Real and Virtual Nucleon Compton Scattering in the Perturbative Limit

We present the results of calculations analyzing nucleon Compton scattering to lowest order using perturbative QCD (pQCD) methods. Two scenarios are considered: (1) the incoming photon is real; and (2) the incoming photon is virtual. The case of a real photon has been previously analyzed at least 5 times using pQCD, but no two results are in agreement. Here it is shown that our result agrees with that of Brooks and Dixon published in 2000. The case of a virtual photon has been previously analyzed only once using pQCD. However, doubt has been cast on the validity of that result. The results presented here for virtual photon are believed to be more reliable. Some consideration is given of how to compare these results with experiment. Following the lead of Brooks and Dixon, for the proton, this involves normalizing the cross section using the Dirac proton form factor, which we also calculate. Finally, there is a comparison of our results with recent experiments.