On Testing Local QFT at LHC

Abstract

We discuss the importance of measuring $\rho= ReF/ImF$ at LHC to test the forward dispersion relations and local QFT. It is pointed out that at LHC we can reach a short distance domain that has not been pre-explored by QED. This is in contrast with all previous tests of the dispersion relations. We argue that the most likely property of QFT to fail is polynomial boundedness. In a theory with `fundamental length', R, we study the consequences of having exponential behavior in the amplitude of the form (exp$\pm i\sqrt{s}\;R)$, as suggested by different models. We show that such a behavior makes a significant and measurable contribution to $\rho$ even at energies where $(\sqrt{s}\;R)$ is still small, O(0.1). Talk delivered at Les Rencontres de Physique de la Vallee d'Aoste: Results and Perspectives in Particle Physics, La Thuile, Aosta, March 1994.