On the odderon intercept in perturbative QCD

Arguments are presented for the odderon intercept being exactly equal to unity. A variational method is presented based on a complete system of one-gluon functions. For the odderon, the highest intercept calculated by this method is 1 - (3α _s/π) 0.45.     

J-- glueballs and a low odderon intercept

We report an odderon Regge trajectory emerging from a field theoretical Coulomb gauge QCD model for the odd signature J(PC) (P = C = -1) glueball states. The trajectory intercept is clearly smaller than the Pomeron and even the omega trajectory's intercept which provides an explanation for the nonobservation of the odderon in high energy scattering data. To further support this result we compare to glueball lattice data and also perform calculations with an alternative model based upon an exact Hamiltonian diagonalization for three constituent gluons.     

Conformal properties of the odderon in QCD

We construct, in the framework of QCD, the conformally invariant functional whose maximal value gives the J-plane location of the leading singularity of the t-channel partial waves in LLA for diagrams with n reggeized gluons. In the case of the odderon the wave function in impact-parameter space depends on only one anharmonic ratio and the corresponding functional is significantly simplified. We discuss in the variational approach the relation between the odderon and the pomeron in QCD. A semiquantitative argument is given that the intercept of the odderon in LLA is probably bigger than 1.     

How can the odderon be detected at RHIC and LHC?

The odderon remains an elusive object, 33 years after its invention. The odderon is now a fundamental object in QCD and it has to be found experimentally if QCD is right. In the present paper, we show how to find it at RHIC and LHC. The most spectacular signature of the odderon is the predicted difference between the differential cross-sections for proton–proton and antiproton–proton at high s and moderate t. This experiment can be done by using the STAR detector at RHIC and by combining these future data with the already present UA4/2 data. The odderon could also be found by the ATLAS experiment at LHC by performing a high-precision measurement of the real part of the hadron elastic scattering amplitude at small t.     

The odderon in high energy elastic pp scattering

We study the odderon contribution to elastic pp and scattering at high energies. Different models for the odderon–proton coupling are considered and their effects on the differential cross section in the dip region are investigated. We use a Regge fit by Donnachie and Landshoff as a framework and replace its odderon contribution by the different models. We consider two models for the odderon–proton impact factor proposed by Fukugita and Kwieciński and by Levin and Ryskin. In addition we construct a geometric model of the proton which allows us to put limits on the size of a possible diquark cluster in the proton. All models are able to describe the data well. The two models for the impact factor require the strong coupling constant to be fixed rather precisely. In the geometric model a relatively small diquark size is required to describe the data. Received: 1 February 2002 / Published online: 14 June 2002     

QCD Coulomb gauge approach to exotic hadrons

The Coulomb gauge Hamiltonian model is used to calculate masses for selected J^PC states consisting of exotic combinations of quarks and gluons: ggg glueballs (oddballs), qˉg hybrid mesons and qˉqˉ tetraquark systems. An odderon Regge trajectory is computed for the J^- glueballs with intercept much smaller than the pomeron, explaining its nonobservation. The lowest 1^-+ hybrid-meson mass is found to be just above 2.2GeV while the lightest tetraquark state mass with these exotic quantum numbers is predicted around 1.4GeV consistent with the observed π(1400).     

Odderon and photon exchange in electroproduction of pseudoscalar mesons

We investigate the reaction where PS denotes a pseudoscalar meson , , , or and X either a proton or resonance or continuum state into which the proton can go by diffractive excitation. At high energies photon and odderon exchange contribute to the reaction. The photon exchange contribution is evaluated exactly using data for the total virtual photon-proton absorption cross section. The odderon exchange contribution is calculated in nonperturbative QCD, using functional integral techniques and the model of the stochastic vacuum. For the proton we assume a quark-diquark structure as suggested by the small odderon amplitude in pp and forward scattering. We show that odderon exchange leads to a much larger inelastic than elastic PS production cross section. Observation of our reaction at HERA would establish the soft odderon as an exchange object on an equal footing with the soft pomeron and would give us valuable insight into both the nucleon structure and the mechanism of high energy diffractive scattering. Received: 2 February 1999 / Revised version: 22 March 1999 / Published online: 28 May 1999     

Pomeron and odderon in high energypp andp\bar p elastic scattering

High energypp and data on elastic scattering and total cross sections are analyzed in a model including the pomeron, odderon and secondary reggeons. A dipole model is used for the pomeron and for the odderon. By construction, our (bare) pomeron ansatz produces a single dip, as observed experimentally. The model reproduces the logarithmically rising cross sections with a unit pomeron intercept, but better fits are obained when a small non-zero value of the parameter = _p (0) is allowed for. Predictions for the future accelerators (UNK, LHC, SSC) are given.On leave of absence from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kiev-130, USSR     

Possible odderon effects in inclusive hadron production

We consider the possible contribution of odderon (reggeon with α _Odd(0)∼1 and negative signature) exchange to the differences in the inclusive spectra of particle and antiparticle in the central region. The energies and/or accuracy of the currently available experimental data do not allow for a clear conclusion on the presence of an odderon component, but the upcoming LHC data should finally elucidate the question of the existence of the odderon.     

