Some non-trivial features of the QCD-improved parton model relevant to applications on heavy particle production and semi-hard (small-x) processes of interest to collider physics are reviewed. The underlying ideas are illustrated by a simple example. Limitations of the naive parton formula as well as first order corrections and subtractions to it are dis-cussed in a quantitative way. The behavior of parton distribution functions at small x and for heavy quarks are discussed. Recent work on possible impact of unconventional small-x behavior of the parton distributions on small-x physics at SSC and Tevatron are summarized. The Drell-Yan process is found to be particularly sensitive to the small x dependence of parton distributions. Measurements of this process at the Tevatron can provide powerful constraints on the expected rates of semi-hard processes at the SSC.
Comparison of the k T-factorization approach and the QCD parton model for charm and beauty hadroproduction