Inclusive charged-Particle Production in Neutron-Nucleus Collisions

Abstract

We have measured inclusive particle production in neutron-nucleus collisions at high energies. Data on positive and negative particles produced in nuclei, ranging in size from Be to Pb, are presented for essentially the full forward hemisphere in the center-of-mass system. Fits of the form $A^{\alpha }$ to the invariant production cross section indicate that $\alpha$ changes from ∼0.85 to ∼0.55 for laboratory rapidities ranging from 3 to 8. Multiperipheral models which invoke cut contributions to particle production in nuclei predict such behavior.