The elastic differential cross section for the scattering of negative pions by hydrogen was measured at laboratory-system pion kinetic energies of 230, 290, 370, and 427 Mev. The elastically scattered pions were detected by a counter telescope which discriminated against recoil protons and inelastic pions on the basis of range. Differential cross sections were obtained at nine angles for each energy and were fitted by a least-squares program to a series of Legendre polynomials. At the three higher energies, D waves are required to give satisfactory fits to the data. The real parts of the forward-scattering amplitudes calculated from this experiment are in agreement with the predictions of dispersion theory. The results of this experiment, in conjunction with data from other pion-nucleon scattering experiments, support the hypothesis of charge independence at these higher energies.

Differential cross sections for the elastic scattering of negative pi mesons on protons (π−−p→π−−p) were measured at the Berkeley Bevatron at five laboratory kinetic energies of the pion between 500 and 1000 MeV. The results were least-squares fitted with a power series in the cosine of the center-of-mass scattering angle, and total elastic cross sections for π−−p→π−−p were obtained by integrating under the fitted curves. The coefficients of the cosine series are shown plotted versus the incident pion laboratory kinetic energy. These curves display as a striking feature a large value of the coefficient of cos5θ* peaking in the vicinity of the 900-MeV resonance. This implies that a superposition of F52 and D52 partial waves is prominent in the scattering at this energy, since the coefficients for terms above cos5θ* are negligible. One possible explanation is that the F52 enhancement comes from an elastic resonance in the isotopic spin T=12 state, consistent with Regge-pole formalism, and the D52 partial-wave state may be enhanced by inelastic processes. At 600 MeV the values of the coefficients do not seem to demand the prominence of any single partial-wave state, although the results are compatible with an enhancement in the J=32 amplitude. A table listing quantum numbers plausibly associated with the various peaks and "shoulders" seen in the π±−p total cross-section curves is presented.

The energy dependence of the K−-nucleon total cross sections has been measured over the K− momentum range 0.98-3.98 Bev/c. K−−n cross sections were obtained by deuterium-hydrogen subtraction, with a correction for screening effects. There is evidence for structure in the T=0 K−-nucleon state in the momentum range 0.98-2.0 Bev/c. This structure is absent in the T=1 state. In addition, a measurement was made at 1.95 Bev/c of the angular distribution of the K−−p elastic scattering at small angles. The forward-scattering amplitude obtained from the data gives a ratio of real part to imaginary part 0.5±0.2 at 00. The corresponding ratio for π− mesons at this momentum was found to be 0.4−0.4+0.2. Measurements of the K−−p "elastic" charge exchange gives a cross section which falls from about 10 mb at 1 Bev/c to at most a few mb at 4 Bev/c.

The differential cross-section for elastic scattering π−+p has been determined on the basis of 1 421 events observed in a propane bubble chamber. The angular distribution presents a backward bump (θ>90°) of (31.5±1.3)%. The amplitude at 0° obtained extrapolating the angular distribution by means of a least squares fit is compared with the value obtained from the dispersion relations and the optical theorem. New values of the pion proton cross-sections were taken into account for the dispersion relation integrals. Using the same best fit of the angular distribution a value for the interaction radius is obtained from considerations based on the diffraction scattering part.

The reaction π−+p→π−+p has been studied in the 15-in. bubble chamber at the Princeton-Pennsylvania Accelerator. The elastic scattering cross section was determined to be 8.5 ± 0.2 mb. The forward peak fits to an exponential in t with a slope of 8.1 ± 0.2 (GeV/c)−2. The forward differential cross section dσdΩ(0)=17.9±0.7 mb/sr. A fit of the center-of-mass angular distribution to Legendre polynomials needed terms up to the 12th order, corresponding to the highest nonzero partial wave of L=6.

Report on the investigation of interactions in π−p collisions at a pion momentum of 1.59 GeV/c, by means of the 50 cm Saclay liquid hydrogen bubble chamber, operating in a magnetic field of 17.5 kG. The results obtained concern essentially the elastic scattering and the inelastic scattering accompanied by the production of either a single pion in π−p→ pπ−π0 and nπ−π+ interactions, or by more than one pion in four-prong events. The observed angular distribution for the elastic scattering in the diffraction region, can be approximated by an exponential law. From the extrapolated value, thus obtained for the forward scattering, one gets σel= (9.65±0.30) mb. Effective mass spectra of π−π0 and π−π+ dipions are given in case of one-pion production. Each of them exhibits the corresponding ρ− or ρ0 resonances in the region of ∼ 29μ2 (μ = mass of the charged pion). The ρ peaks are particularly conspicuous for low momentum transfer (Δ2) events. The ρ0 distribution presents a secondary peak at ∼31μ2 due probably to the ω0 → π−π+ process. The branching ratio (ω0→ π+π−)/(ω0→ π+π− 0) is estimated to be ∼ 7%. The results are fairly well interpreted in the frame of the peripheral interaction according to the one-pion exchange (OPE) model, Up to values of Δ2/μ2∼10. In particular, the ratio ρ−/ρ0 is of the order of 0.5, as predicted by this model. Furthermore, the distribution of the Treiman-Yang angle is compatible with an isotropic one inside the ρ. peak. The distribution of\(\sigma _{\pi ^ + \pi ^ - } \), as calculated by the use of the Chew-Low formula assumed to be valid in the physical region of Δ2, gives a maximum which is appreciably lower than the value of\(12\pi \tilde \lambda ^2 = 120 mb\) expected for a resonant elastic ππ scattering in a J=1 state at the peak of the ρ. However, a correcting factor to the Chew-Low formula, introduced by Selleri, gives a fairly good agreement with the expected value. Another distribution, namely the Δ2 distribution, at least for Δ2 < 10 μ2, agrees quite well with the peripheral character of the interaction involving the ρ resonance. π− angular distributions in the rest frame of the ρ exhibit a different behaviour for the ρ− and for the ρ0. Whereas the first one is symmetrical, as was already reported in a previous paper, the latter shows a clear forward π− asymmetry. The main features of the four-prong results are: 1) the occurrence of the 3/2 3/2 (ρπ+) isobar in π−p → pπ+π−π− events and 2) the possible production of the ω0→ π+π−π0 resonance in π−p→ pπ−π+π−π0 events. No ρ’s were observed in four-prong events.