Two pion and strange particle production from muon neutrino interactions in deuterium

Final results for the two-pion and strange particle production by muon-type neutrinos observed in a 2.4 million (365,000) picture exposure of the Argonne 12-foot deuterium (hydrogen) filled bubble chamber are presented. The energies of the neutrinos were mostly below 6 GeV. The two-pion reactions, nud→μ-π-π+pp/sub s/, nud→μ-π+π0pn/sub s/, and nud→μ-π+π+nn/sub s/ are studied. The two-pion data, which shows strong Δ(1236) production, has nucleon-pi-pi mass distribution peaked at low masses in all three reactions. The excitation functions for the three two-pion reactions exhibit a rapid rise over the energy range from threshold up to about 3 GeV, but thereafter the energy dependence appears less pronounced. The threshold behavior of the cross sections for these reactions is analyzed in the context of a model developed by Adjel, Dicus, and Teplitz. The strange particle production data show no conclusive resonance production. The excitation functions for nud→μ-K-K+pp/sub s/ nud→μ-K+Λ0p/sub s/, and nud→μ-K+pn/sub s/ were determined. In addition the cross section, averaged over E/sub nu/, for all observed reactions involving associated production of strange particles was determined. Data from the constrained reaction., nud→+-π-π+pp/sub s/, and from reactions involving associated production of the KΛ system satisfy the Adler CVC test