Transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions and QCD evolution equations

Abstract

We provide an overview over Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs). While we will also comment on TMD PDFs in general, we will focus on their use for the description of hadronic reactions in the so-called low x limit. Here $x = M^2/s$ and $M$ is the hard scale of the process, while $\sqrt{s}$ is the center of mass energy of the reaction. We will explain why this are interesting quantities whose exploration serves a manifold purpose. In particular we will explain why these are interesting quantities both for the accurate description of LHC data and why exploration of such quantities is a central goal of the future Electron Ion Collider. In a second part of this talk we will then discuss how perturbative QCD allows us to formulate and solve differential equations, which describe the dependence of this TMD PDFs on various kinematic variables.