Running coupling corrections to non-linear evolution for diffractive dissociation

We determine running coupling corrections to the kernel of the non-linear evolution equation for the cross section of single diffractive dissociation in high energy DIS. The running coupling kernel for diffractive evolution is found to be exactly the same as the kernel of the rcBK evolution equation.     

OddC exchange in high-energy\bar pp andpp scattering

The possible existence of an oddC vacuum Regge pole (odderon) and its contribution to high-energy elastic \(\bar pp\) andpp scattering is studied in a model used earlier to fit data. A parametrization of the odderon which matches QCD is discussed.     

Pion condensation in electrically neutral cold matter with finite baryon density

In contrast to theoretical expectations, experimental results at GeV for the reaction γp → π⁰X show no evidence for odderon exchange. The upper limit on the cross section is an order of magnitude smaller than the theoretical estimate. It is argued that chiral symmetry leads to a large suppression, taking the theoretical estimates well below the data. Two additional arguments are presented which may decrease the theoretical estimate further. The calculations are more sensitive to the assumptions made in evaluating the hadronic scattering amplitude than in the processes considered previously and lattice gauge calculations indicate that the odderon intercept may be appreciably lower than usually assumed. These two latter effects are particularly relevant for the reactions γp → and γp → for which the data upper limits are also below the theoretical predictions, but not so dramatically as for γp → π⁰X.     

χ and J/ψ production in double-diffractive proton-proton collisions

It was pointed out earlier, that double-diffractive J/ψ production may serve as an important instrument to probe the odderon. However, double-diffractive production of χ′s due to pomeron-pomeron fusion, subsequently decaying into J/ψ + γ is a possibly troublesome background. Therefore, we calculate the corresponding differential cross sections for χ production and compare the obtained J/ψ yield to the rate of J/ψ directly produced by pomeron-pomeron fusion. We show that χ production is strongly suppressed. Hence, we conclude that double-diffractive exclusive J/ψ production could be the ideal process to search for the odderon.     

Photon-exchange processes at hadron colliders as a probe of the dynamics of diffraction

The rich structure of photon-exchange processes at hadron colliders is studied. We discuss central vector meson production , W production and production. Each process has distinct, and large, soft pp rescattering effects, which can be directly observed by detecting the outgoing protons. This allows a probe of the optical density of the proton, which plays a crucial role in the evaluation of the rapidity gap survival probabilities in diffractive-like processes at hadron colliders. We note that an alternative mechanism for production is odderon, instead of photon, exchange; and that the ratio of odderon to photon contributions is enhanced (suppressed) for vector meson production. Received: 1 February 2002 / Revised version: 4 April 2002 / Published online: 22 May 2002     

Observing the odderon: tensor meson photoproduction

We calculate high-energy photoproduction of the tensor meson by odderon and photon exchange in the reaction , where X is either the nucleon or the sum of the N(1520) and N(1535) baryon resonances. Odderon exchange dominates except at very small transverse momentum, and we find a cross section of about 20 nb at a centre-of-mass energy of 20 GeV. This result is compared with what is currently known experimentally about photoproduction. We conclude that odderon exchange is not ruled out by present data. On the contrary, an odderon-induced cross section of the above magnitude may help to explain a puzzling result observed by the E687 experiment. Received: 16 February 2000 / Published online: 8 May 2000     

Note on inconsistency of unitarity saturation and maximal odderon

It is shown that regime of elastic scattering with maximal odderon contribution is not compatible with unitarity and black disk limits saturation.     

Role of the Q 2 analyticity of αs for timelike processes

It is shown that, to describe processes with timelike momentum transfers, it is important to have a self-consistent determination of the running coupling constant in the timelike region. The technique of analytic perturbation theory allows a consistent determination of this running coupling constant. The results are found to disagree significantly with those obtained in the standard perturbative approach.     

Diffractive meson production from virtual photons with odd charge-parity exchange

We calculate the cross section of diffractive charge-parity neutral meson production in virtual photon proton collision at high energies. Due to the opposite -parities of photon and meson () this process probes the -channel odderon exchange which is described here as noninteracting three–gluon exchange. Estimates for the cross section of inelastic diffractive process are presented. The total cross section of diffractive meson photoproduction is found to be 47 pb. The cross sections for the diffractive production of light mesons () in collisions are of the same order if the photon virtuality is . Received: 30 July 1997