Using analytic models to describe effective PDFs

Abstract

Parton distribution functions play a pivotal role in hadron collider phenomenology. They are non-perturbative quantities extracted from fits to available data, and their scale dependence is dictated by the DGLAP evolution equations. In this article, we discuss machine-assisted strategies to efficiently compute PDFs directly incorporating the scale evolution without the need of separately solving DGLAP equations. Analytical approximations to the PDFs as a function of $x$ and $Q^2$, including up to next-to-leading order effects in Quantum Chromodynamics, are obtained. The methodology is tested by reproducing the $\texttt{HERAPDF2.0}$ set and implementing the analytical expressions in benchmarking codes. It is found that the computational cost is reduced while the precision of the simulations stays well under control.