The differential cross sections for the elastic scattering of π+, π−, K+, K−, p, and p¯ on protons have been measured in the t interval -0.04 to -0.75 GeV2 at five momenta: 50, 70, 100, 140, and 175 GeV/c. The t distributions have been parametrized by the quadratic exponential form dσdt=Aexp(B|t|+C|t|2) and the energy dependence has been described in terms of a single-pole Regge model. The pp and K+p diffraction peaks are found to shrink with α′∼0.20 and ∼0.15 GeV−2, respectively. The p¯p diffraction peak is antishrinking while π±p and K−p are relatively energy-independent. Total elastic cross sections are calculated by integrating the differential cross sections. The rapid decline in σel observed at low energies has stopped and all six reactions approach relatively constant values of σel. The ratio of σelσtot approaches a constant value for all six reactions by 100 GeV, consistent with the predictions of the geometric-scaling hypothesis. This ratio is ∼0.18 for pp and p¯p, and ∼0.12-0.14 for π±p and K±p. A crossover is observed between K+p and K−p scattering at |t|∼0.19 GeV2, and between pp and p¯p at |t|∼0.11 GeV2. Inversion of the cross sections into impact-parameter space shows that protons are quite transparent to mesons even in head-on collisions. The probability for a meson to pass through a proton head-on without interaction inelastically is ∼20% while it is only ∼6% for an incident proton or antiproton. Finally, the results are compared with various quark-model predictions.

We have measured π±p and pp elastic differential cross sections in the range |cosθc.m.|<0.35 for incident momenta from 2 to 9.7 GeV/c for π−p and pp and from 2 to 6.3 GeV/c for π+p. We find that the fixed-c.m.-angle πp differential cross sections cannot be described as simple functions of s. The data are compared to the energy and angular dependence predicted by the constituent model of Gunion, Brodsky, and Blankenbecler.

In this paper we present tables of absolute differential cross sections of elastic pp scattering together with the values of the slope parameter B and the real-part parameter α, where B= d d t In dσ d t α= Re A(0) Im A(0) and A (0) is the amplitude of elastic pp scattering at t = 0. The cross-section data have been obtained at the Serpukhov accelerator from 8 to 70 GeV in the | t |-range 0.0007 − 0.12 (GeV/ c ) 2 .

This paper contains a critical review of all the data produced at the ISR on proton-proton elastic scattering and total cross sections. This coherent and complete set of data is used to compute the impact parameter distribution of the proton-proton inelastic overlap integral. This impact parameter analysis has smaller errors than any other previously made, and confirms the good agreement with the geometrical scaling model while strongly disagreeing with models based on factorizing eikonals. For the first time we find indications of a second contribution to the peripheral rising of the proton-proton cross section in a region around 2.2 fm.

The properties of the diffractive peak observed in the mass spectra of systems recoiling against observed high-momentum protons emerging from pp collisions at the CERN ISR have been investigated. The cross sections in this peak have been found to have a steep t dependence which flattens out as | t | increases. The high mass side of the peak varies approximately as 1/ M 2 (where M is the missing mass of the recoiling system) and scales well in terms of the variable M 2 / s . The position of the maximum has been observed to move to lower values of M 2 / s as the kinematic boundary of this variable decreases with increasing s . The measured cross sections, integrated up to M 2 / s =0.05, rise by (15±5)% over the s range 549 to 1464 GeV 2 .

Differential cross sections have been measured for nucleon-isobar production and elastic scattering in p−p interactions from 6.2 to 29.7 GeVc in the laboratory angle range 8<θsc<265 mrad. N*' s at 1236, 1410, 1500, 1690, and 2190 MeV were observed. Computer fits to the mass spectra under varying assumptions of resonance and background shapes show that conclusions on t and s dependence are only slightly affected despite typical variations in absolute normalization of ± 35%. Logarithmic t slopes in the small- |t| range are ∼15 (GeVc)−2 for the N*(1410), ∼5 (GeVc)−2 for the N*'s at 1500, 1690, and 2190 MeV, and ∼9 (GeVc)−2 for elastic scattering. Also for the small- |t| data, cross sections for N*'s at 1410, 1500, 1690, and 2190 MeV and for elastic scattering vary only slightly with Pinc consistent with the dominance of Pomeranchuk exchange and with diffraction dissociation. A fit of N*(1690) total cross sections to the form σ∝P−n gives n=0.34±0.06, while for elastic scattering n=0.20±0.05. For the N*(1690) the effective Regge trajectory has the slope αeff′(0)=0.38±0.17. When compared with N* production in π−, K−, and p¯ beams these data also agree with approximate factorization of the Pomeranchuk trajectory. N*(1236) cross sections are consistent with other measurements at similar momenta. For −t>1 (GeVc)−2, elastic scattering cross sections decrease approximately as Pinc−2, and they and N*(1500)− and N*(1690)− production cross sections have t slopes consistent with 1.6 (GeVc)−2.

