Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to hadron+jet production in pp collisions at RHIC

TL;DR

This paper calculates next-to-leading order QCD corrections for hadron+jet production in proton-proton collisions at RHIC, aiding the understanding of the polarized gluon distribution and confirming small gluon polarization in certain momentum ranges.

Contribution

It provides the first NLO QCD correction calculations for this process, enhancing the precision of polarized gluon distribution measurements at RHIC.

Findings

Preliminary STAR data supports small gluon polarization in 0.05<x<0.3 range.

NLO corrections improve theoretical predictions for hadron+jet production.

The study offers a new tool for probing the polarized gluon distribution.

Abstract

We compute the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the spin-independent and spin-dependent cross-sections for the production of a single-hadron accompanied by an opposite jet in hadronic collisions. This process is being studied experimentally at RHIC, providing a new tool to unveil the polarized gluon distribution Delta g. We perform a detailed analysis of the phenomenological impact of the observable at NLO accuracy and show that the preliminary data by the STAR collaboration confirms the idea of a small gluon polarization in the 0.05<x<0.3 range.