New developments in the statistical approach of parton distributions: tests and predictions up to LHC energies

TL;DR

This paper revisits the quantum statistical approach to parton distributions, updating it with recent data, and provides improved predictions for high-energy collider experiments such as the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces a refined quantum statistical model for parton distributions based on new data, enhancing the accuracy of predictions at LHC energies.

Findings

Good data description across a broad $x$ and $Q^2$ range

Confirmation of a large positive gluon helicity distribution

Predictions for jet production and charge asymmetry at LHC energies

Abstract

The quantum statistical parton distributions approach proposed more than one decade ago is revisited by considering a larger set of recent and accurate Deep Inelastic Scattering experimental results. It enables us to improve the description of the data by means of a new determination of the parton distributions. This global next-to-leading order QCD analysis leads to a good description of several structure functions, involving unpolarized parton distributions and helicity distributions, in a broad range of $x$ and $Q^2$ and in terms of a rather small number of free parameters. There are several challenging issues and in particular the confirmation of a large positive gluon helicity distribution. The predictions of this theoretical approach will be tested for single-jet production and charge asymmetry in $W^{\pm}$ production in $\bar p p$ and $p p$ collisions up to LHC energies, using recent data and also for forthcoming experimental results.