Effects of momentum conservation on light particle correlations in intermediate energy 12C induced heavy ion reactions

Coincidences between high energy light particles emanating from 35A MeV 12C +C, Al and Cu collisions show a significant in-plane excess. This excess increases with the mass of the coincident particles and decreases with the mass of the target. Momentum conservation effects within a participant region reproduce the main features of the observed correlations. Data from 85 A MeV reactions show similar trends and are also well described by the same momentum conservation effects.