Triple-Regge analysis of pp→pX and some related phenomena - a detailed study

Abstract

A phenomenological analysis of all available data on the reaction pp→ pX is carried out, using the triple-Regge formalism and the technique of finite mass sum rules. We discuss various inconsistencies in the data and point out how such ambiguities can be resolved. The results show that diffraction scattering is dominated by the triple-pomeron term which shows no tendency to vanish at t = 0. By parametrising the values of the trajectories and couplings resulting from the fits to data, we arrive at what seems to be the most likely description of inelastic diffractive scattering. This description predicts that the diffractive cross section would rise by 3.3 mb between 200 and 2000 GeV/c (experimentally σ_inel rises by 3.8 ± 0.8 mb). The connection between these two increases according to several models is then discussed in the context of our estimates. Finally we discuss the implications of our analysis for the multiplicity distributions and long-range effects in multiparticle production.