Intrinsic parton motion soft mechanisms and the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_LL in high energy pp -> pi X

Abstract

The longitudinal double spin asymmetry A_LL in the reaction pp --> pi X has been measured at RHIC with extremely interesting consequences. If the gluon polarization in a proton were as big as needed to resolve the famous "spin crisis" then A_LL would be large and positive. Latest RHIC results indicate that A_LL is small and disfavour large positive values of the gluon polarization. We examine whether the soft mechanisms (Collins, Sivers, Boer-Mulders), essential for generating transverse single spin asymmetries, have any significant influence on A_LL, and whether they could alter the conclusion that the gluon polarization is necessarily small. It turns out that the contribution from these effects is essentially negligible.

RevTeX, 9 pages, 3 eps figures. Revised and shortened version; title slightly modified; figs. 3,4 removed; a new figure for the unpol. cross section added; no changes in results and conclusions; matches the published version

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