EPJ Web of Conferences 199, 03005 (2019)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201919903005

Central exclusive production of K⁺K⁻ pairs in proton-proton collisions

¹ Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Radzikowskiego 152, PL 31-342 Kraków, Poland
² University of Rzeszów, ul. Pigonia 1, PL 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
³ Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany

^* e-mail: Piotr.Lebiedowicz@ifj.edu.pl

Published online: 1 February 2019

Abstract

We discuss central exclusive diffractive production of light mesons in the reactions $pp\to pp{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ and $pp\to pp{K}^{+}{K}^{-}$. The calculation is based on a tensor-pomeron approach. We include a purely diffractive dipion continuum, and the scalar f₀(980), f₀(1500), f₀(1710) and tensor f₂(1770), ${f^{\prime }}_2(1525)$ resonances decaying into pseudoscalar meson pairs. We include also photoproduction mechanisms for the nonresonant (Drell-Söding) and the ϕ(1020) resonance contributions. The theoretical results are compared with existing CDF experimental data and predictions for being carried out LHC experiments are presented. The distributions in dimeson invariant mass and in a special "glueball filter variable" including the interference effects of resonance and dimeson continuum are presented.