Phenomenological description of the gamma* p cross section at low Q2

Abstract

Low Q2 photon-proton cross sections are analysed using a simple, QCD-motivated parametrisation $σ_{γ^\star p}\propto 1/(Q^2+Q_0^2)$, which gives a good description of the data. The Q2 dependence of the gamma* p cross section is discussed in terms of the partonic transverse momenta of the hadronic state the photon fluctuates into.