On Exclusive Coherent Production of Bosons in Electron-Proton Collisions

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive $2\to 3$ framework for exclusive boson production in electron-proton collisions, relevant for the EIC, incorporating various particles and validated against existing data.

Contribution

It introduces a unified, phenomenologically constrained $2\to 3$ model for exclusive boson production, enabling systematic refinement with new measurements.

Findings

Close agreement with flux-factorized descriptions in the near-real photon regime.

Finite-$Q^{2}$ correlations significantly affect multi-differential observables.

Kinematic analysis informs forward-proton acceptance and signal selection at the EIC.

Abstract

We study the exclusive electroproduction process $e+p\to e'+p'+X$, with $X$ a single-particle final state, in the forward-proton kinematics relevant for the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). We develop a unified $2\to 3$ framework that provides the full event kinematics and incorporates pseudoscalar and vector mesons, as well as axion-like particles and vector mediators such as dark photons. It is based on phenomenological amplitudes constrained by existing photo- and electroproduction data and constructed to admit systematic refinement as new measurements become available. To benchmark the framework, we compare its predictions to flux-factorized descriptions based on the equivalent-photon approximation, demonstrating close agreement for total rates and selected single-differential distributions in the near-real regime, while highlighting the role of finite-$Q^{2}$ correlations for multi-differential observables at larger photon virtualities. As a case study, we perform a detailed kinematic analysis of the missing-proton-energy signature, illustrating how the full $2\to 3$ treatment informs forward-proton acceptance and signal selection in realistic EIC configurations.