Measurement of deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of the cross section for deeply virtual Compton scattering at HERA, analyzing its dependence on photon virtuality and energy, and comparing results to QCD predictions.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on DVCS cross sections at HERA, covering a broad range of Q2 and W, and compares these with theoretical QCD models.

Findings

Cross sections increase steeply with W.

Data agree with QCD-based calculations.

Provides detailed differential cross sections.

Abstract

The cross section for deeply virtual Compton scattering in the reaction ep -> e gamma p has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA using integrated luminosities of 95.0 pb-1 of e+p and 16.7 pb-1 of e-p collisions. Differential cross sections are presented as a function of the exchanged-photon virtuality, Q2, and the centre-of-mass energy, W, of the gamma*p system in the region 5 < Q2 < 100 GeV2 and 40 < W < 140 GeV. The measured cross sections rise steeply with increasing W. The measurements are compared to QCD-based calculations.