Feasibility Study of Pion and Kaon Structure via the Sullivan Process at EicC

TL;DR

This study projects high-precision measurements of pion and kaon structure functions at the Electron--Ion Collider in China, enabling deeper insights into meson internal structure and testing of theoretical models.

Contribution

It provides detailed projections for meson structure functions at EicC, extending kinematic coverage and improving measurement precision beyond previous experiments.

Findings

Projected statistical uncertainties below 5% for $F_2^\pi$

Projected statistical uncertainties below 8% for $F_2^\K$

Enhanced constraints on meson parton distribution models

Abstract

The Electron--Ion Collider in China (EicC) provides an excellent opportunity to explore the internal structure of pions and kaons via the Sullivan process in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS). In this study, we present detailed projections for the pion and kaon structure functions, $F_2^\pi$ and $F_2^K$, at EicC, with a focus on both statistical and systematic uncertainties. Leveraging EicC's high luminosity and broad kinematic coverage, the accessible kinematic region is extended beyond previous measurements. The projected statistical uncertainties for $F_2^\pi$ and $F_2^K$ are below 5\% and 8\%, respectively, across most kinematic bins. Systematic uncertainties arising from detector effects have been carefully evaluated. These results significantly enhance the precision of meson structure function measurements and provide important constraints on theoretical models of meson parton distributions. Moreover, this study bridges the gap between fixed-target and collider-era measurements, highlighting the pivotal role of EicC in advancing our understanding of hadronic structure.