Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: We study 2-to-3 meson-meson scattering based on the process that a gluon is created from a constituent quark or antiquark and subsequently the gluon creates a quark-antiquark pair. The transition potential for the process is derived in QCD. Eight Feynman diagrams at tree level are involved in the 2-to-3 meson-meson scattering. Starting from the $S$-matrix element, we derive the unpolarized cross section from the eight transition amplitudes corresponding to the eight Feynman diagrams. The transition amplitudes contain color, spin, and flavor matrix elements. The 2-to-3 meson-meson scattering includes $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}K\overline{K}$, $\ensuremath{\pi}K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}K$, $\ensuremath{\pi}K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}KK\overline{K}$, $KK\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}KK$, and $K\overline{K}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}K\overline{K}$. Cross sections for the reactions are calculated. The cross sections depend on temperature obviously, and the cross section for $\ensuremath{\pi}K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}K$ for total isospin $I=3/2$ at zero temperature is compared to experimental data. By comparison with inelastic 2-to-2 meson-meson scattering, we find that 2-to-3 meson-meson scattering may be as important as inelastic 2-to-2 meson-meson scattering.
Authors: Wan-Xia Li, Xiao-Ming Xu, H. J. Weber
Institutions: Shanghai University, University of Virginia
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G557623860
OpenAlex ID: W2954059948