We will investigate a number of topic relevant to hadronic physics. Hadronic physics is the study of the internal structure and interactions of protons, neutrons, pi-mesons, etc., which are themselves components in the structure of atomic nuclei. One topic is to calculate the combined photon and Z-boson contributions to parity violating electron scattering. These contributions are important for translating precision measurements of this process into determinations of strange quark content of the nucleon. Another topic is timelike deeply virtual Compton scattering, which is the process of electron-positron annihilating into a photon plus a hadron-antihadron pair. The goal is to relate the measurements to general parton distributions in a new region, to better understand how matter is distributed within the hadron. A third topic is to understand how to usefully combine two different analyses of the two-photon corrections to elastic electron proton scattering. These corrections are important to one method of measuring the layout of charged matter within the proton. The two extant calculations each explain some to most of the discrepancy, but cannot without better understanding of the approximations in each calculation simply add them together because of double counting issues. Another topic is transverse momentum dependent parton distributions, which are a relatively new and potentially significant source of information on nucleon structure. We will be able to calculate some of the numerically smaller parton distributions using a model that has been instructive for both target and beam spin asymmetries. Finally for this long paragraph but short summary, we will further examine what hadronic physics can usefully learn from the so-called anti-deSitter space--conformal field theory correspondence. We will, as examples, look into deriving the dimensional scaling laws in different implementations of the correspondence, work out the glueball spectrum predicted form this correspondence, and include strange particles into the model.
In terms of broader impacts, these projects will help bridge the gap between hadronic theory and actual data, and will provide material for training new students, including undergraduates. The principal investigator has had two successful women Ph.D. students, and the present project may extend opportunities for women entering the field. Also, the PI is regularly visiting the Jefferson Laboratory and bridging the gap between university and national labs.