Differential cross sections for elastic π±−p scattering have been measured at lab momenta of 8 and 12 GeV/c in a momentum-transfer region corresponding to 1.2≤−t≤6 (GeV/c)2. Also, differential cross sections near 180° were measured for 4 and 8 GeV/c pions. At momentum transfers greater than −t=2 (GeV/c)2, the π−p cross sections drop much faster with increasing angle than the corresponding p−p cross sections. Also, in the region −t≃1.3 (GeV/c)2, there is structure in the π−p angular distribution but not in the p−p angular distribution. At −t≃3 (GeV/c)2, the drop in cross section appears to stop and from then on the angular distribution is consistent with isotropy. But in the angular region 170° to 180°, the cross sections have become much larger, and sharp backward peaks are observed. Information is given on the energy and charge dependences and widths of these backward peaks.

A measurement of the total $pp$ cross section at the LHC at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV is presented. In a special run with high-$\beta^{\star}$ beam optics, an integrated luminosity of 80 $\mu$b$^{-1}$ was accumulated in order to measure the differential elastic cross section as a function of the Mandelstam momentum transfer variable $t$. The measurement is performed with the ALFA sub-detector of ATLAS. Using a fit to the differential elastic cross section in the $|t|$ range from 0.01 GeV$^2$ to 0.1 GeV$^2$ to extrapolate to $|t|\rightarrow 0$, the total cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X)$, is measured via the optical theorem to be: $$\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X) = 95.35 \; \pm 0.38 \; ({\mbox{stat.}}) \pm 1.25 \; ({\mbox{exp.}}) \pm 0.37 \; (\mbox{extr.}) \; \mbox{mb},$$ where the first error is statistical, the second accounts for all experimental systematic uncertainties and the last is related to uncertainties in the extrapolation to $|t|\rightarrow 0$. In addition, the slope of the elastic cross section at small $|t|$ is determined to be $B = 19.73 \pm 0.14 \; ({\mbox{stat.}}) \pm 0.26 \; ({\mbox{syst.}}) \; \mbox{GeV}^{-2}$.

A measurement of the total $pp$ cross section at the LHC at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV is presented. An integrated luminosity of $500$ $\mu$b$^{-1}$ was accumulated in a special run with high-$\beta^{\star}$ beam optics to measure the differential elastic cross section as a function of the Mandelstam momentum transfer variable $t$. The measurement is performed with the ALFA sub-detector of ATLAS. Using a fit to the differential elastic cross section in the $-t$ range from $0.014$ GeV$^2$ to $0.1$ GeV$^2$ to extrapolate $t\rightarrow 0$, the total cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X)$, is measured via the optical theorem to be: $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X) = {96.07} \; \pm 0.18 \; ({{stat.}}) \pm 0.85 \; ({{exp.}}) \pm 0.31 \; ({extr.}) \; {mb} \;,$ where the first error is statistical, the second accounts for all experimental systematic uncertainties and the last is related to uncertainties in the extrapolation $t\rightarrow 0$. In addition, the slope of the exponential function describing the elastic cross section at small $t$ is determined to be $B = 19.74 \pm 0.05 \; ({{stat.}}) \pm 0.23 \; ({{syst.}}) \; {GeV}^{-2}$.

Polarization and differential cross section data for elastic proton-proton scattering between 0.86 and 2.74 GeV/ c are presented. A comparison is made with existing phase-shift analyses.