An interpretation of the high-energy πN scattering amplitudes and data

Abstract

The πN scattering amplitudes at 6 GeV/ c are examined and physical interpretations are suggested. For isovector exchange they are shown to be correctly given by a conventional enhanced absorption model which takes into account the phase of the elastic scattering at the same energy, while for isoscalar exchange they are consistent with simple ideas in impact parameter space. The absolute phase of the isoscalar exchange is determined by internal consistency of the model, and a t dependence for the Pomeron is predicted. A number of general points are briefly discussed, including the mechanism causing the double zeros in the elastic polarizations, the importance of different effective trajectories for flip and nonflip amplitudes, the possibility that shrinkage will change withenergy, the expectation that crossover zeros will move out with increasing energy, the origin of the isoscalar flip amplitude, and the peripherality of the amplitudes.