Yields of projectile fragments in hadron-nucleus interactions and the quark structure of hadrons

Abstract

Multiplicities of secondary hadrons in the fragmentation region of a projectile are computed as a function of the atomic number of the target, A. The calculation is based on the notion of a nucleon (meson) composed of three (two) spatially discrete constituent quarks. For an incident proton, yields of secondary nucleons near x = 2 3 (as well as π − or K + mesons near x = 1 3 ) are determined solely by the magnitude of the quark-nucleon cross section, assumed to be ∼ 1 3 of the inelastic proton-proton cross section, and the distribution of nuclear matter. Our results agree well with the data on A dependence of the p, π − and K + yields in proton-nucleus collisions. Predictions are given for the A dependence of the projectile fragment yields in the cases of π, K and hyperon beams.