Polarization measurements in π+ p and K+ p elastic scattering at 6 and 12 GeV/c with the CERN polarized deuteron target

Abstract The polarization in π + p → π + p and K + p → K + p has been measured at 6 and 12 GeV/ c in the four-momentum transfer interval 0.1 ⩽ | t | ⩽ 2.0 (GeV/ c ) 2 by scattering on protons of a polarized deuteron target. Comparison with existing results obtained with polarized proton targets shows good general agreement and no evidence for asymmetry effects due to the presence of the spectator neutron. For K + p elastic scattering polarization the experiment yields improved statistics, especially at 6 GeV/ c