Diffraction on nuclei: Effects of nucleon correlations

The cross sections for a variety of diffractive processes in proton-nucleus scattering, associated with large gaps in rapidity, are calculated within an improved Glauber-Gribov theory, where the inelastic shadowing corrections are summed to all orders by employing the dipole representation. The effects of nucleon correlations, leading to a modification of the nuclear thickness function, are also taken into account. Numerical calculations are performed for the energies of the Hadron-Electron Ring Accelerator-B experiment, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and Large Hadron Collider, and for several nuclei. It is found that whereas the Gribov corrections generally make nuclear matter more transparent, nucleon correlations act in the opposite direction and have important effects in various diffractive processes.