Abstract

We calculate the nonzero Boer-Mulders functions of sea quarks inside the proton in a meson-baryon fluctuation model. The results show that the transverse spin effects of sea quarks in an unpolarized nucleon are sizable. Using the obtained antiquark Boer-Mulders functions, we estimate the cos 2 asymmetries in the unpolarized pp and pD Drell-Yan processes at FNAL E866/NuSea experiments. The prediction for the cos 2 asymmetries in the unpolarized pp Drell-Yan process at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is also given. © 2007 The American Physical Society.