A determination of Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) from a global fit to a dataset including measurements from the LHC has been performed for the first time. The determinations have been performed according to the NNPDF methodology, leading to a fit relatively free of parametrisation bias and with an accurate account of PDF uncertainty. In this thesis the importance of QCD measurements at the LHC to PDF extraction are discussed, and we summarise some of the technical difficulties in their inclusion into PDF fits. A number of methods are presented that permit the efficient inclusion of these observables into PDF determinations. Firstly a Bayesian reweighting procedure taking advantage of the Monte Carlo representation of PDF uncertainties in NNPDF sets is discussed. The utility of the Bayesian reweighting method is demonstrated by a study of the impact of early W production asymmetry measurements from ATLAS, CMS and LHCb upon an earlier PDF set. A package for the fast computation of observables in an automated NLO framework is presented, providing an interface between Monte Carlo event generators and NLO interpolation tools. Finally, a new method of combining PDF evolution with interpolating codes for hadronic observable computation is also described. This method largely overcomes the computational difficulties in performing fast perturbative QCD predictions for collider observables. The method has been applied to the determination of PDFs from a global dataset including electroweak vector boson production data from LHCb, ATLAS and CMS along with inclusive jet data from ATLAS. The resulting set, NNPDF2.3 provides the most accurate determination of parton distributions via the NNPDF methodology to date. Finally, the method of closure testing is introduced, and the method is applied to the study of the NNPDF methodology. A number of improvements are found in the minimisation and stopping procedures, which are adopted for the development of the next NNPDF release, NNPDF3.0. Alongside the sounder methodological basis, the NNPDF3.0 PDF set will provide a determination based upon an expanded datfits.

We investigate various aspects of the proton structure in this thesis. The first addresses the distribution of the proton spin among its constituents, quarks and gluons. We derive the framework of distribution functions for these constituents and study the properties of the polarized distributions which describe the spin structure of the proton. A determination of the polarized distributions on the basis of present experimental data is presented and options for future measurements are critically evaluated. A second aspect under consideration is the phenomenology of hard diffractive electron-proton scattering. We show how diffractive interaction and hard scattering can be disentangled and suggest experimental tests for this interpretation. Finally, we illustrate how the knowledge on the proton structure can be used for the computation of observables in proton-antiproton collisions, confirming or extending our knowledge of the physics of elementary particles.

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Parton distribution functions (PDFs) provide a description of the quark and gluon content of the proton. They are important input into theoretical calculations of hadronic observables, and are obtained by fitting to a wide range of experimental data. The NNPDF approach to fitting PDFs provides a robust and reliable determination of their central values and uncertainties. The PDFs are modelled using neural networks, while the uncertainties are generated through the use of Monte Carlo replica datasets. In this thesis I provide an in depth description of development of the latest NNPDF determination: NNPDF3.0. A number of novel adaptations to the genetic algorithm and network structure are outlined and the results of tests as to their effectiveness are shown. Centrally, the use of closure tests, where artificial data is generated according to a known theory and used to perform a fit, has been instrumental in both the development and validation of the NNPDF3.0 approach. The results of these tests, which demonstrate the ability of our methodology to reproduce a known underlying law, are investigated in detail. Finally, results from the NNPDF3.0 PDF sets are presented. The parton distributions obtained are compared with results from other PDF collaborations, and PDFs fit to limited datasets are also discussed. Physical observables relevant for future collider runs are presented and compared to other determinations.

Jointly-supervised doctoral thesis Title: Nucleon spin structure studies in Drell-Yan process at COMPASS Author: Jan Matoušek Department I: Department of Low Temperature Physics, Faculty of Mathem- atics and Physics, Charles University Department II: Department of Physics, University of Trieste Supervisor I: prof. Miroslav Finger (Department I) Supervisor II: prof. Anna Martin (Department II) Abstract: The nucleon structure is presently described by Transverse Momentum Depend- ent (TMD) Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs), which generalise the collinear PDFs, adding partonic spin and transverse momentum degrees of freedom. The recent HERMES and COMPASS data on hadron production in deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) of leptons off transversely polarised nucleons have provided a decisive validation of this framework. Nevertheless, the TMD PDFs should be studied in complementary reactions, like pp hard scattering and Drell-Yan pro- cesses. In particular the Sivers TMD PDF, which encodes the correlation between the nucleon transverse spin and quark transverse momentum and appears in the Sivers Transverse Spin Asymmetry (TSA), is expected to have opposite sign in Drell-Yan and SIDIS. In 2015 COMPASS measured for the first time the Drell- Yan process on a transversely polarised target π− p↑ → µ− µ+ X to test...

