Upper limits on resonance contributions to proton-proton elastic scattering in the c.m. mass range 2.05-2.85 GeV/ c2

Recently published excitation functions in proton-proton (pp) elastic scattering observables in the laboratory energy range 0.5-2.5GeV provide an excellent data base to establish firm upper limits on the elasticities η_el = Γ_el/Γ_tot of possible isovector resonant contributions to the nucleon-nucleon (NN) system. Such contributions have been predicted to arise from dibaryonic states, with c.m. masses between 2.1-2.9GeV/c², but have not been confirmed experimentally. A method to determine quantitatively the maximum value of η_el compatible with experimental data is presented. We use energy-dependent phase shift fits to the pp data base to model the non-resonant interaction. Based upon the differential cross-section data measured by the EDDA Collaboration an unbiased statistical test is constructed to obtain upper limits on η_el, that exclude larger values with a 99% confidence level. Results in the c.m. mass range 2.05-2.85GeV/c² and total widths of 10-100MeV/c² in the partial waves ¹S₀, ¹D₂, ³P₀, ³P₁, and ³F₃ are presented and discussed.