# Parton Distribution Functions from a Light Front Hamiltonian and QCD Evolution for Light Mesons

## TL;DR

This paper derives pion and kaon parton distribution functions using a light front Hamiltonian approach, successfully matching experimental data after QCD evolution and providing insights into meson structure.

## Contribution

It introduces a light front effective Hamiltonian framework to compute meson parton distributions, aligning theoretical predictions with experimental results.

## Key findings

- Valence quark distributions match FNAL-E615 data after QCD evolution.
- Kaon to pion up quark distribution ratio agrees with CERN-NA3 data.
- Cross section for Drell-Yan process is consistent with experimental measurements.

## Abstract

We obtain the pion and the kaon parton distribution functions from the eigenstates of a light front effective Hamiltonian in the constituent quark-antiquark representation suitable for low-momentum scale applications. By taking these scales as the only free parameters, the valence quark distribution functions of the pion, after QCD evolution, are consistent with the data from the FNAL-E615 experiment. The ratio of the up quark distribution of the kaon to that of the pion also agrees with the CERN-NA3 experiment. Supplemented by known parton distribution functions for the nucleons, we further obtain the cross section consistent with experimental data for the ${\pi^-\rm{nucleus}}\rightarrow{\mu^+\mu^-X}$ Drell-Yan process.