abstract

Particle spectra in hadron–nucleus collisions are discussed using the bremsstrahlung analogy. The following features are expected at high energies: (a) a plateau in rapidity higher than that observed in hydrogen, (b) an inelasticity increasing with increasing nuclear number and (c) independence of nuclear effects from the primary energy.

abstract

The application of Regge theory to high energy hadron–nucleus scattering is reviewed. The usual formalism for scattering off non-relativistic nucleons in a nucleus is applied to obtain momentum space expressions for multiple Regge exchange contributions. These expressions are analyzed in some detail and applied to obtain the total and single particle inclusive cross-sections. Using hadron–hadron scattering phenomenology as an input we discuss hadron–nucleus scattering phenomenology for current energies (\(p_{\rm lab}\lesssim 10^4\) GeV/\(c\)) and available nuclei (\(A \lesssim 250\)). The applications discussed here are only the simplest ones; hadron–nucleus scattering should allow many other tests of the theory not possible in hadron–hadron scattering. The Reggeon calculus approach taken here is more convenient for explicit calculations but less intuitive than parallel discussions based on the space-time picture in the multiperipheral model or on the parton model. The latter are discussed briefly in an Appendix.

abstract

High energy photon interactions are discussed in terms of the hadronic structure of the photon. It is shown how certain qualitative features of the data may be understood from this point of view, and some indications of its limitations are given.