We present lattice results on the valence-quark structure of the pion using a coordinate space method within the framework of Large Momentum Effective Theory (LaMET). In this method one relies on the matrix elements of a Euclidean correlator in boosted hadronic states, which have an operator product expansion at short distance that allows us to extract the moments of PDFs. We renormalize the Euclidean correlator by forming the reduced Ioffe-time distribution (rITD), and reconstruct the second and fourth moments of the pion PDF by taking into account of QCD evolution effects.
We compute the second moments of pion and rho parton distribution functions (PDFs) in lattice QCD with $N_f = 2+1$ flavors of improved Wilson fermions. We determine both singlet and non-singlet flavor combinations and, for the first time, take disconnected contributions fully into account. In the case of the rho, we also calculate the additional contribution arising from the $b_1$ structure function. The numerical analysis includes 26 ensembles, mainly generated by the CLS effort, with pion masses ranging from 420MeV down to 214MeV and with 5 different lattice spacings in the range of 0.1fm to…
We propose an analysis method for the leading-twist operator product expansion based lattice QCD determinations of the valence parton distribution function (PDF). In the first step, we determine the confidence-intervals of the leading-twist $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ Wilson coefficients, $C_n(μ^2 z^2)$, of the equal-time bilocal quark bilinear, given the lattice QCD matrix element of Ioffe-time distribution for a particular hadron $H$ as well as the prior knowledge of the valence PDF, $f(x,μ)$ of the hadron $H$ determined via global fit from the experimental data. In the next step, we apply the …
Lattice QCD calculations with different staggered valence and sea quarks can be used to improve determinations of quark masses, Gasser-Leutwyler couplings, and other parameters relevant to phenomenology. We calculate the masses and decay constants of flavored pions and kaons through next-to-leading order in staggered-valence, staggered-sea mixed-action chiral perturbation theory. We present the results in the valence-valence and valence-sea sectors, for all tastes. As in unmixed theories, the taste-pseudoscalar, valence-valence mesons are exact Goldstone bosons in the chiral limit, at non-zero…
We present the first lattice results on isovector unpolarized and longitudinally polarized parton distribution functions (PDFs) at physical pion mass. The PDFs are obtained using the large-momentum effective field theory (LaMET) framework where the full Bjorken-$x$ dependence of finite-momentum PDFs, called "quasi-PDFs", can be calculated on the lattice. The quasi-PDF nucleon matrix elements are renormalized nonperturbatively in RI/MOM-scheme. However, the recent renormalized quasi-PDFs suffer from unphysical oscillations that alter the shape of the true distribution as a function of Bjorken-$…
We present preliminary numerical results on the connected piece of the quasi-PDF of pion as determined using Wilson-Clover valence fermions on HISQ ensembles. We discuss its non-perturbative renormalization in RI/MOM scheme with and without removal of the divergent self-energy part, and compare its running with expectation from perturbation theory. We also discuss the matching of pion QPDF to PDF, and various systematic effects associated with it.
We present a calculation of the connected-diagram contributions to the first three non-trivial Mellin moments for the pion and kaon, extracted using local operators with up to 3 covariant derivatives. We use one ensemble of gauge configurations with two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f$=2+1+1) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The ensemble has a pion mass $\sim$260 MeV, and a kaon mass $\sim$530 MeV. We reconstruct the $x$-dependence of the PDFs via fits to our results, and find that our lattice data favor a $(1-x)^2$-behavior in the large-$x$ regio…
We present lattice QCD calculations of valence parton distribution function (PDF) of pion employing next-to-next-leading-order (NNLO) perturbative QCD matching. Our calculations are based on three gauge ensembles of 2+1 flavor highly improved staggered quarks and Wilson--Clover valance quarks, corresponding to pion mass $m_π=140$~MeV at a lattice spacing $a=0.076$~fm and $m_π=300$~MeV at $a=0.04, 0.06$~fm. This enables us to present, for the first time, continuum-extrapolated lattice QCD results for NNLO valence PDF of the pion at the physical point. Applying leading-twist expansion for renorm…
We apply the Distillation spatial smearing program to the extraction of the unpolarized isovector valence PDF of the nucleon. The improved volume sampling and control of excited-states afforded by distillation leads to a dramatically improved determination of the requisite Ioffe-time Pseudo-distribution (pITD). The impact of higher-twist effects is subsequently explored by extending the Wilson line length present in our non-local operators to one half the spatial extent of the lattice ensemble considered. The valence PDF is extracted by analyzing both the matched Ioffe-time Distribution (ITD),…
