Dissociation of relativistic 7Be nuclei through the 3He+4He channel on a proton target

The differential cross section for the interaction of 7Be nuclei with protons was measured in the momentum-transfer region extending up to a value of 0.5 GeV/c at which 7Be decay to 3He and 4He fragments was not accompanied by the emergence of other charged particles. In the momentum-transfer region extending up to about 100 MeV/c, the cross section is strongly suppressed in just the same way as in the case of the dissociation of 7Li nuclei on a proton target through the 3H+4He channel. The total reaction cross section is 10 ± 4 mb. The mean transverse-momentum transfer in observed events is 233 ± 6 MeV/c, the dispersion of its distribution being about 63 MeV/c. The interactions in question were detected in photoemulsion irradiated with 7Be nuclei originating from a charge-exchange process involving 7Li nuclei accelerated to the momentum of 1.7 GeV/c per nucleon at the nuclotron of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna).