Transverse-Momentum Correlations in Production Processes

Abstract

The distribution of the relative transverse momentum between particles of very different rapidities can yield information on the spatial structure of production mechanisms. These two-particle correlations of transverse momenta in multiparticle final states are shown to be useful in testing basic assumptions of theories of hadronic interactions. A simple phenomenological parametrization is presented as an aid to the analysis of experimental data and an absorptive multiparticle impact-parameter representation is utilized to interpret the physical significance of such correlations. Absorption in this model is shown to lead to the observed two-particle correlations and also to shoulders or dips in the transverse-momentum distributions. Relationships between transverse momenta and their conjugate spatial coordinates are shown to be of importance in understanding these correlations, which are as significant as those involving the currently popular longitudinal variables. A preliminary analysis of several reactions involving three- and four-body final states is reported.