Study of Inelastic Proton-Proton Scattering at 12.5 GeV/c

We have tested experimentally the model that the three regions seen in $p-p$ elastic scattering are the diffraction scattering due to $\pi$, $K$, and $\overline{p}$ production. The inelastic $p-p$ cross section was measured on circles of constant $P_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.\mathrm{}}$. One contained a pure sample of inelastic $\pi$ events; the other, both $\pi$ and $K$ events. The cross section has a break on both circles showing that the break is not due to $K$ mesons and that the model is wrong.