Total and diffractive cross sections in enhanced Pomeron scheme

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of high energy proton-proton cross sections using Reggeon Field Theory, highlighting the significance of enhanced Pomeron diagrams and their impact on predictions at LHC energies.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic resummation of all significant enhanced Pomeron diagrams in the Reggeon Field Theory framework, improving high energy cross section predictions.

Findings

Absorptive corrections from enhanced diagrams are significant at high energies.

Predicted total cross section at 14 TeV is 25-40% higher than previous models.

High mass diffraction cross sections saturate below LHC energies.

Abstract

For the first time, a systematic analysis of the high energy behavior of total and diffractive proton-proton cross sections is performed within the Reggeon Field Theory framework, based on the resummation of all significant contributions of enhanced Pomeron diagrams to all orders with respect to the triple-Pomeron coupling. The importance of different classes of enhanced graphs is investigated and it is demonstrated that absorptive corrections due to "net"-like enhanced diagrams and due to Pomeron "loops" are both significant and none of those classes can be neglected at high energies. A comparison with other approaches based on partial resummations of enhanced diagrams is performed. In particular, important differences are found concerning the predicted high energy behavior of total and single high mass diffraction proton-proton cross sections, with our values of $\sigma_{pp}^{{\rm tot}}$ at $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV being some $25\div40$% higher and with the energy rise of $\sigma_{{\rm HM}}^{{\rm SD}}$ saturating well below the LHC energy. The main causes for those differences are analyzed and explained.