Light-Front Densities for Transversely Polarized Hadrons

TL;DR

This paper explores the interpretation of quark distribution functions in the transverse plane, providing a model-independent way to visualize hadron structure and quark dynamics, with implications for form factors and generalized distributions.

Contribution

It introduces a model-independent approach to analyze transverse quark densities, extending to arbitrary spin targets and connecting to generalized transverse-momentum distributions.

Findings

Transverse quark densities offer a semi-classical picture of hadron structure.

Generalized form factors relate to charge density distortions under electromagnetic fields.

Preliminary results on generalized transverse-momentum distributions provide comprehensive quark distribution insights.

Abstract

We discuss the recent interpretation of quark distribution functions in the plane transverse to the light-cone direction. Such a mapping is model independent and allows one to build multidimensional pictures of the hadron and to develop a semi-classical intuition of the quark dynamics. We comment briefly the results obtained from the Form Factors of the nucleon. A generalization to a target with arbitrary spin led to a set of preferred values for the electromagnetic coupling characterizing structureless particles. Generalized polarizabilities can also be interpreted in that frame as the distortion of the charge densities due to an external electromagnetic field. Finally, we present preliminary results for the Generalized Transverse-Momentum dependent Distributions which encode in principle the most complete information about quark distributions.