Off-forward quark distributions of the nucleon in the large-Nc limit

We study the off-forward quark distributions (OFQD's) in the chiral quark-soliton model of the nucleon. This model is based on the large-N-c picture of the nucleon as a soliton of the effective chiral Lagrangian and allows one to calculate the leading twist quark and antiquark distributions at a low normalization point. We demonstrate the consistency of the approach by checking various sum rules for the OFQD's. We present numerical estimates of the isosinglet distribution H(x, xi, Delta(2)). In contrast with other approaches we find a strong qualitative dependence on the longitudinal momentum transfer, xi. In particular, H(x, xi, Delta(2)) as a function of x exhibits fast crossovers at \x\ = xi/2. such behavior could lead to a considerable enhancement of the deeply virtual Compton scattering cross section. [S0556-2821(98)00807-8].