Polarized Structure Functions and Spin Physics

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in understanding the spin structure of nucleons through polarized deep inelastic scattering, highlighting new measurements, flavor separation, and the potential of generalized parton distributions for future research.

Contribution

It introduces new experimental data and methodologies for probing nucleon spin structure, including semi-inclusive DIS and GPDs, advancing QCD phenomenology in spin physics.

Findings

New semi-inclusive DIS results on flavor-separated PDFs

First data on hard exclusive reactions interpreted via GPDs

Outline of future experimental prospects in spin physics

Abstract

Recent progress in the field of spin physics of high energy particle interactions is reviewed with particular emphasis on the spin structure functions as measured in polarized deep inelastic lepton-nucleon scattering (DIS). New measurements are presented to obtain more direct information on the composition of the nucleon angular momentum, with results from semi-inclusive DIS accessing flavour-separated parton distribution functions (PDF) and with first data from hard exclusive reactions which may be interpreted in terms of recently developed generalizations of parton distribution functions (GPD). Finally, experimental prospects are outlined which will lead to a further development of the virtues of QCD phenomenology of the spin structure of the nucleon.