Contemporary models of elastic nucleon scattering and their predictions for LHC

Abstract

The analyses of elastic collisions of charged nucleons have been based standardly on West and Yennie formula. However, this approach has been shown recently to be inadequate from experimental as well as theoretical points of view. The eikonal model seems to be more pertinent as it enables to determine physical characteristics in impact parameter space. The contemporary phenomenological models cannot give, of course, any definite answer as the elastic collisions may be interpreted differently, as central or peripheral processes. Nevertheless, the predictions for the planned LHC energy have been given on their basis and the possibility of exact determination of luminosity has been considered.