Hadron production in high energy muon scattering

An experiment was performed to study muon-proton scattering at an incident energy of 225 GeV and a total effective flux of 4.3 x 1010 muons. This experiment is able to detect charged particles in coincidence with the scattered muon in the forward hemisphere, and results are reported for the neutral strange particles K/sub s/0 and Λ0 decaying into two charged particles. Within experimental limits the masses and lifetimes of these particles are consistent with previous measurements. The distribution of hadrons produced in muon scattering is determined, measuring momentum components parallel and transverse to the virtual photon direction, and these distributions are compared to other high energy experiments involving the scattering of pions, protons, and neutrinos from protons. Structure functions for hadron production and particle ratios are calculated. No azimuthal dependence is observed, and lambda production does not appear to be polarized. The physical significance of the results is discussed within the framework of the quark-parton model. 29 references