A spectator-model way to transverse-momentum-dependent gluon distribution functions

Abstract

We present exploratory analyses of the 3D gluon content of the proton via a study of unpolarized and polarized gluon TMDs at twist-2, calculated in a spectator model for the parent nucleon. Our approach embodies a flexible parametrization for the spectator-mass function, suited to describe both moderate and small-$x$ effects. All these studies can serve as a useful guidance in the investigation of the gluon dynamics inside nucleons and nuclei, which constitutes one of the major goals of new-generation colliding machines, as the EIC, the HL-LHC, NICA, and the FPF.

Comments: 7 pages, 2 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the XXVIII International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering and Related Subjects (DIS2021), Stony Brook, New York, USA, 12-16 April, 2021, version accepted for publication on SciPost Physics Proceedings