We present results on the lower moments of the nucleon generalized parton distri butions within lattice QCD using two dynamical flavors of degenerate twisted mass fermions. Our simulations are performed on lattices with three different values of the lattice spacings, namely $a=0.089$ fm, $a=0.070$ fm and $a=0.056$ fm, allowing the investigation of cut-off effects. The volume dependence is examined using simulations on two lattices of spatial length $L=2.1$ fm and $L=2.8$ fm. The simulations span pion masses in the range of 260-470 MeV. Our results are renormalized non-perturbatively and the values are given in the $\bar{\rm MS}$ scheme at a scale $ μ=2$ GeV. They are chirally extrapolated to the physical point in order to compare with experiment. The consequences of these results on the spin carried by the quarks in the nucleon are investigated.
Using heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory we study the leading chiral corrections to the complete set of nucleon generalized parton distributions (GPDs). We compute the leading quark mass and momentum transfer dependence of the moments of nucleon GPDs through the nucleon off-forward twist-2 matrix elements. These results are then applied to get insight on the GPDs and their impact parameter space distributions.
In these proceedings we discuss recent progress in nucleon structure using lattice QCD simulations at or near the physical value of the pion mass. Main focus will be given in observables such as the nucleon axial charge and the first moments of parton distributions, for both the valence and sea quark contributions, and discuss their implications on the spin content of the nucleon. We will will also report developments on the evaluation of the gluon momentum fraction, which contributes significantly to the nucleon spin.
This work presents the first calculation in lattice QCD of three moments of spin-averaged and spin-polarized generalized parton distributions in the proton. It is shown that the slope of the associated generalized form factors decreases significantly as the moment increases, indicating that the transverse size of the light-cone quark distribution decreases as the momentum fraction of the struck parton increases.
We present results on the quark unpolarized, helicity and transversity parton distributions functions of the nucleon. We use the quasi-parton distribution approach within the lattice QCD framework and perform the computation using an ensemble of twisted mass fermions with the strange and charm quark masses tuned to approximately their physical values and light quark masses giving pion mass of 260 MeV. We use hierarchical probing to evaluate the disconnected quark loops. We discuss identification of ground state dominance, the Fourier transform procedure and convergence with the momentum boost.…
We present results on the axial and the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon, as well as, on the first moments of the nucleon generalized parton distributions using maximally twisted mass fermions. We analyze two N_f=2+1+1 ensembles having pion masses of 210 MeV and 354 MeV at two values of the lattice spacing. The lattice scale is determined using the nucleon mass computed on a total of 18 N_f=2+1+1 ensembles generated at three values of the lattice spacing, $a$. The renormalization constants are evaluated non-perturbatively with a perturbative subtraction of ${\cal O}(a^2)$-terms. The…
The generalized parton distributions (GPDs) offer a window on three-dimensional imaging of the nucleon, providing understanding of how the fundamental properties of the nucleon, such as its mass and spin, arise from the underlying quark and gluon degrees of freedom. In this work, we present the first lattice calculation of the nucleon isovector helicity GPD at physical pion mass, using an $a \approx 0.09$ fm lattice ensemble with 2+1+1 flavors of highly improved staggered quarks generated by MILC Collaboration. We perform the GPD calculation in Breit frame using averaged nucleon boost momentum…
In this letter, we investigate the nucleon quasi-parton distribution functions in the chiral quark soliton model. We derive a set of sum-rules depending on the velocity of the nucleon and on the Dirac matrix defining the distribution functions. We present numerical results for the isosinglet unpolarized distribution, in which we find that the anti-quark distribution breaks the positivity condition at nucleon velocities $v\approx 0.99\;(P_N\approx 7.0 M_N)$ and smaller. We found that, for the isosinglet unpolarized case, a large nucleon momentum is required for the quasi-parton distribution to …
We present a comprehensive study of the lowest moments of nucleon generalized parton distributions in N_f=2+1 lattice QCD using domain wall valence quarks and improved staggered sea quarks. Our investigation includes helicity dependent and independent generalized parton distributions for pion masses as low as 350 MeV and volumes as large as (3.5 fm)^3, for a lattice spacing of 0.124 fm. We use perturbative renormalization at one-loop level with an improvement based on the non-perturbative renormalization factor for the axial vector current, and only connected diagrams are included in the isosi…
We present the $x$-dependent nucleon and pion gluon distribution from lattice QCD using the pseudo-PDF approach, on lattice ensembles with $2+1+1$ flavors of highly improved staggered quarks (HISQ), generated by MILC Collaboration. We use clover fermions for the valence action and momentum smearing to achieve pion boost momentum up to 2.56~GeV on three lattice spacings $a\approx 0.9, 0.12$ and 0.15~fm and three pion masses $M_π\approx 220$, 310 and 690~MeV. We compare our pion and preliminary nucleon gluon results with the determination by global fits.
