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Title: Linear polarization of gluons and photons in unpolarized collider experiments

Abstract

We study azimuthal asymmetries in heavy quark pair production in unpolarized electron-proton and proton-proton collisions, where the asymmetries originate from the linear polarization of gluons inside unpolarized hadrons. We provide cross section expressions and study the maximal asymmetries allowed by positivity, for both charm and bottom quark pair production. The upper bounds on the asymmetries are shown to be very large depending on the transverse momentum of the heavy quarks, which is promising especially for their measurements at a possible future Electron-Ion Collider or a Large Hadron electron Collider. We also study the analogous processes and asymmetries in muon pair production as a means to probe linearly polarized photons inside unpolarized protons. For increasing invariant mass of the muon pair the asymmetries become very similar to the heavy quark pair ones. Finally, we discuss the process dependence of the results that arises due to differences in color flow and address the problem with factorization in case of proton-proton collisions.

Authors:
; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1087917
Report Number(s):
SLAC-PUB-15688
Journal ID: ISSN 1029-8479; arXiv:1307.3417
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2013; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 1029-8479
Publisher:
Springer Berlin
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Experiment-HEP, Phenomenology-HEP,HEPPH, HEPEX

Citation Formats

Pisano, Cristian, Boer, Daniël, Brodsky, Stanley J., Buffing, Maarten G. A., and Mulders, Piet J. Linear polarization of gluons and photons in unpolarized collider experiments. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1007/JHEP10(2013)024.
Pisano, Cristian, Boer, Daniël, Brodsky, Stanley J., Buffing, Maarten G. A., & Mulders, Piet J. Linear polarization of gluons and photons in unpolarized collider experiments. United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2013)024
Pisano, Cristian, Boer, Daniël, Brodsky, Stanley J., Buffing, Maarten G. A., and Mulders, Piet J. 2013. "Linear polarization of gluons and photons in unpolarized collider experiments". United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2013)024. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1087917.
@article{osti_1087917,
title = {Linear polarization of gluons and photons in unpolarized collider experiments},
author = {Pisano, Cristian and Boer, Daniël and Brodsky, Stanley J. and Buffing, Maarten G. A. and Mulders, Piet J.},
abstractNote = {We study azimuthal asymmetries in heavy quark pair production in unpolarized electron-proton and proton-proton collisions, where the asymmetries originate from the linear polarization of gluons inside unpolarized hadrons. We provide cross section expressions and study the maximal asymmetries allowed by positivity, for both charm and bottom quark pair production. The upper bounds on the asymmetries are shown to be very large depending on the transverse momentum of the heavy quarks, which is promising especially for their measurements at a possible future Electron-Ion Collider or a Large Hadron electron Collider. We also study the analogous processes and asymmetries in muon pair production as a means to probe linearly polarized photons inside unpolarized protons. For increasing invariant mass of the muon pair the asymmetries become very similar to the heavy quark pair ones. Finally, we discuss the process dependence of the results that arises due to differences in color flow and address the problem with factorization in case of proton-proton collisions.},
doi = {10.1007/JHEP10(2013)024},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1087917}, journal = {Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)},
issn = {1029-8479},
number = 10,
volume = 2013,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}