A glimpse of gluons through deeply virtual compton scattering on the proton

M. Defurne (1) , A. Martí Jiménez-Argüello (2) , Z. Ahmed , H. Albataineh , K. Allada , K.A. Aniol , V. Bellini , M. Benali (3) , W. Boeglin , P. Bertin (3) , M. Brossard (3) , A. Camsonne , M. Canan , S. Chandavar , C. Chen , J.-P. Chen , C.W. de Jager , R. de Leo , C. Desnault (2) , A. Deur , L. El Fassi , R. Ent , D. Flay , M. Friend , E. Fuchey (1, 3) , S. Frullani , F. Garibaldi , D. Gaskell , A. Giusa , O. Glamazdin , S. Golge , J. Gomez , O. Hansen , D. Higinbotham , T. Holmstrom , T. Horn , J. Huang , M. Huang , C.E. Hyde (3) , S. Iqbal , F. Itard (3) , H. Kang , A. Kelleher , C. Keppel , S. Koirala , I. Korover , J.J. Lerose , R. Lindgren , E. Long , M. Magne (3) , J. Mammei , D.J. Margaziotis , P. Markowitz , M. Mazouz , F. Meddi , D. Meekins , R. Michaels , M. Mihovilovic , C. Muñoz Camacho (3, 2) , P. Nadel-Turonski , N. Nuruzzaman , R. Paremuzyan (2) , A. Puckett , V. Punjabi , Y. Qiang , A. Rakhman , M.N.H. Rashad , S. Riordan , J. Roche , G. Russo , F. Sabatié (1) , K. Saenboonruang , A. Saha , B. Sawatzky , L. Selvy , A. Shahinyan , S. Sirca , P. Solvignon , M.L. Sperduto , R. Subedi , V. Sulkosky , C. Sutera , W.A. Tobias , G.M. Urciuoli , D. Wang , B. Wojtsekhowski , H. Yao , Z. Ye , X. Zhan , J. Zhang , B. Zhao , Z. Zhao , X. Zheng , P. Zhu

1 IRFU - Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers
2 IPNO - Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay
3 LPC - Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont

The internal structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) remains one of the greatest outstanding problems in modern nuclear physics. By scattering high-energy electrons off a proton we are able to resolve its fundamental constituents and probe their momenta and positions. Here we investigate the dynamics of quarks and gluons inside nucleons using deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS)—a highly virtual photon scatters off the proton, which subsequently radiates a photon. DVCS interferes with the Bethe-Heitler (BH) process, where the photon is emitted by the electron rather than the proton. We report herein the full determination of the BH-DVCS interference by exploiting the distinct energy dependences of the DVCS and BH amplitudes. In the regime where the scattering is expected to occur off a single quark, measurements show an intriguing sensitivity to gluons, the carriers of the strong interaction.

Mots clés: electron: polarized beam; energy: high; photon: emission; photon: virtual; photon: energy spectrum; quantum mechanics: interference; deeply virtual Compton scattering; gluon; quark; parton: distribution function; Compton scattering: form factor; strong interaction; electron p: deep inelastic scattering; energy dependence; p: structure function; Bethe-Heitler; sensitivity; confinement; channel cross section: measured; holography; structure; experimental results; electron p --> electron p photon

Domaines: Physique des Hautes Energies - Expérience [hep-ex]; Physique des Hautes Energies - Phénoménologie [hep-ph]; Physique Nucléaire Expérimentale [nucl-ex]

M. Defurne, A. Martí Jiménez-Argüello, Z. Ahmed, H. Albataineh, K. Allada, et al.. A glimpse of gluons through deeply virtual compton scattering on the proton. Nature Commun., 2017, 8 (1), pp.1408. ⟨10.1038/s41467-017-01819-3⟩. ⟨hal-01758366⟩