InclusiveΛProduction and Polarization in 16-GeV/cπ−pInteractions

The invariant differential cross sections and polarization ($0.5<\mathrm{}{x}_{\mathrm{F}}<0.8\mathrm{}$, $0.0<\mathrm{}{p}_{\perp }<1.5\mathrm{}$ GeV/c) of $\Lambda \text{'}\mathrm{s}$ produced in pion-induced reactions have been measured. The scaling cross section agrees with previous experiments performed at other energies. The ${(1-x_{\mathrm{F}})}^N$ dependence of the cross section gives an exponent of $N=1.88\mathrm{}\pm 0.04$. These are the first polarization measurements in the pion fragmentation region. A mean polarization of (-5.3 ± 1.2)% is observed with no trend toward large negative polarization with increasing transverse momentum.