Total reaction cross sections for inclusive pion double charge exchange have been obtained at incident pion energies of 180 and 240 MeV for ${}_{}{}^4{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$, ${}_{}{}^{6.7}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Li}$, ${}_{}{}^9{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Be}$, ${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}$, ${}_{}{}^{16}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{O}$, ${}_{}{}^{40}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ca}$, ${}_{}{}^{103}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Rh}$, and ${}_{}{}^{208}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Pb}$. An explanation of the dependence of these cross sections upon the mass and charge of the target nucleus and the charge of the incident pion is suggested in terms of a phenomenological model in which successive single-charge-exchange processes compete with more probable processes such as quasifree scattering.

• Received 20 March 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.62.1837