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abstract: In this thesis, I present the study of nucleon structure from distinct perspectives. I start by elaborating the motivations behind the endeavors and then introducing the key concept, namely the generalized parton distribution functions (GPDs), which serves as the frame- work describing hadronic particles in terms of their fundamental constituents. The second chapter is then devoted to a detailed phenomenological study of the Virtual Compton Scattering (VCS) process, where a more comprehensive parametrization is suggested. In the third chapter, the renormalization kernels that enters the QCD evolution equations at twist- 4 accuracy are computed in terms of Feynman diagrams in momentum space, which can be viewed as an extension of the work by Bukhvostov, Frolov, Lipatov, and Kuraev (BKLK). The results can be used for determining the QCD background interaction for future precision measurements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2016

La diffusion Compton virtuelle (DVCS) est un processus idéal pour étudier la structure interne du proton. Cette réaction exclusive permet d’accéder aux distributions de partons généralisées (GPDs) qui encodent les corrélations entre impulsion longitudinale et position transverse des partons à l’intérieur du proton. Le DVCS consiste à sonder le proton au moyen d’un photon virtuel de grande virtualité pour produire dans l’état final un unique photon réel de grande énergie tout en laissant le proton intact.A COMPASS au CERN, où deux années de données ont été collectées en 2016 et 2017 afin de mesurer la section efficace du processus DVCS, le photon virtuel est issu de la diffusion d’un faisceau de μ⁺ ou de μ⁻ polarisé de 160 GeV sur une cible d’hydrogène liquide. Toutes les particules de la réaction sont détectées dans l’expérience : le muon incident est détecté dans le télescope du faisceau, le muon diffracté et le photon réel sont détectés à l’avant dans le spectromètre et les trois calorimètres tandis que le proton de recul est détecté dans un détecteur de temps de vol placé autour de la cible.Je présente dans cette thèse l’état de l’analyse du processus DVCS sur les données collectées à COMPASS en 2016. Après un rappel du contexte théorique et expérimental, je décris l’expérience COMPASS. Je détaille ensuite mon travail de calibration du détecteur de proton de recul et de détermination de la position exacte de la cible de 2 cm de diamètre et 2.5 m de longueur. J’étudie dans la partie suivante la sélection de différents canaux de physique permettant de contrôler de manière systématique la qualité des détecteurs : la diffusion profondément inélastique (DIS) qui implique le télescope du faisceau et le spectromètre, la production exclusive de ρ⁰ qui inclut aussi le détecteur de temps de vol ; puis je présente la première analyse de la production exclusive de photons uniques qui implique en plus les trois calorimètres. Dans une dernière partie j’évoque les étapes nécessaires à la détermination de la section efficace du DVCS à partir de cette sélection, et je présente les premiers résultats issus de la simulation associée. / Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) is an ideal process to study the internal structure of proton. This exclusive reaction provides access to generalised parton distributions (GPDs), which encode the correlations between longitudinal momentum and transverse position of partons inside the proton. DVCS consists in probing a proton with a virtual photon of high virtuality, in order to produce a single high energy real photon while leaving the proton intact in the final state.At COMPASS at CERN, where two years of data were collected in 2016 and 2017 to measure the DVCS cross section, the virtual photon is produced by scattering of a 160 GeV polarised μ⁺ or μ⁻ beam on a liquid hydrogen target. All particles are detected in the experiment: the incident muon is detected in the beam telescope, the diffracted muon and the real photon are detected in the forward spectrometer and the three calorimeters, while the recoil proton is detected in a time-of-flight detector positioned around the target.In this thesis I present the state of the analysis of the DVCS process on the data collected at COMPASS in 2016. After a reminder of the theoretical and experimental context, I describe the COMPASS experiment. I then detail my work on calibrating the recoil proton detector and determining the the exact position of the 2 cm diameter and 2.5 m long target. In the next section, I study the selection of different physics channels used to systematically control detector quality: Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) which involves the beam-telescope and spectrometer, exclusive ρ⁰ production which requires the addition of the time-of-flight detector and I follow with the first analysis of the exclusive single photon production which depends as well on the calorimetres quality. In a last part, I discuss the necessary steps needed to extract the DVCS cross-section out of this event selection, and present the first results associated to the Monte-Carlo simulation.

The Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) provide a new description of the nucleon structure in terms of its elementary constituents, the quarks and the gluons. The GPDs give access to a unified picture of the nucleon, correlating the information obtained from the measurements of the Form Factors and the Parton Distribution Functions. They describe the correlation between the transverse position and the longitudinal momentum fraction of the partons in the nucleon.Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS), the electroproduction of a real photon on a single quark of the nucleon eN -> e'N'γ, is the most straightforward exclusive process allowing access to the GPDs. A dedicated experiment to study DVCS with the CLAS detector of Jefferson Lab has been carried out using a 5.883 GeV polarized electron beam and an unpolarized hydrogen target, allowing to collect DVCS events in the widest kinematic range ever explored in the valence region : 1 < Q^2 < 4.6 〖GeV〗^2, 0.1 < x_B < 0.58, 0.09 < -t < 3 〖GeV〗^2 .In this work, we present the extraction of three different DVCS observables: the unpolarized cross section, the difference of polarized cross sections and the beam spin asymmetry. We present comparisons with GPD model. We show a preliminary extraction of the GPDs using the latest fitting code procedure on our data, and a preliminary interpretation of the results in terms of parton density.

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