We point out a problem of the phenomenological definition of the valence partons as the difference between the partons and antipartons in the context of the NNLO evolution equations. After demonstrating that the classification of the parton degrees of freedom (PDF) of the parton distribution functions (PDFs) are the same in the QCD path-intergral formulations of the hadronic tensor and the quasi-PDF with LaMET, we resolve the problem by showing that the proper definition of the valence should be in terms of those in the connected insertions only. We also prove that the strange partons appear a…
We present a lattice QCD study of valence parton distribution inside the pion within the framework of Large Momentum Effective Theory. We use a mixed action approach with 1-HYP smeared valence Wilson clover quarks on 2+1 flavor HISQ sea with the valence quark mass tuned to 300 MeV pion mass. We use $48^3 \times 64$ lattice at a fine lattice spacing $a=0.06$ fm for this computation. We renormalize the quasi-PDF matrix element in the non-perturbative RI-MOM scheme. As a byproduct, we test the validity of 1-loop matching procedure by comparing the RI-MOM renormalized quasi-PDF matrix element with…
We present a high-statistics lattice QCD determination of the valence parton distribution function (PDF) of the pion, with a mass of 300 MeV, using two very fine lattice spacings of $a=0.06$ fm and 0.04 fm. We reconstruct the $x$-dependent PDF, as well as infer the first few even moments of the PDF using leading-twist 1-loop perturbative matching framework. Our analyses use both RI-MOM and ratio-based schemes to renormalize the equal-time bi-local quark-bilinear matrix elements of pions boosted up to 2.4 GeV momenta. We use various model-independent and model-dependent analyses to infer the la…
We present preliminary study of parton distribution inside the pion using mixed action approach with HYP smeared valence clover quarks on HISQ sea within the framework of Large Momentum Effective Theory. We use 2+1 flavor $48^3 \times 64$ HISQ lattices with lattices spacing of a=0.06 fm and valence quark masses corresponding to pion mass of 300 MeV.
We present preliminary calculations for the electric polarizability of the neutral pion and neutron on three dynamically generated nHYP-Clover ensembles. We use two different pion masses ($m_π \simeq 300$ and 220 MeV) to gauge the chiral behavior. The effects of partial quenching are analyzed by computing a string of partial quenched valence masses for each ensemble. We also analyzed the volume dependence using elongated lattices, where the elongation is in the direction of the electric field.
Pion valence distributions in nuclear medium and vacuum are studied in a light-front constituent quark model. The in-medium input for studying the pion properties is calculated by the quark-meson coupling model. We find that the in-medium pion valence distribution, as well as the in-medium pion valence wave function, are substantially modified at normal nuclear matter density, due to the reduction in the pion decay constant.
Using Nf=2+1+1 lattice QCD, we determine the fermionic connected contributions to the second and third moment of the pion PDF. Based on gauge configurations from the European Twisted Mass Collaboration, chiral and continuum extrapolations are performed using pion masses in the range of 230 to 500 MeV and three values of the lattice spacing. Finite volume effects are investigated using different volumes. In order to avoid mixing under renormalisation for the third moment, we use an operator with two non-zero spatial components of momentum. Momenta are injected using twisted boundary conditions.…
Different versions of improved staggered fermions can be used as valence quarks to reduce discretization effects in lattice QCD calculations while increasing statistics on existing staggered gauge ensembles. Such mixed-action simulations can be used to improve determinations of light quark masses, Gasser-Leutwyler couplings, decay constants, and other parameters relevant to particle phenomenology. We recall the generalization of ordinary, unmixed staggered chiral perturbation theory required to describe data from lattice calculations with a mixed action such as with HYP staggered valence quark…
We present the results of an investigation of a mixed action approach of overlap valence and maximally twisted mass sea quarks. Employing a particular matching condition on the pion mass, we analyze the continuum limit scaling of the pion decay constant and the role of chiral zero modes of the overlap operator in this process. We employ gauge field configurations generated by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with linear lattice size $L$ ranging from 1.3 to 1.9 fm. The continuum limit is taken at a fixed value of $L=1.3$ fm, employing three values of the lattice spacing and two values of…
We compute the pion electromagnetic form factor in a hybrid calculation with domain wall valence quarks and improved staggered (asqtad) sea quarks. This method can easily be extended to rho-to-gamma-pi transition form factors.
