Fragmentation of relativisticFe56

Abstract

The fragmentation of /sup 56/Fe at 1.88 GeV/nucleon has been studied on H, Li, Be, C, S, Cu, Ag, Ta, Pb, and U targets. The detection apparatus consisted of a simple transmission detector. A method is presented which eliminates the effects of multiple interactions in the targets which were typically half an interaction-length thick. Elemental production cross sections, sigma (Z), were measured for Z = 13 to 25. Measured charge-changing cross sections, sigma/sub DeltaZ/ > or = 1, and derived mass-changing cross sections, sigma/sub DeltaA/ > or = 1, are presented for each target. The sigma (Z) factor into a term which depends only on the target and a term which depends only on the fragment observed. The sigma/sub DeltaZ/ > or = 1 and sigma/sub DeltaA/ > or = 1 follow a simple geometric behavior. The cross section for the removal of one proton from the /sup 56/Fe projectile is enhanced for the heavier targets. This effect is described by a model assuming Coulomb dissociation. The sigma (Z) for /sup 56/Fe on the H target are compared to the semiempirical formulas of Silberberg and Tsao.