Soft processes at the LHC, II: soft–hard factorisation breaking and gap survival

M. G. Ryskin; A. D. Martin; V. A. Khoze

doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-009-0890-9

EPJ

Soft processes at the LHC, II: soft–hard factorisation breaking and gap survival

M. G. Ryskin¹^,2, A. D. Martin¹ and V. A. Khoze¹^,2^*

¹ Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
² Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, St. Petersburg, 188300, Russia

Received: 2 January 2009
Published online: 14 February 2009

Abstract

We calculate the probability that the rapidity gaps in diffractive processes survive both eikonal and enhanced rescattering. We present arguments that enhanced rescattering, which violates soft–hard factorisation, is not very strong. Accounting for NLO effects, there is no reason to expect that the black-disc regime is reached at the LHC. We discuss the predictions for the survival of the rapidity gaps for exclusive Higgs production at the LHC.