Searching for the Odderon in the diffractive $f_2(1270)$ photoproduction at $pA$ collisions

Abstract

Although the Odderon is an unambiguous prediction of Quantum Chromodynamics, its existence still was not confirmed experimentally. One of the processes where the Odderon contribution is expected to be dominant is the diffractive photoproduction of tensor mesons. In this paper we study the diffractive $f_2(1270)$ photoproduction in $pA$ collisions at LHC and RHIC considering the model of the stochastic vacuum to treat the non - perturbative process. We demonstrate that this process dominates the $f_2$ production at mid - rapidities, and large values for the cross section are predicted. Our results indicate that the experimental analysis of this final state is, in principle, feasible and can be used to probe the Odderon.