Investigating the Drell-Yan transverse momentum distribution in the color dipole approach

Abstract

We study the influence of unitarity corrections on the Drell-Yan transverse momentum distribution within the color dipole approach. These unitarity corrections are implemented through the multiple scattering Glauber-Mueller approach, which is contrasted with a phenomenological saturation model. The process is analyzed for the center of mass energies of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC, $\sqrt{s}=500$ GeV) and of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC, $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV). In addition, the results are extrapolated down to current energies of proton-proton collisions, where non-asymptotic corrections to the dipole approach are needed. It is also shown that in the absence of saturation, the dipole approach can be related to the QCD Compton process.