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Main Authors: D'Alesio, Umberto, Flore, Carlo, Zaccheddu, Marco
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.02890
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author D'Alesio, Umberto
Flore, Carlo
Zaccheddu, Marco
author_facet D'Alesio, Umberto
Flore, Carlo
Zaccheddu, Marco
contents We study Collins azimuthal asymmetries for pion-in-jet production in polarized lepton-proton collisions, extending previous analyses of polarized $pp$ scattering to a complementary and theoretically simpler process. We keep adopting a simplified transverse momentum dependent (TMD) approach, with a collinear configuration for the initial state, and employ the transversity and Collins fragmentation functions as extracted from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and $e^+ e^-$ annihilation processes. We then compute azimuthal asymmetries for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) kinematics, both within a leading order (LO) approach and by including quasireal photon exchange in the Weizsäcker-Williams approximation. Although this contribution is relevant in the whole kinematical range explored, it does not spoil the dominance of quark-initiated channels, leaving only a marginal role to their gluon counterparts. In this respect, Collins asymmetries in lepton-proton processes allow for a much clearer access to the transversity distribution, including its sea-quark component. As we will argue, a comparison with future EIC data could represent a further step in testing the hypothesis of the universality of the Collins function as well as of the TMD factorization for this class of processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_02890
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Collins asymmetries for pion-in-jet production in polarized $\ell p$ collisions at the EIC
D'Alesio, Umberto
Flore, Carlo
Zaccheddu, Marco
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
We study Collins azimuthal asymmetries for pion-in-jet production in polarized lepton-proton collisions, extending previous analyses of polarized $pp$ scattering to a complementary and theoretically simpler process. We keep adopting a simplified transverse momentum dependent (TMD) approach, with a collinear configuration for the initial state, and employ the transversity and Collins fragmentation functions as extracted from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and $e^+ e^-$ annihilation processes. We then compute azimuthal asymmetries for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) kinematics, both within a leading order (LO) approach and by including quasireal photon exchange in the Weizsäcker-Williams approximation. Although this contribution is relevant in the whole kinematical range explored, it does not spoil the dominance of quark-initiated channels, leaving only a marginal role to their gluon counterparts. In this respect, Collins asymmetries in lepton-proton processes allow for a much clearer access to the transversity distribution, including its sea-quark component. As we will argue, a comparison with future EIC data could represent a further step in testing the hypothesis of the universality of the Collins function as well as of the TMD factorization for this class of processes.
title Collins asymmetries for pion-in-jet production in polarized $\ell p$ collisions at the EIC
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.02890