Jonathan Bratt

Nucleon Generalized Parton Distributions from Full Lattice QCD

We present a comprehensive study of the lowest moments of nucleon generalized parton distributions in N{sub f}=2+1 lattice QCD using domain-wall valence quarks and improved staggered sea quarks. Our investigation includes helicity dependent and independent generalized parton distributions for pion masses as low as 350 MeV and volumes as large as (3.5 fm){sup 3}, for a lattice spacing of 0.124 fm. We use perturbative renormalization at one-loop level with an improvement based on the nonperturbative renormalization factor for the axial vector current, and only connected diagrams are included in the isosinglet channel.

Nucleon structure from mixed action calculations using 2+1 flavors of asqtad sea and domain wall valence fermions

We present high statistics results for the structure of the nucleon from a mixed-action calculation using 2+1 flavors of asqtad sea and domain-wall valence fermions. We perform extrapolations of our data based on different chiral effective field theory schemes and compare our results with available information from phenomenology. We discuss vector and axial form factors of the nucleon, moments of generalized parton distributions, including moments of forward parton distributions, and implications for the decomposition of the nucleon spin.

Generalized parton distributions from domain wall valence quarks and staggered sea quarks

Moments of the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon, calculated with a mixed action of domain wall valence quarks and asqtad staggered sea quarks, are presented for pion masses extending down to 359 MeV. Results for the moments of the unpolarized, helicity, and transversity distributions are given and compared to the available experimental measurements. Additionally, a selection of the generalized form factors are shown and the implications for the spin decomposition and transverse structure of the nucleon are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding systematic errors in the lattice calculation and exploring a variety of chiral extrapolations.

Nucleon Structure with Domain Wall Fermions at a = 0.086 fm

We present initial calculations of nucleon matrix elements of twist-two operators with 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions at a lattice spacing a = 0.084 fm for pion masses down to 300 MeV. We also compare the results with the domain wall calculations on a coarser lattice.We present initial calculations of nucleon matrix elements of twist-two operators with 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions at a lattice spacing a = 0.084 fm for pion masses down to 300 MeV. We also compare the results with the domain wall calculations on a coarser lattice.

Nucleon electromagnetic form factors with 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions

We present the recent high-statistics calculations of the nucleon electromagnetic form factors with fully dynamical domain wall fermions on the 32^3x64 lattices generated by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations, with pion masses at roughly 297 MeV, 355 MeV and 403 MeV. We study the phenomenological fits to the momentum transfer dependence of the form factors and investigate chiral extrapolations for the Dirac radius, Pauli radius and the anomalous magnetic moment using two variants of chiral effective field theories, the small scale expansion (SSE) and covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory.

A Variational Study of the Nucleon Wavefunction

The structure of the nucleon is studied variationally on the lattice by maximizing the overlap between the nucleon and a trial function generated by an interpolating field containing variational parameters. We examine the effect of the spatial extent of smeared quark sources, the degree of gauge field smearing, the positions of smeared quark sources, inclusion of lower Dirac components and of diquark substructure. Exploratory calculations with quenched Wilson fermions at a pion mass of 900 MeV achieved overlaps as high as 80%, and there was no evidence of diquark substructure.

Ab initio Hadron structure from lattice QCD

Early scattering experiments revealed that the proton was not a point particle but a bound state of many quarks and gluons. Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) experiments have accurately determined the probability of struck quarks carrying a fraction of the protons momentum. The current generation of experiments and Lattice QCD calculations will provide detailed multi-dimensional pictures of the distributions of quarks and gluons inside the proton.