latter would predict the so-called "proton spin crisis" using only pre-EMC data.

Role of the chiral anomaly in polarized deeply inelastic scattering: Finding the triangle graph inside the box diagram in Bjorken and Regge asymptotics

We revisit the role of the chiral "triangle" anomaly in deeply inelastic scattering (DIS) of electrons off polarized protons employing a powerful worldline formalism. We demonstrate how the triangle anomaly appears at high energies in the DIS box diagram for the polarized proton structure function $g_1(x_B,Q^2)$ in both the Bjorken limit of large $Q^2$ and in the Regge limit of small $x_B$. We show that the operator product expansion is not required to extract the anomaly in either asymptotics though it is sufficient in the Bjorken limit. Likewise, the infrared pole in the anomaly arises in both limits. The leading contribution to $g_1$, in both Bjorken and Regge asymptotics, is therefore given by the expectation value of the topological charge density, generalizing a result previously argued by Jaffe and Manohar to hold for the first moment of $g_1$. In follow-up work, we will show how our results motivate the derivation of a helicity-dependent effective action incorporating the physics of the anomaly at small $x_B$ and shall discuss the QCD evolution of $g_1(x_B,Q^2)$ in this framework.

Determination of the proton charge radius from the study of the hydrogen S-energy levels

On the basis of quasipotential method in quantum electrodynamics, the energy interval (3S – 1S) in muonic hydrogen is calculated. The corrections of orders α 3, α 4, α 5, α 6 are taken into account, which are determined by relativistic effects, the effects of vacuum polarization, nuclear structure and recoil, as well as combined corrections. In the leading order proton structure effects are expressed in terms of the charge radius of the proton. In the case of two-photon exchange interaction proton structure corrections are determined by the proton electromagnetic form factors. The value of the energy interval (3S – 1S) can be used for comparison with future experimental data and determining the proton charge radius with greater accuracy.

The proton structure via double parton scattering

In this talk we present the results of the investigation on the so called double parton distribution functions (dPDFs), accessible quantities in high energy proton-proton and proton nucleus collisions, in double parton scattering processes (DPS). These new and almost unknown distributions encode information on how partons inside a proton are correlated among each other and represent a new tool to explore the three dimensional partonic structure of hadrons. In the present contribution, results of the calculations of dPFDs are presented also including phenomenological investigations on the impact of double correlations in experimental observables, showing how the latter could be observed in the next LHC run. In addition we discuss how present information on experimental observables could be related to the transverse proton structure.

The study of the gluon distribution function and reduced cross section behavior using the proton structure function

The behavior of the gluon distribution function and the reduced cross section considered from the proton structure function and its derivatives at low values of x. These behaviors studied and compared with the experimental data. These results are augmented by including an additional higher-twist term in the description of the nonlinear correction. This additional term, modified nonlinear correction, improves the description of the reduced cross sections significantly at low values of Q2. We discuss, furthermore, how this behavior can be determine the reduced cross section with respect to the proton parameterization at high-y values. The resulting predictions for σr suggest that further corrections are required for Q2 less than about 3GeV2.

Proton structure functions from an AdS/QCD model with a deformed background

In this work we study unpolarized spin $1/2$ baryonic deep inelastic scattering (DIS) in the regime of large Bjorken parameter $x$. We calculate the corresponding structure functions $F_{1,2}(x,q^2)$. Our approach is based on an AdS/QCD model with a deformed background, where we consider an exponential factor in the AdS$_5$ metric. Such a deformation implies the introduction of an anomalous dimension in the model. Our results for the structure functions are consistent with those found in the literature from experimental data.