Measurement of the differential cross section dσ/dt in elastic pp̄ scattering at √s=1.96TeV

We present a measurement of the elastic differential cross section dσ(pp̄→pp̄)/dt as a function of the four-momentum-transfer squared t. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of ≈31nb -1 collected with the D0 detector using dedicated Tevatron pp̄ Collider operating conditions at √s=1.96TeV and covers the range 0.26<|t|<1.2GeV2. For |t|<0.6GeV2, dσ/dt is described by an exponential function of the form Ae -b|t| with a slope parameter b=16.86±0.10(stat)±0.20(syst)GeV -2. A change in slope is observed at |t|≈0.6GeV2, followed by a more gradual |t| dependence with increasing values of |t|. © 2012 American Physical Society.