Is There a Hollow Inside the Proton?

TL;DR

This paper examines the interpretation of proton-proton elastic scattering data, proposing that the real part of the scattering amplitude supports the traditional understanding of the interaction region's transparency.

Contribution

It offers a new perspective on the proton's internal structure by emphasizing the role of the real part of the scattering amplitude in the unitarity condition.

Findings

The real part of the elastic scattering amplitude is crucial for interpreting the proton's interaction region.

The traditional interpretation of the proton's transparency remains valid with the inclusion of the real amplitude.

The model explains the scattering data without requiring a hollow proton interior.

Abstract

We discuss a recently proposed interpretation of some model descriptions of the proton-proton elastic scattering data as a manifestation of alleged relative transparency of the central part of the interaction region in the impact parameter space. We argue that the presence of nonzero real part of the elastic scattering amplitude in the unitarity condition enables to conserve the traditional interpretation.