Inclusive photon production in proton-proton collisions

Abstract

Production of photons in proton-proton collisions is studied in the quark-parton-model context. The processes considered are $p+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}+X$, $p+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}+\ensuremath{\gamma}+X$, $p+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}+\mathrm{gluon}\mathrm{jet}+X$, and $p+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}+\mathrm{quark}\mathrm{jet} +X$. It is shown that the strong coupling constant and the gluon momentum-distribution function in the proton can be determined by measuring these cross sections.