π0 production in dC- and dCu-interactions at a momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon

Abstract

We report on measurements of neutral pion production in the inclusive reactions d + C → π0 + x and d + Cu → π0 + x at an incident momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon. The experiments were performed on the LHE 90-channel lead glass γ-spectrometer. The cross sections were measured over the kinematical region specified by the inequalities θπ ≤ 16° and Eπ ≥ 2 GeV (in the laboratory frame). The cumulative number and transverse momentum dependencies of the exponent n in the invariant cross section parameterization Ed3 σ / d3 p ~ Atn are investigated by comparing of the observed cross sections for π0 production on carbon and copper targets in the intervals 0.6 ≤ X ≤ 1.8 and 0.04 ≤ pT2 ≤ 0.40 (GeV/c)2. The double differential cross section for the reaction d + C → π0 + x is measured using statistics of about 4.5 · 104π0 mesons. On the basis of these data we verified the so-called cluster mechanism of π0 production. We have compared our data for the reaction d + C → π0 + x, extrapolated to θπ = 0°, with the data from another experiments on π− production: d + C → π−(0°) + x (P = 1.75 and 2.88 GeV/c per nucleon) [1]; p + d → π−(180°) + x and p + d → π+(180°) + x (P = 8.9 GeV/c per nucleon) [2]; d + p → π−(0°) + x (P = 8.9 GeV/c per nucleon) [3]. The invariant cross sections were approximated by an exponential function Ed3 σ / d3 p ~ exp(−X / X0). The slope parameter X0 at different kinetic energies of the projectiles in the range of 1.05÷8.0 GeV per nucleon is determined.