Transverse Momentum Dependent Observables from Low to High Energy: Factorization, Evolution, and Global Analyses

Transverse momentum dependent (TMD) observables in high-energy particle collisions allow one to study the motion of hadron constituents (partons) in three dimensions. The intense theoretical, phenomenological, and experimental work over the last several decades has seen great progress in modeling and extracting TMD parton distribution functions (PDFs) and fragmentation functions (FFs) [1, 2]. The wealth of experimental data, both current and future [3–6], across various reactions and energy ranges, along with substantial progress in other approaches, such as Lattice QCD [7], has increased the demand to rigorously study the intrinsic transverse motion of hadrons. Such issues currently being addressed include factorization, evolution, and operator definitions of TMD distributions, as well as how they influence phenomenological and Lattice QCD studies. Therefore, in this special issue we attempt to further the effort of understanding TMD structure through a series of review articles that address some of the significant areas of ongoing research.