Implications of the target residue mass and charge distributions in the interaction of 8.0 GeV20Ne with181Ta

Target residue mass and charge distributions have been measured radioanalytically for the reaction of 8.0 GeV²⁰Ne ions with Ta. These distributions are very similar to those distributions observed in the reaction of Ta with protons of equivalent total energy rather than equivalent velocity. Detailed comparisons of the production cross sections for near target residues with abrasion-ablation model calculations show these products to have an excitation energy of ～75 MeV.