We present the first lattice-QCD calculation of the kaon valence-quark distribution functions using the large-momentum effective theory (LaMET) approach. The calculation is performed with multiple pion masses with the lightest one around 220 MeV, 2 lattice spacings $a=0.06$ and 0.12 fm, $(M_π)_\text{min} L \approx 5.5$, and high statistics ranging from 11,600 to 61,312 measurements. We also calculate the valence-quark distribution of pion and find it to be consistent with the FNAL E615 experimental results, and our ratio of the $u$ quark PDF in the kaon to that in the pion agrees with the CERN…
We study the changes in the short-distance quark structure of the Nambu-Goldstone boson when the long-distance symmetry-breaking scales are depleted controllably. We achieve this by studying the valence Parton Distribution Function (PDF) of pion in 2+1 dimensional two-color QCD, with the number $N$ of massless quarks as the tunable parameter that slides the theory from being strongly broken for $N=0$ to the conformal window for $N>4$, where the theory is gapped by the fixed finite volume. We perform our study non-perturbatively using lattice simulations with $N=0,2,4,8$ flavors of nearly massl…
We present a calculation of the pion and kaon Mellin moment $\langle x^3 \rangle$ extracted directly in lattice QCD using a three-derivative local operator. We use one ensemble of gauge configurations with two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f=2+1+1$) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The ensemble reproduces a pion mass $\sim260$ MeV, and a kaon mass $\sim530$ MeV. Excited-states contamination is evaluated using four values of the source-sink time separation within the range of $1.12-1.67$ fm. We use an operator that is free of mixing, and apply a mu…
We calculate the pion's valence-quark momentum-fraction probability distribution using a Dyson-Schwinger equation model. Valence-quarks with an active mass of 0.30 GeV carry 71% of the pion's momentum at a resolving scale q_0=0.54 GeV = 1/(0.37 fm). The shape of the calculated distribution is characteristic of a strongly bound system and, evolved from q_0 to q=2 GeV, it yields first, second and third moments in agreement with lattice and phenomenological estimates, and valence-quarks carrying 49% of the pion's momentum. However, pointwise there is a discrepancy between our calculated distribut…
We present a lattice-QCD calculation of the unpolarized isovector parton distribution function (PDF) using ensembles at the physical pion mass with large proton boost momenta $P_z \in \{2.2,2.6,3.0\}$~GeV within the framework of large-momentum effective theory (LaMET). In contrast to our previous physical-pion PDF result, we increase the statistics significantly, double the boost momentum, increase the investment in excited-state contamination systematics, and switch to $γ_t$ operator to avoid mixing with scalar matrix elements. We use four source-sink separations in our analysis to control th…
Algebraic Ansaetze for the Poincaré-covariant Bethe-Salpeter wave functions of the pion and kaon are used to calculate their light-front wave functions (LFWFs), parton distribution amplitudes (PDAs), quasi-PDAs (qPDAs), valence parton distribution functions (PDFs), and quasi-PDFs (qPDFs). The LFWFs are broad, concave functions; and the scale of flavour-symmetry violation in the kaon is roughly 15%, being set by the ratio of emergent masses in the $s$-and $u$-quark sectors. qPDAs computed with longitudinal momentum $P_z =1.75\,$GeV provide a semiquantitatively accurate representation of the obj…
We present the first exploratory lattice QCD calculation of the pion valence quark distribution extracted from spatially separated current-current correlations in coordinate space. We show that an antisymmetric combination of vector and axial-vector currents provides direct information on the pion valence quark distribution. Using the collinear factorization approach, we calculate the perturbative tree-level kernel for this current combination and extract the pion valence distribution. The main goal of this article is to demonstrate the efficacy of this general lattice QCD approach in the reli…
The impulse-approximation expression used hitherto to define the pion's valence-quark distribution function is flawed because it omits contributions from the gluons which bind quarks into the pion. A corrected leading-order expression produces the model-independent result that quarks dressed via the rainbow-ladder truncation, or any practical analogue, carry all the pion's light-front momentum at a characteristic hadronic scale. Corrections to the leading contribution may be divided into two classes, responsible for shifting dressed-quark momentum into glue and sea-quarks. Working with availab…
We present a calculation of the pion valence quark distribution extracted using the formalism of reduced Ioffe time pseudo-distributions or more commonly known as pseudo-PDFs. Our calculation is carried out on two different 2+1 flavor QCD ensembles using the isotropic-clover fermion action, with lattice dimensions $24^3\times 64$ and $32^3\times 96$ at the lattice spacing of $a=0.127$ fm, and with the quark mass equivalent to a pion mass of $m_π\simeq 415$ MeV. We incorporate several combinations of smeared-point and smeared-smeared pion source-sink interpolation fields in obtaining the lattic…
Within a chiral quark model, we evaluate the good cross section in the Euclidean space in the vector - axial vector channel, proposed recently by Ma and Qiu as means to extract the so far elusive parton distribution functions of the pion from lattice QCD. Our results are remarkably simple at the quark model scale and agree well, after the necessary QCD evolution, with with the most recent lattice calculations at the scale $μ\sim 2$ GeV for various values of the lattice pion mass. Comparisons are made as functions of the Ioffe time variable. We also comment on the information on the lowest mome…
A rainbow-ladder truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations, constrained by existing applications to hadron physics, is employed to compute the valence-quark parton distribution functions of the pion and kaon. Comparison is made to pi-N Drell-Yan data for the pion's u-quark distribution and to Drell-Yan data for the ratio u_K(x)/u_π(x): the environmental influence of this quantity is a parameter-free prediction, which agrees well with existing data. Our analysis unifies the computation of distribution functions with that of numerous other properties of pseudoscalar mesons.
