Abstract
The mean velocity component of a nucleus in the direction of a proton beam, acquired due to its interaction with a proton, is calculated using a multiple scattering approach. Isobar formation in nucleon-nucleon collisions is taken into account. An averaging procedure is used to calculate the momentum transfer to the target nucleus in each elementary collision. The mean momentum transfer to the target nucleus is then calculated using the Glauber-Matthiae formalism. It is found that this theory reproduces the empirical energy dependence of the mean forward recoil velocities for the production of neutron-deficient fragments with mass less than half the target mass up to incident energies of 5 GeV, and correctly predicts the position of the peak around 3 GeV.