Collinear structure of nonlinear small- x evolution

We introduce a novel approach to high-energy QCD factorization of cross sections for processes involving a dilute projectile and a dense target. Our method preserves the factorization between “fast” and “slow” modes in the longitudinal momentum k + for a projectile moving along the positive light cone direction, making it compatible with higher-order loop computations done within the standard formulation of the color glass condensate (CGC) effective field theory. Moreover, it eliminates the anomalous double collinear logarithms that typically hinder the convergence of perturbation theory at small- x . Our scheme amounts to a change of basis in the space of CGC operators, introducing an arbitrary transverse scale dependence while leaving physical cross sections invariant. Implementing this scheme requires a modification of the high-energy renormalization group equation for the CGC operators, which we explicitly derive at next-to-leading order and in the nonlinear regime for the case of the dipole operator and the deep inelastic scattering impact factor. This general framework provides a consistent and systematic prescription for computing observables in the small- x regime of QCD, free from double logarithmic collinear instabilities.