Quark Orbital Angular Momentum Research Articles

Phase-space distributions and orbital angular momentum

We discuss the Wigner functions of the nucleon which provide multi-dimensional images of the quark distributions in phase space. They combine in a single picture all the information contained in the generalized parton distributions (GPDs) and the transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions (TMDs). In particular, we present results fo r the distribution of unpolarized quarks in a longitudinally polarized nucleon obtained in a light-c one constituent quark model. We show how quark orbital angular momentum can be extracted from these distributions and compare it with alternative definitions given in terms of the GPDs and th e TMDs.

The TMD program at CLAS and CLAS12

Transverse-momentum-dependent parton distributions (TMDs) are crucial ingredients for a complete understanding of the dynamics of confined par-tons. They allow for a 3-dimensional description of the nucleon in momentum space, and could provide insights into the yet unmeasured quark orbital angular momentum. At CLAS several TMDs are explored in Fourier analysis of azimuthal asymmetries measured in semi-inclusive DIS. An overview of the main CLAS results as well as selected CLAS12 projected results is presented.

Elastic and Transition Form Factors of the Δ(1232)

Predictions obtained with a confining, symmetry-preserving treatment of a vector-vector contact interaction at leading-order in a widely used truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations are presented for \Delta and \Omega baryon elastic form factors and the \gamma N -> \Delta transition form factors. This simple framework produces results that are practically indistinguishable from the best otherwise available, an outcome which highlights that the key to describing many features of baryons and unifying them with the properties of mesons is a veracious expression of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in the hadron bound-state problem. The following specific results are of particular interest. The \Delta elastic form factors are very sensitive to m_\Delta. Hence, given that the parameters which define extant simulations of lattice-regularised QCD produce \Delta-resonance masses that are very large, the form factors obtained therewith are a poor guide to properties of the \Delta(1232). Considering the \Delta-baryon's quadrupole moment, whilst all computations produce a negative value, the conflict between theoretical predictions entails that it is currently impossible to reach a sound conclusion on the nature of the \Delta-baryon's deformation in the infinite momentum frame. Results for analogous properties of the \Omega baryon are less contentious. In connection with the N->\Delta transition, the Ash-convention magnetic transition form factor falls faster than the neutron's magnetic form factor and nonzero values for the associated quadrupole ratios reveal the impact of quark orbital angular momentum within the nucleon and \Delta; and, furthermore, these quadrupole ratios do slowly approach their anticipated asymptotic limits.

Insights into theγ*N→Δtransition

The \gamma* N -> \Delta(1232) transition is a window on hadron shape deformation, the applicability of perturbative QCD at moderate momentum transfers, and the influence of nonperturbative phenomena on hadronic observables. We explain that the Ash-convention magnetic transition form factor must fall faster than the neutron's magnetic form factor and nonzero values for the associated quadrupole ratios reveal the impact of quark orbital angular momentum within the nucleon and \Delta(1232); and show that these quadrupole ratios do approach their predicted asymptotic limits, albeit slowly.

Parton orbital angular momentum and final state interactions

Definitions of orbital angular momentum based on Wigner distributions are used as a framework to discuss the connection between the Ji definition of the quark orbital angular momentum and that of Jaffe and Manohar.We find that the difference between these two definitions can be interpreted as the change in the quark orbital angular momentum as it leaves the target in a DIS experiment. The mechanism responsible for that change is similar to the mechanism that causes transverse single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering.

Double parton correlations in constituent quark models

Double parton correlations, having effects on the double parton scattering processes occurring in high-energy hadron-hadron collisions, for example at the LHC, are studied in the valence quark region, within constituent quark models. In this framework, two particle correlations are present without any additional prescription, at variance with what happens, for example, in independent particle models, such as the MIT bag model in its simplest version. From the present analysis, conclusions similar to the ones obtained recenty in a modified version of the bag model can be drawn: correlations in the longitudinal momenta of the active quarks are found to be sizable, while those in transverse momentum are much smaller. However, the used framework allows to understand clearly the dynamical origin of the correlations. In particular, it is shown that the small size of the correlations in transverse momentum is a model dependent result, which would not occur if models with sizable quark orbital angular momentum were used to describe the proton. Our analysis permits therefore to clarify the dynamical origin of the double parton correlations and to establish which, among the features of the results, are model independent. The possibility to test experimentally the studied effects is discussed.

Exclusive [formula omitted] muoproduction on transversely polarised protons and deuterons

The transverse target spin azimuthal asymmetry AUTsin(ϕ−ϕS) in hard exclusive production of ρ0 mesons was measured at COMPASS by scattering 160 GeV/c muons off transversely polarised protons and deuterons. The measured asymmetry is sensitive to the nucleon helicity-flip generalised parton distributions Eq, which are related to the orbital angular momentum of quarks in the nucleon. The Q2, xBj and pT2 dependence of AUTsin(ϕ−ϕS) is presented in a wide kinematic range: 1(GeV/c)2<Q2<10(GeV/c)2, 0.003<xBj<0.3 and 0.05(GeV/c)2<pT2<0.5(GeV/c)2 for protons or 0.10(GeV/c)2<pT2<0.5(GeV/c)2 for deuterons. Results for deuterons are obtained for the first time. The measured asymmetry is small in the whole kinematic range for both protons and deuterons, which is consistent with the theoretical interpretation that contributions from GPDs Eu and Ed approximately cancel.

