Generalized parton distributions and hard exclusive reactions Original Research Article

We discuss how generalized parton distributions (GPDs) enter in a variety of hard exclusive processes such as deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) and hard meson electroproduction reactions on the nucleon. We discuss the links between GPDs and elastic nucleon form factors as well as the information contained in the second moment of GPDs. We subsequently show some key observables which are sensitive to the various hadron structure aspects of the GPDs, and discuss their experimental status.