Neutral-strange-particle production in 200-GeV/ c p /. pi. sup + / K sup + interactions on Au, Ag, and Mg

We have used the Fermilab 30-in. bubble-chamber--hybrid spectrometer to study neutral-strange-particle production in the interactions of 200-GeV/{ital c} protons and {pi}{sup +} and {ital K}{sup +} mesons with nuclei of gold, silver, and magnesium. Average multiplicities and inclusive cross sections for {ital K}{sup 0} and {Lambda} are measured, and a power law is found to give a good description of their {ital A} dependence. The exponent characterizing the {ital A} dependence is consistent with being the same for {ital K}{sup 0} and {Lambda} production, and also the same for proton and {pi}{sup +} beams. Average {ital K}{sup 0} and {Lambda} multiplicities, as well as their ratio, have been measured as functions of the numbers of projectile collisions {nu}{sub {ital p}} and secondary collisions {nu}{sub {ital s}} in the nucleus, and indicate that rescattering contributes significantly to enhancement of {Lambda} production but not to {ital K}{sup 0} production. The properties of events with multiple {ital K}{sup 0}'s or {Lambda}'s also corroborate this conclusion. {ital K}{sup 0} rapidities are in the central region and decrease gently with increasing {nu}{sub {ital p}}, while {Lambda} rapidities are in the target-fragmentation region and are independent of {nu}{sub {ital p}}. {ital K}{sup 0} and {Lambda} multiplicities more » increase with the rapidity loss of the projectile, but their rapidities do not. « less