Relative dielectron yields in p + p and p + d interactions from Ebeam = 1.0–4.9 GeV

Abstract The beam energy and invariant mass dependence of the dielectron yield in p + d interactions relative to the yield in p + p interactions is presented for incident kinetic energies from 1.0–4.9 GeV. The ratio of the yield in p + d interactions to that in p + p interactions decreases from 10.5±1.6 at 1.0 GeV to 1.96±0.08 at 4.9 GeV for electron pairs with invariant masses ⩾ 0.15 GeV/ c 2 . The large ratio at 1.0 GeV suggests that dielectron production in the p + d system is dominated by a p + n process. The beam energy dependence of the ratio indicates that this p + n contribution decreases with respect to the other dielectron sources as the incident energy is increased.