Proper identification of the gluon spin

Abstract

Properties of the recently proposed gauge-invariant gluon spin $S_g$ are studied and compared to the usually defined "gluon polarization" $Δg$. By explicit 1-loop calculations in a quark state, it is found that $S_g= \frac 59Δg$. Furthermore, $\frac 45$ of $S_g$ can actually be identified as a "static-field" contribution and shown to cancel exactly an analogous static term in the gluon orbital angular momentum $L_g$, leaving $S_g+L_g$ unaltered. These observations suggest that if properly identified, the gluon contribution to the nucleon spin may be drastically smaller than in the conventional wisdom.

9 pages, no figure; minor editing revision, references updated