Diffractive deep inelastic scattering at NLO in the dipole picture: the $q \bar q g$ contribution

TL;DR

This paper computes the $q ar q g$ contribution to diffractive deep inelastic scattering cross sections at NLO within the dipole model, providing finite results and connecting to known high-$Q^2$ limits, advancing theoretical understanding.

Contribution

It presents the first calculation of the $q ar q g$ contribution at NLO in the dipole picture with exact kinematics, contributing to the full NLO diffractive structure functions.

Findings

Finite $q ar q g$ contribution derived at NLO.

Results recover known high-$Q^2$ and large $M_X^2$ limits.

Framework sets the stage for complete NLO structure function calculations.

Abstract

We calculate the contribution from the $q \bar q g$ state production to the diffractive cross sections in deep inelastic scattering at high energy. The obtained cross section is finite by itself and a part of the full next-to-leading order result for the diffractive structure functions. We perform the calculation in exact kinematics in the eikonal limit, and show that the previously known high-$Q^2$ and large $M_X^2$ results for the structure functions can be extracted from our results in the appropriate limits. We furthermore discuss the steps required to obtain the full next-to-leading order results for the structure functions.