We re-examine a string dual model for elastic proton-proton scattering via Pomeron exchange. We argue that the method of "Reggeizing" a propagator to take into account an entire trajectory of exchanged particles can be generalized, in particular by modifying the value of the mass-shell parameter in the model. We then fit the generalized model to scattering data at large s and small t. The fitting results are inconclusive, but suggest that a better fit might be obtained by allowing the mass-shell to vary. The model fits the data equally well (roughly) for a wide range of values of the mass-shell parameter, but the other fitting parameters (the slope and intercept of the Regge trajectory, and the coupling constant and dipole mass from the proton-proton-glueball coupling) are then inconsistent with what we expect. On the other hand, using the traditional method of Reggeization generates a weaker fit, but the other parameters obtain more physically reasonable values. In analyzing the fitting results, we also found that our model is more consistent with the sqrt(s) = 1800 GeV coming from the E710 experiment than that coming from the CDF experiment, and that our model has the greatest discrepancy with the data in the range 0.5 GeV^2 < |t| < 0.6 GeV^2, suggesting that the transition from soft Pomeron to hard Pomeron may occur closer to t = -0.5 GeV^2 rather than t = -0.6 GeV^2 as previously thought.
We discuss different models for the spin structure of the nonperturbative pomeron: scalar, vector, and rank-2 symmetric tensor. The ratio of single-helicity-flip to helicity-conserving amplitudes in polarised high-energy proton-proton elastic scattering, known as the complex r_5 parameter, is calculated for these models. We compare our results to experimental data from the STAR experiment. We show that the spin-0 (scalar) pomeron model is clearly excluded by the data, while the vector pomeron is inconsistent with the rules of quantum field theory. The tensor pomeron is found to be perfectly co…
We discuss the central exclusive production of $f_{1}$ mesons in proton-proton collisions. The diffractive pomeron-pomeron fusion process within the tensor-pomeron approach is considered. Two ways to construct the pomeron-pomeron-$f_{1}$ coupling are discussed. The theoretical calculation of coupling constants is a challenging problem of nonperturbative QCD. We adjust the parameters of the model to the WA102 experimental data. The total cross section and differential distributions are presented. Predictions for LHC experiments are given. Detailed analysis of the distributions in $ϕ_{pp}$ the a…
We consider proton diffraction dissociation in the dipole Pomeron model, where the Pomeron is represented by a double pole in the $J-$plane, and show that unitarity can be satisfied without decoupling of the triple Pomeron vertex. Differential and total diffractive cross sections for the reaction $\bar{p}+p \to \bar{p}+X$ are analyzed and reproduced in this model.
Recent polarized proton experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory are used as a basis for a model of the energy dependence of the analyzing power of proton-carbon elastic scattering. In addition to their practical value for polarimetry, the results of this analysis give constraints on the size of the Pomeron spin-flip coupling as well as information on the $f_2$ and $ω$ spin-flip couplings.
We compute the proton-proton multiplicity distributions at LHC energies in the framework of a multiple scattering model assuming a Poisson distribution for each inelastic collision. Multiple scattering is essential to broaden the multiplicity distribution. We obtain approximate KNO scaling for small pseudo-rapidity intervals ($|η| < 0.5$) and sizable KNO scaling violations for larger ones, in agreement with experiment.
We propose a QCD-inspired two-component Pomeron form which gives an excellent description of the proton-proton, pi-proton, kaon-proton, gamma-proton and gamma-gamma total cross sections. Our fit has a better CHI2/dof for a smaller number of parameters as compared with the PDG fit. Our 2-Pomeron form is fully compatible with weak Regge exchange-degeneracy, universality, Regge factorization and the generalized vector dominance model.
