Quasi Parton Distribution Functions Research Articles

Quasiparton distributions in massive QED2: Toward quantum computation

We analyze the quasiparton distributions of the lightest η′ meson in massive two-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED2) by exact diagonalization. The Hamiltonian and boost operators are mapped onto spin qubits in a spatial lattice with open boundary conditions. The lowest excited state in the exact diagonalization is shown to interpolate continuously between an anomalous η′ state at strong coupling, and a nonanomalous heavy meson at weak coupling, with a cusp at the critical point. The boosted η′ state follows relativistic kinematics but with large deviations in the luminal limit. The spatial quasiparton distribution function and amplitude for the η′ state are computed numerically for increasing rapidity both at strong and weak coupling, and compared to the exact light front results. The numerical results from the boosted form of the spatial parton distributions, compare fairly with the inverse Fourier transformation of the luminal parton distributions, derived in the lowest Fock space approximation. Our analysis points out some of the limitations facing the current lattice program for the parton distributions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Light-cone and quasigeneralized parton distributions in the ’t Hooft model

We present a comprehensive study of the light-cone generalized parton distribution (GPD) and quasi-GPD of a flavor-neutral meson in the ’t Hooft model, i.e., two-dimensional QCD (QCD2) in the Nc→∞ limit. With the aid of the Hamiltonian approach, we construct the light-cone GPD in terms of the meson’s light-cone wave function in the framework of light-front quantization and express the quasi-GPD in terms of the meson’s Bars-Green wave functions and the chiral angle in the framework of equal-time quantization. We show that, both analytically and numerically, the quasi-GPD does approach the light-cone GPD when the meson is boosted to the infinite momentum frame, which justifies the tenet underlying the large momentum effective theory for the off-forward parton distribution. Upon taking the forward limit, the light-cone and quasi-GPDs reduce to the light-cone and quasi parton distribution functions (quasi-PDFs). As a bonus, we take this chance to correct the incomplete expression of the quasi-PDFs in the ’t Hooft model reported in our preceding work [Y. Jia , ]. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Towards double parton distributions from first principles using Large Momentum Effective Theory

In double parton scattering (DPS), two partonic collisions take place between one pair of colliding hadrons. The effect of DPS can be significant for precision measurements due to the additional radiation from secondary partonic collisions, and especially for specific processes such as same-sign WW production. Its effect is usually included through Monte Carlo parton showers. In a factorization approach to DPS, the initial state is described by double parton distributions (DPDs). These are currently poorly constrained by experiment, but provide a view on interesting correlations between partons in the hadron. Here we show that the Large Momentum Effective Theory approach can be applied to DPDs. Specifically, we present a general matching relation between DPDs and lattice-calculable quasi-DPDs for general flavor, spin and color structures. We furthermore calculate the one-loop matching coefficients for the quark-quark DPDs, verifying that the infrared logarithms and divergences cancel in the matching. While we restrict to the flavor-non-singlet case, we do take color and spin correlations into account. Interestingly, quasi-DPDs combines nontrivial features from both the collinear and transverse momentum dependent quasi-parton distribution functions. This represents a first step in extending the quasi-PDF approach to DPDs, opening up a new way to constrain these distributions using lattice QCD.

What can we learn about twist-2 GPDs through quasi-distributions?

Studying light-cone PDFs through Euclidean correlators is currently of high interest. In particular, quasi parton distribution functions (quasi-PDFs) have attracted a lot of attention. Quasi-PDFs converge to their respective standard distributions if the hadron momentum goes to infinity. We explore the quasi-distribution approach for twist-2 generalized parton distributions (GPDs) in the conventional diquark spectator model. Our analytical expressions of the quasi-GPDs reduce to their corresponding standard ones in the large-momentum limit, substantiating them to be practical tools to predict features of standard GPDs. We illustrate numerical results of quasi-GPDs and of quasi-PDFs. Our focus is to test how well the quasi distributions agree with their standard counterparts for finite hadron momenta. By discussing the sensitivity of our results to model parameters, we highlight robust features of the quasi-GPDs and quasi-PDFs that one may extract from this model study. We also consider moments of quasi distributions.

