Inspired by the recent Hall C and GlueX measurements of $J/\psi$ photoproduction, a systematic analysis of the contribution of quantum anomalous energy (QAE) to the proton mass is carried out under the framework of the vector meson dominance model. The results show that the effective Pomeron model and the parametrized two gluon exchange model can explain the cross section of $J/\psi$ photoproduction well. Based on the predicted cross section values given by the two models, the distribution of the QAE contribution with the energy is extracted for the first time. Finally, the average value of the QAE contribution is estimated to be $(3.50\pm 0.70)\%$, which suggests that the QAE contribution to the proton mass is small. Accordingly, we compared this result with those of other groups and explored the causes for the differences.

• Received 17 October 2022
• Accepted 7 November 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.106.094029

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP³.

Published by the American Physical Society