Is the fragmentation of Carbon ions mainly composed of alpha particles?

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter alangne1
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Carbon Ion
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The fragmentation of Carbon ions at 290 MeV/nucleon primarily results in the production of alpha particles, as observed in the analysis of data from a Carbon beam. This conclusion aligns with findings from Zeitlin et al., who investigated similar fragmentation patterns and reported that the Z=3 cross section, which includes 2 He production, is significant. The complexity of the data arises from the overlap of different fragmentation channels, particularly in inclusive reactions. Understanding these fragmentation cross sections is crucial for accurate interpretation of nuclear fragmentation processes.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of nuclear fragmentation processes
  • Familiarity with particle beam experiments, specifically at 290 MeV/nucleon
  • Knowledge of fragmentation cross sections and their significance
  • Experience with data analysis techniques in nuclear physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Review the paper by Zeitlin et al. on fragmentation cross sections for Carbon ions
  • Explore the methodology for measuring inclusive total cross sections in nuclear experiments
  • Investigate the implications of Z=3 fragmentation channels in nuclear physics
  • Learn about the types of detectors used in fragmentation studies and their impact on data interpretation
USEFUL FOR

Researchers in nuclear physics, experimental physicists analyzing particle fragmentation, and students studying nuclear reactions and cross section measurements.

alangne1
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I'm analyzing data taken from 500 MeV/nucleon Iron beam and 290 MeV/nucleon Carbon beam. When looking at the fragmentation that has occurred, the fragmentation for the Carbon beam seems almost always be alpha particles (I though I would see some Beryllium as well). Does this mean that the Carbon nucleus is essentially just three alpha particles?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Alangne,

Assuming you are only looking at projectile fragmentation, have you compared your data with that of Zeitlin et al., who also looked at 290 MeV/n Carbon on 6 different targets?
http://prc.aps.org/abstract/PRC/v76/i1/e014911

If you look at the paper, while their analysis was fairly difficult, they were able to compute the different fragmentation cross sections (summed over isotope for a given charge). You will see in that paper that the 3 He breakup cross section is not the largest, though it is large. For instance, the Z=3 cross section was larger. The Z=3 channel happens to include the 2 He production data also, however. This is due to the type of detector they were using. The Z=3 data and the 2 He data completely overlap and are very difficult to untangle.

Again, I am not sure what your experimental setup was so don't know if you are talking exclusive or inclusive reactions here. The Zeitlin et al. paper is for inclusive total cross sections.

Cheers,
Norman
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
6K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
5K
Replies
4
Views
4K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
9K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
5K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
6K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
24K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
6K
  • · Replies 32 ·
2
Replies
32
Views
7K