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In Newtonian mechanics, inertial pseudoforces - or fictitious forces - appear in systems studied in non-Galilean reference frames; e.g., a centrifugal force seems to arise if the dynamics is analyzed in a rotating reference frame. The equivalent of Galilean invariance for relativistic kinematics is Poincaré invariance; analogous artificial effects may arise in relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) if a system is studied in a framework violating Poincaré invariance. We highlight how such issues complicate the traditional canonical quantization of QFTs and can lead to a subjective description of natural phenomena. In fact, if the system involves the strong interaction, obtaining objective results can become an intractable problem using canonical quantization because the pseudoforces are essentially nonperturbative. In contrast, the treatment of the same problem using light-front (LF) quantization is free of spurious pseudoeffects because Poincaré invariance is manifest; thus the treatment of strong interaction problems becomes simpler. These statements are illustrated using several examples: the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) relation, a fundamental feature of QFT; the absence of any measurable impact of Lorentz contraction in high-energy collisions; and the fictitious character of vacuum fluctuation contributions to the cosmological constant.

The Pomeron Regge trajectory underlies the dynamics dependence of hadronic total cross sections and diffractive reactions at high energies. The physics of the Pomeron is closely related to the gluon distribution function and the gluon gravitational form factor of the target hadron. In this article we examine the scale dependence of the nonperturbative gluon distribution in the nucleon and the pion which was derived in a previous article [Phys. Rev. D 104, 114005 (2021)] in the framework of holographic light-front QCD and the Veneziano model. We argue that the QCD evolution of the gluon distribution function $g(x,\mu)$ to large $\mu^2$ leads to a single scale-dependent Pomeron. The resulting Pomeron trajectory $\alpha_P(t, \mu)$ not only depends on the momentum transfer squared $t$, but also on the physical scale $\mu$ of the amplitude, such as the virtuality $Q^2$ of the interacting photon in inclusive diffractive electroproduction. This can explain not only the $Q^2$ evolution of the proton structure function $F_2(x,Q^2)$ at small $x$, but also the observed energy and $Q^2$ dependence of high energy diffractive processes involving virtual photons up to LHC energies.

The holographic light-front QCD framework provides a unified nonperturbative description of the hadron mass spectrum, form factors and quark distributions. In this article we extend holographic QCD in order to describe the gluonic distribution in both the proton and pion from the coupling of the metric fluctuations induced by the spin-two Pomeron with the energy momentum tensor in anti--de Sitter space, together with constraints imposed by the Veneziano model\colorblue, without additional free parameters. The gluonic and quark distributions are shown to have significantly different effective QCD scales.

The breaking of chiral symmetry in holographic light-front QCD is encoded in its longitudinal dynamics with its chiral limit protected by the superconformal algebraic structure which governs its transverse dynamics. The scale in the longitudinal light-front Hamiltonian determines the confinement strength in this direction: It is also responsible for most of the light meson ground state mass consistent with the Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner constraint. Longitudinal confinement and the breaking of chiral symmetry are found to be different manifestations of the same underlying dynamics as found in 't Hooft large $N_C$ QCD(1 + 1) model.

The topical workshop \it Strong QCD from Hadron Structure Experiments took place at Jefferson Lab from Nov. 6-9, 2019. Impressive progress in relating hadron structure observables to the strong QCD mechanisms has been achieved from the \it ab initio QCD description of hadron structure in a diverse array of methods in order to expose emergent phenomena via quasi-particle formation. The wealth of experimental data and the advances in hadron structure theory make it possible to gain insight into strong interaction dynamics in the regime of large quark-gluon coupling (the strong QCD regime), which will address the most challenging problems of the Standard Model on the nature of the dominant part of hadron mass, quark-gluon confinement, and the emergence of the ground and excited state hadrons, as well as atomic nuclei, from QCD. This workshop aimed to develop plans and to facilitate the future synergistic efforts between experimentalists, phenomenologists, and theorists working on studies of hadron spectroscopy and structure with the goal to connect the properties of hadrons and atomic nuclei available from data to the strong QCD dynamics underlying their emergence from QCD. These results pave the way for a future breakthrough extension in the studies of QCD with an Electron-Ion Collider in the U.S.

