Pions valence quark distributions in asymmetric nuclear matter at finite temperature

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the valence quark distributions of pions are affected by isospin asymmetric nuclear matter at finite temperature, using a light-cone quark model and chiral SU(3) quark mean field theory, with results compared to experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of medium modifications to pion valence quark distributions considering isospin asymmetry and temperature effects within a light-cone quark model.

Findings

Valence quark distributions are significantly affected by baryon density.

Distributions show substantial modifications compared to temperature and isospin asymmetry.

Results align with experimental data after evolution to high Q^2.

Abstract

We have calculated the valence quark distributions of the lightest pseudoscalar meson, pions, in the isospin asymmetric nuclear matter at zero and finite temperature employing a light-cone quark model. The medium modifications in the pion properties have been stimulated through the effective quark masses computed using the chiral SU($3$) quark mean field model. We have primarily focused on the impact of isospin asymmetric medium on the distribution amplitudes (DAs) and parton distribution functions (PDFs) of a valence quark for different baryon density and temperature values. Also, the DAs and PDFs have been evolved to $Q^2=10$ GeV$^2$ and $Q^2=16$ GeV$^2$ for different densities of nuclear medium and results have been compared with the available experimental data. The DAs and PDFs are found to modify substantially as a function of baryon density as compared to temperature and isospin asymmetry of the medium.