Prompt photon production with polarized proton beams in next-to-leading order

Abstract

We present numerical results for the next-to-leading order [$O(\ensuremath{\alpha}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{s}^{2})$] corrections to the inclusive cross section for the production of prompt photons with longitudinally polarized proton beams. It is shown that polarized prompt photon production should offer a good possibility to decide between presently suggested proton spin scenarios. Furthermore we examine the perturbative stability of the cross sections and asymmetries and briefly discuss the scale dependence of the results.