Baryon number transfer in hadronic interactions

The process of baryon number transfer due to string junction propagation in rapidity space is analyzed. It has a significant effect on the net baryon production in pp collisions at mid-rapidities and an even larger effect in the forward hemisphere in the cases of and interactions. The results of numerical calculations in the framework of the quark-gluon string model are in reasonable agreement with the data. Received: 14 December 2001 / Revised version: 24 April 2002 Published online: 16 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a" Permanent address: Yerewan Physics Institute, Armenia and JINR, Dubna, Russia e-mail: argev@jerewan1.yerphi.am RID="b" ID="b" e-mail: Alphonse.Capella@th.u-psud.fr RID="c" RID="d"