Measuring double-parton distributions in nucleons at proton-nucleus colliders

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics
• Nuclear Physics

Background:

• Multijet production in proton-nucleus collisions is crucial for understanding Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at high energies.
• Current models often assume simple scaling of cross sections with the number of nucleons (A), which may not capture complex nuclear effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To predict and investigate the enhancement of multijet production in proton-nucleus collisions.
• To enable the first model-independent measurement of double-parton distribution functions (dPDFs) within a nucleon.
• To facilitate the study of longitudinal and transverse parton correlations.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical calculations incorporating nuclear effects at collider energies.
• Analysis of multijet production signatures in proton-nucleus interactions.
• Development of methods for extracting dPDFs from experimental data.

Main Results:

• A significant enhancement of multijet production is predicted compared to simple A-scaling expectations.
• The proposed study provides a novel pathway to access dPDFs without relying on specific theoretical models.
• The results highlight the potential to probe intricate parton correlations within nucleons.

Conclusions:

• Proton-nucleus collisions offer a unique environment to study fundamental properties of partons.
• Measuring dPDFs model-independently is achievable through multijet production analysis.
• This research opens new avenues for understanding the internal structure of nucleons and their constituents.