Single nucleon removal in relativistic nuclear collisions

We implement a simple approach to the inclusive cross section for single nucleon removal by relativistic nucleons and nuclei. We first develop the projectile and target dependence of the mean number, N(b), of nucleon-nucleon collisions as a function of impact parameter in the peripheral region. Using the Glauber approximation, we obtain a simple parametrization for a critical impact parameter $b_c$ such that the reaction cross sections for both N-B and A-B collisions are well represented by π$b_c^2$. Further study of the b dependence of N(b) around b=$b_c$ allows us to develop a parametrization of single nucleon abrasion cross sections. Next, we employ the Weizsacker-Williams approximation with $b_c$ as the cutoff impact parameter to calculate the Coulomb contribution to the single nucleon removal process. The results are compared with recent data which suggest that the Weizsacker-Williams approximation is inadequate for heavy projectiles. Using our estimates for the nuclear contribution, we find that the data yields good agreement with the Weizsacker-Williams results for virtually all projectile-target combinations. We therefore conclude that the measured deviations from the Weizsacker-Williams results do not represent new physics, but rather reflect uncertainties in the estimation of the nuclear contribution to the single nucleon removal process. As an elementary example of the possible new physics that may be observed in this process, we calculate the contributions from a coherent nuclear process and the possible interference effects. For heavy projectiles, we find that the interference effects are comparable to the present experimental uncertainties.