Studies of Parton Propagation and Hadron Formation in the Space-Time Domain

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent experimental data on parton propagation and hadron formation from various high-energy physics experiments, aiming to develop a unified understanding of these processes in nuclear media.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of recent data and discusses prospects for integrating these findings into a unified theoretical framework.

Findings

New Jefferson Lab data on hadron formation

Connections between different experimental approaches

Potential for a unified understanding of parton propagation

Abstract

Over the past decade, new data from HERMES, Jefferson Lab, Fermilab, and RHIC that connect to parton propagation and hadron formation have become available. Semi-inclusive DIS on nuclei, the Drell-Yan reaction, and heavy-ion collisions all bring different kinds of information on parton propagation within a medium, while the most direct information on hadron formation comes from the DIS data. Over the next decade one can hope to begin to understand these data within a unified picture. We briefly survey the most relevant data and the common elements of the physics picture, then highlight the new Jefferson Lab data, and close with a prospective for the future.