Inelastic diffraction and meson radii

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to determine meson radii from diffractive scattering experiments using a QCD-based model, providing results consistent with meson form factor measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to extract meson radii from inelastic diffraction data based on the SOC-picture in QCD, linking scattering experiments to meson structure.

Findings

Meson charge radii can be extracted from diffractive scattering experiments.

Results for pion and kaon radii agree with form factor measurements.

The method offers a new way to study meson structure in high-energy collisions.

Abstract

It is shown that meson radii can be extracted from diffractive scattering experiments of the type: $m+p\to m + X$, where p stands for the target proton, and m for the incident charged meson $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $K^+$, or $K^-$. The basis of the method used to perform this extraction is the QCD-based SOC-picture for inelastic diffraction in high-energy hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions proposed in a recent Letter. The obtained results for pion and kaon charge radii are compared with those determined in meson form factor measurements.