NLO predictions for the growth of $F_2$ at small $x$ and comparison with experimental data

Abstract

We present parametrizations for the proton structure function $F_2$ in the next to leading order in perturbative QCD. The calculations show that the dominant term to $F_2(x,Q^2)$ should grow as $x^{-\ls}$ for small $x$ values, with the exponent $\ls$ being essentially independent of $Q^2$. Comparisons with the most recent H1 and ZEUS data confirm the value $\ls \sim 0.35$ obtained previously from fits to low energy data.