Mechanics of Quark Exchange in High-Energy Hadron Reactions at Forward Angles

TL;DR

This paper investigates the quark exchange mechanism in high-energy hadron reactions at forward angles, showing it reproduces key features and discussing models for the reaction matrix element involving hadron wave functions and hard scattering kernels.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of the quark exchange mechanism and explores models for the reaction matrix element suitable for convolution with singular kernels.

Findings

Quark exchange reproduces main features of flavor-exchange reactions.

Wave function models compatible with convolution are discussed.

Form-factor types emerging from the models are analyzed.

Abstract

The 2-quark back-angle scattering mechanism is shown to reproduce main features of high-energy $hh$ flavor-exchange reactions. Prospects for reduction of the reaction matrix element to a form of convolution of hadron wave functions with the hard scattering kernel are discussed. Wave function models suitable for convolution with the kernel, which is singular at small $x$, and the emerging form-factor types, are discussed.