Non-perturbative contributions to low transverse momentum Drell-Yan pair production using the Parton Branching Method*

Abstract The non-perturbative processes, the internal transverse motion of partons inside hadrons, which gives rise to their intrinsic transverse momentum (intrinsic k T ), and multiple soft gluon emissions that need to be resummed, are dominant contributors to the low transverse momentum of the Drell-Yan (DY) pair cross section. Therefore, this part of the DY spectrum serves as a powerful tool for a better understanding of such processes, which is the focus of the study presented here. The study is conducted using the Parton Branching Method, which describes Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) Parton Densitity Functions (PDF) and provides a very precise description of DY pair transverse momentum distributions across a wide range of collision energies and pair invariant masses. In contrast to the energy dependence of intrinsic k T observed in shower-based Monte Carlo event generators, the CASCADE3 event generator—based on the Parton Branching Method —has provided an intrinsic- k T distribution that is independent of the center-of-mass energy. Further studies conducted within the Parton Branching Method have sought to understand the origin of this energy dependence, indicating that the dependence is mainly a consequence of the interplay between two main processes: internal transverse motion and soft gluon emission. The latter has been reduced in shower-based event generators, primarily due to the non-perturbative Sudakov form factor, which is often neglected. Since the Sudakov form factor depends on the evolution scale, this paper explores this dependence through the interplay of the two processes and attempts to explain it. Additionally, since QED final state radiation affects the profile of the DY pair transverse momentum distribution, we investigate its impact in both the high and low DY pair invariant mass regions.