Extracting the Kaon Collins function from $e^+e^-$ hadron pair production data

TL;DR

This paper extracts the kaon Collins function from $e^+e^-$ data and uses it to predict asymmetries in SIDIS, showing good agreement with experimental results, thus advancing understanding of transverse spin phenomena in hadronization.

Contribution

It provides the first direct extraction of the kaon Collins function from $e^+e^-$ data and applies it to predict SIDIS asymmetries.

Findings

Kaon Collins functions extracted from BaBar data.

Predicted asymmetries agree with HERMES and COMPASS measurements.

Demonstrates the universality of Collins functions across processes.

Abstract

The latest data released by the BaBar Collaboration on azimuthal correlations measured for pion-kaon and kaon-kaon pairs produced in $e^+e^-$ annihilations allow, for the first time, a direct extraction of the kaon Collins functions. These functions are then used to compute the kaon Collins asymmetries in Semi Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering processes, which result in good agreement with the measurements performed by the HERMES and COMPASS Collaborations.