Multifragmentation in reactions of 1-GeV protons with iron nuclei

We use combinations of cascade and nuclear de-excitation models to assess the importance of the inclusion of a multifragmentation stage for the quantitative description of the 1-GeV p+⁵⁶Fe spallation reaction. We discuss the sensitivity of several exclusive physical observables to the de- excitation mechanism in the attempt to identify which of them can be considered suitable probes for a multifragmentation stage. The calculations show that the inclusion of a multifragmentation stage is not necessary to construct an accurate description of the observed data.