A model for consecutive spallation and fragmentation reactions in inverse kinematics at relativistic energies

Secondary reactions induced by relativistic beams in inverse kinematics in a thick target are relevant in several fields of experimental physics and technology, like secondary radioactive beams, production of exotic nuclei close to the proton drip line, and cross-section measurements for applications of spallation reactions for energy production and incineration of nuclear wastes. A general mathematical formulation is presented and successively applied as a tool to disentangle the primary reaction yields from the secondary production in the measurement of fission of a 238U projectile impinging on a proton target at the energy of 1 A GeV. (orig.)