Data are presented on the inclusive production of π±, K±, p, and p¯ for π+, K+, and protons incident on nuclear targets at 100 GeV. The results cover the kinematic range 30≤P≤88 GeV/c for Pt=0.3 and 0.5 GeV/c. The observed A dependence of the invariant cross sections exhibits remarkable simplicity, which does not naturally follow from current models of particle production. The results show that the hypothesis of limiting fragmentation can be extended to include collisions with nuclei.
The NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS is performing a uniqe study of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter by varying collision energy and nuclear mass number of colliding nuclei. In central Pb+Pb collisions the NA49 experiment found structures in the energy dependence of several observables in the CERN SPS energy range that had been predicted for the transition to a deconfined phase. New measurements of NA61/SHINE find intriguing similarities in p+p interactions for which no deconfinement transition is expected at SPS energies. Possible implications will be discussed.
We present high-statistics results on the reactions a+p→c+X where a and c can be any of π±, K±, p, or p¯. The data were taken at 100 and 175 GeV/c incident momenta using the Fermilab Single-Arm Spectrometer operated over the kinematic range 0.2<x<1.0 and pt<~1.0 GeV/c. Investigating the x dependence of the data, we find agreement with a quark-parton picture, namely the cross sections have a power-law behavior in 1−x independent of pbeam and pt.
An experiment using the Fermilab Single Arm Spectrometer (SAS) facility and an associated nonmagnetic vertex detector studied the reactions a+p→c+X, where a and c were π±, K±, p, or p¯. Extensive measurements were made at 100 and 175 GeV/c beam momenta with the outgoing hadrons detected in the SAS covering a kinematic range 0.12<x<1.0 and pT<1.25 GeV/c. Additional data covering a more restricted range in x were also gathered at 70 GeV/c incident momentum. In this high-statistics experiment, the identification of both the incoming and outgoing charged hadrons were made with a total of eight Čerenkov counters. New and extensive single-particle inclusive data for charged-particle production in low-pT hadronic fragmentation are presented. The average associated charged-particle multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions are also given.
Measurements of inclusive cross sections at 100 GeV/c are presented for the double-charge-exchange reactions a+p→π−X with a=π, K, or p. The measurements covered a kinematic range in the Feynman x variable of 0.3<~x<~0.9 at transverse momenta of 0.3 and 0.5 GeV/c. A model summing the contributions from resonance production and from inclusive central-region π− production is used to fit the data and demonstrates the importance of resonance production via one-pion exchange for large values of the Feynman x.
Pseudorapidity distributions for proton-nucleus interactions are presented. The data cover twelve nuclei ranging from carbon to uranium and three incident proton momenta, 50, 100, and 200 GeV/c.
Measurements of inclusive spectra and mean multiplicities of $\pi^\pm$, K$^\pm$, p and $\bar{\textrm{p}}$ produced in inelastic p+p interactions at incident projectile momenta of 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c ($\sqrt{s} = $ 6.3, 7.7, 8.8, 12.3 and 17.3 GeV, respectively) were performed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer. Spectra are presented as function of rapidity and transverse momentum and are compared to predictions of current models. The measurements serve as the baseline in the NA61/SHINE study of the properties of the onset of deconfinement and search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter.
Results are presented on π±p, K±p, and p±p elastic scattering measured with an apparatus having acceptance of 0.5<−t<2.5 (GeV/c)2 and 0.9<−t<11 (GeV/c)2 at 100 and 200 GeV/c, respectively. A diffractionlike dip is seen for the first time in the π−p t distribution at −t=4 (GeV/c)2. All meson-proton cross sections are found to be similar in the range 1<−t<2.5 (GeV/c)2, although some small systematic differences are observed. Cross sections for pp and p―p are compared with previous data.
The differential cross section for π±, K±, and p± on hydrogen have been measured in the range 0.07<−t<1.6 (GeV/c)2. The dependence on momentum, momentum, transfer, and particle type are discussed.
The elastic differential cross section for pp scattering has been measured up to a momentum transfer of ‖ t ‖ = 3(GeV/ c ) 2 at 100 GeV/c and 200 GeV/c incident momenta. The 200 GeV/ c measurements shows a diffractive like dip at ‖ t ‖ = 1.5 GeV/ c while no such dip is seen in the 100 GeV/ c data.
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