Probing the transverse dynamics and polarization of gluons inside the proton at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores how to access transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions inside the proton through heavy quarkonium production at the LHC, specifically via back-to-back J/psi or Upsilon and photon events.

Contribution

It proposes a novel method to determine gluon distributions by analyzing specific quarkonium production channels at the LHC.

Findings

Potential to measure gluon distributions using J/psi or Upsilon with photons

First determination of transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions possible

Provides a new experimental approach at the LHC

Abstract

Transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions encode fundamental information on the structure of the proton. Here we show how they can be accessed in heavy quarkonium production in proton-proton collisions at the LHC. In particular, their first determination could come from the study of an isolated J/psi or Upsilon particle, produced back to back with a photon.