Energy spectra of elements with 18 or = Z or = 28 between 10 and 300 GeV/amu

The HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment is composed of ionization chambers above and below a plastic Cerenkov counter. The energy dependence of the abundances of elements with atomic number, Z, between 18 and 28 at very high energies where they are rare and thus need the large area x time are measured. The measurements of the Danish-French HEAO-3 experiment (Englemann,, et al., 1983) are extended to higher energies, using the relativistic rise of ionization signal as a measure of energy. Source abundances for Ar and Ca were determined

Nuclear Interaction Cross Sections for UltraHeavy Nuclei

We summarize additions to our data base of charge-changing cross sections for relativistic ultraheavy nuclei interacting in targets ranging from H to Pb. We have improved parametric fits to those cross sections as functions of energy and of projectile, target, and fragment charge. At high energies, we have determined cross sections for Au projectiles at 10.6 GeV /nucleon in targets of H, CH_2, C, Al, Cu, Sn, and Pb. Compared with cross sections at 1 GeV /n, fragment production is substantially changed, especially for the H target. These changes have important implications for calculations of interstellar propagation of ultraheavy nuclei. At lower energies, we have added Kr and Ag to our list of projectiles. Analysis of these data has led to a better understanding of the systematics of these cross sections, hence more physically meaningful parameterizations for fragmentation at high energies and for charge pickup

Fragmentation cross sections of relativistic ^(84)_(36)Kr and ^(109)_(47)Ag nuclei in targets from hydrogen to lead

With the addition of krypton and silver projectiles we have extended our previous studies of the fragmentation of heavy relativistic nuclei in targets ranging in mass from hydrogen to lead. These projectiles were studied at a number of discrete energies between 450 and 1500A MeV. The total and partial charge-changing cross sections were determined for each energy, target, and projectile, and the values compared with previous predictions. A new parametrization of the dependence of the total charge-changing cross sections on the target and projectile is introduced, based on nuclear charge radii derived from electron scattering. We have also parametrized the energy dependence of the total cross sections over the range of energies studied. New parameters were found for a previous representation of the partial charge-changing cross sections in hydrogen and a new parametrization has been introduced for the nonhydrogen targets. The evidence that limiting fragmentation has been attained for these relatively light projectile nuclei at Bevalac energies is shown to be inconclusive, and further measurements at higher energies will be needed to address this question

UHCR: A Cosmic Ray Mission to Study Nuclei in the Charge Range From 20 ≤Z ≤100

A definitive study of the elemental abundances of nuclei over the charge range of 20 ≤ Z ≤ 100 requires a satellite mission capable of obtaining high statistics and excellent charge resolution over the full charge range. Such a mission, utilizing an electronic instrument which is an evolution of the HEA0-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment, is described here

Interactions of heavy nuclei, Kr, Xe and Ho, in light targets

Over the past few years, the HEAO-3 measurements of the abundances of ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei (Z 26) at earth have been analyzed. In order to interpret these abundances in terms of a source composition, allowance must be made for the propagation of the nuclei in the interstellar medium. Vital to any calculation of the propagation is a knowlege of the total and partial interaction cross sections for these heavy nuclei on hydrogen. Until recently, data on such reactions have been scarce. However, now that relativistic heavy ion beams are available at the LBL Bevalac, some of the cross sections of interest can be measured at energies close to those of the cosmic ray nuclei being observed. During a recent calibration at the Bevalac of an array similar to the HEAO-C3 UH-nuclei detector, targets of raphite (C), polyethylene (CH2), and aluminum were exposed to five heavy ion beams ranging in charge (Z) from 36 to 92. Total and partial charge changing cross sections for the various beam nuclei on hydrogen can be determined from the measured cross sections on C and CH2, and will be applied to the propagation problem. The cross sections on Al can be used to correct the abundances of UH cosmic rays observed in the HEAO C-3 detector for interactions in the detector itself

Anisotropy of Galactic Iron of Energy 30 to 500 GeV/amu Studied by HEAO-3

The anisotropy of cosmic ray iron observed by the Heavy Nuclei Experiment [1] on the HEA0-3 spacecraft has been studied. A high rigidity data set was chosen by requiring the Stoermer cutoff be greater than 7 GV, and the energy of individual events was determined by relativistic rise in the ion chamber signal [2]. Events which have estimated rigidity well above their Stoermer cutoff rigidity were chosen in order to reduce the effect of the geomagnetic field on the cosmic ray trajectories. Selecting events with estimated rigidity greater than ~58 GV from eight months of data yields 2459 events. This data set allows an anisotropy measurement with a statistical uncertainty of 3%. We will continue to try increasing the size. of the selected data set while limiting systematic errors due to the geomagnetic and interplanetary fields

Cosmic Ray Elemental Abundances for 26<Z<40 Measured on HEAO-3

Abundances relative to _(96)Fe have been derived for elements with charge, 2, in the range 32≤z≤40. With a resolution better than 0.5 charge unit at Z=38, we resolve _(37)Rb from _(38)Sr and use the Rb/Sr ratio to place a limit on the r-proccss enhancement of the cosmic ray source material in this charge range