Transition between nuclear and quark-gluon descriptions of hadrons and light nuclei

TL;DR

This paper reviews the transition from hadronic to quark-gluon descriptions in reactions involving light nuclei, emphasizing experimental and theoretical challenges, especially for deuteron-related processes, to better understand nuclear structure.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive perspective on observing the hadron-quark transition in light nuclei, highlighting recent results, challenges, and future experimental and theoretical directions.

Findings

Results for pion and nucleon form factors summarized

Exclusive photoreactions in light nuclei analyzed

Connection to phenomena like color transparency discussed

Abstract

We provide a perspective on studies aimed at observing the transition between hadronic and quark-gluonic descriptions of reactions involving light nuclei. We begin by summarizing the results for relatively simple reactions such as the pion form factor and the neutral pion transition form factor as well as that for the nucleon and end with exclusive photoreactions in our simplest nuclei. A particular focus will be on reactions involving the deuteron. It is noted that a firm understanding of these issues is essential for unraveling important structure information from processes such as deeply virtual Compton scattering as well as deeply virtual meson production. The connection to exotic phenomena such as color transparency will be discussed. A number of outstanding challenges will require new experiments at modern facilities on the horizon as well as further theoretical developments.