Inclusive Double Pomeron Exchange at the Fermilab Tevatron pbar-p Collider

Abstract

We report a study of $\bar{p}+p\to \bar{p}+X+Y$ at $\sqrt{s}=1800$ GeV, where $Y$ is a proton or system of mass-squared $M_Y^2\lesssim 8$ GeV${}^2$. In a sample of events with a leading $\bar{p}$ of fractional momentum loss $0.035<{\xi }_{\bar{p}}<0.095$ and 4-momentum transfer squared $|t_{\bar{p}}|<1.0$ GeV${}^2$, the proton fractional momentum loss ${\xi }_p^X$ to the system $X$ was evaluated from the momenta of the particles comprising $X$. In the region ${\xi }_p^X<0.02$, the ${\xi }_p^X$ distribution behaves as $\sim 1/({\xi }_p^X{)}^{1.1}$, as expected for double Pomeron exchange. The fraction of events with ${\xi }_p^X<0.02$ is found to be $0.194\pm 0.001(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.012(\mathrm{syst})$.

7 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters