Nonperturbative QCD Effects in High Energy Collisions

TL;DR

This paper explores the role of nonperturbative QCD effects in high energy hadron collisions, proposing a field theoretic approach and suggesting experimental signatures like spin effects in Drell-Yan processes.

Contribution

It introduces a method to calculate high energy elastic scattering using the stochastic vacuum model, linking nonperturbative QCD to observable phenomena.

Findings

Successful comparison between theory and experiment for elastic scattering

Potential nonperturbative effects indicated by spin asymmetries in Drell-Yan

Framework for incorporating nonperturbative QCD in high energy collisions

Abstract

High energy hadron-hadron collisions are discussed. It is argued that soft collisions should involve in an essential way nonperturbative QCD. A way is outlined how to calculate properties of high energy elastic hadron-hadron scattering using field theoretic methods. The functional integrals occuring there are evaluated using the ``stochastic vacuum model''. A satisfactory comparison between theory and experiment is achieved. Then the question of possible nonperturbative QCD effects in high energy hard hadron-hadron collisions is raised. It is shown that some spin effects in the Drell-Yan process may give a hint that such effects exist indeed in nature.