Unpolarized transverse-momentum dependent distribution functions of a quark in a pion with Minkowskian dynamics

TL;DR

This paper presents the first calculation of unpolarized transverse-momentum dependent quark distributions in a pion using Minkowski-space solutions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, revealing detailed insights into pion structure and gluon contributions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Minkowski-space approach to evaluate TMD distributions in the pion, including twist-2 and twist-3, with a detailed analysis of gluon effects and sum rules.

Findings

First Minkowski-space calculation of pion TMDs.

Gluon contribution to quark momentum fraction is about 6%.

Transverse-momentum distributions deviate from exponential fall-off at high |k_perp|.

Abstract

The unpolarized twist-2 (leading) and twist-3 (subleading), T-even, transverse-momentum dependent quark distributions in the pion are evaluated for the first time by using the actual solution of a dynamical equation in Minkowski space. The adopted theoretical framework is based on the homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter integral equation with an interaction kernel given by a one-gluon exchange, featuring an extended quark-gluon vertex. The masses of quark and gluon as well as the interaction-vertex scale have been chosen in a range suggested by lattice-QCD calculations, and calibrated to reproduce both pion mass and decay constant. The sum rules to be fulfilled by the transverse-momentum dependent distributions are carefully investigated, particularly the leading-twist one, that has to match the collinear parton distribution function, and hence can be scrutinized in terms of existing data as well as theoretical predictions. Noteworthy, the joint use of the Fock expansion of the pion state facilitates a more in-depth analysis of the content of the pion Bethe-Salpeter amplitude, allowing for the first time to determine the gluon contribution to the quark average longitudinal fraction, that results to be $\sim 6\%$. The current analysis highlights the role of the gluon exchanges through quantitative analysis of collinear and transverse-momentum distributions, showing, e.g. for both leading and subleading-twists, an early departure from the widely adopted exponential fall-off, for $|k_\perp|^2 > m^2$, with the quark mass $\sim \Lambda_{QCD}$.