Confinement and cut-off: a model for the pion quark distribution function

The pion structure function is investigated in a simple pseudo-scalar coupling model of pion and constituent quark fields. The imaginary part of the forward Compton scattering amplitude is evaluated. We show that the introduction of non-perturbative effects, linked through a cut-off to the size of the pion, allows the reproduction of important features of the pion quark distribution function.