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A Maximum-Entropy Method for Zero-Skewness Valence GPDs Constrained by Nucleon Electromagnetic Form Factors

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2026-07-02 v1 Nuclear Theory

Abstract

We formulate a reduced-profile maximum-entropy method (MEM) framework for constructing constrained zero-skewness valence-quark generalized parton distribution (GPD) transverse profiles from the four nucleon electromagnetic form factors F1p(t)F_1^p(t), F1n(t)F_1^n(t), F2p(t)F_2^p(t), and F2n(t)F_2^n(t). The form-factor sum rules fix only xx-integrated moments of the GPDs; the forward limit of HvqH_v^q is fixed separately by the valence parton distribution functions, and the normalization of EvqE_v^q by the flavor anomalous magnetic moments. These complementary constraints are combined through the ansatz Hvq(x,t)=qv(x)exp[tfHq(x)]H_v^q(x,t)=q_v(x)\exp[t f_H^q(x)] and Evq(x,t)=evq(x)exp[tfEq(x)]E_v^q(x,t)=e_v^q(x)\exp[t f_E^q(x)], where the positive profile functions encode the xx-dependent transverse structure. Rather than attempting an unrestricted functional inversion, we use the entropy functional as a regularizing criterion on a low-dimensional positive profile manifold. In the numerical proof-of-concept calculation, a smooth elastic form-factor input and analytic forward distributions are adopted, together with the reduced form f(x)=0.05+(1x)2exp(c0+c1x+c2x2)f(x)=0.05+(1-x)^2\exp(c_0+c_1x+c_2x^2), which suppresses local modes that elastic moments alone cannot constrain. Within this reduced ansatz, the resulting profiles reproduce the imposed elastic moment constraints, satisfy the forward normalizations after discrete-grid normalization, and give impact-parameter distributions with the expected transverse shrinkage at large xx. The construction provides a controlled zero-skewness baseline for connecting elastic form-factor constraints to xx-dependent transverse profiles, and it offers a stable starting point for future analyses incorporating empirical form-factor fits, modern PDF inputs, lattice-QCD generalized form factors, and hard exclusive observables.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.02302,
  title  = {A Maximum-Entropy Method for Zero-Skewness Valence GPDs Constrained by Nucleon Electromagnetic Form Factors},
  author = {Seung-il Nam},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.02302},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 3 figures