Deep inelastic electron-pomeron scattering at HERA

The idea that the pomeron has partonic structure similar to any other hadron has been given strong support by recent measurements of the diffractive structure function at HERA. We present a detailed theoretical analysis of the diffractive structure function under the assumption that the diffractive cross section can be factorized into a pomeron emission factor and the deep inelastic scattering cross section of the pomeron. We pay particular attention to the kinematic correlations implied by this picture, and suggest the measurement of an angular correlation which should provide a first test of the whole picture. We also present two simple phenomenological models for the quark and gluon structure of the pomeron, which are consistent with various theoretical ideas and which give equally good fits to recent measurements by the H1 collaboration, when combined with the pomeron emission factor of Donnachie and Landshoff. We predict that a large fraction of diffractive deep inelastic events will contain charm, and discuss how improved data will be able to distinguish the models.     

The system of four reggeized gluons and the three-pomeron vertex in the high colour limit

The amplitude for 4 interacting reggeized gluons is studied in the high-colour limit. The leading order amplitude is explicitly shown to reduce to a pair of reggeons, i.e to a single BFKL pomeron. The next-to-leading order diffractive amplitude is found to split into a double pomeron exchange and triple pomeron contribution. The obtained three-pomeron vertex is different from the originally proposed in [2]. Received: 26 June 1997 / Revised version: 28 February 1998 / Published online: 3 September 1998     

Triple pomeron vertex in the limit N_c\rightarrow\infty

In the hard pomeron theory with the number of colours the diffractive amplitude obtained in [3] is compared with the results found for in [1] and in the dipole approach in [5]. It is shown that the double pomeron exchange contribution can be substituted by an equivalent triple pomeron interaction term. After such a substitution the triple pomeron vertices in [1,3,5] essentially coincide. It is demonstrated that, in any form, the triple pomeron vertex is conformal invariant. It is also shown that higher order densities in the dipole approach do not involve 1 to k pomeron verteces with but are rather given by a set of pomeron fan diagrams with only a triple pomeron coupling. Received: 11 December 1997 / Revised version: 6 February 1998 / Published online: 7 August 1998     

Self-consistent diffraction in the multiperipheral model (II)

We present a self-consistent solution to a multi-peripheral model in which the triple pomeron vertex vanishes. This solution possesses all of the good features of our previous model, having naturally diffractive and multiperipheral terms in the total cross section and in particle production. In addition, its region of validity has been increased to include the normal Regge region and a smooth transition from Regge-like behavior to the diffractive limit is obtained.     

Shadowing effects in nuclear parton distributions for small values ofx

The shadowing corrections to gluon and quark distributions in nuclei in the region of small values ofx are discussed. They are related to parton distributions in a pomeron which are in principle measurable in hard diffractive processes on the nucleon target. Multiple scattering corrections to shadowing are considered in a model dependent way. The perturbative QCD evolution of shadowing is also taken into account. Various possibilities of the partonic content of a pomeron are considered. It is shown in particular that the conventional parametrizations of parton distributions in a pomeron which are based on the assumption that it consists mostly of gluons imply substantial nuclear shadowing in gluon distributions in heavy nuclei. Possible phenomenological implications of shadowing corrections in nuclear parton distributions for various semi-hard processes with nuclear targets are briefly discussed.     

Reggeon phases and the dual bootstrap program

Analyticity requirements lead to complex Regge vertices in multiparticle production amplitudes. Their effect is discussed within a dual, unitary and exchange-degenerate multi-Regge model. A resulting complex Regge vertex is incorporated in fixed-t model calculations of the reggeon bootstrap and the topological pomeron. The bootstrap condition for particle-particle scattering is unaffected but new j-plane singularities appear in Regge-Regge scattering amplitudes. The pomeron and reggeon intercepts determine the two parameters of our Regge vertex and admit two possible solutions: one is close to the naive phase rule (real vertex) and the other is complex and leads to a high lying non-leading pole in the pomeron channel.     

