STATISTICAL PICTURE OF HIGH-ENERGY NUCLEAR COLLISIONS

We discuss nuclear reactions induced by nucleons or heavy ions at incident energies in the range of 0.5 to 1 GeV/nucleon. One-particle spectra and the correlations of two nucleons emitted are studied in the statistical limit: Subgroups of nucleons acquire a random occupation of their available phase space. As opposed to the thermal limit the finite number of nucleons gives rise to sizable correlations among the nucleons via the conservation laws. A surprising reproduction of the observed spectrain particular at high momentum transfers (as in proton backward scattering)is achieved by the model. NUCLEAR REACTIONS Proton and heavy ion induced; E=0.5-1.0 GeV/nucleon; calculation of inclusive one- and two-proton (coincidence) spectra by statistical model. © 1979 The American Physical Society.