We present the first attempt to access the $x$-dependence of the gluon unpolarized parton distribution function (PDF), based on lattice simulations using the large-momentum effective theory (LaMET) approach. The lattice calculation is carried out with pion masses of 340 and 678 MeV on a 2+1-flavor DWF configuration with lattice spacing $a=0.111$~fm, for the gluon quasi-PDF matrix element with the nucleon momentum up to 0.93 GeV. Taking the normalization from similar matrix elements in the rest frame of the nucleon and pion, our results for these matrix elements are consistent with the Fourier …
We extract pion parton distribution functions (PDFs) in a Monte Carlo global QCD analysis of experimental data together with reduced Ioffe time pseudo-distributions and matrix elements of current-current correlators generated from lattice QCD. By including both experimental and lattice QCD data, our analysis rigorously quantifies both the uncertainties of the pion PDFs and systematic effects intrinsic to the lattice QCD observables. The reduced Ioffe time pseudo-distributions significantly decrease the uncertainties on the PDFs, while the current-current correlators are limited by the systemat…
The large-momentum effective theory (LaMET) framework has been widely used to determine the Bjorken-$x$ dependence of parton distribution functions (PDFs) in lattice-QCD hadron-structure calculations. In this proceeding, I highlighted selected recent lattice-QCD results on parton distributions from MSULat group. We use clover valence fermions on ensembles generated by MILC Collaboration with lattice spacing $a \approx 0.06$, 0.09, and 0.12 fm, with $M_πL \approx 4$, and with pion masses including 135, 220 and 310 MeV and $N_f=2+1+1$ flavors of highly improved staggered dynamical quarks. Result…
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…
In order to learn effectively from measurements of generalised parton distributions (GPDs), it is desirable to compute them using a framework that can potentially connect empirical information with basic features of the Standard Model. We sketch an approach to such computations, based upon a rainbow-ladder (RL) truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations and exemplified via the pion's valence dressed-quark GPD, $H_π^{\rm v}(x,ξ,t)$. Our analysis focuses primarily on $ξ=0$, although we also capitalise on the symmetry-preserving nature of the RL truncation by connecting $H_π^{\rm v}(x,ξ=\pm 1,…
The parton distribution functions (PDFs) provide process-independent information about the quarks and gluons inside hadrons. Although the gluon PDF can be obtained from a global fit to experimental data, it is not constrained well in the large-$x$ region. Theoretical gluon-PDF studies are much fewer than those of the quark PDFs. In this work, we present the first lattice-QCD results that access the $x$-dependence of the gluon unpolarized PDF of the nucleon. The lattice calculation is carried out with nucleon momenta up to 2.16 GeV, lattice spacing $a\approx0.12$ fm, with valence pion masses of…
We investigate the parton-distribution functions (PDFs) for the positively charged pion and kaon at a low-renormalization scale ~ 1 GeV. To this end, we employ the gauge-invariant effective chiral action from the nonlocal chiral-quark model, resulting in that the vector currents are conserved. All the model parameters are determined phenomenologically with the normalization condition for PDF and the empirical values for the pseudoscalar-meson weak-decay constants. We consider the momentum dependence of the effective quark mass properly within the model calculations. It turns out that the leadi…
We describe expressions for pion and kaon dressed-quark distribution functions that incorporate contributions from gluons which bind quarks into these mesons and hence overcome a flaw of the commonly used handbag approximation. The distributions therewith obtained are purely valence in character, ensuring that dressed-quarks carry all a meson's momentum at a characteristic hadronic scale and vanishing as $(1-x)^2$ when Bjorken-$x\to 1$. Comparing such distributions within the pion and kaon, it is apparent that the size of SU(3)-flavour symmetry breaking in meson parton distribution functions i…
Supposing only that there is an effective charge which defines an evolution scheme for parton distribution functions (DFs) that is all-orders exact, strict lower and upper bounds on all Mellin moments of the valence-quark DFs of pion-like systems are derived. Exploiting contemporary results from numerical simulations of lattice-regularised quantum chromodynamics (QCD) that are consistent with these bounds, parameter-free predictions for pion valence, glue, and sea DFs are obtained. The form of the valence-quark DF at large values of the light-front momentum fraction is consistent with predicti…