We present some physics topics that can be studied at the LHC using proton tagging. We distinguish the QCD (Pomeron structure, BFKL analysis...) from the exploratory physics topics (HIggs boson, anomalous couplings between photons and $W/Z$ bosons)
A model for exclusive diffractive resonance production in proton-proton collisions at high energies is presented. This model is able to predict double differential distributions with respect to the mass and the transverse momentum of the produced resonance in the mass region $\sqrt{M^2}\le$5 GeV. The model is based on convoluting the Pomeron distribution in the proton with the Pomeron-Pomeron-meson total cross section. The Pomeron-Pomeron-meson cross section is saturated by direct-channel contributions from the Pomeron as well as from two different $f$ trajectories, accompanied by the isolated…
Diffractive dissociation processes are analysed in the framework of covariant reggeization. We have considered the general form of hadronic tensor and its asymptotic behaviour for $t\rightarrow 0$ in the case of conserved tensor currents before reggeization. Resulting expressions for differential cross-section of single dissociation (SD) process ($pp \rightarrow p M$), double dissociation (DD) ($pp\rightarrow M_1 M_2$) and for the proton-Pomeron cross-section are given in detail, and corresponding problems of the approach are discussed.
We consider the differential and total cross sections for proton-proton and proton-antiproton scattering in the Regge regime from the point of view of string dual models of QCD. We argue that the form factor which appears in the differential cross section is related to the matrix element of the stress tensor between proton states and give a procedure for computing the strength of the coupling of the Pomeron trajectory to the proton. We compute this coupling in the Sakai-Sugimoto model and find excellent agreement with the data at large $s$ and small $t$. The form factor can be estimated in the…
It is demonstrated that the hard pomeron intercept value can be estimated directly from the data on the proton unpolarized structure function: $α_{\rm P}^h(0)-1=0.317\pm 0.028$.
The production of $J^{PC} = 1^{++},0^{-+}$ and $2^{-+}$ mesons in double tagged $e^+e^- \to e^+e^-R$ is calculated and found to have the same polarisation and dynamical characteristics as observed in $pp \to ppR$. Implications for the spin structure of the Pomeron are considered. Production of $0^{++},2^{++}$ mesons in these two processes may enable the dynamical nature of these mesons to be determined.
We describe different physics topics which can be performed at the LHC using tagged intact protons, namely a better understanding of the Pomeron structure in terms of quarks and gluons, and the serach for quartic anomalous couplings.
We review some selected results of the tensor-pomeron and vector-odderon model of soft high-energy proton-proton scattering and central exclusive production of meson and baryon pairs in proton-proton collisions. We discuss the theoretical aspects of this approach and consider the phenomenological implications in a variety of processes at high energies, comparing to existing experimental data. We consider the diffractive dipion and dikaon production including the continuum and the dominant scalar and tensor resonance contributions as well as the photoproduction processes. The theoretical result…
We consider contributions of the open-string singlet~(OSS) interaction to the proton-proton scattering. Modelling baryon and meson as instanton and open string in the effective QCD string model, the typical pomeron is identified with a massive spin-2 closed string. According to the open-closed string duality, the massive spin-2 closed string is accompanied by the open-string singlet interaction with universal coupling. The flat space 4-point open-string singlet amplitudes and cross sections are computed in the Regge limit. Including both the open and closed string pomerons, we fit the differen…
Regge models for proton structure function with and without a hard Pomeron contribution are compared with all available data in the region $W>3$ GeV, $Q^{2}\leq 3000$ GeV$^{2}$ and $x<0.75$. It is shown that the data do not support a hard Pomeron term in $γ^{*} p$ amplitude. Moreover, the data support the idea that the soft Pomeron, either is a double pole with $α_{P}(0)=1$ in the angular momentum $j$-plane, or is a simple pole with $α_{P}(0)=1+ε$ where $ε\ll 1$.
Recent results by the authors on proton diffractive dissociation (single, double and central) in the low-mass resonance region with emphasis on the LHC kinematics are reviewed and updated. Based on the previous ideas that the contribution of the inelastic proton-Pomeron vertex can be described by the proton structure function, the contribution of the inelastic Pomeron-Pomeron vertex appearing in central diffraction is now described by a Pomeron structure function.
The dominance of the soft pomeron in soft high energy scattering and the evolution to the deeply virtual regime, predicted by perturbation theory, allow us to reveal generalized parton distributions from H1 and ZEUS measurements of deeply virtual Compton scattering. These distributions encode a holographic image of the proton, which will be presented.
We consider several classes of analytic parametrizations of hadronic scattering amplitudes, and compare their predictions to all available forward data (proton- proton, antiproton-proton, pion-proton, kaon-proton, photon-proton, photon- photon, sigma-proton). Although these parametrizations are very close for energy larger than 9 GeV, it turns out that they differ markedly at low energy, where a universal Pomeron term ~(ln s)**2 enables one to extend the fit down to 4 GeV.
