Quark-gluon correlation functions relevant to single transverse spin asymmetries

TL;DR

This paper analyzes twist-3 quark-gluon correlation functions within a quark-diquark model to understand their role in single transverse spin asymmetries, revealing that only specific functions are finite at leading order.

Contribution

It provides a detailed calculation of relevant twist-3 correlation functions and their relation to the Sivers function in a quark-diquark model, highlighting which functions are non-zero at leading order.

Findings

Only the $T_{q,F}(x, x)$ correlation function is finite at leading order.

Other quark-gluon correlation functions vanish at the first nontrivial order.

The study links the $T_{q,F}(x, x)$ function to the quark Sivers function.

Abstract

We investigate the relative size of various twist-3 quark-gluon correlation functions relevant to single transverse spin asymmetries (SSAs) in a quark-diquark model of the nucleon. We calculate the quark-gluon correlation function $T_{q,F}(x, x)$ that is responsible for the gluonic pole contribution to the SSAs, as well as $T_{q,F}(0, x)$ and $T_{\Delta{q}, F}(0, x)$ responsible for the fermionic pole contributions. We find in both cases of a scalar diquark and an axial-vector diquark that at the first nontrivial order only the $\tq(x, x)$ is finite while all other quark-gluon correlation functions vanish. Using the same model, we evaluate quark Sivers function and discuss its relation to the $\tq(x, x)$. We also discuss the implication of our finding to the phenomenological studies of the SSAs.