Hadron production in high energy muon scattering

Abstract

We have performed an experiment to study muon-proton scattering at an incident energy of 225 GeV and a total effective flux of 4.3 x 1010 muons. This experiment is able to detect charged particles in coincidence with the scattered muon in the forward hemisphere, and we report results for the neutral strange particles KO and AO decaying into two charged pars tic1es. Within experimental limits the masses and lifetimes of these partic1es are consistent with previous measurements. We determine the distribution of hadrons produced in muon scattering, measuring momentum components parallel and transverse to the virtual photon direction, and these distributions are compared to other high energy experiments involving the scattering of pions, protons, and neutrinos from protons. Structure functions for hadron production and particle ratios are calculated. We observe no azimuthal dependence, and lambda production does not appear to be polarised. The physical significance of the results is discussed within the framework of the quark-parton model.