Multiparticle production in proton-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV

Abstract

Rapidity distributions are analyzed for pp, pAr, and pXe collisions from a streamer-chamber experiment at 200 GeV. The distribution of negative particles is decomposed into a projectilelike and a targetlike component. In the distribution of the excess charge (positive minus negative particles) protons are separated from mesons. The analysis is somewhat model dependent. The shape of the various contributions, their integrated multiplicity, and their energy content are studied as a function of ν, the number of struck nucleons. We calculate rapidity distributions using the fireball and multichain models, and compare them with the data.