Study of the dissociation reactionn+p→pπ−+pfor incident neutron momenta between 50 and 300 GeV/c

We present results of our study of the neutron dissociation reaction $n+p\to \left(p{\pi }^{-}\right)+p$ for incident neutron momenta between 50 and 300 GeV/c. The integrated dissociation cross section for small values of ($p{\pi }^{-}$) mass is essentially constant over this momentum interval. A strong correlation exists between the square of the four-momentum transfer ($t$) and the ($p{\pi }^{-}$) rest mass, as well as between $t$ and the decay angles of the ($p{\pi }^{-}$) system. The observed ($p{\pi }^{-}$) mass distribution is comprised of contributions from both narrow resonance like peaks and a broad low-mass continuum. Moments of the ($p{\pi }^{-}$) decay angular distributions reveal rich structure, suggesting the presence of many partial waves.