We present the first lattice calculation of the nucleon isovector unpolarized generalized parton distribution (GPD) at the physical pion mass using a lattice ensemble with 2+1+1 flavors of highly improved staggered quarks (HISQ) generated by MILC Collaboration, with lattice spacing $a\approx 0.09$~fm and volume $64^3\times 96$. We use momentum-smeared sources to improve the signal at nucleon boost momentum $P_z \approx 2.2$ GeV, and report results at nonzero momentum transfers in $[0.2,1.0]\text{ GeV}^2$. Nonperturbative renormalization in RI/MOM scheme is used to obtain the quasi-distribution…
We present the first lattice-QCD calculation of the nucleon isovector unpolarized parton distribution functions (PDFs) at the physical-continuum limit using Large-Momentum Effective Theory (LaMET). The lattice results are calculated using ensembles with multiple sea pion masses with the lightest one around 135~MeV, 3 lattice spacings $a\in[0.06,0.12]$~fm, and multiple volumes with $M_πL$ ranging 3.3 to 5.5. We perform a simultaneous chiral-continuum extrapolation to obtain RI/MOM renormalized nucleon matrix elements with various Wilson-link displacements in the continuum limit at physical pion…
We complete the analysis of twist-two generalized parton distributions of the nucleon in one-loop order of heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory. Extending our previous study of the chiral-even isosinglet sector, we give results for chiral-even isotriplet distributions and for the chiral-odd sector. We also calculate the one-loop corrections for the chiral-odd generalized parton distributions of the pion.
Parton convolution models have been used extensively in describing the sea quarks in the nucleon and explaining quark distributions in nuclei (the EMC effect). From effective field theory point of view, we construct the parton convolution formalism which has been the underlying conception of all convolution models. We explain the significance of scheme and scale dependence of the auxiliary quantities such as the pion distributions in a nucleon. As an application, we calculate the complete leading nonanalytic chiral contribution to the isovector component of the nucleon sea.
We review the potential method in lattice QCD, which has recently been proposed to extract nucleon-nucleon interactions via numerical simulations. We focus on the methodology of this approach by emphasizing the strategy of the potential method, the theoretical foundation behind it, and special numerical techniques. We compare the potential method with the standard finite volume method in lattice QCD, in order to make pros and cons of the approach clear. We also present several numerical results for the nucleon-nucleon potentials.
We analyze the moments of the isosinglet generalized parton distributions H, E, H-tilde, E-tilde of the nucleon in one-loop order of heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory. We discuss in detail the construction of the operators in the effective theory that are required to obtain all corrections to a given order in the chiral power counting. The results will serve to improve the extrapolation of lattice results to the chiral limit.