More on the relation between the two physically inequivalent decompositions of the nucleon spin and momentum

In a series of papers, we have established the existence of two gauge-invariant decompositions of the nucleon spin, which are physically nonequivalent. The orbital angular momenta of quarks and gluons appearing in these two decompositions are gauge-invariant dynamical orbital angular momenta and "generalized" canonical orbital angular momenta with gauge-invariance, respectively. The key quantity, which characterizes the difference between these two types of orbital angular momenta is what-we-call the {\it potential angular momentum}. We argue that the physical meaning of the potential angular momentum in the nucleon can be made more transparent, by investigating a related but much simpler example from electrodynamics. We also make clear several remaining issues in the spin and momentum decomposition problem of the nucleon. We clarify the relationship between the evolution equations of orbital angular momenta corresponding to the two different decompositions above. We also try to answer the question whether the two different decompositions of the nucleon momentum really lead to different evolution equations, thereby predicting conflicting asymptotic values for the quark and gluon momentum fractions in the nucleon.

Quark orbital angular momentum from Wigner distributions and light-cone wave functions

We investigate the quark orbital angular momentum of the nucleon in the absence of gauge-field degrees of freedom, by using the concept of the Wigner distribution and the light-cone wave functions of the Fock-state expansion of the nucleon. The quark orbital angular momentum is obtained from the phase-space average of the orbital angular momentum operator weighted with the Wigner distribution of unpolarized quarks in a longitudinally polarized nucleon. We also derive the light-cone wave-function representation of the orbital angular momentum. In particular, we perform an expansion in the nucleon Fock-state space and decompose the orbital angular momentum into the $N$-parton state contributions. Explicit expressions are presented in terms of the light-cone wave functions of the three-quark Fock state. Numerical results for the up and down quark orbital angular momenta of the proton are shown in the light-cone constituent quark model and the light-cone chiral quark-soliton model.

Final analysis of proton form factor ratio data atQ2=4.0, 4.8, and 5.6 GeV2

Precise measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factor ratio $R = \mu_p G_E^p/G_M^p$ using the polarization transfer method at Jefferson Lab have revolutionized the understanding of nucleon structure by revealing the strong decrease of $R$ with momentum transfer $Q^2$ for $Q^2 \gtrsim 1$ GeV$^2$, in strong disagreement with previous extractions of $R$ from cross section measurements. In particular, the polarization transfer results have exposed the limits of applicability of the one-photon-exchange approximation and highlighted the role of quark orbital angular momentum in the nucleon structure. The GEp-II experiment in Jefferson Lab's Hall A measured $R$ at four $Q^2$ values in the range 3.5 GeV$^2 \le Q^2 \le 5.6$ GeV$^2$. A possible discrepancy between the originally published GEp-II results and more recent measurements at higher $Q^2$ motivated a new analysis of the GEp-II data. This article presents the final results of the GEp-II experiment, including details of the new analysis, an expanded description of the apparatus and an overview of theoretical progress since the original publication. The key result of the final analysis is a systematic increase in the results for $R$, improving the consistency of the polarization transfer data in the high-$Q^2$ region. This increase is the result of an improved selection of elastic events which largely removes the systematic effect of the inelastic contamination, underestimated by the original analysis.

The pretzelosity TMD and quark orbital angular momentum

We study the connection between the quark orbital angular momentum and the pretzelosity transverse-momentum dependent parton distribution function. We discuss the origin of this relation in quark models, identifying as key ingredient for its validity the assumption of spherical symmetry for the nucleon in its rest frame. Finally we show that the individual quark contributions to the orbital angular momentum obtained from this relation cannot be interpreted as the intrinsic contributions, but include the contribution from the transverse centre of momentum which cancels out only in the total orbital angular momentum.

Notes on the orbital angular momentum of quarks in the nucleon

We discuss the orbital angular momentum of partons inside a longitudinally polarized proton in the recently proposed framework of spin decomposition. The quark orbital angular momentum defined by Ji can be decomposed into the ‘canonical’ and the ‘potential’ angular momentum parts, both of which are represented as the matrix element of a manifestly gauge invariant operator.

WIGNER DISTRIBUTIONS AND QUARK ORBITAL ANGULAR MOMENTUM

We discuss the quark phase-space or Wigner distributions of the nucleon which combine in a single picture all the information contained in the generalized parton distributions and the transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions. In particular, we present results for the distribution of unpolarized quarks in a longitudinally polarized nucleon obtained in a light-front constituent quark model. We show how the quark orbital angular momentum can be extracted from the Wigner distributions and compare it with alternative definitions.

GPDs AND TMDs

For transversely polarized nucleons the distribution of quarks in the transverse plane is transversely shifted and that shift can be described in terms of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs). This observation provides a 'partonic' derivation of the Ji-relation for the quark angular momentum in terms of GPDs. Wigner distributions are used to show that the difference between the Jaffe-Manohar definiton of quark orbital angular momentum and that of Ji is equal to the change of orbital angular momentum due to the final state interactions as the struck quark leaves the target in a DIS experiment.

