Threshold Resummation for Hadron Production in the Small-$x$ Region

Abstract

We study the single hadron inclusive production in the forward rapidity region in proton-nucleus collisions. We find the long-standing negative cross section at next-to-leading-order (NLO) is driven by the large negative threshold logarithmic contributions. We established a factorization theorem for resumming these logarithms with systematically improvable accuracy within the color glass condensate formalism. We demonstrate how the threshold leading logarithmic accuracy can be realized by a suitable scale choice in the NLO results. The NLO spectrums with the threshold logarithms resummed remain positive and impressive agreements with experimental data are observed.

Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures, add comments on resummation and scale independence. Published in PRD as a rapid communication