We present a review of recent applications of nonlocal chiral effective theory to hadron structure studies. Starting from a nonlocal meson--baryon effective chiral Lagrangian, we show how the introduction of a correlation function representing the finite extent of hadrons regularizes the meson loop integrals and introduces momentum dependence in vertex form factors in a gauge invariant manner. We apply the framework to the calculation of nucleon electromagnetic form factors, unpolarized and polarized parton distributions, as well as transverse momentum dependent distributions and generalized p…
While the total orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a definite quark flavor in a longitudinally-polarized nucleon can be obtained through a sum rule involving twist-two generalized parton distribution (GPDs), its distribution as a function of parton momentum in light-front coordinates is more complicated to define and measure because it involves intrinsically twist-three effects. In this paper, we consider two different parton OAM distributions. The first is manifestly gauge invariant, and its moments are local operators and calculable in lattice QCD. We show that it can potentially be measured …
This talk presents recent calculations in full QCD of the lowest three moments of generalized parton distributions and the insight they provide into the behavior of nucleon electromagnetic form factors, the origin of the nucleon spin, and the transverse structure of the nucleon. In addition, new exploratory calculations in the chiral regime of full QCD are discussed.
Previous Lattice QCD calculations of nucleon transverse momentum-dependent parton distributions (TMDs) focused on the case of transversely polarized nucleons, and thus did not encompass two leading-twist TMDs associated with longitudinal polarization, namely, the helicity TMD and the worm-gear TMD corresponding to transversely polarized quarks in a longitudinally polarized nucleon. Based on a definition of TMDs via hadronic matrix elements of quark bilocal operators containing staple-shaped gauge connections, TMD observables characterizing the aforementioned two TMDs are evaluated, utilizing a…
Generalized parton distributions provide information on the longitudinal and transverse distribution of partons in the fast moving nucleon. Furthermore, they contain information on the spin structure of the nucleon. First results of a lattice study of generalized parton distributions are presented.
In this paper we present chiral extrapolation formulas for the generalized form factors connected to the first moments of chiral-even generalized parton distributions. For the description of QCD at low energies we employ the framework of two-flavor covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory at full one-loop accuracy. Our results are well suited for the extrapolation of lattice QCD data to physical quark masses.
We evaluate nucleon four-point functions in the framework of lattice QCD in order to extract the first Mellin moment of double parton distributions (DPDs) in the unpolarized proton. In this first study, we employ an nf = 2 + 1 ensemble with pseudoscalar masses of mpi = 355 MeV and mK = 441 MeV. The results are converted to the scale mu = 2 GeV. Our calculation includes all Wick contractions, and for almost all of them a good statistical signal is obtained. We analyze the dependence of the DPD Mellin moments on the quark flavor and the quark polarization. Furthermore, the validity of frequently…
The lowest three moments of generalized parton distributions are calculated in full QCD and provide new insight into the behavior of nucleon electromagnetic form factors, the origin of the nucleon spin, and the transverse structure of the nucleon.
We briefly discuss the current status of lattice QCD simulations and review selective results on nucleon observables focusing on recent developments in the lattice QCD evaluation of the nucleon form factors and radii, parton distribution functions and their moments, and the neutron electric dipole moment. Nucleon charges and moments of parton distribution functions are presented using simulations generated at physical values of the quark masses, while exploratory studies are performed for the parton distribution functions and the neutron electric dipole moment at heavier than physical value of…
We present the first lattice-QCD calculation of the isovector polarized parton distribution functions (both helicity and transversity) using the large-momentum effective field theory (LaMET) approach for direct Bjorken-$x$ dependence. We first review the detailed steps of the procedure in the unpolarized case, then generalize to the helicity and transversity cases. We also derive a new mass-correction formulation for all three cases. We then compare the effects of each finite-momentum correction using lattice data calculated at $M_π\approx 310$ MeV. Finally, we discuss the implications of thes…
A complete description of the nucleon structure in terms of generalized parton distributions (GPDs) at twist 2 level requires the measurement/computation of the eight functions H, E, \tilde H, \tilde E, H_T, E_T, \tilde H_T and \tilde E_T, all depending on the three variables x, ξand t. In this talk, we present and discuss our first steps in the framework of lattice QCD towards this enormous task. Dynamical lattice QCD results for the lowest three Mellin moments of the helicity dependent and independent GPDs are shown in terms of their corresponding generalized form factors. Implications for t…
Using the Euclidean path-integral formulation for the hadronic tensor, we show that the violation of the Gottfried sum rule does not come from the disconnected quark-loop insertion. Rather, it comes from the connected (quark line) insertion involving quarks propagating in the backward time direction. We demonstrate this by studying sum rules in terms of the scalar and axial- vector matrix elements in lattice gauge calculations. The effects of eliminating backward time propagation are presented.
