Experimental and theoretical search for a phase transition in nuclear fragmentation

A. Chbihi; O. Schapiro; S. Salou; D.H.E. Gross

doi:doi:10.1007/s100500050283

EPJ

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2018 Impact factor 2.481

Hadrons and Nuclei

Eur. Phys. J. A 5, 251-255

Experimental and theoretical search for a phase transition in nuclear fragmentation

A. Chbihi¹ - O. Schapiro² - S. Salou¹ - D.H.E. Gross²

¹ GANIL, P.B. 5027 F-14021 Caen Cedex, France
² Hahn-Meitner-Institut, D-14109 Berlin, Germany

Received: 30 November 1998 / Revised version: 8 March 1999 Communicated by B. Povh

Abstract
Phase transitions of small isolated systems are signaled by the shape of the caloric equation of state e^*(T), the relationship between the excitation energy per nucleon e^* and temperature. In this work we compare the experimentally deduced e^*(T) to the theoretical predictions. The experimentally accessible temperature was extracted from evaporation spectra from incomplete fusion reactions leading to residue nuclei. The experimental e^*(T) dependence exhibits the characteristic S-shape at e^* = 2-3 MeV/A. Such behavior is expected for a finite system at a phase transition. The observed dependence agrees with predictions of the $M\!M\!M\!C$ -model, which simulates the total accessible phase-space of fragmentation.