The strangeness contribution to the vector and axial form factors of the proton is presented for momentum transfers in the range 0.45

This thesis discusses two key topics: strangeness and charge symmetry violation (CSV) in the nucleon. It also provides a pedagogical introduction to chiral effective field theory tailored to the high-precision era of lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Because the nucleon has zero net strangeness, strange observables give tremendous insight into the nature of the vacuum; they can only arise through quantum fluctuations in which strange–antistrange quark pairs are generated. As a result, the precise values of these quantities within QCD are important in physics arenas as diverse as precision tests of QCD, searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, and the interpretation of dark matter direct-detection experiments. Similarly, the precise knowledge of CSV observables has, with increasing experimental precision, become essential to the interpretation of many searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. In this thesis, the numerical lattice gauge theory approach to QCD is combined with the chiral perturbation theory formalism to determine strange and CSV quantities in a diverse range of observables including the octet baryon masses, sigma terms, electromagnetic form factors, and parton distribution functions. This thesis builds a comprehensive and coherent picture of the current status of understanding of strangeness and charge symmetry violation in the nucleon.

Strangeness and Spin in Fundamental Physics is dedicated to the discussion of the role played by two subtle and somehow puzzling quantum numbers, the strangeness and the spin, in fundamental physics. They both relate to basic properties of the fundamental quantum field theories describing strong and electro-weak interactions and to their phenomenological applications. In some instances, like the partonic spin structure of the proton, they are deeply correlated. The many puzzling results recently obtained by measuring several spin asymmetries have stimulated gigantic progresses in the study of the spin structure of protons and neutrons. Intense theoretical activity has discovered new features of non-perturbative QCD, like strong correlations between the spin and the intrinsic motions of quarks inside the nucleons. The purpose of this publication is that of providing a complete, updated and critical account of the most recent and relevant discoveries in the above fields, both from the experimental and theoretical sides.