Constraints for nuclear gluon densities from DIS data

Abstract

The $Q^2$ dependence of the ratios of nuclear structure functions $F_2^A$ is studied by performing QCD evolution of nuclear parton distribution functions. The log $Q^2$ slope of these ratios is very sensitive to the nuclear gluon distribution function. Taking different parametrizations, we show that the NMC data on the $Q^2$ dependence of $F_2^{\mathrm{Sn}}/F_2^{\mathrm{C}}$ rule out the case where nuclear shadowing (suppression) of gluons at $x\sim 0.01$ is much larger than the shadowing observed in the ratio $F_2^A/F_2^{\mathrm{D}}$. We also take into account modifications to the DGLAP evolution by including gluon fusion terms and see that the effect is small at present energies, and, in any case, a strong gluon shadowing is not favored. The region studied ($x\sim 0.01$) is the most relevant for RHIC multiplicities.

4 pages, 3 postscript figures. Contributed to 37th Rencontres de Moriond on QCD and Hadronic Interactions, Les Arcs, France, 16-23 Mar 2002