We introduce a new model of near-forward elastic proton-(anti)proton scattering at high energy based on the modern formulation of Pomeron and Odderon in terms of Wilson lines and generalized TMDs (GTMDs). We compute the helicity-dependent elastic amplitudes $ϕ_{1,2,3,4,5}$ in this model and study their energy dependence from the nonlinear small-$x$ evolution equations. While both Pomeron and Odderon contribute to helicity-flip processes in general, in the forward limit $t=0$ only the double helicity-flip amplitude $ϕ_2$, dominated by the spin-dependent Odderon, survives. This may affect the ex…
The topological presentation of pomeron exchange at the proton-proton collision of high energy is cylinder that is covered with the net of quark-gluon exchanges. I suggest that the process of double diffraction dissociation (DD) can be presented as one pomeron exchange with the central loop of two uncut pomeron cylinders. Taking into account that the junction of three gluon strings (SJ) has the positive baryon number, as well as the antijunction is of negative baryon charge, our neutral pomeron torus can be covered with only a certain number of hexagons that are built of 3 junction and 3 antij…
This study focuses on hard diffractive events produced in proton-proton collision at LHC exhibiting one intact proton in the final state which can be tagged by forward detectors. We report prospective results on the W boson charge asymmetry measured for such events, which allow to constrain the quark diffractive density functions in the Pomeron.
Exclusive production of axial-vector $f_{1}(1285)$ meson in proton-proton collisions via pomeron-pomeron fusion within the tensor-pomeron approach is discussed. Two ways to construct the pomeron-pomeron-$f_{1}$ coupling are presented. We adjust the parameters of our model to the WA102 experimental data and compare with predictions of the Sakai-Sugimoto model. Predictions for LHC experiments are given.
We analyze contributions to the heavy vector meson production with large transverse momentum in proton--proton and diffractive photon--proton scattering driven by an exchange of two Balitsky--Fadin--Kuraev--Lipatov Pomerons in the squared amplitudes. The Pomerons couple to a single parton and form a Pomeron loop closed by the vector meson impact factors. For the photon--proton case the diffractive cut of the Pomeron loop contributes, and for the inclusive hadroproduction one finds the loop with two cut Pomerons. We compute both of these Pomeron loop contributions and study in detail their prop…
HERA, the electron-proton collider, enables to probe the proton with a high resolving power due to the deep inelastic scattering reactions at high $Q^2$ values. In the low $Q^2$ region, one can study the properties of the photon. The large fraction of diffractive events found both in the low and high $Q^2$ region allows the study of the Pomeron. A review of what we have learned from HERA so far about the structure of these three objects is presented.
An eikonalized elastic proton-proton and proton-antiproton scattering amplitude, based on the suggestion of a finite sum of ladder diagrams, calculated from QCD and the number of $s-$channel gluon rungs and correspondingly the powers of logarithms in total cross section depends on available increasing energy. Explicit expressions for total cross section involving three and four rungs (four and five prongs), as highest terms, respectively) are fitted to the all available proton-proton and proton-antiproton total cross section data. Predictions for pp total cross section at LHC energy are given …
We discuss consequences of the models of "tensorial pomeron" and "vectorial pomeron" for exclusive diffractive production of scalar and pseudoscalar mesons in proton-proton collisions. Diffractive production of $f_{0}(980)$, $f_{0}(1370)$, $f_{0}(1500)$, $η$, and $η'(958)$ mesons is discussed. Different pomeron-pomeron-meson tensorial coupling structures are possible in general. In most cases two lowest orbital angular momentum - spin couplings are necessary to describe experimental differential distributions. For $f_{0}(980)$ and $η$ production reggeon-pomeron, pomeron-reggeon, and reggeon-re…
The production of $f_{1}$ ($J^{PC} = 1^{++}$) mesons in proton-proton collisions via pomeron-pomeron fusion is discussed. Two ways to construct the pomeron-pomeron-$f_{1}$ coupling are presented. Comparisons with data from the WA102 experiment are made and predictions for RHIC and LHC experiments are given.
