Analysis of the average multiplicity of charged particles produced in interactions of relativistic nuclei

Data obtained from the 2-meter propane bubble chamber irradiated with relativistic nuclei p, d, He, and C have been used to investigate the dependence of the average multiplicity of secondary charged particles of various types produced in nucleus-nucleus interactions on the primary energy, the number of interacting protons and neutrons in the colliding nuclei, the mass numbers of the interacting nuclei, and the average number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. The observed regularities are explained in the framework of a simple geometrical picture of the interaction.