Evidence for a Hard Pomeron in Perturbative QCD

Abstract

The $t$-channel exchange of two gluons in a color singlet state represents the lowest order approximation to the Pomeron. This exchange mechanism is thought to also explain the formation of rapidity gaps in dijet events at the Tevatron. At the perturbative level this requires suppressed gluon emission in the rapidity interval between widely separated jets, analogous to color coherence effects in $t$-channel photon exchange. By calculating the imaginary part of the two gluon, color singlet exchange amplitude we show how this pattern does emerge for gluon emission at small transverse momenta. At large $p_T$ the radiation pattern characteristic for color octet single gluon exchange is reproduced.