We apply the phenomenological Reggeon field theory framework to investigate rapidity gap survival (RGS) probability for diffractive dijet production in proton-proton collisions. In particular, we study in some detail rapidity gap suppression due to elastic rescatterings of intermediate partons in the underlying parton cascades, described by enhanced (Pomeron-Pomeron interaction) diagrams. We demonstrate that such contributions play a subdominant role, compared to the usual, so-called "eikonal", rapidity gap suppression due to elastic rescatterings of constituent partons of the colliding proton…
We use holographic QCD to study Pomeron- and Reggeon-mediated central production in Regge regime hadronic scattering. We focus specifically on $η$ production in proton-proton collisions. While previous work studied the Pomeron-mediated process, the mesonic Regge trajectories ("Reggeons") we now incorporate contribute significantly at experimentally probed energies. We use the five-point open string amplitude (in flat space) to construct approximate propagators for the Reggeon states, and the five-point closed string amplitude for the Pomeron. Using these "holographic" Reggeons and Pomerons, an…
The diffractive 2-jet production reactions in the proton-proton and lepton-proton processes are discussed. It is shown that they may be very suitable for studying the properties of the pomeron couplings with quarks and hadrons in future polarized experiments at HERA, especially for HERA-$\vec N$ project.
Within the resolved Pomeron model of hard diffractive scattering, we compute prompt photon production in double-Pomeron-exchange events in proton-proton collisions. Using specific kinematical constraints chosen according to the acceptances of the forward proton detectors of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, we provide estimates for inclusive and isolated photon production. This is done using the JetPhox program. We find that next-to-leading order corrections to the hard process are important and must be included in order to correctly constrain the quark and gluon content of the Pomeron…
We present microscopic QCD calculation of the cross section of diffractive DIS and of the partonic structure of the pomeron from the dipole approach to the generalized BFKL pomeron. We show that the pomeron can not be treated as a particle with uniquely defined structure function and flux in the proton. We find strong factorization breaking which can approximately be described by the two-component structure function of the pomeron, each component endowed with the different flux of pomerons in the proton. We predict very weak $Q^{2}$ dependence of the diffractive contribution to the proton stru…
The model of elastic scattering amplitudes dominated by the triple (at $t=0$) pomeron pole suggested earlier is modified to confront to existing experimental data on $pp$ and $\bar pp$ total and differential cross sections at $\sqrt{s}\geq 19$ GeV and $|t|\leq 14.2$ GeV$^{2}$ including the newest TOTEM data. Predictions for the future TOTEM measurements at 13 and 14 TeV are given.
This paper serves as a report on the large amount of analysis done in conjunction with the polarized proton program at RHIC. This comprises elastic scattering data of protons on protons in colliding beam or fixed target mode and proton beams on carbon targets. In addition to providing a model for the energy dependence of the analyzing power of elastic scattering needed for proton polarimetry, it also provides some significant information about the spin dependence of dominant Regge poles. Most notably, the data indicates that the Pomeron has a significant spin-flip coupling. This allows the exp…
A recently published soft Regge Dipole Pomeron model intended for all $x$ and $Q^2$ is proved to give a good agreement with (non fitted) recent HERA data from ZEUS (SVX95) on the protonstructure function $F_2^p(x,Q^2)$ at low $Q^2$ and low $x$. The model also reproduces (without fit) the recently estimated experimental derivatives ${\partial F_2^p\over\partial\ell n Q^2}$ and ${\partial \ell n F_2^p\over\partial\ell n (1/x)}$ in a wide $x$ and $Q^2$-region.
We consider hard diffractive events in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, in which both protons escape the collision intact. In such double Pomeron exchange processes, we propose to measure dijets and photon-jet final states, and we show that it has the potential to pin down the Pomeron quark and gluon contents, a crucial ingredient in the standard QCD description of hard diffraction. By comparing with predictions of the soft color interaction approach, we also show that more generally, the measurement of the photon-jet to di-jet cross section ratio can put stringent test on the QCD dynamics…
A comparative phenomenological analysis of Regge models with and without a hard Pomeron component is performed using a common set of recently updated data. It is shown that the data at small $x$ do not indicate explicitly the presence of the hard Pomeron. Moreover, the models with two soft-Pomeron components (simple and double poles in the angular momentum plane) with trajectories having intercept equal one lead to the best description of the data not only at $W>3$ GeV and at small $x$ but also at all $x\leq 0.75$ and $Q^{2}\leq 30000$ GeV$^{2}$.
