Exclusive photoproduction of a $π^0γ$ pair in the saturation framework

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Main Authors: Fucilla, Michael, Nabeebaccus, Saad, Szymanowski, Lech, Wallon, Samuel, Yarwick, Joseph
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Fucilla, Michael
Nabeebaccus, Saad
Szymanowski, Lech
Wallon, Samuel
Yarwick, Joseph
author_facet Fucilla, Michael
Nabeebaccus, Saad
Szymanowski, Lech
Wallon, Samuel
Yarwick, Joseph
contents We consider the exclusive photoproduction of a $π^0 γ$ pair with large invariant mass, as a promising channel to study the effects of gluon saturation. It has recently been demonstrated that this process is incompatible with a collinear factorization approach in terms of generalized parton distributions (GPDs) at the leading twist. In such a situation, a (generalized) $k_T$-dependent factorization at small $x$ is a valid alternative approach. We perform this calculation using the shockwave formalism, which resums multiple gluon exchanges between the projectile and the dense nuclear target. We find that the polarized amplitude changes sign as a function of back-to-back transverse momentum $|\vec{p}_t|$ of the pion-photon pair, resulting in a dip-like structure in the fully differential cross section as a function of $|\vec{p}_t|$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_11516
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Exclusive photoproduction of a $π^0γ$ pair in the saturation framework
Fucilla, Michael
Nabeebaccus, Saad
Szymanowski, Lech
Wallon, Samuel
Yarwick, Joseph
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Experiment
Nuclear Theory
We consider the exclusive photoproduction of a $π^0 γ$ pair with large invariant mass, as a promising channel to study the effects of gluon saturation. It has recently been demonstrated that this process is incompatible with a collinear factorization approach in terms of generalized parton distributions (GPDs) at the leading twist. In such a situation, a (generalized) $k_T$-dependent factorization at small $x$ is a valid alternative approach. We perform this calculation using the shockwave formalism, which resums multiple gluon exchanges between the projectile and the dense nuclear target. We find that the polarized amplitude changes sign as a function of back-to-back transverse momentum $|\vec{p}_t|$ of the pion-photon pair, resulting in a dip-like structure in the fully differential cross section as a function of $|\vec{p}_t|$.
title Exclusive photoproduction of a $π^0γ$ pair in the saturation framework
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Experiment
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11516