Measurement of inclusive pion double charge exchange on 16 O at T 0 ≥ 0.5 GeV with the SKS spectrometer at KEK

The inclusive cross section for pion double charge exchange on 16 O at T 0 = 0.5 and 0.75 GeV was measured with the superconducting kaon spectrometer (SKS) at KEK in a joint ITEP/KEK experiment. The result shows a relatively weak energy dependence of the measured cross section, which is in contradiction with its rapid drop predicted within the conventional model of two sequential single charge exchanges. The data of this experiment agree with the results that were obtained previously from similar measurements at ITEP and which are indicative of a significant contribution from the mechanism of inelastic Glauber rescatterings for T 0 ≳ 0.6 GeV.