We present the first lattice QCD calculation of the charm quark contribution to the nucleon electromagnetic form factors $G^c_{E,M}(Q^2)$ in the momentum transfer range $0\leq Q^2 \leq 1.4$ $\rm GeV^2$. The quark mass dependence, finite lattice spacing and volume corrections are taken into account simultaneously based on the calculation on three gauge ensembles including one at the physical pion mass. The nonzero value of the charm magnetic moment $\mu^c_M=-0.00127(38)_{\rm stat}(5)_{\rm sys}$, as well as the Pauli form factor, reflects a nontrivial role of the charm sea in the nucleon spin structure. The nonzero $G^c_{E}(Q^2)$ indicates the existence of a nonvanishing asymmetric charm-anticharm sea in the nucleon. Performing a nonperturbative analysis based on holographic QCD and the generalized Veneziano model, we study the constraints on the $[c(x)-\bar{c}(x)]$ distribution from the lattice QCD results presented here. Our results provide complementary information and motivation for more detailed studies of physical observables that are sensitive to intrinsic charm and for future global analyses of parton distributions including asymmetric charm-anticharm distribution.

A general procedure for obtaining frame-independent, three-dimensional light-front coordinate-space wave functions is introduced. The third spatial coordinate, $\tilde z$ , is the frame independent coordinate conjugate to the light-front momentum coordinate $x={k^+\over P^+}$ which appears in the momentum-space light-front wave functions underlying generalized parton distributions, structure functions, distribution amplitudes, form factors, and other hadronic observables. These causal light-front coordinate-space wave functions are used to derive a general expression for the quark distribution function of hadrons as an integral over the frame-independent longitudinal distance (the Ioffe time) between virtual-photon absorption and emission appearing in the forward virtual photon-hadron Compton scattering amplitude. Specific examples using models derived from light-front holographic QCD show that the spatial extent of the proton eigenfunction in the longitudinal direction can have very large extent in $\tilde z$.

In this article a systematic quantitative analysis of the isoscalar bosonic states is performed in the framework of supersymmetric light front holographic QCD. It is shown that the spectroscopy of the $\eta$ and $h$ mesons can be well described if one additional mass parameter -- which corresponds to the hard breaking of chiral $U(1)$ symmetry in standard QCD -- is introduced. The mass difference of the $\eta$ and $\eta'$ isoscalar mesons is then determined by the strange quark mass content of the $\eta'$. The theory also predicts the existence of isoscalar tetraquarks which are bound states of diquarks and anti-diquarks. The candidates for these exotic isoscalar tetraquarks are identified. In particular, the $f_0(1500)$ is identified as isoscalar tetraquark; the predicted mass value 1.52 GeV agrees with the measured experimental value within the model uncertainties.

We demonstrate that a nonzero strangeness contribution to the spacelike electromagnetic form factor of the nucleon is evidence for a strange-antistrange asymmetry in the nucleon's light-front wave function, thus implying different nonperturbative contributions to the strange and antistrange quark distribution functions. A recent lattice QCD calculation of the nucleon strange quark form factor predicts that the strange quark distribution is more centralized in coordinate space than the antistrange quark distribution, and thus the strange quark distribution is more spread out in light-front momentum space. We show that the lattice prediction implies that the difference between the strange and antistrange parton distribution functions, $s(x)-\bar{s}(x)$, is negative at small-$x$ and positive at large-$x$. We also evaluate the strange quark form factor and $s(x)-\bar{s}(x)$ using a baryon-meson fluctuation model and a novel nonperturbative model based on light-front holographic QCD. This procedure leads to a Veneziano-like expression of the form factor, which depends exclusively on the twist of the hadron and the properties of the Regge trajectory of the vector meson which couples to the quark current in the hadron. The holographic structure of the model allows us to introduce unambiguously quark masses in the form factors and quark distributions preserving the hard scattering counting rule at large-$Q^2$ and the inclusive counting rule at large-$x$. Quark masses modify the Regge intercept which governs the small-$x$ behavior of quark distributions, therefore modifying their small-$x$ singular behavior. Both nonperturbative approaches provide descriptions of the strange-antistrange asymmetry and intrinsic strangeness in the nucleon consistent with the lattice QCD result.

