Interaction cross sections and charged pion spectra in $p+\mathrm{C}$ interactions at 31 GeV/$c$ were measured with the large-acceptance NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. These data are required to improve predictions of the neutrino flux for the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A set of data collected during the first NA61/SHINE run in 2007 with an isotropic graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length was used for the analysis. The measured $p+\mathrm{C}$ inelastic and production cross sections are 257.2 $\pm$ 1.9 $\pm$ 8.9 and 229.3 $\pm$ 1.9 $\pm$ 9.0 mb, respectively. Inclusive production cross sections for negatively and positively charged pions are presented as functions of laboratory momentum in ten intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 up to 420 mrad. The spectra are compared with predictions of several hadron production models.

Spectra of positively charged kaons in $p+\text{C}$ interactions at 31 GeV/$c$ were measured with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The analysis is based on the full set of data collected in 2007 with a graphite target with a thickness of 4$\%$ of a nuclear interaction length. Interaction cross sections and charged pion spectra were already measured using the same set of data. These new measurements in combination with the published ones are required to improve predictions of the neutrino flux for the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. In particular, the knowledge of kaon production is crucial for precisely predicting the intrinsic electron neutrino component and the high-energy tail of the T2K beam. The results are presented as a function of laboratory momentum in two intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 20 to 240 mrad. The kaon spectra are compared with predictions of several hadron production models. Using the published pion results and the new kaon data, the $K^{+}$/${\pi }^{+}$ ratios are computed.

The yields of (anti)protons were measured by the NA49 Collaboration in centrality-selected Pb $+$ Pb collisions at $40A$ and $158A$ GeV. Particle identification was obtained in the laboratory momentum range from 5 to 63 GeV$/c$ by measuring the energy loss $dE/dx$ in the time projection chamber detector gas. The corresponding rapidity coverage extends 1.6 units from midrapidity into the forward hemisphere. Transverse-mass spectra, the rapidity dependences of the average transverse mass, and rapidity density distributions were studied as a function of collision centrality. The values of the average transverse mass as well as the midrapidity yields of protons normalized to the number of wounded nucleons show only modest centrality dependences. In contrast, the shape of the rapidity distribution changes significantly with collision centrality, especially at $40A$ GeV. The experimental results are compared to calculations of the hadron-string dynamics and the ultrarelativistic quantum-molecular-dynamics transport models.

We look for fluctuations expected for the QCD critical point using an intermittency analysis in the transverse momentum phase space of protons produced around midrapidity in the 12.5 % most central...

Production of the $K^{*}{\left(892\right)}^0$ and ${\overline{K}}^{*}{\left(892\right)}^0$ resonances was studied via their $K^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ and $K^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ decay modes in central $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$, $\mathrm{Si}+\mathrm{Si}$, $\mathrm{C}+\mathrm{C}$, and inelastic $p+p$ collisions at 158$A$ GeV($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=17.3$ GeV) with the NA49 detector at the CERN SPS. Transverse momentum and rapidity distributions were measured and total yields were estimated. The yield of $K^{*}$ exceeds that of ${\overline{K}}^{*}$ by about a factor of two in nucleus-nucleus reactions. The total yield ratios $\langle K^{*}\rangle$ $/\langle K^{+}\rangle$ and $\langle {\overline{K}}^{*}\rangle$ $/\langle K^{-}\rangle$ are strongly suppressed in central $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$ compared to $p+p$, $\mathrm{C}+\mathrm{C}$, and $\mathrm{Si}+\mathrm{Si}$ collisions, in agreement with the expected attenuation of these short-lived resonance states in the hadronic phase of the expanding fireball. The UrQMD model, although incorporating such a scenario, does not provide a quantitative description of the experimental results. The statistical hadron gas model assuming the same freeze-out parameters for stable hadrons and resonances overestimates the $\langle K^{*}\rangle$ $/\langle K\rangle$ ratios in central $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions by about a factor of 2.5.