Exclusive vector meson production and small-x evolution

Abstract

The process of exclusive elastic vector meson production in deep inelastic scattering is investigated within the dipole model framework supplemented by the small x evolution. The dipole-proton amplitude is obtained from the nonlinear Balitsky-Kovchegov evolution equation with impact parameter dependence. This dipole amplitude is used to compute the differential cross section for exclusive production of J/Ψ, , and ρ vector mesons. These numerical calculations are compared with the wide range of experimental data from HERA. Good agreement between the experimental data and the calculations is found. © 2012 SISSA.