The total proton-proton cross section (excluding Coulomb scattering) has been measured at energies from 410 Mev up to 2.6 Bev, using external beams from the Cosmotron. Fast counting equipment was used to measure the attenuation of the beams through polyethylene, carbon, and liquid H2 absorbers. At each energy E, σp−p(E, Ω) was measured as a function of the solid angle Ω subtended by the rear counter at the center of the absorber. The total cross section σp−p was obtained by a least squares straight line extrapolation to Ω=0. The measured σp−p as a function of energy rises sharply from 26.5 mb at 410 Mev to 47.8 mb at 830 Mev and then remains approximately constant out to 1.4 Bev, above which energy it decreases gradually to about 42 mb at 2.6 Bev. Using the same equipment and procedure, we have also measured the D2O-H2O difference cross section, called "σp−n," for protons over the same energy range. From a comparison of "σp−n," and σp−p, with the n−p and n−d measurements of Coor et al. at 1.4 Bev, it is apparent that one nucleon is "shielded" by the other in the deuteron. This effect is not present at energies below 410 Mev. Comparing the measured p−p and "p−n" (corrected) cross sections with the results of other high-energy experiments, one may infer the following conclusions: (1) The sharp rise in σp−p from 400 to 800 Mev results from increasing single pion production, which may proceed through the T=32, J=32 excited nucleon state. (2) Above 1 Bev the inelastic (meson production) p−p cross section appears to be approximately saturated at 27-29 mb. (3) The rise in cross section for n−p interaction in the T=0 state, associated with the rise in double pion production, implies that double meson production also proceeds through the T=32 nucleon state. (4) The probable equality of σp−d and σn−d at 1.4 Bev implies the validity of charge symmetry at this energy.

The Brookhaven National Laboratory twenty-inch liquid hydrogen bubble chamber was exposed to a monoenergetic beam of 2.85-Bev protons, elastically scattered from a carbon target in the internal beam of the Cosmotron. All two-prong events, excluding strange particle events, have been studied by the Yale High-Energy Group. The remaining interactions have been studied by the Brookhaven Bubble Chamber Group. Elastic scattering was found to be mostly pure diffraction scattering at center-of-mass angles up to about thirty-five degrees. Some phase shift and/or tapering of the proton edge was required to fit the data at larger angles. No polarization effects in the proton-carbon scattering were observed using hydrogen as an analyzer of polarized protons. Nucleonic isobar formation in the T=32, J=32 state was found to account for a large part of single pion production. High-orbital angular-momentum states were found to be greatly favored in single pion production. The isobar model of Lindenbaum and Sternheimer gave good agreement with the observed nucleon and pion energy spectra. No polarization or alignment effects were observed for the isobar assumed in this model.

Total (π+, p) and (p, p) cross sections in the momentum range 1.4 to 4.0 Bev/c are presented. These measurements, with an accuracy of approximately 2%, were made at the Berkeley Bevatron by using counter techniques. Pions were distinguished from protons by means of a gas-filled Čerenkov counter. The (π+, p) total cross section was found to be almost constant above 2.0 Bev/c at a value near 29 mb. The (p, p) cross section decreases gradually from 47.5 mb to 41.7 mb over the momentum range covered. Transmission measurements of π+-nucleus and p-nucleus cross sections in both good and poor geometry were made at 3.0 Bev/c. The results are compared with the predictions of the optical model. In contrast to most previous work at high energies, an essentially exact solution of the wave equation for a potential well with a diffuse edge was used. The values of the imaginary part of the optical potential that best fit the experimental data are in good agreement with the predicted values. No strong conclusion regarding the real part of the potential was possible. Absorption and total elastic scattering cross sections for Be, C, Al, and Cu are presented. The total elastic scattering cross sections from this experiment disagree with Wikner's for π−-nucleus scattering.

Measurements have been made on 753 four-prong events obtained by exposing the Brookhaven National Laboratory 20-in. liquid hydrogen bubble chamber to 2.85-Bev protons. The partial cross sections observed for multiple meson production reactions are: pp+−(p+p→p+p+π++π−), 2.67±0.13; pn++−, 1.15±0.09; pp+−0, 0.74±0.07; d++−, 0.06±0.02; four or more meson production, 0.04±0.02, all in mb. Production of two mesons appears to occur mainly in peripheral collisions with relatively little momentum transfer. In cases of three-meson production, however, the protons are typically deflected at large angles and are more strongly degraded in energy. The 32, 32 pion-nucleon resonance dominates the interaction; there is some indication that one or both of the T=12, pion-nucleon resonances also play a part. The recently discovered resonance in a T=0, three-pion state appears to be present in the pp+−0 reaction. Results are compared with the predictions of the isobaric nucleon model of Sternheimer and Lindenbaum, and with the statistical model of Cerulus and Hagedorn. The cross section for the reaction π0+p→π++π−+p is derived using an expression from the one-pion exchange model of Drell.

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As a part of our program to study p−p collisions at Cosmotron energies, the differential cross sections for elastic scattering were measured at five laboratory angles between 2.3° and 17° for each incident energy. Total elastic cross sections obtained by integration are 21.4±1.4, 17.0±0.8, and 14.7±0.7 mb at 1.35, 2.1, and 2.9 BeV, respectively. The angular distribution as a function of the momentum transfer, exhibits a forward diffraction peak, the width of which shrinks slightly as the incident energy increases. The experimental results were fitted by simple optical model calculations and also compared with the predictions of the composite particle theory of Chew and Frautschi.

Detailed measurements of the production of charged π mesons in proton-proton collisions are reported. The observed results are compared with the "isobar" and "one-pion exchange" models and for single production are in agreement if only the "resonant" part of the π−p cross section is used and if the angular distribution cos16θ is introduced for the production of the N1* isobar. The effects of higher resonances are also considered.

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Results of a spark chamber experiment on elastic scattering of pions on protons are presented and analyzed. The processes studied were π+p at 2.92 GeV/c, and π−p at 3.15, 4.13, and 4.95 GeV/c. The data are fitted to an exponential function of the four-momentum transfer, t, in several different ways in attempts to explore systematic energy and angular dependences. No shrinkage of the diffraction peak is seen in comparing the coefficients of a linear exponential fit for |t|<0.4 (GeV/c)2; at larger |t|, however, the cross section falls off with increasing energy. The large-angle differential cross section is examined for structure and is compared with all other large angle scattering data. The results are compared with proton-proton scattering data over the same energy range and substantial differences between the two processes are evident.

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