AI-assisted modeling and Bayesian inference of unpolarized quark transverse momentum distributions from Drell-Yan data

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kang, Zhong-Bo, Sellers, Luke, Zhang, Congyue, Zhou, Curtis
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Kang, Zhong-Bo
Sellers, Luke
Zhang, Congyue
Zhou, Curtis
author_facet Kang, Zhong-Bo
Sellers, Luke
Zhang, Congyue
Zhou, Curtis
contents We present an extraction of unpolarized quark transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMD PDFs) from Drell-Yan data within a Bayesian inference framework, incorporating artificial intelligence at multiple stages of the analysis. Our analysis is performed at ${\rm N^3LO}$ in perturbative QCD combined with ${\rm N^4LL}$ resummation accuracy. We first employ an AI-driven iterative procedure to explore and rank candidate functional forms for the nonperturbative contributions to TMD PDFs at the initial scale, as well as for the Collins-Soper evolution kernel, using $χ^2$ fits and physics constraints. To enable efficient Bayesian inference, we construct a surrogate model for TMD cross sections by training a machine-learning emulator over the parameter space, replacing computationally expensive repeated evaluations and allowing scalable sampling with an affine-invariant Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) ensemble. Using this framework, we perform a global analysis of Drell-Yan data from fixed-target, RHIC, and LHC experiments and extract TMD PDFs with quantified uncertainties. We compare the results with those obtained using the replica method and highlight differences in the resulting uncertainty estimates.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_14133
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AI-assisted modeling and Bayesian inference of unpolarized quark transverse momentum distributions from Drell-Yan data
Kang, Zhong-Bo
Sellers, Luke
Zhang, Congyue
Zhou, Curtis
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Experiment
Nuclear Theory
We present an extraction of unpolarized quark transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMD PDFs) from Drell-Yan data within a Bayesian inference framework, incorporating artificial intelligence at multiple stages of the analysis. Our analysis is performed at ${\rm N^3LO}$ in perturbative QCD combined with ${\rm N^4LL}$ resummation accuracy. We first employ an AI-driven iterative procedure to explore and rank candidate functional forms for the nonperturbative contributions to TMD PDFs at the initial scale, as well as for the Collins-Soper evolution kernel, using $χ^2$ fits and physics constraints. To enable efficient Bayesian inference, we construct a surrogate model for TMD cross sections by training a machine-learning emulator over the parameter space, replacing computationally expensive repeated evaluations and allowing scalable sampling with an affine-invariant Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) ensemble. Using this framework, we perform a global analysis of Drell-Yan data from fixed-target, RHIC, and LHC experiments and extract TMD PDFs with quantified uncertainties. We compare the results with those obtained using the replica method and highlight differences in the resulting uncertainty estimates.
title AI-assisted modeling and Bayesian inference of unpolarized quark transverse momentum distributions from Drell-Yan data
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Nuclear Experiment
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14133