The differential cross section for the charge-exchange reaction K−p→K¯0n has been measured at 22 incident momenta between 515 and 956 MeV/c. Experimental results and Legendre-polynomial fits to the data are presented.

The inclusive production cross section of Λ, Λ¯ in e+e− annihilation at a c.m. energy of 29 GeV has been measured with the time-projection-chamber detector at PEP. The average Λ, Λ¯ multiplicity has been measured to be 0.197 ± 0.012(stat.) ±0.017(syst.). Λ−Λ¯ pairs have been observed in jets for the first time, and the average number of Λ−Λ¯ pairs per event has been measured to be 0.042 ± 0.017 ± 0.014.

We report measurements of the two-photon processes e+e−→e+e−π+π− and e+e−→e+e−K+K−, at an e+e− center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV. In the π+π− data a high-statistics analysis of the f(1270) results in a γγ width Γ(γγ→f)=3.2±0.4 keV. The π+π− continuum below the f mass is well described by a QED Born approximation, whereas above the f mass it is consistent with a QCD-model calculation if a large contribution from the f is assumed. For the K+K− data we find agreement of the high-mass continuum with the QCD prediction; limits on f′(1520) and θ(1720) formation are presented.

The production of charmed D* mesons in e+e− annihilations at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV has been studied using the time-projection-chamber (TPC) detector at the SLAC storage ring PEP. The production cross section, fragmentation function, and forward-backward asymmetry due to electroweak effects are measured, and a limit on D0-D¯0 mixing is determined.

We compare the p T dependence of pion, kaon and proton production cross sections in the central rapidity region in e + e − annihilation events and in proton-proton collisions at ISR energies. We find similarities both in the p T dependence of cross sections and in the particle composition as a function of p T , in agreement with the hypothesis of a universal mechanism of particle production.

We have studied the production of prompt muons in hadronic events from e+e− annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV with the PEP4-TPC (Time Projection Chamber) detector. The muon p and pt distributions are well described by a combination of bottom- and charm-quark decays, with fitted semimuonic branching fractions of (15.2±1.9±1.2)% and (6.9±1.1±1.1)%, respectively. The muon spectra imply hard fragmentation functions for both b and c quarks, with 〈z(b quark)〉=0.80±0.05±0.05 and 〈z(c quark)〉=0.60±0.06±0.04. We derive neutral-current axial-vector couplings of a(b quark)=-0.9±1.1±0.3 and a(c quark)=1.5±1.5±0.5 from the forward-backward asymmetries.

Results are presented on the exclusive production of four-prong final states in photon-photon collisions from the TPC/Two-Gamma detector at the SLAC e+e− storage ring PEP. Measurement of dE/dx and momentum in the time-projection chamber (TPC) provides identification of the final states 2π+2π−, K+K−π+π−, and 2K+2K−. For two quasireal incident photons, both the 2π+2π− and K+K−π+π− cross sections show a steep rise from threshold to a peak value, followed by a decrease at higher mass. Cross sections for the production of the final states ρ0ρ0, ρ0π+π−, and φπ+π− are presented, together with upper limits for φρ0, φφ, and K*0K¯ *0. The ρ0ρ0 contribution dominates the four-pion cross section at low masses, but falls to nearly zero above 2 GeV. Such behavior is inconsistent with expectations from vector dominance but can be accommodated by four-quark resonance models or by t-channel factorization. Angular distributions for the part of the data dominated by ρ0ρ0 final states are consistent with the production of JP=2+ or 0+ resonances but also with isotropic (nonresonant) production. When one of the virtual photons has mass (mγ2=-Q2≠0), the four-pion cross section is still dominated by ρ0ρ0 at low final-state masses Wγγ and by 2π+2π− at higher mass. Further, the dependence of the cross section on Q2 becomes increasingly flat as Wγγ increases.

The inclusive production cross sections and mean multiplicities of π±, K±, p, and p¯ in e+e− annihilation at a c.m. energy of 29 GeV have been measured with the time-projection chamber at PEP, using ionization energy loss to separate particle types. On average, 10.7±0.6 π±, 1.35±0.13 K±, and 0.60±0.08 p,p¯ are contained in an annihilation event. The fraction of pions among final-state particles decreases from over 95% at 0.3 GeV/c momentum to about 60% at high momentum; the kaon and proton fractions rise correspondingly.

We have measured the inclusive prompt electron cross section over a wide momentum range (P>0.5 GeV/c) with the PEP-4 TPC detector. The semielectronic branching fractions of thec andb quarks are (9.1±0.9 (stat.)±1.3 (syst.))% and (11.0±1.8±1.0)%, respectively. Theb quark fragmentation function peaks at highz with 〈zb〉=0.74±0.05±0.03. The axial couplings to the neutral current areac=2.3±1.4±1.0 for thec quark andab=−2.0±1.9±0.5 for theb quark.

We report a measurement of the reaction γγ→K+K−π+π− in both tagged and untagged events at PEP. The cross section rises with invariant γγ mass to about 15 nb at 2 GeV and falls slowly at higher masses. We find clear evidence for the processes γγ→φπ+π− and γγ→K*0(892)Kπ. Upper limits (95% C.L.) of 1.5 and 5.7 nb in the mass range from 1.7 to 3.7 GeV are obtained for φρ0 and K*0K¯*0 production, respectively.

In this paper we report measurements of the backward K−p differential cross section at 49 momenta covering the momentum range 476-1084 MeV/c. The statistical precision achieved, typically 2.5%, is an order of magnitude better than previous measurements. The systematic errors for this reaction are about 1%. The differential cross section for the reaction K−p→Σ−π+ where the π+ emerges at 0° has also been measured at 32 momenta with comparable improvement in precision over previous experiments. A partial-wave analysis of the K¯N channels including the new K−p backward elastic data is presented.

