Uranium nuclear reactions at 900 MeV/nucleon

The cross sections for breakup of ²³⁸U in targets ranging from H to Pb are presented. Fragmentation modes measured include: total charge changing, fission, and central collision. The charge changing cross sections are compared with black disk geometrical and Glauber models. The central collision cross section rises as the mass of the target and reaches 20% of the measured cross section for uranium on a lead target. The limiting fragmentation hypothesis is satisfied for targets heavier than hydrogen. For uranium-uranium central collisions these data predict a cross section of 2.5 b.