Forward Neutron Production at the Fermilab Main Injector

TL;DR

This study measures forward neutron production cross sections at different energies and targets, comparing results with various Monte Carlo simulations to understand particle production mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of neutron production cross sections at multiple energies and target materials, and compares these with several Monte Carlo models.

Findings

Cross section dependence on atomic weight varies with beam energy.

Measured cross sections agree reasonably with FLUKA and DPMJET simulations.

The A-dependence exponent alpha increases with beam energy.

Abstract

We have measured cross sections for forward neutron production from a variety of targets using proton beams from the Fermilab Main Injector. Measurements were performed for proton beam momenta of 58 GeV/c, 84 GeV/c, and 120 GeV/c. The cross section dependence on the atomic weight (A) of the targets was found to vary as $A^(alpha)$ where $\alpha$ is $0.46\pm0.06$ for a beam momentum of 58 GeV/c and 0.54$\pm$0.05 for 120 GeV/c. The cross sections show reasonable agreement with FLUKA and DPMJET Monte Carlos. Comparisons have also been made with the LAQGSM Monte Carlo.