Two diffraction cones of elastic scattering and structural symmetry conjecture

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the energy dependence of elastic proton-proton scattering, revealing a two-component structure in the scattering amplitude that explains the diffraction cone phenomena and the dip-bump structure.

Contribution

It proposes that the elastic scattering amplitude consists of two similar terms with structural symmetry, explaining diffraction features across energy ranges.

Findings

Existence of a second diffraction cone with similar properties to the forward peak.

The amplitude is best described as a sum of two similar, structurally symmetric terms.

Energy dependence in the dip-bump region confirms the two-component model.

Abstract

The energy dependence of the differential cross-section of elastic proton-proton scattering in the ISR--LHC energy range is discussed for fixed values of momentum transfer in the region of the forward diffraction cone, in the region beyond the second maximum of $d\sigma/dt$ and in the vicinity of the dip-bump structure. As can be seen from the currently available experimental data, the differential cross-section in the region beyond the second maximum has exactly the same properties as in the forward diffraction cone, including the existence of a stationary point, that is, we observe a second diffraction cone, which has the same origin as the forward peak. The simplest natural explanation for this experimental fact is that the amplitude of high energy elastic scattering is the sum of two similar terms that have the same status and differ only in the values of parameters. The energy dependence of $d\sigma/dt$ for a fixed $t$ in the region of the dip-bump structure, where these two terms interfere, confirms the above observations. We discuss the possible origin of the two-component structure of the high energy elastic scattering amplitude and explain this by the structural symmetry of the amplitude.