Generalized parton distributions from charged current meson production

Abstract

In this paper we prove that the simultaneous study of both 𝜌- and 𝜋-meson production by charged currents in Bjorken kinematics allows for a very clean extraction of the leading twist generalized parton distributions of the target, with inherent control of the contribution of higher-twist corrections. Also, it might provide target-independent constraints on the distribution amplitudes of the produced mesons. We expect that such processes might be studied either in neutrino-induced or in electron-induced processes. According to our numerical estimates, the cross sections of these processes are within the reach of JLab and EIC experiments.