The LHC has released precise measurements of elastic proton-proton scattering that provide a unique constraint on the asymptotic behavior of the scattering amplitude at high energies. Recent reanalyses of part of these data indicate that the central values of some forward quantities would be different than initially observed. We introduce correlation information between the original and the reanalyzed data sets in a way suitable for a global fitting analysis of all data. The careful treatment of correlated errors leads to much less stringent limits on the $ρ$ uncertainty and sets up the stage …
We present a study of the central exclusive production of the $K^{+} K^{-}$ pairs in proton-proton collisions at high energies. We consider diffractive mechanisms including the $K^{+} K^{-}$ continuum, the dominant scalar $f_{0}(980)$, $f_{0}(1500)$, $f_{0}(1710)$ and tensor $f_{2}(1270)$, $f'_{2}(1525)$ resonances decaying into the $K^{+} K^{-}$ pairs. We include also photoproduction mechanisms for the non-resonant (Drell-Söding) and the $ϕ(1020)$ resonance contributions. The theoretical results are calculated within the tensor-pomeron approach including both pomeron and reggeon exchanges. Pr…
We present first predictions of the cross sections and differential distributions for the central exclusive reaction $pp \to pp π^{+} π^{-} π^{+} π^{-}$ being studied at RHIC and LHC. The amplitudes for the processes are formulated in terms of the tensor pomeron and tensor $f_{2 R}$ reggeon exchanges with the vertices respecting the standard crossing and charge-conjugation relations of Quantum Field Theory. The $σσ$ and $ρρ$ contributions to the $π^{+} π^{-} π^{+} π^{-}$ final state are considered focussing on their specificities. The correct inclusion of the pomeron spin structure seems cruci…
We show that the asymmetry in the fractional energy of charm versus anticharm jets produced in high energy diffractive photoproduction is sensitive to the interference of the Odderon $(C = -)$ and Pomeron $(C = +)$ exchange amplitudes in QCD. We predict the dynamical shape of the asymmetry in a simple model and estimate its magnitude to be of the order 15% using an Odderon coupling to the proton which saturates constraints from proton-proton vs. proton-antiproton elastic scattering. Measurements of this asymmetry at HERA could provide firm experimental evidence for the presence of Odderon exch…
We construct a string-inspired model for the central production of $η$ and $η'$ mesons in proton-proton collisions, via double Pomeron exchange. Using general symmetry considerations, we construct a low-energy differential cross section for double glueball exchange in terms of some undetermined coupling constants and form factors. We extend this model to the Regge regime, replacing the glueball propagators with Pomeron trajectories, and modifying the interaction term by a factor derived from the 5-string scattering amplitude in flat space. We then fix the couplings which remain undetermined, u…
For the first time, a systematic analysis of the high energy behavior of total and diffractive proton-proton cross sections is performed within the Reggeon Field Theory framework, based on the resummation of all significant contributions of enhanced Pomeron diagrams to all orders with respect to the triple-Pomeron coupling. The importance of different classes of enhanced graphs is investigated and it is demonstrated that absorptive corrections due to "net"-like enhanced diagrams and due to Pomeron "loops" are both significant and none of those classes can be neglected at high energies. A compa…
We calculate the cross section and the $A_{ll}$ asymmetry of the diffractive vector meson leptoproduction for a simple model of the pomeron coupling with the proton. It is found that the sensitivity of the spin--dependent cross section of the diffractive $J/Ψ$ production to the pomeron coupling structure is rather weak. The conclusion is made that it will be difficult to study the structure of the pomeron coupling with the proton in future polarized diffractive experiments on the $J/Ψ$ production.