On inclusive gluon jet production off the nucleus in perturbative QCD

In the perturbative QCD approach single and double inclusive cross-sections for gluon production off the nucleus are studied by the relevant reggeized gluon diagrams. Various terms corresponding to emission of gluons from the triple pomeron vertex are found. Among them the term derived by Kovchegov and Tuchin emerges as a result of the transition from the diffractive to effective high-energy vertex. However it does not exhaust all the vertex contributions to the inclusive cross-section. In the double inclusive cross-section a contribution violating the naive AGK rules is found in which one gluon is emitted from the vertex and the other from one of the two pomerons below the vertex. But then this contribution is subdominant at high energies and taking it into account seems to be questionable.Received: 6 March 2005, Revised: 5 May 2005, Published online: 8 June 2005     

On the triple-Pomeron vertex in perturbative QCD

We estimate the size of the triple-pomeron vertex in perturbative QCD and compare with the phenomenological value extracted from Regge fits to the experimental data. For simplicity, the results of the QCD analysis are taken in the large-N_c limit. We find that the perturbative triple-pomeron coupling is of the same order of magnitude as the observed one. We also estimate the size of the pomeron self-energy and its contribution to the renormalization of the pomeron intercept. The effect is very small, in agreement with previous non-perturbative estimates. Received: 9 October 2002 / Published online: 20 December 2002     

A QCD analysis of diffractive deep-inelastic scattering data

We perform a novel type of analysis of diffractive deep-inelastic scattering data, in which the input parton distributions of the pomeron are parameterised using the perturbative QCD expressions. In particular, we treat individually the components of the pomeron of different size. We are able to describe simultaneously both the recent ZEUS and H1 diffractive data. In addition to the usual two-gluon model for the perturbative pomeron, we allow for the possibility that it may be made from two sea quarks.Received: 12 July 2004, Revised: 3 September 2004, Published online: 24 September 2004     

Hard diffractive quarkonium hadroproduction at high energies

We present a study of heavy quarkonium production in hard diffractive processes by pomeron exchange for Tevatron and LHC energies. The numerical results are computed using a recent experimental determination of the diffractive parton density functions in the pomeron and these are corrected by unitarity corrections through the gap survival probability factor. We give predictions for single as well as central diffractive ratios. These processes are sensitive to the gluon content of the pomeron at small Bjorken variable x and may be particularly useful in studying small-xphysics. They may also be a good place to test the different available mechanisms for quarkonium production at hadron colliders. PACS 13.60.Hb; 12.38.Bx; 12.40.Nn; 13.85.Ni; 14.40.Gx     

Pomeron loops in the perturbative QCD with large <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript>

The lowest order pomeron loop is calculated for the leading conformal weight with full dependence of the triple-pomeron vertex on intermediate conformal weights. The loop is found to be convergent. Its contribution to the pomeron Green function begins to dominate already at rapidities 10–15. The pomeron pole renormalization is found to be quite small due to a rapid fall of the triple-pomeron vertex with rising conformal weights.     

Bethe-Salpeter equations forq $$\bar q$$ andqqq systems in the instantaneous approximation

We consider a model for elastic scattering and inelastic diffractive production at high energy, which is inspired by Quantum Chromodynamics. The pomeron arises in our model from gluon exchange between quark constituents. The color-neutrality of each hadron implies strong cancellations among the gluon exchanges. Hence our model is “subtractive”, in contrast to the old “additive” quark model. The subtractive model provides a natural explanation for the large cross section which is observed for diffractive dissociation. We show that multiple gluon exchange contributes significantly, alongside two gluon exchange, in building the pomeron.     