Generalized parton distributions are a new type of hadronic observables which has recently stimulated great interest among theorists and experimentalists alike. Introduced to delineate the spin structure of the nucleon, the orbital angular momentum of quarks in particular, the new distributions contain vast information about the internal structure of the nucleon, with the usual electromagnetic form factors and Feynman parton distributions as their special limits. While new perturbative QCD processes, such as deeply virtual Compton scattering and exclusive meson production, have been found to m…
We employ chiral perturbation theory to calculate the nucleon-pion-state contribution to the 3-point correlation functions measured in lattice QCD to compute various moments of parton distribution functions (quark momentum fraction, helicity and transversity moment). We estimate the impact of the nucleon-pion-state contribution on the plateau method for lattice simulations with a physical pion mass. The nucleon-pion-state contribution results in an overestimation of all three moments. The overestimation is at the 5-20% level for source-sink separations of about 1.5 fm.
I review the LHPC Collaboration's lattice QCD calculations of the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon and highlight those aspects of nucleon structure best illuminated by lattice QCD, the nucleon's spin decomposition and transverse quark structure.
This talk presents results from the QCDSF-UKQCD collaboration for moments of leading twist generalized parton distributions in two-flavor lattice QCD based on O(a) improved Wilson Fermions. We study helicity independent and helicity flip GPDs with a focus on densities of quarks in the transverse plane.
We provide a first study of Mellin moments of double parton distributions (DPDs) in the nucleon on the lattice, where we consider several combinations of quark flavors and polarizations. These are accessible through two-current correlations, which can be obtained by evaluating four-point functions. In this context we consider all possible Wick contractions, where for almost all of them sufficiently clear signals are obtained. In the present study, we employ an $n_f = 2 + 1$ CLS ensemble on a $96 \times 32^3$ lattice with lattice spacing $a = 0.0856\ \mathrm{fm}$ and the pseudoscalar masses $m_…
We report on our lattice calculations of the nucleon's generalized parton distributions (GPDs), concentrating on their first moments for the case of N_f=2. Due to recent progress on the numerical side we are able to present results for the generalized form factors at pion masses as low as 260 MeV. We perform a fit to one-loop covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory with encouraging results.
The internal structure of hadrons is important for a variety of topics, including the hadron form factors, proton spin and spin asymmetry in polarized proton scattering. For a systematic study generalized parton distributions (GPDs) encode important information on hadron structure in the entire impact parameter space. We report on a computation of nucleon GPDs based on simulations with two dynamical non-perturbatively improved Wilson quarks with pion masses down to 350MeV. We present results for the total angular momentum of quarks with chiral extrapolation based on covariant baryon chiral per…
We present a lattice measurement of the first two moments of the spin-dependent GPD H-tilde(x,xi,t). From these we obtain the axial coupling constant and the second moment of the spin-dependent forward parton distribution. The measurements are done in full QCD using Wilson fermions. In addition, we also present results from a first exploratory study of full QCD using Asqtad sea and domain-wall valence fermions.
Information about double parton distributions (DPDs) can be obtained by calculating four-point functions on the lattice. We continue our study on the first DPD Mellin moment of the unpolarized proton by considering interference effects w.r.t. the quark flavor. In our simulation we employ an $n_f = 2 + 1$ ensemble with inverse coupling $β= 3.4$, and pseudoscalar masses of $m_π= 355~\mathrm{MeV}$ and $m_K = 441~\mathrm{MeV}$. The results are converted to the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$-scheme at the scale $μ= 2~\mathrm{GeV}$. We analyze the dependence of the considered Mellin moments on the quark p…
