Structures in the high-energy proton-proton diffraction cone

Abstract

The otherwise exponential high-energy proton-proton diffraction cone has two prominent structures, which are namely the "break" staying fixed around $t \approx -0.1$ GeV$^2$ and the "dip" moving with increasing energy logarithmically towards smaller $|t|$ values. While at the ISR the two structures are separated by a distance of about $1$ GeV$^2$, at the LHC the dip comes close to the periphery of the "break", thus affecting its parametrization. The Regge theory gives some opportunity to describe these phenomena which have still disputable and quite different physics.