Probing Gluon Shadowing in Heavy Nuclei through Bayesian Reweighting of J/$ψ$ Photoproduction in Ultra-Peripheral Collisions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lu, Pengzhong, Tang, Zebo, Wu, Xin, Zha, Wangmei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Lu, Pengzhong
Tang, Zebo
Wu, Xin
Zha, Wangmei
author_facet Lu, Pengzhong
Tang, Zebo
Wu, Xin
Zha, Wangmei
contents The gluon distribution in nuclei plays a pivotal role in understanding quantum chromodynamics (QCD) under extreme nuclear environments, yet remains poorly constrained compared to quark distributions. Coherent \jpsi photoproduction in ultra-peripheral heavy-ion collisions ($γ+ A \rightarrow \mathrm{J}/ψ+ A$) provides a unique solution to this challenge, serving as a sensitive probe of nuclear gluon densities. In this study, we perform Bayesian reweighting on the EPPS21 and nCTEQ15 sets of nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDF) by incorporating coherent \jpsi photoproduction measurements from both RHIC and LHC. The Bayesian-reweighted gluon modification factors $\mathrm{R_g^{A}}(x, Q^2 = 2.4\ \mathrm{GeV}^2)$ reveal pronounced nuclear shadowing in the Pb nuclei, with $\mathrm{R_g^{\mathrm{Pb}}} \approx 0.60$ at $x = 10^{-4}$, while simultaneously achieving a great reduction of the uncertainties in the density of the gluon across the critical Bjorken-$x$ range $10^{-5} < x < 10^{-3}$ compared to initial predictions of the nPDF. This work establishes coherent \jpsi photoproduction as a precision tool for gluon nPDF extraction, overcoming traditional deep-inelastic scattering limitations through perturbative QCD-calibrated probes. The constrained nPDFs demonstrate improved consistency with the experimental data across collider energies, particularly in the shadowing-dominated regime.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_09063
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing Gluon Shadowing in Heavy Nuclei through Bayesian Reweighting of J/$ψ$ Photoproduction in Ultra-Peripheral Collisions
Lu, Pengzhong
Tang, Zebo
Wu, Xin
Zha, Wangmei
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
The gluon distribution in nuclei plays a pivotal role in understanding quantum chromodynamics (QCD) under extreme nuclear environments, yet remains poorly constrained compared to quark distributions. Coherent \jpsi photoproduction in ultra-peripheral heavy-ion collisions ($γ+ A \rightarrow \mathrm{J}/ψ+ A$) provides a unique solution to this challenge, serving as a sensitive probe of nuclear gluon densities. In this study, we perform Bayesian reweighting on the EPPS21 and nCTEQ15 sets of nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDF) by incorporating coherent \jpsi photoproduction measurements from both RHIC and LHC. The Bayesian-reweighted gluon modification factors $\mathrm{R_g^{A}}(x, Q^2 = 2.4\ \mathrm{GeV}^2)$ reveal pronounced nuclear shadowing in the Pb nuclei, with $\mathrm{R_g^{\mathrm{Pb}}} \approx 0.60$ at $x = 10^{-4}$, while simultaneously achieving a great reduction of the uncertainties in the density of the gluon across the critical Bjorken-$x$ range $10^{-5} < x < 10^{-3}$ compared to initial predictions of the nPDF. This work establishes coherent \jpsi photoproduction as a precision tool for gluon nPDF extraction, overcoming traditional deep-inelastic scattering limitations through perturbative QCD-calibrated probes. The constrained nPDFs demonstrate improved consistency with the experimental data across collider energies, particularly in the shadowing-dominated regime.
title Probing Gluon Shadowing in Heavy Nuclei through Bayesian Reweighting of J/$ψ$ Photoproduction in Ultra-Peripheral Collisions
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.09063