Properties of the leading particle in proton-nucleus interactions

From proton-nucleus emulsion data for 67, 200, 300, and 400 GeV the authors make an attempt to extract the leading baryon pseudorapidity distribution. The results indicate that the inelasticity in proton-nucleus collisions is much larger than in proton-proton interactions. The result is consistent with an approximately equal probability for the leading baryon to be either a proton or a neutron and with the property that the π-meson distribution in the projectile fragmentation region is unaffected by the nuclear parameters. (Auth.)