Proton and neutron inclusive spectra and the importance of the single nucleon-nucleon scattering process

Comparison of inclusive neutron and proton spectra from 90-MeV protons on /sup 27/Al, /sup 58/Ni, /sup 90/Zr, and /sup 209/Bi indicates that single nucleon-nucleon scattering dominates the high-energy regions of forward-angle continuum spectra. The ratios of cross sections observed agree with ratios expected for scattering of the incident proton by a bound target nucleon. For /sup 27/Al, a plane-wave impulse-approximation quasifree scattering calculation fits forward-angle proton and neutron spectra simultaneously with the same normalization.