Real-time quantum simulation of hadron production in deep inelastic scattering

We develop a quantum simulation framework for meson production in deep inelastic scattering based on light-front QCD Hamiltonian formalism. A quark-antiquark dipole, prepared either as a single-momentum state or as the q q component of a virtual photon, is evolved in real time through the color field of a nuclear target via Trotterized unitary evolution. We consider both proton and gold nuclear targets, each characterized by their respective saturation scale. From the evolved state we extract the transverse momentum broadening, the total and elastic cross sections, and the J/ψ production rate by projecting onto the J/ψ light-front wavefunction. We then extract the nuclear modification factor R A at different photon virtuality Q squared and analyze nuclear modification effect. Results of classical simulations show good agreement with analytical eikonal predictions across a broad range of parameters. For the single-momentum dipole, quantum simulation is demonstrated on a quantum circuit emulator with a smaller lattice size, and results are consistent with the classical benchmark. This work establishes a first-principles, amplitude-level pathway toward computing exclusive hadron production in deep inelastic scattering, directly relevant to the physics program of the Electron-Ion Collider.