Pattern of scaling violation implied by field theories

The pattern of scaling violation in deep-inelastic scattering implied by renormalizable field theories is studied. A set of model-independent predictions are extracted from a series of model calculations involving both asymptotically free and conventional theories. These are contrasted with the pattern of scaling violation predicted by modified parton models. A procedure for comparing the predictions with experiment is discussed and applied to existing data from the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. General qualitative agreement is indicated. Crucial tests for the predicted pattern should come from the forthcoming Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory experiments. The possibility of distinguishing the predictions of asymptotically free theories from those of conventional theories by these experiments is found to be untenable due to various uncertainties in the theoretical considerations.