A Soft Interaction Model at Ultra High Energies: Amplitudes, Cross Sections and Survival Probabilities

In this paper we present a two channel model with the goal of reproducing the soft scattering data available in the ISR-Tevatron energy range, and extend the model results to LHC and Cosmic Rays energies. A characteristic feature of the model is that we represent the sum of all diffractive final states at a vertex, by a single diffractive state. Our two main results are: (i) The approach of the elastic scattering amplitude to the black disc bound is very slow, reaching it at energies far higher than the GZK ankle cutoff. (ii) Our predicted survival probability for Higgs exclusive central diffractive production at the LHC is 0.7%, which is considerably smaller than our previous estimate. The above features are compatible with a parton-like model in which the traditional soft Pomeron is replaced by an amplitude describing the partonic system, which issaturated in the soft (long distance) limit.