Comments on TPC and RPC calibrations reported by the HARP Collaboration

TL;DR

This paper critiques the calibration methods used by the HARP Collaboration for their TPC and RPC detectors, arguing that the reported calibrations are biased and that the resulting cross-sections are unreliable.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis of the HARP Collaboration's calibration procedures, highlighting potential biases and questioning the validity of their reported cross-sections.

Findings

Calibration methods are biased according to the authors

Reported cross-sections may be unreliable due to calibration issues

Raises concerns about the accuracy of previous HARP results

Abstract

The HARP Collaboration recently published calibrations of their TPC and RPC detectors, and differential cross-sections of large-angle pion production in proton-nucleus collisions. We argue that these calibrations are biased and cross-sections based on them should not be trusted.