Atomic-weight dependence of the production of hadron pairs by 800-GeV/cprotons on nuclear targets

Fermilab experiment 711 has investigated proton-nucleus collisions in which two high-transverse-momentum hadrons are produced forming high-mass ++, +-, and -- charged states, using an 800-GeV/c proton beam on targets of beryllium, aluminum, iron, and tungsten. Our data cover the range in dihadron mass from 6 to 15 GeV/${\mathit{c}}^2$. We show here that the dependence of the cross section on atomic weight A can be parametrized as ${\mathit{A}}^{\mathrm{\alpha }}$ where α=1.043±0.011(stat)±0.025 (syst), and is independent of the charge state of the dihadron system.