Fragmentation studies of high-energy ions using CR39 nuclear track detectors

We report on the measurements of the total charge changing fragmentation cross-sections in high-energy nucleus–nucleus collisions using Fe, Si and Pb incident ions. Several stacks of CR39 nuclear track detectors with different target combinations were exposed at normal incidence to high-energy accelerator beams to integrated densities of about 2000 ions/cm2. The nuclear track detector foils were chemically etched, and ion tracks were measured using an automatic image analyzer system. The cross-section determination is based on the charge identification of beam ions and their fragments and on the reconstruction of their path through the stacks.