Vector meson production at low x from gauge/gravity duality

Abstract

We use gauge/gravity duality to study vector meson (J/{\Psi}, {\rho}_0, {\Omega}, {\Phi}) production in electron-proton scattering, in the limit of high center of mass energy at fixed momentum transfer, corresponding to the limit of low Bjorken x, where the process is dominated by pomeron exchange. Our approach considers the pomeron at strong coupling, described by the graviton Regge trajectory in AdS space with a hard-wall to mimic confinement effects. Both the proton and vector mesons are described by simple holographic wave functions in AdS. This model agrees with HERA H1 data with a {\chi}^2 per degree of freedom below one on total cross-sections, and below two on differential cross-sections, confirming the success of previous studies that model low x DIS and DVCS using gauge/gravity duality.