Master integrals for two-loop QCD corrections to quark quasi PDFs

We compute the master integrals for the two-loop QCD corrections to quark quasi parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the large momentum effective theory (LaMET). With a proper canonical basis, we derive the analytical results for the three families of master integrals using the method of differential equations. The final expressions for the master integrals are given in terms of Goncharov polylogarithms. These results allow us to extract the two-loop short-distant matching coefficients between quark quasi and lightcone PDFs in LaMET, and are valuable to improve the determination of the nucleon PDFs from first principles in future.

Nucleon quasi-parton distributions in the large Nc limit

In this letter, we investigate the nucleon quasi-parton distribution functions in the chiral quark soliton model. We derive a set of sum-rules depending on the velocity of the nucleon and on the Dirac matrix defining the distribution functions. We present numerical results for the isosinglet unpolarized distribution, in which we find that the anti-quark distribution breaks the positivity condition at nucleon velocities of v≈0.99(PN≈7.0MN) and smaller. We found that, for the isosinglet unpolarized case, a large nucleon momentum is required for the quasi-parton distribution to get close enough to the usual parton distribution function.

Quasiparton distribution functions at NNLO: Flavor nondiagonal quark contributions

We present a next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) calculation of the quasiparton distribution functions (quasi-PDFs) in the large momentum effective theory (LaMET). We focus on the flavor nondiagonal quark-quark channel and demonstrate the LaMET factorization at the NNLO accuracy in the modified minimal subtraction scheme. The matching coefficient between the quasi-PDF and the light-cone PDF is derived. This provides a first step towards a complete NNLO analysis of quasi-PDFs and to better understand the nucleon structures from the first principle of QCD.

Quasiparton distribution function and quasigeneralized parton distribution of the pion in a spectator model

We study the leading-twist quasi parton distribution function (quasi-PDF) and quasigeneralized parton distribution (quasi-GPD) of the pion meson by using a spectator model. We consider the case where the quasifunctions are defined via inserting the matrix ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{z}$ in the spacial correlation functions. We obtain the analytical expressions for the quasi-PDF and quasi-GPD. The numerical results of the quasifunctions are calculated from the parameters obtained by fitting the model result to the known parametrization. Particularly, we investigate the hadron momentum dependence of the quasifunctions as well as compare the quasidistributions to the standard functions at different hadron momentum. We find that in the region $x>0.2$, the quasidistribution are similar to the standard distributions in size and shape when the hadron momentum is larger than 2 GeV. Our study thus supports the idea of using quasidistributions to obtain standard distributions.

Parton distributions from lattice data: the nonsinglet case

We revise the relation between Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) and matrix elements computable from lattice QCD, focusing on the quasi-Parton Distribution Functions (qPDFs) approach. We exploit the relation between PDFs and qPDFs in the case of the unpolarized isovector parton distribution to obtain a factorization formula relating the real and imaginary part of qPDFs matrix elements to specific nonsinglet distributions, and we propose a general framework to extract PDFs from the available lattice data, treating them on the same footing as experimental data. We implement the proposed approach within the NNPDF framework, and we study the potentiality of such lattice data in constraining PDFs, assuming some plausible scenarios to assess the unknown systematic uncertainties. We finally extract the two nonsinglet distributions involved in our analysis from a selection of the available lattice data.

Matching the meson quasidistribution amplitude in the RI/MOM scheme

The $x$-dependence of light-cone distribution amplitude (LCDA) can be directly calculated from a quasi distribution amplitude (DA) in lattice QCD within the framework of large-momentum effective theory (LaMET). In this paper, we study the one-loop renormalization of the quasi-DA in the regularization-independent momentum subtraction (RI/MOM) scheme. The renormalization factor for the quasi parton distribution function can be used to renormalize the quasi-DA provided that they are implemented on lattice and in perturbation theory in the same manner. We derive the one-loop matching coefficient that matches quasi-DA in the RI/MOM scheme onto LCDA in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme. Our result provides the crucial step to extract the LCDAs from lattice matrix elements of quasi-DAs.

