Nuclear Drell-Yan effect in a covariant model

TL;DR

This paper studies how nuclear medium effects influence antiquark distributions and Drell-Yan processes in nuclei using a covariant model, revealing modest pion distribution enhancements and specific Drell-Yan ratio behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistically-covariant self-consistent model to analyze nuclear medium effects on antiquark distributions and Drell-Yan processes.

Findings

Modest enhancement of pion light-cone-momentum distribution in large nuclei.

Drell-Yan ratio exceeds one only at small light-cone momenta.

Nuclear medium effects influence antiquark distributions and Drell-Yan cross-sections.

Abstract

We investigate effects of nuclear medium on antiquark distribution in nuclei applying the results of a recently developed relativistically-covariant self-consistent model for the pion and the isobar. We take into account Fermi motion including Pauli blocking and binding effects on the nucleons and medium effects on the isobar and pion leading to modest enhancement of the pion light-cone-momentum distribution in large nuclei. As a consequence the Drell-Yan cross-section ratio with respect to the deuteron exceeds one only for small values of the light-cone momentum.