Pseudorapidity gap distributions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are studied using a minimum bias data sample with an integrated luminosity of 7.1 inverse microbarns. Cross sections are measured differentially in terms of Delta eta F, the larger of the pseudorapidity regions extending to the limits of the ATLAS sensitivity, at eta = +/- 4.9, in which no final state particles are produced above a transverse momentum threshold p_T Cut. The measurements span the region 0 < Delta eta F < 8 for 200 < p_T Cut < 800 MeV. At small Delta eta F, the data test the reliability of hadronisation models in describing rapidity and transverse momentum fluctuations in final state particle production. The measurements at larger gap sizes are dominated by contributions from the single diffractive dissociation process (pp -> Xp), enhanced by double dissociation (pp -> XY) where the invariant mass of the lighter of the two dissociation systems satisfies M_Y <~ 7 GeV. The resulting cross section is d sigma / d Delta eta F ~ 1 mb for Delta eta F >~ 3. The large rapidity gap data are used to constrain the value of the pomeron intercept appropriate to triple Regge models of soft diffraction. The cross section integrated over all gap sizes is compared with other LHC inelastic cross section measurements.
The inelastic cross section differential in the forward rapidity gap size, DELTA(C=RAPGAP) for a maximum observed particle transverse momentum of 200 MeV in the gap.
The inelastic cross section differential in the forward rapidity gap size, DELTA(C=RAPGAP) for a maximum observed particle transverse momentum of 400 MeV in the gap.
The inelastic cross section differential in the forward rapidity gap size, DELTA(C=RAPGAP) for a maximum observed particle transverse momentum of 600 MeV in the gap.
Measurements are presented of single and double-differential dijet cross sections in diffractive photoproduction based on a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 47 pb^-1. The events are of the type ep -> eXY, where the hadronic system X contains at least two jets and is separated by a large rapidity gap from the system Y, which consists of a leading proton or low-mass proton excitation. The dijet cross sections are compared with QCD calculations at next-to-leading order and with a Monte Carlo model based on leading order matrix elements with parton showers. The measured cross sections are smaller than those obtained from the next-to-leading order calculations by a factor of about 0.6. This suppression factor has no significant dependence on the fraction x_gamma of the photon four-momentum entering the hard subprocess. Ratios of the diffractive to the inclusive dijet cross sections are measured for the first time and are compared with Monte Carlo models.
Total diffractive dijet positron-proton cross section integrated over the full measured kinematic range.
Bin averaged hadron level differential cross section for diffractive dijet production as a function of X(C=GAMMA). The first systematic error is the uncorrelated and the second the correlated uncertainty.
Bin averaged hadron level differential cross section for diffractive dijet production as a function of the ET of jet 1. The first systematic error is the uncorrelated and the second the correlated uncertainty.