Baryon-number transfer in high-energy hp collisions

The processes of baryon-number transfer due to string-junction propagation in rapidity is considered. It has a significant effect on the net baryon production in pp collisions at mid-rapidities and an even larger effect in the forward hemisphere in the cases of pi p and gamma p interactions. The results of numerical calculations in the framework of the quark-gluon string model are in reasonable agreement with the data with the same parameter values for different energies. (C) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.