Diffractive hadron production in DIS off heavy nuclei and gluon saturation

TL;DR

This paper calculates diffractive hadron production cross sections in deep inelastic scattering off heavy nuclei within the gluon saturation framework, highlighting sensitivity to nuclear structure at low x and potential observability at the Electron-Ion Collider.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of coherent and incoherent diffractive channels in DIS off heavy nuclei using gluon saturation theory, relevant for future EIC experiments.

Findings

Cross sections depend on rapidity and transverse momentum.

Both coherent and incoherent channels are experimentally accessible.

Sensitivity to nuclear structure at low x is demonstrated.

Abstract

We calculate the cross section for diffractive hadron production in deep inelastic scattering off heavy nuclei in the framework of gluon saturation/color glass condensate. We analyze the kinematic region of the future Electron-Ion Collider. We argue that coherent and incoherent diffractive channels are very sensitive to the structure of the nuclear matter at low $x$. This expresses itself in a characteristic dependence of the cross sections on rapidity and transverse momentum of the produced hadron and on the nuclear weight. We also discuss dependence on the scattering angle and argue that both coherent and incoherent cross sections may be within experimental reach at EIC.