Regge exchange and absorption in the inclusive reactionπ−p→π0X

We predict the cross section for the inclusive process ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^0+\mathrm{anything}$ in the region $x_{{\pi }^0}\gtrsim 0.7$, using a triple-Regge model with absorption corrections. Absorption is calculated by a generalization of Regge-cut theory in two-body reactions, and is consistent with data on ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^{0}n$. We conclude that measurements of ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^{0}X$ at laboratory energies > 100 GeV will yield important new information on the strength of absorptive effects in strong interactions. In particular, we predict that the effective $\rho$ trajectory in ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^{0}X$ will lie higher than in ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^{0}n$ by ∼0.3, for $-t\gtrsim 0.8$ Ge${\mathrm{V}}^2$ and $x\sim 1$. The cross section will show no dip structure at $-t\simeq 0.6$ Ge${\mathrm{V}}^2$ or elsewhere, contrary to the predictions of models with nonsense-wrong signature zeros.