Rapidity-rank structure of pairs in hadronic Z0 decays

The rapidity-rank structure of p pbar pairs is used to analyze the mechanism of baryon production in hadronic Z0 decay. The relative occurrence of the rapidity-ordered configuration p M pbar, where M is a meson, and that of p pbar adjacent pairs is compared. The data are found to be consistent with predictions from a mechanism producing adjacent-rank p pbar pairs, without requiring `string-ordered' p M pbar configurations. An upper limit of 15% at 90% confidence is determined for the p M pbar contribution.