Results of a high-statistics study of elastic scattering and meson resonances produced by π−p interactions at 8 GeV/c are presented. Large statistics and small systematic errors permit examination of the complete kinematic region. Total differential cross sections are given for ρ0,−, f0, g0,−, Δ±, Δ0, and N* resonances. Spin-density matrix elements and Legendre-polynomial moments are given for ρ, f, and Δ resonances. The results for ρ0 and f0 resonances are compared with the predictions of a Regge-pole-exchange model. Properties of the above resonances are compared and discussed. In particular, we present evidence that the ρ0 and f0 production mechanisms are similar. The similarity of the g0 t distribution to that of the ρ0 and f0 suggests a common production mechanism for all three resonances.

A study of 205-GeV/c π−p interactions has been made with a 48 800-picture exposure in the bare Fermilab 30-inch hydrogen bubble chamber. The average number of charged particles produced per inelastic interaction is 7.99±0.06. The elastic cross section is 3.18±0.13 mb and the total cross section is 24.19±0.44 mb. The inclusive cross sections for neutral-particle production are: σ(γ)=171.3±15.3 mb, σ(KS0)=3.64±0.61 mb (x<0.3), σ(Λ)=1.71±0.34 mb (x<0.3), and σ(Λ¯)=0.59±0.23 mb (x<0.1). The average number of π0's produced per inelastic collision is consistent with a linear rise with the number of charged particles, and about equal to the number of produced π− or π+. The average number of K0's, Λ's, and Λ¯'s is consistent with very little dependence on the number of charged particles. General characteristics of neutral-particle production are presented and compared with other experiments. For each topology the produced neutral energy is ∼13 of the incident energy.

Invariant single-particle cross sections for pion and proton production in π ± p interactions at 8 and 16 GeV/ c are presented in terms of integrated distributions as functions of x , reduced rapidity ζ and p ⊥ 2 , and also in terms of double differential cross sections E d 2 σ /(d x d p ⊥ 2 ) and d ζ d p ⊥ 2 ). A comparison of π ± and π − induced reactions is made and the energy dependence is discussed. It is shown that the single-particle structure function cannot be factorized in its dependece on transverse and longitudinal momentum. For the beam-unlike pion, there is an indication for factorizability in terms of rapidity and transverse momentum in a small central region.

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.

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.

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The c.m. angular distribution of π+p elastic scattering at 1.6 GeV/c shows a strong forward diffraction peak decreasing exponentially with a slopeA + = (6.9±0.5) GeV−2 comparable to thatA − = (7.2±0.5) GeV−2 observed in a previous experiment for π-p elastic scattering at the same incident momentum. The behaviour of the π+ and the π− angular distributions is quite different beyond the diffraction peak. The π+p total elastic cross-section is found to be Σ01 = (16.70±0.45) mb.

A sample of 43000 two-prong events obtained at a momomentum of 11.7 GeV/c is used to determine the cross-sections of the fitted channels, and to study the reaction π+p→π+pπ0. We investigate in particular the quasi-two-body channels π0Δ++ and ρ+p.

We report a study of 20 exclusive reactions measured at the AGS at 5.9 GeV/c incident momentum, 90° center of mass. This experiment confirms the strong quark flow dependence of two-body hadron-hadron scattering at large angle. At 9.9 GeV/c an upper limit had been set for the ratio of cross sections for (p¯p→p¯p)(pp→pp) at 90° c.m., with the ratio less than 4%. The present experiment was performed at lower energy to gain sensitivity, but was still within the fixed angle scaling region. A ratio R(p¯ppp)≈140 was measured at 5.9 GeV/c, 90° c.m. in comparison to a ratio near 1.7 for small angle scattering. In addition, many other reactions were measured, often for the first time at 90° c.m. in the scaling region, using beams of π±, K±, p, and p¯ on a hydrogen target. There are similar large differences in cross sections for other reactions: R(K−p→π+Σ−K−p→π−Σ+)≈112, for example. The relative magnitudes of the different cross sections are consistent with the dominance of quark interchange in these 90° reactions, and indicate that pure gluon exchange and quark-antiquark annihilation diagrams are much less important. The angular dependence of several elastic cross sections and the energy dependence at a fixed angle of many of the reactions are also presented.

Approximately 60 000 events have been collected in a spark chamber experiment at the CERN Proton Synchrotron which studied elastic diffraction scattering of π--p and p-p at incident momenta of 8.5, 12.4 and 18.4 GeV/c and of π+-p at 8.5 and 12.4 GeV/c. Magnetic analysis of the incoming and diffraction scattered particle, together with measurement of all angles, permitted each event to be determined as elastic subject to three constraints, so that the inelastic background was rejected with. high efficiency, even at the larger momentum, transfers. Much of the data have been processed by the CERN Automatic Flying-Spot DigitizerHPD. A detailed description of the experimental technique and of the methods of analysis is given. The results, together with data from lower energies, confirm the remarkable energy-independence of the shape of the pion-proton diffraction scattering peak up to |t| = 1.5 (GeV/c)2, wheret is the square of the four-momentum transfer, over a range of pion energies from 2 to 18 GeV. Proton-proton scattering does however appear to show a shrinking diffraction peak. In general, the data agree with other experiments using both counter and bubble chamber techniques, but some differences do appear. During the experiment, data were taken which set an upper limit of 2·102 μb/(GeV/c)2 on the differential elastic cross-section dσ/dt over a range of |t| from 20.9 to 23.4 (GeV/c)2 at 13.4 GeV/c incident pion momentum.