Measurements of energy flow distributions of 10 GeV/c hadronic showers in iron and in aluminium

The lateral distribution of the energy of hadron showers initiated by 10 GeV/c pi /sup -/ and protons has been measured at various depths in Fe and Al absorbers. It is found to scale with the density of the absorber. The energy flow is characterized by a cone of +or-65 mrad opening angle. The direction of the energy flow can be determined by two points, the vertex of the primary interaction and the centre of gravity of the energy deposited by the shower. The fluctuation of the centre of gravity has been measured using a fine-grained calorimeter and is found to give the shower direction with an r.m.s. spread of 60 mrad. (9 refs).