The Sivers single-spin asymmetry in photon-jet production

Abstract

We study a weighted asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of photon-jet pairs produced in the process p^\uparrow p --> \gamma jet X with a transversely polarized proton. We focus on the contribution of the Sivers effect only, considering experimental configurations accessible at RHIC-BNL. We show that predictions for the asymmetry, obtained in terms of gluonic-pole cross sections calculable in perturbative QCD, can be tested and clearly discriminated from those based on a generalized parton model, involving standard partonic cross sections. Experimental measurements of the asymmetry will therefore test our present understanding of single-spin asymmetries.

Comments: Some changes in the text and in the layout. Two references added. Accepted for publication in PRL