The structure of generalized parton distributions is determined from light-front holographic QCD up to a universal reparametrization function $w(x)$ which incorporates Regge behavior at small $x$ and inclusive counting rules at $x \to 1$. A simple ansatz for $w(x)$ which fulfills these physics constraints with a single-parameter results in precise descriptions of both the nucleon and the pion quark distribution functions in comparison with global fits. The analytic structure of the amplitudes leads to a connection with the Veneziano model and hence to a nontrivial connection with Regge theory and the hadron spectrum.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the spacelike nucleon electromagnetic form factors and their flavor decomposition within the framework of light-front holographic QCD. We show that the inclusion of the higher Fock components $\ket {qqqq\bar{q}}$ has a significant effect on the spin-flip elastic Pauli form factor and almost zero effect on the spin-conserving Dirac form factor. We present light-front holographic QCD results for the proton and neutron form factors at any momentum transfer range, including asymptotic predictions, and show that our results agree with the available experimental data with high accuracy. In order to correctly describe the Pauli form factor we need an admixture of a five quark state of about 30$\%$ in the proton and about 40$\%$ in the neutron. We also extract the nucleon charge and magnetic radii and perform a flavor decomposition of the nucleon electromagnetic form factors. The free parameters needed to describe the experimental nucleon form factors are very few: two parameters for the probabilities of higher Fock states for the spin-flip form factor and a phenomenological parameter $r$, required to account for possible SU(6) spin-flavor symmetry breaking effects in the neutron, whereas the Pauli form factors are normalized to the experimental values of the anomalous magnetic moments. The covariant spin structure for the Dirac and Pauli nucleon form factors prescribed by AdS$_5$ semiclassical gravity incorporates the correct twist scaling behavior from hard scattering and also leads to vector dominance at low energy.

This document presents the recommendations and scientific conclusions from the Town Meeting on QCD and Hadronic Physics that took place in the period 13-15 September 2014 at Temple University as part of the NSAC 2014 Long Range Planning process. It highlights progress in hadron physics in the seven years since the 2007 Long Range Plan (LRP07), and presents a vision for the future by identifying key questions and plausible paths to solutions which should define our next decade. In defining the priority of outstanding physics opportunities for the future, both prospects for the short (roughly 5 years) and longer term (beyond 10 years) are identified together with the facilities, personnel and other resources needed to maximize the discovery potential in hadronic physics worldwide. In this connection, the potential of an electron ion collider is highlighted.

Establishing an explicit connection between the long distance physics of confinement and the dynamical interactions of quarks and gluons at short distances has been a long-sought goal of quantum chromodynamics. Using holographic QCD, we derive a direct analytic relation between the scale $\kappa$ which determines the masses of hadrons and the scale $\Lambda_{s}$ which controls the predictions of perturbative QCD at very short distances. The resulting prediction $\Lambda_{s}=0.341\pm0.032$ GeV in the $\overline{MS}$ scheme agrees well with the experimental average $0.339\pm0.016$ GeV. We also derive a relation between $\Lambda_{s}$ and the QCD string tension $\sigma$. This connection between the fundamental hadronic scale underlying the physics of quark confinement and the perturbative QCD scale controlling hard collisions can be carried out in any renormalization scheme.

We show that the nonperturbative light-front dynamics of relativistic hadronic bound states has a dual semiclassical gravity description on a higher dimensional warped AdS space in the limit of zero quark masses. This mapping of AdS gravity theory to the boundary quantum field theory, quantized at fixed light-front time, allows one to establish a precise relation between holographic wave functions in AdS space and the light-front wavefunctions describing the internal structure of hadrons. The resulting AdS/QCD model gives a remarkably good accounting of the spectrum, elastic and transition form factors of the light-quark hadrons in terms of one parameter, the QCD gap scale. The light-front holographic approach described here thus provides a frame-independent first approximation to the light-front Hamiltonian problem for QCD. This article is based on lectures at the Niccolo Cabeo International School of Hadronic Physics, Ferrara, Italy, May 2011.

Dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and its connection with the generation of hadron masses has historically been viewed as a vacuum phenomenon. We argue that confinement makes such a position untenable. If quark-hadron duality is a reality in QCD, then condensates, those quantities that were commonly viewed as constant empirical mass-scales that fill all spacetime, are instead wholly contained within hadrons; viz., they are a property of hadrons themselves and expressed, e.g., in their Bethe-Salpeter or light-front wave functions. We explain that this paradigm is consistent with empirical evidence, and incidentally expose misconceptions in a recent Comment.

The SELEX Collaboration has reported a very large isospin splitting of doubly charmed baryons. We show that this effect would imply that the doubly charmed baryons are very compact. One intriguing possibility is that such baryons have a linear geometry Q-q-Q where the light quark q oscillates between the two heavy quarks Q, analogous to a linear molecule such as carbon dioxide. However, using conventional arguments, the size of a heavy-light hadron is expected to be around 0.5 fm, much larger than the size needed to explain the observed large isospin splitting. Assuming the distance between two heavy quarks is much smaller than that between the light quark and a heavy one, the doubly heavy baryons are related to the heavy mesons via heavy quark-diquark symmetry. Based on this symmetry, we predict the isospin splittings for doubly heavy baryons including Xi_cc, Xi_bb and Xi_bc. The prediction for the Xi_cc is much smaller than the SELEX value. On the other hand, the Xi_bb baryons are predicted to have an isospin splitting as large as (6.3\pm1.7) MeV. An experimental study of doubly bottomed baryons is therefore very important to better understand the structure of baryons with heavy quarks.

We find a correspondence between semiclassical gauge theories quantized on the light-front and a dual gravity model in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, thus providing an initial approximation to QCD in its strongly coupled regime. This correspondence -- light-front holography -- leads to a light-front Hamiltonian and relativistic bound-state wave equations in terms of an invariant impact variable $\zeta$ which measures the separation of the quark and gluonic constituents within the hadron at equal light-front time. Light-front holography also allows a precise mapping of transition amplitudes from AdS to physical space-time. In contrast with the usual AdS/QCD framework, the internal structure of hadrons is explicitly introduced in the gauge/gravity correspondence and the angular momentum of the constituents plays a key role. We also discuss how to introduce higher Fock-states in the correspondence as well as their relevance for describing the detailed structure of space and time-like form factors.

We discuss some remarkable features of the light-front holographic mapping of classical gravity in anti-de Sitter space modified by a confining dilaton background. In particular, we show that a positive-sign dilaton solution $\exp(+\kappa^2 z^2)$ has better chances to describe the correct hadronic phenomenology than the negative solution $\exp{(- \kappa^2 z^2)}$ extensively studied in the literature. We also show that the use of twist-scaling dimensions, instead of canonical dimensions, is required to give a good description of the spectrum and form factors of hadrons. Another key element is the explicit connection of AdS modes of total angular momentum $J$ with the internal structure of hadrons and the proper identification of the orbital angular momentum of the constituents.

We show that the chiral-limit vacuum quark condensate is qualitatively equivalent to the pseudoscalar meson leptonic decay constant in the sense that they are both obtained as the chiral-limit value of well-defined gauge-invariant hadron-to-vacuum transition amplitudes that possess a spectral representation in terms of the current-quark mass. Thus, whereas it might sometimes be convenient to imagine otherwise, neither is essentially a constant mass-scale that fills all spacetime. This means, in particular, that the quark condensate can be understood as a property of hadrons themselves, which is expressed, for example, in their Bethe-Salpeter or light-front wavefunctions.

The light-front holographic mapping of classical gravity in AdS space, modified by a positive-sign dilaton background, leads to a nonperturbative effective coupling $\alpha_s^{AdS}(Q^2)$. It agrees with hadron physics data extracted from different observables, such as the effective charge defined by the Bjorken sum rule, as well as with the predictions of models with built-in confinement and lattice simulations. It also displays a transition from perturbative to nonperturbative conformal regimes at a momentum scale $ \sim 1$ GeV. The resulting $\beta$ function appears to capture the essential characteristics of the full $\beta$ function of QCD, thus giving further support to the application of the gauge/gravity duality to the confining dynamics of strongly coupled QCD. Commensurate scale relations relate observables to each other without scheme or scale ambiguity. In this paper we extrapolate these relations to the nonperturbative domain, thus extending the range of predictions based on $\alpha_s^{AdS}(Q^2)$.