Multiple Hard Partonic Collisions with Correlations in Proton-Proton Scattering

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to include correlations in the impact parameter space for multiple hard partonic collisions in high-energy proton-proton scattering, improving the accuracy of inelastic cross section predictions.

Contribution

It presents a simple approach to incorporate correlations into the impact parameter description, based on perturbative QCD and experimental data, refining the eikonal model for proton-proton scattering.

Findings

Correlation corrections are significant at LHC energies.

Double collision rates from Tevatron data inform the model.

Inclusion of correlations aligns predictions with observed inelastic cross sections.

Abstract

We propose a simple method for incorporating correlations into the impact parameter space description of multiple (semi-)hard partonic collisions in high energy hadron-hadron scattering. The perturbative QCD input is the standard factorization theorem for inclusive dijet production with a lower cutoff on transverse momentum. The width of the transverse distribution of hard partons is fixed by parameterizations of the two-gluon form factor. We then reconstruct the hard contribution to the total inelastic profile function and obtain corrections due to correlations to the more commonly used eikonal description. Estimates of the size of double correlation corrections are based on the rate of double collisions measured at the Tevatron. We find that, if typical values for the lower transverse momentum cutoff are used in the calculation of the inclusive hard dijet cross section, then the correlation corrections are necessary for maintaining consistency with expectations for the total inelastic proton-proton cross section at LHC energies.