The inclusive production cross sections and transverse momentum distributions of K*0 and KS0 mesons in e+e− annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV have been measured by means of the time projection chamber detector in the PEP-4 experiment. The mean multiplicites are found to be 0.49 ± 0.04(stat.) ± 0.07(syst.) (K*0+K―*0) and 1.22 ± 0.03(stat.) ±0.15(syst.) (K0+K―0) per event.

We present data on π0 and η inclusive production from 100-GeV/c π±p collisions in the kinematic region x>~0.7 and 0<−t≲4 (GeV/c)2. The results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of triple-Regge theory and we have extracted the ρ and A2 trajectories out to −t=4 (GeV/c)2.

Correlations in rapidity space are presented for identified π± and K± in e+e− annihilation at 29-GeV c.m. energy. Short-range KK correlations indicate local flavor compensation in the hadronization process. Long-range KK and ππ correlations prove that the initial partons carry flavor. In addition, we observe significant Kπ correlations as a result of heavy-quark decays.

Production of φ mesons in e+e− annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV has been observed with the time-projection chamber detector at the PEP storage ring. The φ production rate has been measured in the energy range 0.075<x<0.55 (x=2Eφs), giving 0.077±0.012(stat)±0.016(syst) φ's per event. The average value of pt2 relative to the thrust axis is 1.0±0.4 (GeV/c)2.

We compare the particle flow in the event plane of three-jet qq¯g (quark-antiquark-gluon) events with the particle flow in radiative annihilation events qq¯γ (quark-antiquark-photon) for similar kinematic configurations. In the angular region between quark and antiquark jet, we find a significant decrease in particle density for qq¯g as compared to qq¯γ. This effect is predicted in QCD as a result of destructive interference between soft-gluon radiation from quark, antiquark, and hard gluon.

The two-photon production of the η meson has been observed, and a value has been determined for the two-photon η decay width by a measurement of the cross section σ(e+e−→e+e−η) where η→γγ. The measurement was made with the TPC/Two-Gamma facility at the SLAC e+e− collider PEP, with an accumulated data sample of 64.5 pb−1. The η→γγ events were both triggered and detected by the pole-tip calorimeter. The measured two-photon η decay width is Γη→γγ=0.64±0.14 (statistical) ±0.13 (systematic) keV, in agreement with earlier similarly determined values.

The distribution of particles in three-jet events is compared with the predictions of three fragmentation models currently in use: the Lund string model, the Webber cluster model, and an independent fragmentation model. The Lund model and, to a certain extent, the Webber model provide reasonable descriptions of the data. The independent fragmentation model does not describe the distribution of particles at large angles with respect to the jet axes. The results provide evidence that the sources of hadrons are Lorentz boosted with respect to the overall c.m.

Proton production in e+e− annihilation at 29 GeV has been studied with the time projection chamber. Measurements of the dependence of proton fractions on momentum, transverse momentum with respect to the jet axis, hadron multiplicity, and event sphericity are reported. Our results are consistent with the assumption that primary baryons and mesons have similar production spectra, and indicate that protons provide more direct probes of underlying fragmentation phenomena than do pions.

We report measurements of two-particle correlations in rapidity space between a p¯ or Λ¯ and an additional p, p¯, Λ, or Λ¯. We find evidence for local conservation of baryon number, and for the first time observe a pronounced anticorrelation between baryons with the same value of baryon number. Such an anticorrelation is expected in fragmentation models where the rapidity order of particles closely reflects their ‘‘color order,’’ as is the case, for example, in recent versions of the Lund string model.

We measure an inclusive branching fraction of (13.9 ± 2.0−2.2+1.9)% for the decay τ−→ντπ−π0+nh0(n>~1), where h0 is a π0 or an η. The data sample, obtained with the time-projection-chamber detector facility at the SLAC e+e− storage ring PEP, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 72 pb−1 at 29 GeV center-of-mass energy. The measured branching fraction is somewhat greater than the theoretical prediction and, with errors taken into account, could resolve the present difference between the inclusive and the sum of the exclusive τ± branching fractions into one charged prong.

Evidence for a narrow state decaying into an F meson and a photon has been obtained in e+e− annihilation events at 29-GeV c.m. energy. This state lies 139.5 ± 8.3(stat.) ± 9.7(syst.) MeV above the F-meson mass and is consistent with the expected F* meson. The F mesons are identified by a peak in the K+K−Kπ± mass at 1.948±0.028±0.010 GeV.

Measurements on the reaction π−p→ηn have been carried out at Fermilab with beam energies from 20 to 200 GeV in the same experiment in which pion charge-exchange scattering was studied. The differential cross sections have a pronounced dip in the forward direction. The data can be described well by a simple Regge-pole model but the resulting A2 trajectory is not degenerate with the ρ trajectory extracted from the charge-exchange data.

We report the results of a precise measurement of the K−p→K¯∘n cross section between 515 and 1065 MeV/c in steps of 10 MeV/c. The statistical errors are less than 1%, a major improvement in accuracy over previous work. No evidence is found for the new I=1 K¯N resonances at 546 and 602 MeV/c reported recently by Carroll et al.

We report the results of a precise measurement of the K−p→K¯0n cross section between 515 and 1065 MeV/c in steps of 10 MeV/c. The statistical errors are less than 1%, a major improvement in accuracy over previous work. We discuss in detail the experimental apparatus and the corrections made to the data. No evidence is found for the new I=1 K¯N resonances at 546 and 602 MeV/c K− momenta reported recently by Carroll et al.