Transverse–Spin Quark Distributions from Asymmetry Data and Symmetry Arguments

Abstract

The transversity and the Sivers distribution functions of quarks incorporate important information about the transverse-spin and transverse-momentum structure of nucleons. We show how these distributions can be directly determined point by point from leptoproduction asymmetry data collected for various targets and produced hadrons by the COMPASS Collaboration. Only simple symmetry relations are used in the extraction.