[Paper Review] The Soft Pomeron

P. V. Landshoff|arXiv (Cornell University)|May 23, 1996

Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions3 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes the soft pomeron as a simple, factorizable quantum chromodynamics (QCD) mechanism that couples universally to single quarks, successfully describing a broad range of high-energy scattering data. Its key contribution lies in providing a unified, minimal framework for soft high-energy hadronic interactions through universal coupling and factorized matrix elements.

ABSTRACT

The soft pomeron successfully correlates a wide variety of data. Its properties seem rather simple: it couples to single quarks and its coupling factorises.

Motivation & Objective

• To develop a minimal, universal description of soft high-energy hadronic scattering.
• To explain the observed universality and scaling behavior in high-energy scattering data.
• To propose a factorized coupling mechanism that simplifies the description of soft pomeron exchange.
• To establish a framework where the pomeron couples universally to single quarks, enabling consistent data correlation.

Proposed method

• Proposes a soft pomeron exchange mechanism with universal coupling to single quarks.
• Assumes factorization of matrix elements in the high-energy limit.
• Uses effective field theory principles to model pomeron exchange as a universal, single-quark-coupling interaction.
• Applies the framework to a wide range of high-energy scattering processes to test consistency.
• Relies on the assumption that soft pomeron exchange dominates in the forward limit.
• Demonstrates consistency across diverse data sets using a minimal set of parameters.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can a universal, simple mechanism describe diverse high-energy hadronic scattering data?
• RQ2 Why does the pomeron exhibit universal coupling to single quarks in soft processes?
• RQ3 Can factorization of pomeron matrix elements explain observed scaling behaviors?
• RQ4 What is the minimal effective description of soft pomeron exchange in QCD?
• RQ5 How does the soft pomeron mechanism unify seemingly unrelated scattering phenomena?

Key findings

• The soft pomeron provides a consistent description of a wide range of high-energy scattering data.
• The pomeron couples universally to single quarks, simplifying its interaction structure.
• The coupling mechanism factorizes, enabling analytical tractability and predictive power.
• The model's simplicity aligns with observed scaling and universality in soft hadronic processes.
• The framework successfully correlates data across different energy and reaction types without additional parameters.
• The soft pomeron emerges as a minimal, effective description of soft high-energy interactions in QCD.