Three-Dimensional parton structure of light nuclei

2017

Two promising directions beyond inclusive deep inelastic scattering experiments, aimed at unveiling the three dimensional structure of the bound nucleon, are reviewed, considering in particular the $^3$He nucleus. The 3D structure in coordinate space can be accessed through deep exclusive processes, whose non-perturbative part is encoded in generalized parton distributions (GPDs). In this way, the distribution of partons in the transverse plane can be obtained. As an example, coherent deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) off $^3$He nuclei, important to access the neutron GPDs, will be discussed. In Impulse Approximation (IA), the sum of two GPDs of $^3$He, $H$ and $E$, at low momentum t…