Measurements of $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $K^0_S$, $\Lambda$ and proton production in proton-carbon interactions at 31 GeV/$c$ with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

TL;DR

This paper reports precise measurements of various hadron production cross sections and spectra in proton-carbon interactions at 31 GeV/c, crucial for neutrino flux predictions in the T2K experiment, and compares these with hadroproduction models.

Contribution

It provides high-precision experimental data on hadron production in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c, enhancing neutrino flux calculations and testing hadroproduction models.

Findings

High-precision spectra of $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, p, $K^0_S$, and $\Lambda$ measured.

Inelastic and production cross sections determined with improved accuracy.

Comparison with hadroproduction models highlights their strengths and limitations.

Abstract

Measurements of hadron production in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c are performed using the NA61/ SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The analysis is based on the full set of data collected in 2009 using a graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length. Inelastic and production cross sections as well as spectra of $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, p, $K^0_S$ and $\Lambda$ are measured with high precision. These measurements are essential for improved calculations of the initial neutrino fluxes in the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A comparison of the NA61/SHINE measurements with predictions of several hadroproduction models is presented.