An Effective Field Theory Look at Deep Inelastic Scattering

TL;DR

This paper presents an effective field theory perspective on deep inelastic scattering, deriving key results like the DGLAP equations through renormalization group methods and operator analysis.

Contribution

It offers a pedagogical introduction to deriving deep inelastic scattering results using effective field theory, emphasizing the renormalization of non-local operators.

Findings

Derivation of DGLAP equations from operator renormalization

Connection between factorization formula and effective field theory

Explicit derivation of non-singlet quark splitting functions

Abstract

This talk discusses the effective field theory view of deep inelastic scattering. In such an approach, the standard factorization formula of a hard coefficient multiplied by a parton distribution function arises from matching of QCD onto an effective field theory. The DGLAP equations can then be viewed as the standard renormalization group equations that determines the cut-off dependence of the non-local operator whose forward matrix element is the parton distribution function. As an example, the non-singlet quark splitting functions is derived directly from the renormalization properties of the non-local operator itself. This approach, although discussed in the literature, does not appear to be well known to the larger high energy community. In this talk we give a pedagogical introduction to this subject.