NNLO Global Analysis of Polarized Parton Distribution Functions

TL;DR

This paper performs the first NNLO global analysis of proton helicity PDFs using diverse spin asymmetry data, demonstrating stable results and advancing precision in understanding proton spin structure.

Contribution

It introduces the first NNLO analysis of polarized PDFs incorporating various scattering data and threshold resummation approximations for improved accuracy.

Findings

Helicity PDFs show remarkable perturbative stability at NNLO.

The analysis incorporates diverse experimental data sets.

Provides more precise polarized parton distribution functions.

Abstract

We present a next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) global QCD analysis of the proton's helicity parton distribution functions (PDFs), the first of its kind. To obtain the distributions, we use data for longitudinal spin asymmetries in inclusive and semi-inclusive lepton-nucleon scattering as well as in weak-boson and hadron or jet production in proton-proton scattering. We analyze the data using QCD perturbation theory at NNLO accuracy, employing approximations provided by the threshold resummation formalism in cases where full NNLO results for partonic hard-scattering functions are not readily available. Our numerical results suggest a remarkable perturbative stability of the extracted helicity PDFs.