FORMATION OF CUMULATIVE PIONS AND KAONS IN PROTON-NUCLEUS INTERACTIONS FROM 15 TO 65 GEV

The results of a study of cumulative formation of hadrons in the react ion p + A --> pi, K(159-degrees) + X at proton energies from 15 to 65 GeV are summarized. The experiment was conducted with the IHEP proton synchrotron (Serpukhov). The momentum spectra of the pions were measur ed in the interval from 250 to 1000 MeV/c, and those of the kaons were measured from 350 to 800 MeV/c; this corresponds to the cumulative nu mbers x(c)pi = 0.6-2.0 and x(c)K = 1-1.9. The A dependence of the meso n yield was studied in the mass-number range A = 9-184. The results of the experiments are compared with the predictions of quark models of fragmentation of fluctons. On the basis of the intranuclear-cascade mo del, quantitative estimates of distortions of the spectra of cumulativ e mesons by secondary interactions in the nuclei are obtained.