Reggeon field theory and the crossover phenomenon

A Reggeon field theory that includes the interaction of Reggeons and Pomerons is studied with the hope of deriving absorptive corrections in a systematic way. The theory is solved in the tree approximation. Measured values of triple-Regge couplings suggest a perturbative solution is appropriate. The formalism is applied to a study of the crossover phenomenon in elastic scattering. Internal couplings of Pomerons and Reggeons are found to generate substantial additional absorption. The strength and energy dependence of these new contributions is, however, still inadequate to provide a satisfactory description of the phenomenon.