Nuclear dependence of dimuon production at 800 GeV
Abstract
A precise measurement of the atomic-mass dependence of dimuon production induced by 800-GeV protons is reported. Over 450 000 muon pairs with dimuon mass M>=4 GeV were recorded from targets of 2H, C, Ca, Fe, and W. The ratio of dimuon yield per nucleon for nuclei versus 2H, R=YA/Y2H, is sensitive to modifications of the antiquark sea in nuclei. No nuclear dependence of this ratio is observed over the range of target-quark momentum fraction 0.1<xt<0.3. For xt<0.1 the ratio is slightly less than unity for the heavy nuclei. These results are compared with predictions of models of the European Muon Collaboration effect.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- May 1990
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.2479
- Bibcode:
- 1990PhRvL..64.2479A
- Keywords:
-
- 13.85.Qk;
- 25.40.Ve;
- Inclusive production with identified leptons photons or other nonhadronic particles;
- Other reactions above meson production thresholds