We use data on the deep inelastic structure function F 2 in order to constrain the cross-section for scattering a colour dipole off a proton. The data seem to prefer parameterisations which include saturation effects. That is they indicate that the strong rise with energy of the dipole cross-section, which holds for small dipoles, pertains only for r < r s (x) where r s (x) decreases monotonically as x decreases. Subsequent predicitions for the diffractive structure function F D(3) 2 also hint at saturation, although the data are not really sufficiently accurate. * For an explicit comparison of the two dipole cross-sections, see [7].

We have performed a detailed phenomenological investigation of the hard colour singlet exchange process which is observed at the Tevatron in events which have a large rapidity gap between outgoing jets. We include the effects of multiple interactions to obtain a prediction for the gap survival factor. Comparing the data on the fraction of gap events with the prediction from BFKL pomeron exchange we find agreement provided that a constant value of α s is used in the BFKL calculation. Moreover, the value of α s is in line with that extracted from measurements made at HERA.

Diffractive vector meson photoproduction accompanied by proton dissociation is studied for large momentum transfer. The process is described by the non-forward BFKL equation which we use to compare to data collected at the HERA collider.

We perform an analysis of the Renormalization Group evolution of the couplings in an extension to the Standard Model which contains a real triplet in the Higgs sector. Insisting that the model remain valid up to 1 TeV allow us to map out the region of allowed mass for the Higgs bosons. We conclude that it is possible for there to be no light Higgs bosons without any otherwise dramatic deviation from the physics of the Standard Model.

We report on the results of our recent research published in [1] that shows that AdS/QCD generates predictions for the rate of diffractive ρ-meson electroproduction that are in agreement with data collected at the HERA electron-proton collider [2,3]. Preliminary results of this research were presented in [4].