Parton promenade into the nucleon

Abstract

Generalized parton distributions (GPDs) offer a comprehensive picture of the nucleon structure and dynamics and provide a link between microscopic and macroscopic properties of the nucleon. These quantities, which can be interpreted as the transverse distribution of partons carrying a certain longitudinal momentum fraction of the nucleon can be accessed in deep exclusive processes. This lecture reviews the main features of the nucleon structure as obtained from elastic and inelastic lepton scatterings and unified in the context of the GPDs framework. Particular emphasis is put on the experimental methods to access these distributions and the today experimental status.

Lecture given at the XVIIIth International School on Nuclear Physics, Neutron Physics and Applications, September 21-27, 2009 Varna, Bulgaria