A QCD analysis of HERA and fixed target structure function data

TL;DR

This paper performs a detailed next-to-leading order QCD analysis of structure function data from HERA and fixed target experiments to determine proton parton distributions, including uncertainties and comparisons with predictions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive NLO QCD analysis of structure functions incorporating various data sets and estimates uncertainties, offering detailed parton density distributions with error information.

Findings

Parton densities are extracted with quantified uncertainties.

QCD predictions are compared successfully with experimental data.

Parton distribution functions are made available in a digital file.

Abstract

The parton momentum density distributions in the proton are determined from a next-to-leading order QCD analysis of structure functions measured at HERA and by fixed target experiments. Also included are data on the difference of the up and down anti-quark distributions. The uncertainties in the parton densities, structure functions and related cross sections are estimated from the experimental errors and those on the input parameters of the fit. Several QCD predictions obtained from this analysis are calculated and compared to data. The parton densites including the full error information is made available on a computer readable file.