PION ABSORPTION IN C-12

We have studied the two reactions C-12(pi(+),pp) and C-12(pi(+),ppp) i n one experiment, using the CHAOS spectrometer at TRIUMF, at incident pion energies of 200, 240, and 280 MeV. In both cases, we are able to distinguish between reaction mechanisms involving only the detected pr otons, and those in which additional nucleons must have participated, on the basis of missing momentum. In the case of C-12(pi(+),ppp), we i dentify events due to the two step process of pi(+)p quasielastic scat tering followed by two-nucleon absorption. Estimates are made for the total cross sections for the various absorption mechanisms.