- Open Access
Energy Independence of the Collins Asymmetry in Collisions
Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 261902 – Published 26 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jgsw-zhny
Abstract
The STAR experiment reports new, high-precision measurements of the transverse single-spin asymmetries for within jets, namely the Collins asymmetries, from transversely polarized collisions at . The energy-scaled distribution of jet transverse momentum, , shows a remarkable consistency for Collins asymmetries of in jets between and 510 GeV. This indicates that the Collins asymmetries are nearly energy independent, with, at most, a very weak scale dependence in collisions. These results extend to high-momentum scales () and enable unique tests of evolution and universality in the transverse-momentum-dependent formalism, thus providing important constraints for the Collins fragmentation functions.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
Supplemental Material
References (59)
- R. Klem, J. Bowers, H. Courant, H. Kagan, M. Marshak, E. Peterson, K. Ruddick, W. Dragoset, and J. Roberts, Phys. Rev. Lett. 36, 929 (1976).
- D. Adams et al. (E581/E704 Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 261, 201 (1991).
- B. Abelev et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 222001 (2008).
- L. Adamczyk et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 97, 032004 (2018).
- M. Kim et al. (RHICf Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 252501 (2020).
- U. A. Acharya et al. (PHENIX Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 103, 052009 (2021).
- J. Adam et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 103, 092009 (2021).
- M. Abdallah et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 106, 072010 (2022).
- G. L. Kane, J. Pumplin, and W. Repko, Phys. Rev. Lett. 41, 1689 (1978).
- U. D’Alesio and F. Murgia, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 61, 394 (2008).
- K.-b. Chen, S.-y. Wei, and Z.-t. Liang, Front. Phys. (Beijing) 10, 101204 (2015).
- D. W. Sivers, Phys. Rev. D 41, 83 (1990).
- J. C. Collins, Nucl. Phys. B396, 161 (1993).
- J. C. Collins, S. F. Heppelmann, and G. A. Ladinsky, Nucl. Phys. B420, 565 (1994).
- A. V. Efremov and O. V. Teryaev, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 36, 140 (1982), https://inspirehep.net/literature/167526.
- J.-W. Qiu and G. F. Sterman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2264 (1991).
- J.-W. Qiu and G. F. Sterman, Phys. Rev. D 59, 014004 (1999).
- X. Ji, J.-W. Qiu, W. Vogelsang, and F. Yuan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 082002 (2006).
- F. Yuan and J. Zhou, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 052001 (2009).
- F. Yuan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 032003 (2008).
- H. Hahn et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 499, 245 (2003).
- Z.-B. Kang, A. Prokudin, F. Ringer, and F. Yuan, Phys. Lett. B 774, 635 (2017).
- Z.-B. Kang, X. Liu, F. Ringer, and H. Xing, J. High Energy Phys. 11 (2017) 068.
- M. G. Echevarria, A. Idilbi, Z.-B. Kang, and I. Vitev, Phys. Rev. D 89, 074013 (2014).
- Z.-B. Kang, A. Prokudin, P. Sun, and F. Yuan, Phys. Rev. D 93, 014009 (2016).
- C. Zeng, H. Dong, T. Liu, P. Sun, and Y. Zhao, arXiv:2412.18324.
- M. Bury, A. Prokudin, and A. Vladimirov, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2021) 151.
- M. Bury, A. Prokudin, and A. Vladimirov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 112002 (2021).
- A. Bacchetta, F. Delcarro, C. Pisano, and M. Radici, Phys. Lett. B 827, 136961 (2022).
- L. Adamczyk et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 132301 (2016).
- M. Abdulhamid et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 854, 138715 (2024).
- K. H. Ackermann et al. (STAR Collaboration), Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 499, 624 (2003).
- A. Airapetian et al. (HERMES Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 012002 (2005).
- A. Airapetian et al. (HERMES Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 693, 11 (2010).
- A. Airapetian et al. (HERMES Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2020) 010.
- M. Alekseev et al. (COMPASS Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 673, 127 (2009).
- C. Adolph et al. (COMPASS Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 744, 250 (2015).
- X. Qian et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 072003 (2011).
- Y. X. Zhao et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration), Phys. Rev. C 90, 055201 (2014).
- W. B. Schmidke et al. (RHIC Polarimetry Group), Report No. BNL-209057-2018-TECH, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), 2018.
- M. Anderson et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 499, 659 (2003).
- M. Beddo et al. (STAR Collaboration), Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 499, 725 (2003).
- C. E. Allgower et al. (STAR Collaboration), Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 499, 740 (2003).
- W. J. Llope (STAR Collaboration), Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 661, S110 (2012).
- J. Chen et al., Nucl. Sci. Tech. 35, 214 (2024).
- M. Cacciari, G. P. Salam, and G. Soyez, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2008) 063.
- M. Shao, O. Y. Barannikova, X. Dong, Y. Fisyak, L. Ruan, P. Sorensen, and Z. Xu, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 558, 419 (2006).
- T. Sjostrand, S. Mrenna, and P. Z. Skands, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2006) 026.
- P. Z. Skands, Phys. Rev. D 82, 074018 (2010).
- J. Adam et al. (STAR Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 100, 052005 (2019).
- R. Brun, F. Bruyant, M. Maire, A. C. McPherson, and P. Zanarini, GEANT3 Report No. CERN-DD-EE-84-1, 1987, http://inspirehep.net/record/252007.
- G. G. Ohlsen and P. W. Keaton, Nucl. Instrum. Methods 109, 41 (1973).
- E. H. Moore, Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 26, 294 (1920).
- R. Penrose, in Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1955), Vol. 51, pp. 406–413.
- See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/jgsw-zhny for detailed information of PID, Collins asymmetry of , -test, model uncertainties, and systematic uncertainties.
- L. Gamberg, M. Malda, J. A. Miller, D. Pitonyak, A. Prokudin, and N. Sato (Jefferson Lab Angular Momentum (JAM) Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 106, 034014 (2022).
- U. D’Alesio, C. Flore, and M. Zaccheddu, arXiv:2506.21959.
- M. Boglione, U. D’Alesio, C. Flore, J. O. Gonzalez-Hernandez, F. Murgia, and A. Prokudin, Phys. Lett. B 854, 138712 (2024).
- STAR Collaboration, Energy independence of the collins asymmetry in collisions, HEPData, 10.17182/hepdata.160728.v1 (2025).