Nuclear Fragment Mass Yields from High-Energy Proton-Nucleus Interactions

Isotopically resolved nuclear fragments ($A_f, Z_f$), $3<~Z_f<~14$, produced by protons in the energy range $80<~E_{\mathrm{inc}}<~350$ GeV incident on krypton and xenon targets have been studied at the Internal Target Laboratory of the Fermi National Accelerator. A power-law dependence, isobaric yield $\propto {A_f}^{-\tau }$, was found to describe the data over a broad range of yields. The particular value of $\tau$ is a signature for the fragment formation mechanism.