Symmetry analysis of the hadronic tensor for the semi-inclusive pseudoscalar meson leptoproduction from an unpolarized nucleon target

Abstract

By examining the symmetry constraints on the semi-inclusive pseudoscalar particle production in unpolarized inelastic lepton-hadron scattering, we present a complete, exact Lorentz decomposition for the corresponding hadronic tensor. As a result, we find that it contains five independent terms, instead of the four as have been suggested before. The newly identified one is odd under the naive time reversal transformation, and the corresponding structure function is directly related to the single spin asymmetry in the semi-inclusive pseudoscalar meson production by a polarized lepton beam off an unpolarized target.