Particle production in the target-rapidity region from hadron-nucleus reactions at several GeV

Abstract

Highly inelastic processes in hadron-nucleus reactions at several GeV have been studied by measuring multi-particle emission in the target-rapidity region. Events with no leading particle(s) but with high multiplicities were observed up to 4 GeV. Proton spectra from such events were well reproduced with a single-moving-source model, which implied possible formation of a local source. The number of nucleons involved in the source was estimated to be (3–5)A 1 3 from the source velocity and the multiplicity of emitted protons. In those processes the incident energy flux seemed to be deposited totally or mostly (>62;75%) in the target nucleus to form the local source. The cross sections for the process were about 30% of the geometrical cross sections, with little dependence on incident energies up to 4 GeV and no dependence on projectiles (pions or protons). The E 0 parameter in the invariant-cross-section formula E d 3 σ/d p 3 = A exp (− E/ E 0) for protons from the source increases with incident energy from 1 to 4 GeV/ c, but seems to saturate above 10 GeV at a value E 0 = 60–70 MeV. Three components in the emitted nucleon spectra were observed which would correspond to three stages of the reaction process: primary, pre-equilibrium and equilibrium.