Time-reversal-odd phenomena in QCD
Abstract
Description
Single-spin asymmetries were long thought to vanish in high-energy scattering processes because of their specific time-reversal behavior. Time-reversal-odd phenomena, however, appear naturally when one includes effects of intrinsic transverse momenta of partons. The partons, quarks and gluons, enter the description of high-energy scattering processes in correlators which contain quark and gluon fields. The correlators, parameterized in terms of distribution and fragmentation functions, constitute matrix elements of non-local field configurations. For transverse momentum dependent (TMD) correlators the non-locality is along a light-front, in contrast to the non-locality along the light-cone for collinear correlators, integrated over transverse momenta. The TMD correlators require a careful treatment to assure color gauge invariance, leading to nontrivial gauge links connecting the parton fields. These give rise to time-reversal-odd phenomena, showing up as single spin and azimuthal asymmetries. The gauge links, arising from multi-gluon initial and final state interactions, depend on the color flow in the process, which has consequences for issues like universality and factorization.
To appear in the proceedings of Light Cone 2008: Relativistic Nuclear and Particle Physics (LC2008), Mulhouse, France, 7-11 Jul 2008
To appear in the proceedings of Light Cone 2008: Relativistic Nuclear and Particle Physics (LC2008), Mulhouse, France, 7-11 Jul 2008