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.

A spark-chamber experiment on the peripheral production of 9245 pion pairs by 12- and 18-GeV/c incident pions is reported and analyzed in terms of a one-pion-exchange model in which the final state at the nucleon vertex contains generally one or more pions. The relevant dynamics and kinematics appropriate to this problem are reviewed, and the experimental and analysis techniques giving good resolution and detection-bias correction are discussed in some detail. From the results, fair agreement is found between the data and the one-pion-exchange calculation of the ρ0 production cross sections and of the associated missing-mass spectra. The ρ0 is found to be consistent with a single peak, and no evidence of peak splitting is observed. A search for a narrow s-wave dipion resonance is made with negative results. Normalizing to the ρ0 meson, the s-wave π+π− scattering cross section is computed from the abundant low-dipion-mass events, giving a cross section falling smoothly from 50 mb (300 MeV) to about 20 mb (600 MeV). No evidence of an s-wave resonance is found in this range of energies. Below 450 MeV, the pion-pion scattering asymmetry favors backward scattering (by 2½ standard deviations), which is consistent with a negative and falling J=T=0 phase shift. The extrapolated forward-backward asymmetry and the s-wave cross section are both consistent with a J=T=0 phase shift near|90°| at about 750 MeV.

The K ∗− spectrum in the reaction K − +p → K ∗− +p has been measured at beam momenta 10.9, 13.4 and 15.9 GeV/ c using the missing mass technique. Production of the L(1770), and a Q-K ∗ (1420) enhancement are observed. Differential cross sections in the range of momentum transfer 0.12 < | t pp | < 0.40 (GeV/ c ) 2 are given. The L meson is observed with a width Γ = 100 ± 26 MeV. The mass spectrum between the L and 2.5 GeV does not show significant structure.

The slope b(s) of the forward diffraction peak of p−p elastic scattering has been measured in the momentum-transfer-squared range 0.005≲|t|≲0.09 (GeV/c)2 and at incident proton energies from 8 to 400 GeV. We find that b(s) increases with s, and in the interval 100≲s≲750 (GeV)2 it can be fitted by the form b(s)=b0+2α′lns with b0=8.23±0.27, α′=0.278±0.024 (GeV/c)−2.

We have measured cross sections, rapidity and transverse momentum distributions, and vector meson polarization for the reactions pp→ ϱ o +anything, pp→ ω +charged particles, and pp → K ∗± + anything at incident laboratory momenta of 12 and 24 GeV/ c . We discuss various consequences of our results as well as possible connections with lepton pair production.

A partial-wave analysis of the (K ππ ) 0 system produced in the charge exchange reaction K − p →( K 0 π + π − ) n has been made in the mass range 1.04 ⩽ M (K ππ ) < 1.56 GeV c data at 8, 10 and 16 GeV/ c . It was found that in about 2 3 of the cases, the (K ππ ) 0 system is produced in states of unnatural spin-parity, namely J P = 0 − and 1 + ; the rest is in the natural spin-parity state J P = 2 + state is consistent with being all K ∗ (1420). The unnatural spin-parity states are produced mostly (∼ 80% of the events) by natural parity exchange. The facts that unnatural spin-parity states are produced in this non-diffractive channel, with J P = 1 + dominant, and that the exchange responsible for their production is mostly of natural parity, are similar to what was found for the charged (K ππ ) − system in the diffractive reaction K − p→(K ππ ) − p. However, the absolute value and the energy dependence of the cross sections are very different in the two cases.

A partial-wave analysis has been performed on the (K − π − π + ) system produced in the reaction K − p → K − π − π + p at 10 and 16 GeV/ c . In the Q mass region it is found that the two dominant states, K ∗ π and Kπ, both in 1 + S wave, are produced with different polarisations, helicity being approximately conserved in the t -channel for K ∗ π and in the s -channel for Kπ. This is in contradiction with the assumption that the amplitude can be factorised into “production” and “decay” parts, and hence that the two amplitudes are fully coherent. The phase variation of the two states do not indicate simple resonance behaviour. It is concluded that the Q-mass enhancement is composite.

A partial-wave analysis has been performed of the diffractively produced low-mass ( K ̄ 0 π − π 0 ) system in the reaction K − p → ( K ̄ 0 π − π 0 ) p at 10 and 16 GeV/ c . Thus information complementary to that derived from the K − p → (K − π + π − )p) channel is obtained. The presence of the K ϱ decay mode, besides the dominant K ∗ (890)π mode, for the state J P = 1 + , is confirmed. It is also confirmed that for this 1 + state the assumption of factorization of the amplitude into “production” and “decay” does not hold: the two decay modes K ∗ π and K ϱ have different polarisation properties (helicity is approximately conserved in the t -channel for the first, in the s -channel for the second). The assumption that the ( K ̄ 0 π − π 0 ) system has isospin I = 1 2 has been tested and found to hold. From the cross sections for the various J P states, assuming I = 1 2 , the cross sections for the (K − π + π − ) system are predicted and compared with the experimental ones. In general, agreement is found.

None

The differential cross sections for neutron-proton charge-exchange scattering have been measured with high statistics in the region of momentum transfer squared 0.002 < | t | ⩽ 0.400 (GeV/ c ) 2 and for incident neutron momenta 9 < p ⩽ 23 GeV/ c .