Pion Form Factor in the $k_T$ Factorization Formalism

Based on the light-cone (LC) framework and the $k_T$ factorization formalism, the transverse momentum effects and the different helicity components' contributions to the pion form factor $F_{\pi}(Q^2)$ are recalculated. In particular, the contribution to the pion form factor from the higher helicity components ($\lambda_1+\lambda_2=\pm 1$), which come from the spin-space Wigner rotation, are analyzed in the soft and hard energy regions respectively. Our results show that the right power behavior of the hard contribution from the higher helicity components can only be obtained by fully keeping the $k_T$ dependence in the hard amplitude, and that the $k_T$ dependence in LC wave function affects the hard and soft contributions substantially. As an example, we employ a model LC wave function to calculate the pion form factor and then compare the numerical predictions with the experimental data. It is shown that the soft contribution is less important at the intermediate energy region.