Polarization effects in proton-proton collisions

The single-spin and double-spin asymmetries in pp→(γ*, Z)+X processes induced by collisions of polarized protons are investigated on the basis of QCD and electroweak interaction by using the method of helicity amplitudes. Analytic expressions for the single-spin (A _L) and double-spin (A _LL) asymmetries are obtained, and their dependence on the dilepton transverse momentum is investigated at three values of the dilepton invariant mass. The results obtained in this study make it possible to explore the spin structure of the proton.