Longitudinal Gluon Polarization in RHIC Double-Spin Asymmetries

The longitudinally polarized gluon density is probed sensitively in hard collisions of polarized protons under the condition that the dominant dynamics are perturbative and of leading twist origin. First data have recently been presented by Phenix on the double-spin asymmetry A_{LL}^{pi} for pi^0 production at moderate transverse momentum p_\perp \simeq 1 - 4 GeV and central rapidity. By means of a systematic investigation of the relevant degrees of freedom we show that the perturbative QCD framework at leading power in p_\perp produces an asymmetry that is basically positive definite in this kinematic range, i.e. A_{LL}^{pi}\gtrsim O(-10^{-3}) .