Spallation reactions in extraterrestrial matter

This paper describes the cosmic-ray-induced production of stable and radioactive residual nuclides, the so-called cosmogenic nuclides. In extraterrestrial solar-system matter, i.e. planetary surfaces, meteorites, cosmic dust and the heavy component of the galactic cosmic radiation, these nuclides are experimentally observable as positive anomalies of isotopic abundances. They preserve a record of cosmic ray exposure which can be interpreted with respect to the collision and exposure history of the irradiated objects as well as to intensities;md spectral distributions of cosmic ray particles in the past. To decipher the cosmic ray record in extraterrestrial matter and to obtain information which cannot be obtained by any other means reliable models are needed for the calculation of the production rates of cosmogenic nuclides. On the basis of thin-target and thick-target accelerator experiments such a model has been developed which is applied here exemplarily to interprete cosmogenic nuclide abundances in stony meteorites and lunar surface materials.