Probing the structure of the pomeron

We suggest that the pseudo-rapidity cut dependence of diffractive deep-inelastic scattering events at HERA may provide a sensitive test of models of diffraction. A comparison with the experimental cross section shows that the Donnachie-Landshoff model and a simple two-gluon exchange model of the pomeron model are disfavoured. However a model with a direct coupling of the pomeron to quarks is viable for a harder quark–pomeron form factor, as is a model based on the leading-twist operator contribution. We also consider a direct-coupling scalar pomeron model. We comment on the implications of these results for the determination of the partonic structure of the pomeron. Received: 5 March 1999 / Published online: 3 August 1999     

f-pole corrections to the critical parameters of the pomeron

A reggeon field theory with two vacuum quantum numbers Regge poles, the pomeron and the f-reggeon is presented. In such a theory only one stable fixed point appears which is sensibly different from that governing a RFT with the pomeron alone. This fact is responsible for the modifications of the critical parameters of the pomeron. In particular, the intercept of the bare pomeron increases and approaches the phenomenological value.     

A diffractive model including spin for pp elastic scattering at very high energy

In this paper we present a theoretical diffractive model for spin-dependent proton-proton scattering at very high energies using an extended version of the Chou-Yang model. The model describes a wide t range, but in this paper we use it for small t values. We obtain estimates of the ratio of spin-dependent to spin-independent amplitudes, β, consistent with a previous phenomenological analysis. Next we estimate the asymmetry, Σ, expected in a certain polarized inclusive process at high energy. We then compute the size of polarization effects in pp total cross-section measurements, using polarized beam and target at very high energy. Our estimates of the latter two quantities indicate that their measurement would not provide a sensitive test of pomeron factorization.     

Isoscalar diffractive photoproduction: A source of gluonium

Data on diffractive photoproduction of isoscalar states appear to be anomalously large in a number of channels. Isoscalar diffractive photoproduction is studied in a model in which the pomeron is approximated by two gluons, and in which gluon intermediate states are allowed in the pomeron-meson interaction. It is shown that the model allows a resolution of the long-standing problem of the small (in vector meson dominance terms) diffractive θ photoproduction cross section. This sets the scale for the calculation, and it is then demonstrated that the model can explain the large isoscalar cross section if it is due primarily to the diffractive photoproduction of a system of gluons.     

Diffractive resonance production and f-dominance of the pomeron

A model for predicting diffractive production of meson resonances is presented. From a study of the s and t dependence of the available cross section and density matrix data, we deduce that the assumption of f, f′ dominance of the pomeron is violated. Relative to elastic scattering, where f, f′ dominance works well, the pomeron component in these inelastic processes appears to be about one half as strong in amplitude.     

General features of high-mass diffractive dissociation

We discuss both the soft and the hard components of high-mass diffractive dissociation and how to distinguish between the jets produced in each. Of particular interest is the pomeron fragmentation region, which should contain gluonia.     

Diffractive dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA

Differential dijet cross sections have been measured with the ZEUS detector for photoproduction events in which the hadronic final state containing the jets is separated with respect to the outgoing proton direction by a large rapidity gap. The cross section has been measured as a function of the fraction of the photon () and pomeron () momentum participating in the production of the dijet system. The observed dependence shows evidence for the presence of a resolved- as well as a direct-photon component. The measured cross section increases as increases indicating that there is a sizeable contribution to dijet production from those events in which a large fraction of the pomeron momentum participates in the hard scattering. These cross sections and the ZEUS measurements of the diffractive structure function can be described by calculations based on parton densities in the pomeron which evolve according to the QCD evolution equations and include a substantial hard momentum component of gluons in the pomeron. Received: 20 April 1998 / Published online: 2 July 1998     

Signals of gluon recombination in deep inelastic scattering

The notion of a pomeron structure function arises in a model of electromagnetic diffractive scattering based on Regge factorization. Due to its small size we expect gluon recombination to occur significantly in the pomeron. The latest data from H1 (1999) show a evolution in qualitative accordance with the GLR-MQ equations; these are the DGLAP (Altarelli–Parisi) equations corrected for the effect of gluon recombination. Received: 9 October 2000 / Revised version: 25 July 2001 / Published online: 5 November 2001