Measurement of the Cross Section for Prompt Diphoton Production in p-pbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a measurement of the prompt diphoton production cross section in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV, comparing results with QCD predictions using data from the CDF II detector.

Contribution

First measurement of prompt diphoton production cross section at Tevatron energies with a novel background subtraction method.

Findings

Cross section measurements agree with perturbative QCD predictions.

Detailed dependence on diphoton mass, transverse momentum, and azimuthal angle.

Background from non-prompt sources effectively estimated.

Abstract

We report a measurement of the rate of prompt diphoton production in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96 ~\hbox{TeV}$ using a data sample of 207 pb$^{-1}$ collected with the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF II). The background from non-prompt sources is determined using a statistical method based on differences in the electromagnetic showers. The cross section is measured as a function of the diphoton mass, the transverse momentum of the diphoton system, and the azimuthal angle between the two photons and is found to be consistent with perturbative QCD predictions.