Holographic description of elastic photon-proton and photon-photon scattering

TL;DR

This paper models elastic photon-proton and photon-photon scattering using holographic QCD, successfully fitting total cross sections and predicting differential cross sections across a wide energy range.

Contribution

It introduces a holographic QCD approach to describe elastic scattering, utilizing universal Pomeron and Reggeon contributions with minimal parameter adjustments.

Findings

Total cross sections are well fitted by the model.

Predicted differential cross sections agree with experimental data.

Model extends predictions from GeV to TeV energy scales.

Abstract

We investigate the elastic photon-proton and photon-photon scattering in a holographic QCD model, focusing on the Regge regime. Considering contributions of the Pomeron and Reggeon exchange, the total and differential cross sections are calculated. While our model involves several parameters, by virtue of the universality of the Pomeron and Reggeon, for most of them the values determined in the preceding study on the proton-proton and proton-antiproton scattering can be employed. Once the two adjustable parameters, the Pomeron-photon and Reggeon-photon coupling constant, are determined with the experimental data of the total cross sections, predicting the both cross sections in a wide kinematic region, from the GeV to TeV scale, becomes possible. We show that the total cross section data can be well described within the model, and our predictions for the photon-proton differential cross section are consistent with the data.