Quasiparton distribution functions: Two-dimensional scalar and spinor QCD

We construct the quasi-parton distributions of mesons for two-dimensional QCD with either scalar or spinor quarks using the $1/N_c$ expansion. We show that in the infinite momentum limit, the parton distribution function is recovered in both leading and sub-leading order in $1/N_c$.

Unraveling high-energy hadron structures with lattice QCD

Parton distribution functions are key quantities for us to understand the hadronic structures in high-energy scattering, but they are difficult to calculate from lattice QCD. Recent years have seen fast development of the large-momentum effective theory which allows extraction of the x-dependence of parton distribution functions from a quasi-parton distribution function that can be directly calculated on lattice. The extraction is based on a factorization formula for the quasi-parton distribution function that has been derived rigorously in perturbation theory. A systematic procedure that includes renormalization, perturbative matching, and power corrections has been established to calculate parton distribution functions. Latest progress from lattice QCD has shown promising signs that it will become an effective tool for calculating parton physics.

Euclidean versus Minkowski short distance

In this note we reexamine the possibility of extracting parton distribution functions from lattice simulations. We discuss the case of quasi-parton distribution functions, the possibility of using the reduced Ioffe-time distributions and the more recent proposal of directly making reference to the computation of the current-current $T$-product. We show that in all cases the process of renormalization hindered by lattice momenta limitation represents an obstruction to a direct Euclidean calculation of the parton distribution function.

Partonic quasidistributions in two-dimensional QCD

As a sequel of our preceding work [1] we carry out a comprehensive comparative study between the quasi parton distribution functions (PDFs), distribution amplitudes (DAs) and their light-cone counterparts for various flavor-neutral mesons, in the context of the 't Hooft model, that is, the two-dimensional QCD in the large $N$ limit. In contrast to the original derivation via diagrammatic techniques exemplified by Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations, here we employ the Hamiltonian operator approach to reconstruct the celebrated 't Hooft equation in light-front quantization, and Bars-Green equations in equal-time quantization. The novelty of our derivation is to employ the soft momentum cutoff as the IR regulator. As a virtue of this operator approach, the functional form of the quasi distributions can be transparently built out of the Bars-Green wave functions and the Bogoliubov angle with the aid of bosonization technique. Equipped with various bound-state wave functions numerically inferred in [1], we then investigate how rapidly the quasi distributions approach their light-cone counterparts with the increasing meson momentum. We observe that, light mesons' quasi distributions approach the light-cone distributions in a slower pace than the heavy quarkonia. Curiously, lattice simulations of quasi distributions in four-dimensional QCD also discover this feature. Furthermore, we also compute the partonic light-cone PDF and quasi-PDF to one-loop order in perturbation theory, again employing the momentum cutoff as the IR regulator. We explicitly verify one of the backbones underlying the large momentum effective field theory (LaMET), namely, both quasi-PDFs and light-cone PDFs in ${\rm QCD}_2$ indeed possess the same IR behavior at leading order in $1/P^z$

Factorization theorem relating Euclidean and light-cone parton distributions

In a large-momentum nucleon state, the matrix element of a gauge-invariant Euclidean Wilson line operator accessible from lattice QCD can be related to the standard light-cone parton distribution function through the large-momentum effective theory (LaMET) expansion. This relation is given by a factorization theorem with a non-trivial matching coefficient. Using the operator product expansion we prove the large-momentum factorization of the quasi-parton distribution function in LaMET, and show that the more recently discussed Ioffe-time distribution approach also obeys an equivalent factorization theorem. Explicit results for the coefficients are obtained and compared at one-loop. Our proof clearly demonstrates that the matching coefficients in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme depend on the large partonic momentum rather than the nucleon momentum.

