Characteristics of Fragments Produced in the Interaction of 5.5-GeV Protons with Silver

The energy spectra of nuclear fragments produced by the interaction of 5.5-GeV protons with silver were determined at several laboratory angles by means of $\frac{\mathrm{dE}}{dx-E}$ measurements with semiconductor-detector telescopes. Individual isotopes of the elements from hydrogen to nitrogen were resolved. From oxygen to silicon the elements were determined without isotopic separation. For the case of the isotopes of He through Be enough of the evaporation-like energy spectra were recorded so that it was possible to perform integrations to obtain angular distributions and total cross sections. For elements above beryllium, an experimental cutoff on the low-energy side precluded these integrations, and only the high-energy portions of the spectra were recorded. The energy spectra of the neutron-deficient isotopes differ from the others in that the high-energy parts of the spectra are more pronounced and flatter, and the angular distributions are more forward-peaked.