Valence quark distributions of the proton from maximum entropy approach

TL;DR

This paper applies the maximum entropy principle to determine valence quark distributions in the proton at low energy scales, using limited initial information, and compares results with experimental data and global fits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the maximum entropy method to extract valence quark distributions with minimal initial assumptions.

Findings

Distributions are consistent with experimental data.

Results align with global PDF fits.

Method is effective with limited initial information.

Abstract

We present an attempt of maximum entropy principle to determine valence quark distributions in the proton at very low resolution scale $Q_0^2$. The initial three valence quark distributions are obtained with limited dynamical information from quark model and QCD theory. Valence quark distributions from this method are compared to the lepton deep inelastic scattering data, and the widely used CT10 and MSTW08 data sets. The obtained valence quark distributions are consistent with experimental observations and the latest global fits of PDFs. Maximum entropy method is expected to be particularly useful in the case where relatively little information from QCD calculation is given.