Structure of the final states in Higgs production at Hadronic Colliders

We quantify the rate and the signal-to-background ratio for Higgs $\to b\bar{b}$ detection in double-diffractive events at the Tevatron and the LHC. The signal is predicted to be very small at the Tevatron, but observable at the LHC. We exemplify the diagnostic power of hadronic antenna pattern by considering the topology of hadronic flow corresponding to Higgs $\to b\bar{b}$ events.Comment: 4 pages, talk given at XXXI International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics, Sept 1-7, 2001, Datong China. URL http://ismd31.ccnu.edu.cn

Rapidity Gap Higgs Signal at the Tevatron and the LHC

We quantify the rate and the signal-to-background ratio for Higgs --> b anti-b detection in double-diffractive events at the Tevatron and the LHC. The signal is predicted to be very small at the Tevatron, but observable at the LHC. We show that the double-diffractive dijet production may serve as a unique gluon factory. This process can be used also as a Pomeron-Pomeron luminosity monitor.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, Late

Hunting a light CP-violating Higgs via diffraction at the LHC

We study the central diffractive production of the (three neutral) Higgs bosons, with a rapidity gap on either side, in an MSSM scenario with CP-violation. We consider the bb-bar and tautau-bar decay for the light H_1 boson and the four b-jet final state for the heavy H_2 and H_3 bosons, and discuss the corresponding backgrounds. A direct indication of the existence of CP-violation can come from the observation of either an azimuthal asymmetry in the angular distribution of the tagged forward protons (for the exclusive pp -> p+H+p process) or of a sin(2phi) contribution in the azimuthal correlation between the transverse energy flows in the proton fragmentation regions for the process with the diffractive dissociation of both incoming protons (pp -> X+H+Y). We emphasise the advantage of reactions with the rapidity gaps (that is production by the pomeron-pomeron fusion) to probe CP parity and to determine the quantum numbers of the produced central object.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Diffractive gamma-gamma production at hadron colliders

We compute the cross section for exclusive double-diffractive gamma-gamma production at the Tevatron, $p{\bar p} \to p + \gamma\gamma + {\bar p}$, and the LHC. We evaluate both the gluon-gluon and quark-antiquark t-channel exchange contributions to the process. The observation of exclusive gamma-gamma production at the Tevatron will provide a check on the model predictions, and offer an opportunity to confirm the expectations for exclusive double-diffractive Higgs production at the LHC.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Lessons from LHC elastic and diffractive data

In the light of LHC data, we discuss the global description of all high energy elastic and diffractive data, using a one-pomeron model, but including multi-pomeron interactions. The LHC data indicate the need of a $k_t(s)$ behaviour, where $k_t$ is the gluon transverse momentum along the partonic ladder structure which describes the pomeron. We also discuss tensions in the data, as well as the $t$ dependence of the slope of $d\sigma_{el}/dt$ in the small $t$ domain.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of Diffraction 2014, Primosten, Croatia, Sept. 10-1

Diffraction at the LHC

We show that the diffractive pp (and p\bar{p}) data (on \sigma_tot, d\sigma_el/dt, proton dissociation into low-mass systems, \sigma^D(low M), and high-mass dissociation, d\sigma/d(\Delta\eta)) in a wide energy range from CERN-ISR to LHC energies, may be described in a two-channel eikonal model with only one `effective' pomeron. By allowing the pomeron coupling to the diffractive eigenstates to depend on the collider energy (as is expected theoretically) we are able to explain the low value of \sigma^D(low M) measured at the LHC. We calculate the survival probability, S^2, of a rapidity gap to survive `soft rescattering'. We emphasize that the values found for S^2 are particularly sensitive to the detailed structure of the diffractive eigenstates.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures. Version to be published in EPJC. Typos corrected in eqs.(4) and (11

Checking formalism for central exclusive production in the first LHC runs

We discuss how the early LHC data runs can provide crucial tests of the formalism used to predict the cross sections of central exclusive production.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures; Based on a talk by A.D. Martin at the CERN - DESY Workshop "HERA and the LHC", 26 - 30 May 2008, CER

Information from leading neutrons at HERA

In principle, leading neutrons produced in photoproduction and deep-inelastic scattering at HERA have the potential to determine the pion structure function, the neutron absorptive cross section and the form of the pion flux. To explore this potential we compare theoretical predictions for the x_L and p_t spectra of leading neutrons, and the Q^2 dependence of the cross section, with the existing ZEUS data.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure