Hadronic Production of Massive Muon Pairs: Dependence on Incident-Particle Type and on Target Nucleus

J. G. Branson; G. H. Sanders; A. J. S. Smith; J. J. Thaler; K. J. Anderson; G. G. Henry; K. T. McDonald; J. E. Pilcher; E. I. Rosenberg

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.38.1334

Hadronic Production of Massive Muon Pairs: Dependence on Incident-Particle Type and on Target Nucleus

J. G. Branson, G. H. Sanders, A. J. S. Smith, J. J. Thaler, K. J. Anderson, G. G. Henry, K. T. McDonald, J. E. Pilcher, and E. I. Rosenberg

Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, 1334 – Published 6 June 1977

Abstract

Data from a study of muon pairs produced in hadron-nucleus collisions are compared with the Drell-Yan model. Comparison of dimuon production by $π^{+}$ and $π^{-}$ mesons on an isoscalar target shows evidence for a charge asymmetry characteristic of an isospin-nonconserving electromagnetic process. The average transverse momentum of the pairs increases smoothly with pair mass. Data taken on carbon and tin targets are used to extract the dependence on target atomic weight.