Drell-Yan Non-Singlet Spin Cross Sections and Spin Asymmetry to $O(\alpha_s^2)$ (II)

Abstract

We present predictions for the non-singlet Drell-Yan longitudinal spin cross sections and spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, in proton-proton collisions at large $p_T$ at the RHIC energy of $200\gev$ at next-to-leading order QCD. The higher order corrections to the non-singlet polarized cross section, $\sigma_{NS}^{LL}$, are sizeable and similar to those found for the unpolarized cross section. The non-singlet asymmetry parameter, $A^{NS}_{LL}$, is very stable against higher order corrections and is a direct measurement of the non-singlet (i.e. valence) polarized quark distributions within the proton.