Nucleon Helicity and Transversity Parton Distributions from Lattice QCD

Abstract

We present the first lattice-QCD calculation of the isovector polarized parton distribution functions (both helicity and transversity) using the large-momentum effective field theory (LaMET) approach for direct Bjorken-$x$ dependence. We first review the detailed steps of the procedure in the unpolarized case, then generalize to the helicity and transversity cases. We also derive a new mass-correction formulation for all three cases. We then compare the effects of each finite-momentum correction using lattice data calculated at $M_{\pi }\approx 310$ MeV. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results for the poorly known antiquark structure and predict the sea-flavor asymmetry in the transversely polarized nucleon.

Comments: 21 pages, 6 figures