Spin Dependence of Deep Inelastic Diffraction

Abstract

Using a perturbative model for diffractive interactions, we derive an expression for the polarized diffractive structure function $g_1^D$ in the high energy limit. This structure function is given by the interference of diffractive amplitudes with polarized and unpolarized exchanges. For the polarized exchange we consider both two-gluon and quark-antiquark amplitudes. The polarized diffractive amplitude receives sizable contributions from non-strongly ordered regions in phase space, resulting in a double logarithmic enhancement at small $x$. The resummation of these double logarithmic terms is outlined. We also discuss the transition from our perturbative expression to the nonperturbative region. A first numerical estimate indicates that the perturbative contribution to the spin asymmetry is substantially larger than the nonperturbative one.