Comparison of π±, K± and p, p production in the central rapidity region in hadron-hadron collisions and in e+e− annihilation

Abstract We compare the p T dependence of pion, kaon and proton production cross sections in the central rapidity region in e + e − annihilation events and in proton-proton collisions at ISR energies. We find similarities both in the p T dependence of cross sections and in the particle composition as a function of p T , in agreement with the hypothesis of a universal mechanism of particle production.