Inclusive production of low-momentum charged pions at x = 0 at the CERN intersecting storage rings

Abstract Results are reported for the invariant differential cross-section of charged pions produced at x = 0 in proton-proton collisions at the CERN ISR. The range covered is 40 to 400 MeV/c in transverse momentum and 23 to 63 GeV in collision energy. The inclusive cross-section for π + and π − are increasing by 36 ± 2% and 41 ± 2%, respectively over the ISR energy range with a somewhat stronger increase at the lowest transverse momenta. The transverse momentum distribution is well described by an exponential in the transverse energy.