Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to spin-dependent hadron-pair photoproduction

We compute the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the “direct” part of the spin-dependent cross section for hadron-pair photoproduction. The calculation is performed using largely analytical methods. We present a brief phenomenological study of our results, focusing on the K-factors and scale dependence of the next-to-leading order cross sections. This process is relevant for the extraction of the gluon polarization in present and future spin-dependent lepton–nucleon scattering experiments. PACS  13.88.+e; 12.38.Bx; 13.85.Ni