Missing mass spectra in pp inelastic scattering at total energies of 23 GeV and 31 GeV

Abstract Results are reported of measurements of the momentum spectra of protons emitted at small angles in inelastic reactions at the CERN ISR. The data are for total energies s 1 2 of 23 GeV and 31 GeV. The structure of the peak at low values of the missing mass M (of the system recoiling against the observed proton) is studied. The missing mass distributions have the form ( M 2 ) − B ( t ) where t is the four-momentum transfer squared. B ( t ) drops from 0.98±0.06 at t =−0.15 GeV 2 to 0.20±0.15 at t =−1.65 GeV 2 . The results are compared with a simple triple-Regge formula.