We study the inclusive production of two hadrons in deep inelastic processes, l N ---> l h_1 h_2 X, with h_1 in the current fragmentation region (CFR) and h_2 in the target fragmentation region (TFR). Assuming a factorized scheme, the recently introduced polarized and transverse momentum dependent fracture functions couple to the transverse momentum dependent fragmentation functions. This allows the full exploration of the fracture functions for transversely polarized quarks. Some particular cases are considered.
We show that a new beam-spin asymmetry appears in deep inelastic inclusive lepto-production at low transverse momenta when a hadron in the target fragmentation region is observed in association with another hadron in the current fragmentation region. The beam leptons are longitudinally polarized while the target nucleons are unpolarized. This asymmetry is a leading-twist effect generated by the correlation between the transverse momentum of quarks and the transverse momentum of the hadron emitted by the target. Experimental signatures of this effect are discussed.
By using a recently obtained set of Lambda fracture functions, we present predictions for Lambda production in the target fragmentation region of Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering in CLAS@12 GeV kinematics, supplemented with a conservative error estimates. We discuss a number of observables sensitive to the assumptions of the underlying theory and many of the assumptions of the proposed phenomenological model.
It is demonstrated that the fragmentation functions at large momentum fraction play a key role in hard hadron production from relativistic proton-proton collisions. We find that this region of the fragmentation functions is not strongly constrained by the electron-positron data. This freedom can be used (together with the transverse momentum distribution of partons) to reproduce hard pion-to-proton ratio data in relativistic proton-proton collisions.
We consider Lambda-hyperon production in the target-fragmentation region of semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering within the framework of fracture functions. We present a first attempt to determine the flavour and energy dependences of these non-perturbative distributions through a simultaneous QCD-based fit to available neutral- and charged-current semi-inclusive-DIS cross sections. Predictions based on the resulting nucleon-to-Lambda fracture functions are in good agreement with data and observables not included in the regression. The successful prediction of the $Q^2$ dependence of the Lambda multiplicity notably represents the first validation of the perturbative framework implied by fracture functions.
We present a model of exclusive $phi$-meson lepto-production $ep to epphi$ near threshold which features the strangeness gravitational form factors of the proton. We argue that the shape of the differential cross section $dsigma/dt$ is a sensitive probe of the strangeness D-term of the proton.