Measurement of the production cross-sections of $\pi^\pm$ in p-C and $\pi^\pm$-C interactions at 12 GeV/c

TL;DR

This paper reports precise measurements of pion production cross-sections in proton- and pion-carbon interactions at 12 GeV/c, which are crucial for improving atmospheric neutrino flux calculations and air shower simulations.

Contribution

The study provides detailed double-differential cross-sections for pions in p-C and $\pi^\pm$-C interactions at 12 GeV/c, enhancing existing hadronic interaction models.

Findings

Cross-sections measured in the range 0.5-8 GeV/c for pion momentum.

Data significantly reduce uncertainties in atmospheric neutrino flux models.

Results improve the reliability of air shower simulations.

Abstract

The results of the measurements of the double-differential production cross-sections of pions in p-C and $\pi^\pm$-C interactions using the forward spectrometer of the HARP experiment are presented. The incident particles are 12 GeV/c protons and charged pions directed onto a carbon target with a thickness of 5% of a nuclear interaction length. For p-C interactions the analysis is performed using 100035 reconstructed secondary tracks, while the corresponding numbers of tracks for $\pi^-$-C and $\pi^+$-C analyses are 106534 and 10122 respectively. Cross-section results are presented in the kinematic range 0.5 GeV/c $\leq p_{\pi} <$ 8 GeV/c and 30 mrad $\leq \theta_{\pi} <$ 240 mrad in the laboratory frame. The measured cross-sections have a direct impact on the precise calculation of atmospheric neutrino fluxes and on the improved reliability of extensive air shower simulations by reducing the uncertainties of hadronic interaction models in the low energy range.