A universal probe of QCD spin physics from fragmentation energy correlator

Abstract

We study the fragmentation energy correlator (FEC), which combines the nonperturbative fragmentation function with the infrared-safe energy correlator, as a new probe of the three-dimensional dynamics of QCD hadronization. We demonstrate, both theoretically and numerically, that FEC applies universally to inclusive hadron production in lepton-lepton, lepton-hadron, and hadron-hadron collisions, without requiring jet algorithms or simultaneous measurements of other heavy objects. Through the nontrivial transverse-spin dependence, FEC provides a sensitive probe of the chiral-symmetry-breaking scale in QCD via its variation with the energy-correlator scale.