From quarks and gluons to baryon form factors

I briefly summarize recent results for nucleon and Δ(1232) electromagnetic, axial and transition form factors in the Dyson–Schwinger approach. The calculation of the current diagrams from the quark–gluon level enables a transparent discussion of common features such as: the implications of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and quark orbital angular momentum, the timelike structure of the form factors, and their interpretation in terms of missing pion-cloud effects.

Gluon polarization in the nucleon demystified

Recently, X. Chen et al. proposed a new approach to the gauge invariant decomposition of the nucleon spin into the helicity and orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons. The key ingredient in their construction is the separation of the gauge field into physical and ``pure gauge'' parts. We suggest a simple separation scheme and show that the resulting gluon helicity coincides with the first moment of the conventional polarized gluon distribution measurable in high energy experiments.

Quark Wigner distributions and orbital angular momentum

We study the Wigner functions of the nucleon which provide multidimensional images of the quark distributions in phase space. These functions can be obtained through a Fourier transform in the transverse space of the generalized transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions. They depend on both the transverse position and the three-momentum of the quark relative to the nucleon, and therefore combine in a single picture all the information contained in the generalized parton distributions and the transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions. We focus the discussion on the distributions of unpolarized/longitudinally polarized quark in an unpolarized/longitudinally polarized nucleon. In this way, we can study the role of the orbital angular momentum of the quark in shaping the nucleon and its correlations with the quark and nucleon polarizations. The quark orbital angular momentum is also calculated from its phase-space average weighted with the Wigner distribution of unpolarized quarks in a longitudinally polarized nucleon. The corresponding results obtained within different light-cone quark models are compared with alternative definitions of the quark orbital angular momentum, as given in terms of generalized parton distributions and transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions.

Transverse spin structure of the nucleon through target single-spin asymmetry in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic (e, e’ $ \pi^{\pm}_{}$ ) reaction at Jefferson Lab

Jefferson Lab (JLab) 12 GeV energy upgrade provides a golden opportunity to perform precision studies of the transverse spin and transverse-momentum-dependent structure in the valence quark region for both the proton and the neutron. In this paper, we focus our discussion on a recently approved experiment on the neutron as an example of the precision studies planned at JLab. The new experiment will perform precision measurements of target Single Spin Asymmetries (SSA) from semi-inclusive electro-production of charged pions from a 40-cm long transversely polarized $^3$He target in Deep-Inelastic-Scattering kinematics using 11 and 8.8 GeV electron beams. This new coincidence experiment in Hall A will employ a newly proposed solenoid spectrometer (SoLID). The large acceptance spectrometer and the high polarized luminosity will provide precise 4-D ($x$, $z$, $P_T$ and $Q^2$) data on the Collins, Sivers, and pretzelocity asymmetries for the neutron through the azimuthal angular dependence. The full 2$\pi$ azimuthal angular coverage in the lab is essential in controlling the systematic uncertainties. The results from this experiment, when combined with the proton Collins asymmetry measurement and the Collins fragmentation function determined from the e$^+$e$^-$ collision data, will allow for a quark flavor separation in order to achieve a determination of the tensor charge of the d quark to a 10% accuracy. The extracted Sivers and pretzelocity asymmetries will provide important information to understand the correlations between the quark orbital angular momentum and the nucleon spin and between the quark spin and nucleon spin.

Lattice QCD Calculations of Hadron Structure: Status and Perspectives

The last years have seen significant advances in hadron structure calculations in lattice QCD. While extrapolations to the physical point and direct comparisons with experiment are still very challenging, lattice calculations provide already very valuable insights into a number of fundamental physics questions related to, e.g., the distribution of charge and momentum inside hadrons and the nucleon spin structure. To illustrate the recent achievements, we present and discuss latest lattice results for a small number of observables related to nucleon form factors and generalized parton distributions. We also present a study of the decomposition of the nucleon spin 1/2 in terms of quark spin and orbital angular momentum contributions. We briefly discuss results and limitations of the relevant chiral fits and extrapolations.

Orbital structure of quarks inside the nucleon in the light-cone diquark model

We study the orbital angular momentum structure of the quarks inside the proton. By employing the light-cone diquark model and the overlap representation formalism, we calculate the chiral-even generalized parton distribution functions (GPDs) $H_q(x,\xi,\Delta^2)$, $\widetilde{H}_q(x,\xi,\Delta^2)$ and $E_q(x,\xi,\Delta^2)$ at zero skewedness for $q=u$ and $d$ quarks. In our model $E_u$ and $E_d$ have opposite sign with similar size. Those GPDs are applied to calculate the orbital angular momentum (OAM) distributions, showing that $L_u(x)$ is positive, while $L_d(x)$ is consistent with zero compared with $L_u(x)$. We introduce the impact parameter dependence of the quark OAM distribution. It describes the position space distribution of the quark orbital angular momentum at given $x$. We found that the impact parameter dependence of the quark OAM distribution is axially symmetric in the light-cone diquark model.