Gluon quasidistribution function at one loop

We study the unpolarized gluon quasidistribution function in the nucleon at one loop level in the large momentum effective theory. For the quark quasidistribution, power law ultraviolet divergences arise in the cut-off scheme and an important observation is that they all are subjected to Wilson lines. However for the gluon quasidistribution function, we first point out that the linear ultraviolet divergences also exist in the real diagram which is not connected to any Wilson line. We then study the one loop corrections to parton distribution functions in both cut-off scheme and dimensional regularization to deal with the ultraviolet divergences. In addition to the ordinary quark and gluon distributions, we also include the quark to gluon and gluon to quark splitting diagrams. The complete one-loop matching factors between the quasi and light cone parton distribution functions are presented in the cut-off scheme. We derive the P^z evolution equation for quasi parton distribution functions, and find that the P^z evolution kernels are identical to the DGLAP evolution kernels.

Effective description of hot QCD medium in strong magnetic field and longitudinal conductivity

Hot QCD medium effects have been studied in the effective quasi-particle description of quark-gluon plasma. This model encodes the collective excitation of gluons and quarks/anti-quarks in the thermal medium in terms of effective quarks and gluons having non-trivial energy dispersion relation. The present investigation involves the extension of the effective quasi-particle model in strong magnetic field limit. Realizing, hot QCD medium in the strong magnetic field as an effective grand canonical system in terms of the modified quark, anti-quark and gluonic degrees of freedom, the thermodynamics has been studied. Further, the Debye mass in hot QCD medium has to be sensitive to the magnetic field, and subsequently the same has been observed for the effective hot QCD coupling. As an implication, electrical conductivity (longitudinal) has been studied within an effective kinetic theory description of hot QCD in the presence of the strong magnetic field. The hot QCD equation of state (EoS), dependence entering through the effective coupling and quasi-parton distribution function, found to have a significant impact on the longitudinal electrical conductivity in strong magnetic field background.

Renormalizability of quasiparton distribution functions

Quasi-parton distribution functions have received a lot of attentions in both perturbative QCD and lattice QCD communities in recent years because they not only carry good information on the parton distribution functions, but also could be evaluated by lattice QCD simulations. However, unlike the parton distribution functions, the quasi-parton distribution functions have perturbative ultraviolet power divergences because they are not defined by twist-2 operators. In this paper, we identify all sources of ultraviolet divergences for the quasi-parton distribution functions in coordinate-space, and demonstrate that power divergences, as well as all logarithmic divergences can be renormalized multiplicatively to all orders in QCD perturbation theory.

Quasi parton distributions and the gradient flow

We propose a new approach to determining quasi parton distribution functions (PDFs) from lattice quantum chromodynamics. By incorporating the gradient flow, this method guarantees that the lattice quasi PDFs are finite in the continuum limit and evades the thorny, and as yet unresolved, issue of the renormalization of quasi PDFs on the lattice. In the limit that the flow time is much smaller than the length scale set by the nucleon momentum, the moments of the smeared quasi PDF are proportional to those of the lightfront PDF. We use this relation to derive evolution equations for the matching kernel that relates the smeared quasi PDF and the light-front PDF.

Reconstructing parton densities at large fractional momenta

Parton distribution functions (PDFs) are nonperturbative objects defined by nonlocal light-cone correlations. They cannot be computed directly from Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Using a standard lattice QCD approach, it is possible to compute moments of PDFs, which are matrix elements of local operators. Recently, an alternative approach has been proposed, based on the introduction of quasi-parton distribution functions (quasi-PDFs), which are matrix elements of equal-time spatial correlations and hence calculable on lattice. Quasi-PDFs approach standard PDFs in the limit of very large longitudinal proton momenta $P^z$. This limit is not attainable in lattice simulations, and quasi-PDFs fail to reproduce PDFs at high fractional longitudinal momenta. In this paper, we propose a method to improve the reconstruction of PDFs by combining information from quasi-PDFs and from the Mellin moments of regular PDFs. We test our method using the diquark spectator model for up and down valence distributions of both unpolarized and helicity PDFs. In the future, the method can be used to produce PDFs entirely based on lattice QCD results.