Multiplicities of charged kaons from deep-inelastic muon scattering off an isoscalar target

TL;DR

This paper presents precise measurements of charged-kaon multiplicities in deep inelastic muon scattering, revealing insights into quark fragmentation functions across various kinematic variables.

Contribution

It provides new three-dimensional measurements of kaon multiplicities in DIS, covering a broad kinematic range and offering updated information on non-strange quark fragmentation functions.

Findings

Sum of z-integrated K+ and K- multiplicities at high x suggests a larger non-strange quark fragmentation function.

Results extend previous fits, indicating a need to revise fragmentation models.

Data cover a wide kinematic domain, enhancing understanding of hadronization processes.

Abstract

Precise measurements of charged-kaon multiplicities in deep inelastic scattering were performed. The results are presented in three-dimensional bins of the Bjorken scaling variable x, the relative virtual-photon energy y, and the fraction z of the virtual-photon energy carried by the produced hadron. The data were obtained by the COMPASS Collaboration by scattering 160 GeV muons off an isoscalar 6 LiD target. They cover the kinematic domain 1 (GeV/c)2 < Q2 < 60 (GeV/c)^2 in the photon virtuality, 0.004 < x < 0.4, 0.1 < y < 0.7, 0.20 < z < 0.85, and W > 5 GeV/c^2 in the invariant mass of the hadronic system. The results from the sum of the z-integrated K+ and K- multiplicities at high x point to a value of the non-strange quark fragmentation function larger than obtained by the earlier DSS fit.