Deeply virtual Compton scattering gives access to the generalized parton distributions that encode the information on the transverse position of quarks and gluons in the proton with dependence on their longitudinal momentum. In anticipation of the high-precision experimental data in a broad kinematic range from the Electron-Ion Collider, we have calculated the two-loop, next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) deeply virtual Compton scattering coefficient functions associated with the dominant Compton form factors $\mathcal{H}$ and $\mathcal{E}$ at large energies. The NNLO correction to the imaginary part of $\mathcal{H}$ appears to be rather large, up to factor 2 at the input scale $Q^2=4{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$ for simple generalized parton distribution models, due to a cancellation between quark and gluon contributions.

• Received 25 July 2022
• Accepted 27 September 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.172001

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP³.

Published by the American Physical Society