Energy dependence of slope parameter in elastic nucleon-nucleon scattering

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the energy dependence of the slope parameter in elastic nucleon-nucleon scattering, incorporating recent high-energy experimental data to refine models and predict future behavior.

Contribution

It introduces expanded logarithmic approximations that accurately describe the slope parameter across a wide energy range, including LHC results, and discusses asymptotic behavior and predictions.

Findings

High-energy data significantly alter the quadratic logarithm model at LHC energies.

The models show closer trends across different fitting functions at energies above 200 GeV.

Predictions for diffraction slope parameters are provided for future experiments.

Abstract

The study of slope parameter is presented for elastic proton-proton and antiproton-proton scattering with taking into account the resent experimental data at high energies. The expanded logarithmic approximations allow the description of the experimental slopes in all available energy range reasonably. Accounting for the LHC results leads to the dramatic change of behavior of the quadratic in logarithm approximation at high energies and to the closer trends for all fitting functions under study in comparison with the analysis at collision energies up to the 200 GeV. The estimations of the asymptotic shrinkage parameter $\alpha'_{\cal{P}}$ are discussed. Predictions for diffraction slope parameter are obtained for some proton-proton and antiproton-proton facilities.