Testing non-linear evolution with running coupling corrections in ep and pp collisions

Abstract

Perturbative QCD predicts that the growth of the gluon density at small x (high energies) should saturate, forming a Color Glass Condensate (CGC), which is described in mean field approximation by the Balitsky–Kovchegov (BK) equation. Recently, the next-to-leading order corrections for the BK equation were derived and a global fit of the inclusive ep HERA data was performed, resulting in a parameterization for the forward scattering amplitude. In this paper we compare this parameterization with the predictions of other phenomenological models and investigate the saturation physics in diffractive deep-inelastic electron–proton scattering and in the forward hadron production in pp collisions. Our results demonstrate that the running coupling BK solution is able to describe these observables.