Soft Pomeron and Lower-Trajectory Intercepts

Abstract

We present a preliminary report on the determination of the intercepts and couplings of the soft pomeron and of the rho/omega and f/a trajectories from the largest data set available for all total cross sections and real parts of the hadronic amplitudes. Factorization is reasonably satisfied by the pomeron couplings, which allows us to make predictions on gamma gamma and gamma p total cross sections. In addition we show that these data cannot discriminate between fits based on a simple Regge pomeron-pole and on an asymptotic log^2s-type behaviour, implying that the effect of unitarisation is negligible. Also we examine the range of validity in energy of the fit, and the bounds that these data place on the odderon and on the hard pomeron.