Towards a unified description of total and diffractive structure functions at DESY HERA in the QCD dipole picture

Abstract

It is argued that the QCD dipole picture allows us to build a unified theoretical description, based on Balitskii-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov dynamics, of the total and diffractive nucleon structure functions. This description is in qualitative agreement with the present collection of data obtained by the H1 Collaboration. More precise theoretical estimates, in particular the determination of the normalizations and proton transverse momentum behavior of the diffractive components, are shown to be required in order to reach definite conclusions.