Inclusive Properties of d Mesons Produced in 360-GeV pi- p Interactions

Abstract The inclusive cross sections for forward D meson production at s =26 GeV in π − p interactions have been measured to be: σ(π − p → D 0 / D 0 + X ) x F >0 = (10.1±2.2)μ b , σ(π − p → D ±+ X ) x F >0 = (5.7±1.6)μ b . The distribution in x F for all D and for x F >0 has the form d σ/ d x F =107 −37 +39 (1−x F ) 7.5 −1.7 +2.5 +5.4 −3.8 +6.0 (1−x F ) 0.7 −0.7 1.0 μ b , with evidence for leading D production. The p T 2 distribution is exponential with slope parameter [−1.18 −0.16 +0.18 ]( GeV / c) −2 . The data are compared with predictions from first-order quark/gluon fusion calculations.