Determination of the number of participating nucleons in p+p interactions at SPS energies

Abstract

In the past the analyses of inelastic p+p collision for example in terms of the hadron gas model have assumed that always both protons participate in the interaction. In this article we show that (at sqrt(s) = 17.3 GeV ) on average only 1,89 protons are interacting. Measurements of the mean multiplicities of protons, neutrons, charged pions, charged kaons and {\Lambda} hyperons allow to compute the number of initial state nucleons using conservation of baryon number, strangeness, and isospin. We further argue that once the number of initial state nucleons is given and the mean multiplicities of protons and charged pions are known in p+p interactions at center-of-mass energies below a few tens of GeV, the yields of net neutrons, kaons, and hyperons can be estimated with a precision of a few percent using again baryon and isospin conservation.