Physics of Particles and Nuclei, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2005, pp. 233–245.

In the processes related to nuclear clustering in light nuclei, a special role belongs to the 8Be nucleus. This nucleus is the transition state through which a considerable fraction of -particles, the fragments of all relativistic nuclei, is formed. The emphasis of this review is on the experimental features involved in identifying nuclei in the fragmentation of relativistic nuclei, chosen due to the fact that they are the lightest nuclei in which this cluster can be formed. The formation probabilities of nuclei are calculated for the fragmentation of relativistic , , and nuclei and compared with the experimental data. It is shown that the suggested formation mechanism of this clustering during the fragmentation of relativistic nuclei is correct, as the calculations performed on its basis are experimentally corroborated.