Impact parameter dependence of color charge correlations in the proton

Abstract

The impact parameter dependence of color charge correlators in the proton is obtained from the light front formalism in light cone gauge. We include NLO corrections due to the $|qqqg\rangle$ Fock state via light-cone perturbation theory. Near the center of the proton, the $b$-dependence of the correlations is very different from a "transverse profile function". The resulting $t$-dependence of exclusive $J/\Psi$ photoproduction transitions from exponential to power law at $|t| \approx 1$ GeV$^2$. This prediction could be tested at upcoming DIS facilities or in nucleus-proton ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs).