Diffractive deep-inelastic scattering with a leading proton at HERA

The cross section for the diffractive deep-inelastic scattering process ep -> eX(P) is measured, with the leading final state proton detected in the H1 Forward Proton Spectrometer. The data analysed cover the range x(P) < 0.1 in fractional proton longitudinal momentum loss, 0.08 < vertical bar t vertical bar < 0.5 GeV-2 in squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, 2 < Q(2) < 50 GeV2 in photon virtuality and 0.004 < beta = x/x(P) < 1, where x is the Bjorken scaling variable. For x(P) less than or similar to 10(-2), the differential cross section has a dependence of approximately d sigma/dt proportional to e(6t), independently of x(P), beta and Q(2) within uncertainties. The cross section is also measured triple differentially in x(P), beta and Q(2). The x(P) dependence is interpreted in terms of an effective pomeron trajectory with intercept alpha(P) (0) = 1.114 +/- 0.018(stat.) +/- 0.012(syst.)(-0.020)(+0.040) (model) and a subleading exchange. The data are in good agreement with an H1 measurement for which the event selection is based on a large gap in the rapidity distribution of the final state hadrons, after accounting for proton dissociation contributions in the latter. Within uncertainties, the dependence of the cross section on x and Q(2) can thus be factorised from the dependences on all studied variables which characterise the proton vertex, for both the pomeron and the sub-leading exchange.