Double pomeron exchange in high-energy pp collisions

Abstract The double pomeron exchange cross section in high-energy pp collisions is analyzed in detail for different phase-space cuts. The ratio of double pomeron exchange signal to diffraction dissociation background is examined as a function of s . The theoretical predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with the recent results of the experiments at the CERN ISR. The properties of the central cluster as well as the predictions for high energies are discussed.