Pion Production by Protons on a Thin Beryllium Target at 6.4, 12.3, and 17.5 GeV/c Incident Proton Momenta

An analysis of inclusive pion production in proton-beryllium collisions at 6.4, 12.3, and 17.5 GeV/c proton beam momentum has been performed. The data were taken by Experiment 910 at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The differential $pi^+$ and $pi^-$ production cross sections ($d^2sigma/dpdOmega$) are measured up to 400 mRad in $theta_{pi}$ and up to 6 GeV/c in $p_{pi}$. The measured cross section is fit with a Sanford-Wang parameterization.