Soft-photon radiation in high-energy proton-proton collisions within the tensor-Pomeron approach: Bremsstrahlung

TL;DR

This paper models soft-photon radiation in high-energy proton-proton collisions using the tensor-Pomeron approach, comparing theoretical predictions with experimental data and exploring the validity of the soft-photon approximation at collider energies.

Contribution

It introduces a tensor-Pomeron based model for photon bremsstrahlung in proton-proton collisions and compares it with experimental data and the soft-photon approximation.

Findings

The model agrees with data for total cross sections and elastic scattering.

The soft-photon approximation is valid within 1% for certain phase space regions.

Predictions are made for future measurements at the LHC and RHIC.

Abstract

We discuss diffractive processes in proton-proton collisions at small momentum transfers without and with photon radiation. We consider the soft exclusive reactions $pp \to pp$, $p\bar{p} \to p\bar{p}$, and $pp \to pp \gamma$ within the tensor-pomeron and vector-odderon approach. We compare our results with the data for $pp$ and $p\bar{p}$ total cross sections, for the ratio of real to imaginary part of the forward scattering amplitude, and for the elastic $pp$ cross sections, especially those from TOTEM. To describe the low-energy data more accurately the secondary reggeons must be included. We write down the amplitudes for the photon bremsstrahlung in high-energy proton-proton collisions using the tensor-pomeron model. These results are relevant for the c.m. energies presently available at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and at the LHC. We present predictions for the proposed measurements of soft photons with the planned future upgrade of the ALICE experiment at the LHC. We investigate the limits of applicability of the soft-photon approximation (SPA) based on Low's theorem. The corresponding SPA results are compared to those obtained from our complete model. The regions of phase space are given quantitatively where SPA and our complete tensor-pomeron results are close to each other. As an example, let $k_{\perp}$, $\rm y$, and $\omega$, be the absolute value of the transverse momentum, the rapidity, and the energy of the photon, respectively, in the overall c.m. system. For the region $1 \; {\rm MeV} < k_{\perp} < 100 \; {\rm MeV}$ and $3.5 < |\rm y| < 5.0$, we find that the SPA Ansatz with only the pole terms $\propto \omega^{-1}$ agrees at the percent level with our complete model result up to $\omega \cong 2$ GeV.