Final State Interaction Effects in Semi-inclusive Deep Inelastic processes A(e,e'p)X off the deuteron and complex nuclei

TL;DR

This paper investigates how final state interactions affect semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering off nuclei, identifying kinematic regions suitable for studying nucleon structure and hadronization, using realistic nuclear models and eikonal approximations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of FSI effects in semi-inclusive DIS processes, highlighting conditions to minimize or maximize these effects for different research goals.

Findings

FSI effects can be minimized in specific kinematic regions.

Certain kinematics enhance the interaction of quark-gluon debris with nucleons.

Realistic wave functions and spectral functions improve FSI modeling.

Abstract

The effects of the final state interaction (FSI) in semi inclusive deep inelastic electron scattering processes $A(e,e'p)X$ off nuclei are investigated in details. Proton production is described within the spectator and the target fragmentation mechanisms whose relevance to the experimental study of the deep inelastic structure functions of bound nucleons and the non perturbative hadronization process is analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the deuteron target within kinematical conditions corresponding to the available and forthcoming experimental data at Jlab. We argue that there are kinematical regions where FSI effects are minimized, allowing for a reliable investigation of the DIS structure functions, and regions where the interaction of the quark-gluon debris with nucleons is maximized, which makes it possible to study hadronization mechanisms. Nuclear structure has been described by means of realistic wave functions and spectral functions and the final state interaction has been treated within an eikonal approximation approach which takes into account the rescattering of the quark-gluon debris with the residual nucleus and, in the case of complex nuclei, within an optical potential approach to account for the FSI of the struck proton.