Measurement of meson resonance production in $$\pi ^-+$$ π - + C interactions at SPS energies

Abstract We present measurements of $$\rho ^0$$ ρ 0 , $$\omega $$ ω and K $$^{*0}$$ ∗ 0 spectra in $$\pi ^{-} + $$ π - + C production interactions at 158 $$\text{ GeV }{/}\text{ c }$$ GeV / c and $$\rho ^0$$ ρ 0 spectra at 350 $$\text{ GeV }{/}\text{ c }$$ GeV / c using the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. Spectra are presented as a function of the Feynman’s variable $$x_\text {F}$$ x F in the range $$0< x_\text {F} < 1$$ 0 < x F < 1 and $$0< x_\text {F} < 0.5$$ 0 < x F < 0.5 for 158 and 350 $$\text{ GeV }{/}\text{ c }$$ GeV / c respectively. Furthermore, we show comparisons with previous measurements and predictions of several hadronic interaction models. These measurements are essential for a better understanding of hadronic shower development and for improving the modeling of cosmic ray air showers.