Relativistic Energy Pb Projectile Fragmentation with Heavy Target Nuclei

We investigate the fragmentation of 158AGeV 207Pb projectiles with Bi, Pb, Cu and Al targets using CR-39 nuclear track detectors. The exposures were made at SPS-CERN. After the etching, the detectors were scanned using an optical microscope to collect the data of etched cone diameters and lengths. We measured the partial charge-changing cross sections using the data of etched cone lengths. The predicted cross sections are compared to similar measurements reported in literature and their dependences on projectile and target mass are described. (nuclear physics)