Investigation of neutral-kaon production in pC, pSi and pPb Collisions at 70 GeV/c

The results obtained by measuring the inclusive distributions of the Feynman variable x F and the transversemomentum for the production of K S 0 mesons in proton-nucleus interactions at 70 GeV/c for three targets (C, Si, and Pb) are presented. The mass-number (A) dependence of the cross section for K S 0 -meson production is studied. The measured value of the exponent α in the formula σ ∼ A α agrees within the errors with its counterpart at higher energies. With the aid of the A dependence, the measured yield of K S 0 mesons at x F = 0 is compared with the yield of K + and K − mesons in the proton-proton reaction at 70 GeV/c. The inclusive spectra of longitudinal and transverse variables for K S 0 -meson production are contrasted against the predictions of the FRITIOF and UrQMD models.