Coherent inelastic interactions of π+ and K+-mesons on Al and Au nuclei at 250 GeV/c

Cross-sections are obtained for coherent interactions of π⁺ and K⁺-mesons with Al and Au nuclei at 250 GeV/c, leading to three, five and seven charged mesons. The total coherent cross-section is (4.3 ± 0.5)% of the inelastic cross-section for each of the four meson-nucleus interactions. In 85% of the coherent events, the charged meson production is accompanied by neutral mesons. Effective mass distributions are presented for coherently produced particles, including charged mesons and photons, carrying total measured energy of more than 85% of the initial energy. Charged particle and γ spectra are analysed. No charge asymmetry is observed within the coherently produced cluster.