Exclusive production of π and K meson pairs in two photon collisions is measured with ALEPH data collected between 1992 and 2000. Cross-sections are presented as a function of cos θ ∗ and invariant mass, for | cos θ ∗ |<0.6 and invariant masses between 2.0 and 6.0 GeV/ c 2 (2.25 and 4.0 GeV/ c 2 ) for pions (kaons). The shape of the distributions are found to be well described by QCD predictions but the data have a significantly higher normalization.
This article reports a measurement of the production cross section of prompt isolated photon pairs in proton-antiproton collisions at \sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV using the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.36/fb. The cross section is presented as a function of kinematic variables sensitive to the reaction mechanisms. The results are compared with three perturbative QCD calculations: (1) a leading order parton shower Monte Carlo, (2) a fixed next-to-leading order calculation and (3) a next-to-leading order/next-to-next-to-leading-log resummed calculation. The comparisons show that, within their known limitations, all calculations predict the main features of the data, but no calculation adequately describes all aspects of the data.
The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has measured the production cross section of events with two isolated photons in the final state, in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. The full data set collected in 2011, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb-1, is used. The amount of background, from hadronic jets and isolated electrons, is estimated with data-driven techniques and subtracted. The total cross section, for two isolated photons with transverse energies above 25 GeV and 22 GeV respectively, in the acceptance of the electromagnetic calorimeter (|eta|<1.37 and 1.52<|eta|<2.37) and with an angular separation Delta R>0.4, is 44.0 (+3.2) (-4.2) pb. The differential cross sections as a function of the di-photon invariant mass, transverse momentum, azimuthal separation, and cosine of the polar angle of the largest transverse energy photon in the Collins--Soper di-photon rest frame are also measured. The results are compared to the prediction of leading-order parton-shower and next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order parton-level generators.
We present measurements of direct photon pair production cross sections using 8.5 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron $p \bar p$ collider. The results are presented as differential distributions of the photon pair invariant mass $d\sigma/dM_{\gamma \gamma}$, pair transverse momentum $d \sigma /dp^{\gamma \gamma}_T$, azimuthal angle between the photons $d\sigma/d\Delta \phi_{\gamma \gamma}$, and polar scattering angle in the Collins-Soper frame $d\sigma /d|\cos \theta^*|$. Measurements are performed for isolated photons with transverse momenta $p^{\gamma}_T>18 ~(17)$ GeV for the leading (next-to-leading) photon in $p_T$, pseudorapidities $|\eta^{\gamma}|<0.9$, and a separation in $\eta-\phi$ space $\Delta\mathcal R_{\gamma\gamma} > 0.4$. We present comparisons with the predictions from Monte Carlo event generators {\sc diphox} and {\sc resbos} implementing QCD calculations at next-to-leading order, $2\gamma${\sc nnlo} at next-to-next-to-leading order, and {\sc sherpa} using matrix elements with higher-order real emissions matched to parton shower.