We perform the first global QCD analysis of pion valence, sea quark, and gluon distributions within a Bayesian Monte Carlo framework with threshold resummation on Drell-Yan cross sections at next-to-leading log accuracy. Exploring various treatments of resummation, we find that the large-$x$ asymptotics of the valence quark distribution $\sim (1-x)^{β_v}$ can differ significantly, with $β_v$ ranging from $\approx 1$ to $> 2.5$ at the input scale. Regardless of the specific implementation, however, the resummation induced redistribution of the momentum between valence quarks and gluons boosts t…
We present for the first time complete next-to-next-to-leading-order coefficient functions to match flavor non-singlet quark correlation functions in position space, which are calculable in lattice QCD, to parton distribution functions (PDFs). Using PDFs extracted from experimental data and our calculated matching coefficients, we predict valence-quark correlation functions that can be confronted by lattice QCD calculations. The uncertainty of our predictions is greatly reduced with higher order matching coefficients. By performing Fourier transformation, we also obtain matching coefficients f…
A symmetry-preserving continuum approach to the two valence-body bound-state problem is used to calculate the valence, glue and sea distributions within the pion; unifying them with, inter alia, electromagnetic pion elastic and transition form factors. The analysis reveals the following momentum fractions at the scale $ζ_2:=2\,$GeV: $\langle x_{\rm valence} \rangle = 0.48(3)$, $\langle x_{\rm glue} \rangle = 0.41(2)$, $\langle x_{\rm sea} \rangle = 0.11(2)$; and despite hardening induced by the emergent phenomenon of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, the valence-quark distribution function, …
Pion valence, glue and sea distributions are calculated using a continuum approach to the two valence-body bound-state problem. Since the framework is symmetry preserving, physical features of the distributions are properly expressed. The analysis reveals that the emergent phenomenon of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking causes a hardening of the valence-quark distribution function, ${q}^π(x)$. Nevertheless, this distribution exhibits the $x\simeq 1$ behaviour predicted by quantum chromodynamics (QCD). At the scale $ζ_2:=2\,$GeV, the following momentum fractions are predicted: $\langle x_{\rm …
Dynamical chiral symmetry breaking (DCSB) is one of the keystones of low-energy hadronic phenomena. Dyson-Schwinger equations provide a model-independent quark-level understanding and correlate that with the behaviour of the pion's Bethe-Salpeter amplitude. This amplitude is a core element in the calculation of pion observables and combined with the dressed-quark Schwinger function required by DCSB it yields a valence-quark distribution function for the pion that behaves as (1-x)^2 for x~1, in accordance with perturbative analyses. This behaviour can be verified at contemporary experimental fa…
We present a calculation of valence double parton distributions of the pion in the framework of chiral quark models. The result obtained at the low-energy quark model scale is particularly simple, where in the chiral limit a factorized form follows, $D(x_1,x_2, \vec{q}) = δ(1-x_1-x_2) F(\vec{q})$ with $x_{1,2}$ standing for the longitudinal momentum fractions of the valence quark and antiquark, and $\vec{q}$ denotes the relative transverse momentum. For $\vec{q}=\vec{0}$ the result satisfies the Gaunt-Sterling sum rules. The QCD evolution to higher scales is carried out within the dDGLAP frame…
Gluon dressing of the light quarks within hadrons is very strong and extremely important in that it dynamically generates most of the observable mass through the breaking of chiral symmetry. The quark and gluon parton densities, $q(x)$ and $g(x)$, are necessarily interrelated since any gluon emission and absorption process, especially dressing of a quark, contributes to $g(x)$ and modifies $q(x)$. Guided by long-established results for the parton-in-parton distributions from a strict 1-loop perturbative analysis of a quark target, we extend the non-perturbative QCD approach based on the Rainbo…
Understanding why the scale of emergent hadron mass is obvious in the proton but hidden in the pion may rest on mapping the distribution functions (DFs) of all partons within the pion and comparing them with those in the proton; and since glue provides binding in quantum chromodynamics, the glue DF could play a special role. Producing reliable predictions for the proton's DFs is difficult because the proton is a three valence-body bound-state problem. As sketched herein, the situation for the pion, a two valence-body problem, is much better, with continuum and lattice predictions for the valen…
