THE LANDSHOFF-NACHTMANN POMERON ON THE LATTICE

We investigate the Landshoff-Nachtmann two-gluon-exchange model of the Pomeron using gluon propagators computed in the Landau gauge within q uenched lattice QCD calculations. We first determine an effective gluo n-quark coupling by constraining the Pomeron-quark coupling to its phe nomenological value beta(0) = 2 GeV-1. We then provide predictions for a variety of diffractive processes. As the propagators have been eval uated entirely from QCD first principles (although in the quenched app roximation), our results provide a consistency check of the Landshoff- Nachtmann model. We address the issue of the possible gauge-dependence of our results, which will be the object of a future study.