In this paper, the inclusive Pomeron-Pomeron, Reggeon-Reggeon, Pomeron-Reggeon as well as gluon-Pomeron(-Reggeon) and photon-Pomeron(-Reggeon) interactions for the $\rm η_{c}$ at the LHC energies have been examined in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collision modes. The cross section has been computed based on the NRQCD factorization and Regge theory formalism. The cross exchange of Pomeron-Reggeon contribution is important in $\rm pp$ and $\rm pA$ modes. The Pomeron-Pomeron contribution is significant in $\rm AA$ mode. The Pomeron contribution is considerable for $\rm AA$ an…
While the main features of elastic, diffractive and total cross sections are described well by Regge theory, the measured rise of the proton-(anti)proton single diffraction dissociation cross section with energy is considerably smaller than the theoretical prediction based on factorization and a constant triple-pomeron coupling. The observed energy dependence is obtained by renormalizing the pomeron flux "carried" by a nucleon to unity. Double diffraction and double pomeron exchange cross sections are reevaluated and compared to data, and a new interpretation of hard diffraction results emerge…
For pomerons described by a sum of two simple-pole terms, a soft and a hard pomeron, the unitarity bounds from saturation in impact-parameter space are examined. We consider the effect of these bounds on observables linked with polarisation, such as the analyzing power in elastic proton-proton scattering, for LHC energies. We obtain the s and t dependence of the Coulomb-nuclear interference at small momentum transfer, and show that the effect of the hard pomeron may be observed at the LHC.
We propose a new approach for the Higgs boson production by Double Pomeron Exchange (DPE) in the Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering, where a color dipole interacts diffractively with the proton by DPE. Applying it to Peripheral Collisions, we predict a cross section around 0.1 fb, which is similar to that obtained from the $γγ$ subprocess. Although this result is lower than the prediction from the KMR approach, our results are competitive with the $γγ$ and Pomeron-Pomeron subprocesses with a more precise proposal for the Gap Survival Probability.
In this work the process of elastic hadron scattering is discussed. In particular, scattering amplitudes for the various Pomeron models are compared. In addition, differential elastic cross section as a function of the scattered proton transverse momentum for unpolarised and polarised protons is presented. Finally, an implementation of the elastic scattering amplitudes into the GenEx Monte Carlo generator is discussed.
Studies on neutrino-nucleon ($νN$) cross sections at different energy scales have regained interest due to increasing importance of precision measurements, as they are needed as an ingredient in all neutrino experiments. In this paper we have calculated both charged current (CC) and neutral current (NC) $ν$N scattering cross sections at Ultra High Energy (UHE) regime in the neutrino energy ($E_ν$) region i.e. $10^{9} GeV \le E_ν \le 10^{12}$ GeV using QCD inspired double asymptotic limit fit of electron-proton structure function $F_{2}^{ep}$ to low $\mathit{x}$ HERA data. The form $F_{2}^{ep} …
We calculate for the first time cross sections for single and central diffractive as well as exclusive diffractive production of dilepton pairs in proton-proton collisions. Several differential distributions are shown. The inclusive diffractive processes are calculated using diffractive parton distributions extracted from the analysis of diffractive structure function and dijet production at HERA. We find that the inclusive single-diffractive Drell-Yan process is by about 2 orders of magnitude smaller than ordinary Drell-Yan process. The central-diffractive processes are smaller by one order o…
It is shown that the dipole pomeron model of single diffraction dissociation -- contrary to the case of the supercritical pomeron -- is compatible with the inequality $σ^{SD}\leqσ^{tot}$, imposed by unitarity, provided the triple pomeron coupling satisfies certain conditions. With the adopted approximation the model considered as a parcticular solution of the triple pomeron decoupling problem. Explicit forms of such a coupling and a qualitative comparison with the experimental data on single DD are presented. The modified factorization properties of the model are also discussed.
We recall the main properties of inclusive particle distributions expected for Pomeron-proton and Pomeron-Pomeron interactions. Due to the small size of the Pomeron we expect larger transverse momenta of secondaries and a smaller probability of Multiple Interactions, that is a narrower multiplicity distribution. We propose to compare the spectra of secondaries produced in the Pomeron and the proton interactions in terms of the Feynman $x_F$ variable. The main difference should be observed for a relatively large $x_F$, that is near the edge of rapidity gaps. Such data offer the opportunity to i…
In this talk we report on recent calculation of high energy baryon scattering amplitudes in QCD. Elastic baryon impact factors for two, three and four gluons are presented and their energy evolution is described that incorporates unitarity corrections. We find that the baryon couples directly to the BFKL Pomeron, to the BKP odderon and to a new state, a three-gluon BKP Pomeron. The new state may decay into four gluons with a new 3 -> 4 transition vertex. This vertex defines the transition amplitude of the three-gluon BKP Pomeron state into two BFKL Pomerons.