Proton structure, Partons, QCD, DGLAP and beyond

Abstract

We present an introductory discussion of deep-inelastic lepton-proton scattering as a means to probe the substructure of the proton. A resume of QCD is given, emphasizing the running of the coupling constant and the DGLAP evolution equations for the parton densities. The determination of parton distributions is discussed and their importance for predictions of processes at the LHC is emphasized. Going beyond the pure DGLAP regime, we briefly discuss the behaviour of parton densities at low x, and the evidence for non-linear absorptive contributions.

Comments: 35 pages, 19 figures, to appear in Proc. of School on QCD, low x physics, saturation and diffraction, Copanello, Calabria, Italy, July 2007, to be published in Acta Physica Polonica