Parton distributions of light quarks and antiquarks in the proton

Abstract

An algebraic Ansatz for the proton's Poincaré-covariant wave function, which includes both scalar and pseudovector diquark correlations, is used to calculate proton valence, sea, and glue distribution functions (DFs). Regarding contemporary data, a material pseudovector diquark component in the proton is necessary for an explanation of the neutron-proton structure function ratio; and a modest Pauli blocking effect in the gluon splitting function is sufficient to explain the proton's light-quark antimatter asymmetry. In comparison with pion DFs, the light-front momentum fractions carried by all identifiable parton classes are the same; on the other hand, the higher moments are different. Understanding these features may provide insights that explain distinctions between Nambu-Goldstone bosons and seemingly less complex hadrons.

Keywords

• Continuum Schwinger function methods
• Emergence of mass
• Proton structure
• Nonperturbative quantum field theory
• Parton distributions
• Strong interactions in the standard model of particle physics