We present measurements from events with two isolated prompt photons in p¯p collisions at √s =1.8 TeV. The differential cross section, measured as a function of transverse momentum (PT) of each photon, is about 3 times what next-to-leading-order QCD calculations predict. The cross section for photons with PT in the range 10–19 GeV is 86±27(stat)−23+32(syst) pb. We also study the correlation between the two photons in both azimuthal angle and PT. The magnitude of the vector sum of the transverse momenta of both photons, KT=‖PT1+PT2‖, has a mean value of 〈KT〉=5.1±1.1 GeV.
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.