Data on the mean multiplicity of strange hadrons produced in minimum bias proton--proton and central nucleus--nucleus collisions at momenta between 2.8 and 400 GeV/c per nucleon have been compiled. The multiplicities for nucleon--nucleon interactions were constructed. The ratios of strange particle multiplicity to participant nucleon as well as to pion multiplicity are larger for central nucleus--nucleus collisions than for nucleon--nucleon interactions at all studied energies. The data at AGS energies suggest that the latter ratio saturates with increasing masses of the colliding nuclei. The strangeness to pion multiplicity ratio observed in nucleon--nucleon interactions increases with collision energy in the whole energy range studied. A qualitatively different behaviour is observed for central nucleus--nucleus collisions: the ratio rapidly increases when going from Dubna to AGS energies and changes little between AGS and SPS energies. This change in the behaviour can be related to the increase in the entropy production observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions at the same energy range. The results are interpreted within a statistical approach. They are consistent with the hypothesis that the Quark Gluon Plasma is created at SPS energies, the critical collision energy being between AGS and SPS energies.
Measurements of the invariant cross section Ed3σd3p are presented for the production of hadrons (π, K, p, and p¯) at large transverse momentum (p⊥) by 200-, 300-, and 400-GeV protons incident on H2, D2, Be, Ti, and W targets. The measurements were made at a laboratory angle of 77 mrad, which corresponds to angles near 90° in the c.m. system of the incident proton and a single nucleon at rest. The range in p⊥ for the data is 0.77≤p⊥≤6.91 GeV/c, corresponding to values of the scaling variable x⊥=2p⊥s from 0.06 to 0.64. For p−p collisions, the pion cross sections can be represented in the region x⊥>35 by the form (1p⊥n)(1−x⊥)b, with n=8 and b=9. The ratio of π+ to π− production grows as a function of x⊥ to a value larger than 2 at x⊥≳0.5. The ratios of the production of K+ and protons to π+ and of K− and antiprotons to π− also scale with x⊥ for p−p collisions. The K±, p, and p¯ fitted values for n and b are given. Particle ratios are also presented for D2, Be, Ti, and W targets and the dependences on atomic weight (A) are discussed.
Results of high-transverse-momentum charged-hadron production in 400-GeV/c proton-proton and proton-deuteron collisions and 800-GeV/c proton-proton collisions are presented. The transverse-momentum range of the data is from 5.2 to 9.0 GeV/c for the 400-GeV/c collisions and from 3.6 to 11.0 GeV/c for the 800-GeV/c collisions; the data are centered around 90° in the proton-nucleon center-of-momentum system. Single-pion invariant cross sections and particle ratios were measured at both energies. The results are compared to previous experiments and the Lund model.
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