Nuclear transparency from quasielastic A(e,e'p) reactions up to Q2=8.1 (GeV/c)2

The quasielastic (e,e'p) reaction was studied on targets of deuterium, carbon, and iron up to a value of momentum transfer Q2 of 8.1 (GeV/c)2. A nuclear transparency was determined by comparing the data to calculations in the plane-wave impulse approximation. The dependence of the nuclear transparency on Q2 and the mass number A was investigated in a search for the onset of the color transparency phenomenon. We find no evidence for the onset of color transparency within our range of Q2. A fit to the world's nuclear transparency data reflects the energy dependence of the free-proton-nucleon cross section