Orbital angular momentum in the nucleons

Abstract

In the last decade, it has been realized that the orbital angular momentum of partons inside the nucleon plays a major role. It contributes significantly to nucleon properties and is at the origin of many asymmetries observed in spin physics. It is therefore of paramount importance to determine this quantity if we want to understand the nucleon internal structure and experimental observables. This triggered numerous discussions and controversies about the proper definition of orbital angular momentum and its extraction from experimental data. We summarize the present situation and discuss recent developments in this field.