The cross section for one-proton knockout from 16C with a large neutron-proton separation energy asymmetry on a carbon target has been measured at an intermediate beam energy of around 240 MeV/nucleon. The measured cross section is compared to the predictions based on the eikonal reaction model with shell-model structure inputs. The beam-energy dependence of the reduction on the extracted spectroscopic strength for strongly bound nucleon removal is derived from combining the existing intermediate-energy data with the present measurement. The deduced reduction factor Rs, defined as the ratio of the measured and theoretical cross sections, for the strongly bound nucleon removal at around 240 MeV/nucleon is consistent with the systematics observed from knockout reactions induced by light nuclear targets at intermediate energies of around 80 MeV/nucleon.

The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with 2 1/2 years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time that an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with high statistics. The measured spectrum confirms the spectral hardening at ~300 GeV found by previous experiments and reveals a softening at ~13.6 TeV, with the spectral index changing from ~2.60 to ~2.85. Our result suggests the existence of a new spectral feature of cosmic rays at energies lower than the so-called knee and sheds new light on the origin of Galactic cosmic rays.

The cross sections for two-neutron removal from 15,16C on a carbon target have been measured at around 240 MeV/nucleon. The measured cross section for 15C is smaller than for 16C. The trends of the cross sections for 15,16C are inconsistent with the previously reported experimental data, but in agreement with the theoretical predictions based on eikonal-model calculations. Based on the present results of 15,16C combined with the available experimental data on 17–20C, an odd-even staggering of the two-neutron removal cross sections along the neutron-rich carbon isotopic chain from 15C to 20C is observed, and this feature is well reproduced by the theoretical calculations.

A Time-Of-Flight Wall (TOFW) detector has been designed and constructed at the External Target Facility (ETF) of HIRFL-CSR. The detector covers a sensitive area of 1.2 × 1.2 m2 and consists of 30 modules. Each module is composed of a long plastic scintillator bar with two photo-multiplier tubes coupled at both ends for readout. The design and manufacture details are described and the test results are reported. The performance of the TOFW detector has been tested and measured with cosmic rays and a 310 MeV/u 40Ar beam. The results show that the time resolutions of all the TOFW modules are better than 128 ps, satisfying the requirements of the experiments which will be carried out at the ETF.

A drift chamber array at the External Target Facility in HIRFL-CSR has been constructed for three-dimensional particle tracking in high-energy radioactive ion beam experiments. The design, readout, track reconstruction program and calibration procedures for the detector are described. The drift chamber array was tested in a 311 AMeV 40Ar beam experiment. The detector performance based on the measurements of the beam test is presented. A spatial resolution of 230μm is achieved.