A beam of protons arrives at a rate and strikes a carbon target

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Particle Physics & Quantum Fields · Particles, interactions and experiment · Particles, interactions and experiment

Particle Physics, Ch Decay rates, cross sections and phase space

Problem

A beam of protons arrives at a rate N˙beam=5.0×106 s−1\dot N_{\rm beam} = 5.0\times10^{6}\,\mathrm{s^{-1}} and strikes a carbon target, wider than the beam, of thickness ℓ=0.50 cm\ell = 0.50\,\mathrm{cm}, with a number density of carbon nuclei ρn=1.13×1029 m−3\rho_n = 1.13\times10^{29}\,\mathrm{m^{-3}}. For a process with cross section σ=800 mb\sigma = 800\,\mathrm{mb}, and treating the target as thin (only a small fraction of beam particles interact), find the event rate N˙\dot N.

Browse the problem library