Predictions for the Spatial Distribution of Gluons in the Initial Nuclear State

Abstract

We make predictions for the t-differential cross section of exclusive vector meson production (EVMP) in electron-ion collisions, with the aim of comparing DGLAP evolution to CGC models. In the current picture for the high-energy nucleus, nonlinear effects need to be understood in terms of low-$x$ gluon radiation and recombination as well as how this leads to saturation. EVMP grants experimental access to the edge region of the highly-boosted nuclear wavefunction, where the saturation scale for CGC calculations becomes inaccessible to pQCD. On the other hand, DGLAP evolution requires careful consideration of unitarity effects. The existing $J/ψ$ photoproduction data in ep collisions provides a baseline for these theoretical calculations. Under different small-$x$ frameworks we obtain a measurable distinction in both the shape and normalization of the differential cross section predictions. These considerations are relevant for heavy ion collisions because the initial state may be further constrained, thus aiding in quantitative study of the quark-gluon plasma.