Coarse graining $$\pi \pi $$ π π scattering

We carry out an analysis of $$\pi \pi $$ scattering in the $$IJ=00$$ , 11 and 20 channels in configuration space up to a maximal center-of-mass energy $$\sqrt{s}=1.4$$ GeV. We separate the interaction into two regions marked by an elementarity radius of the system; namely, a long distance region above which pions can be assumed to interact as elementary particles and a short distance region where many physical effects cannot be disentangled. The long distance interaction is described by chiral dynamics, where a two-pion-exchange potential is identified, computed and compared to lattice calculations. The short distance piece corresponds to a coarse grained description exemplified by a superposition of delta-shell potentials sampling the interaction with the minimal wavelength. We show how the so constructed non-perturbative scattering amplitude complies with the proper analytic structure, allowing for an explicit N/D type decomposition in terms of the corresponding Jost functions and fulfilling dispersion relations without subtractions. We also address renormalization issues in coordinate space and investigate the role of crossing when fitting the scattering amplitudes above and below threshold to Roy-equation results. At higher energies, we show how inelasticities can be described by one single complex and energy dependent parameter. A successful description of the data can be achieved with a minimal number of fitting parameters, suggesting that coarse graining is a viable approach to analyze hadronic processes.