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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a more complete consideration of the theoretical concepts and experimental aspects of the physics of photoproduction interactions involving nuclei. This treatment is based in large part on the most recent and extensive empirical data on particle photoproduction interactions with protons. The implications of photoproduction involving helium nuclei are also treated and compared with photoproduction involving protons. It is found that photoproduction interactions with helium nuclei produce approximately 10% of the number of pions as compared with photoproduction interactions involving protons in astrophysical sources, assuming the cosmological abundance of He. In addition to the production of pions, we also demonstrate the relative effect of excited nucleon p-pi and p-2pi resonances and rho, eta, omega, and K meson production and decay channels that result in neutrino and gamma-ray production. The production of mesons other than pions is shown not to be significant for calculations of astrophysical gamma-ray and neutrino production. It is further shown that, for astrophysical purposes, the Delta(1232) resonance channel clearly dominates. However, a blend of nucleon resonances at 1400 GeV can contribute as much as 20% to the neutrino flux.