Boiling Nuclei

Authors:	W.F.J. Müller, J. Pochodzalla and W. Trautmann
Published:	In GSI Nachrichten 03-95
Abstract:	Caloric curve of nuclei determined by the dependence of the temperature THeLi - derived from observed yield ratios of He and Li isotopes - on the excitation energy per nucleon. The rise of THeLi for excitation energies below 2 MeV per nucleon is compatible with an evaporative decay of a Fermi liquid. Beyond a total excitation energy of 10 MeV per nucleon, the steady increase of THeLi with increasing <E0>/<A0> with a slope of 2/3 alludes to a gas of classical, elementary particles. The plateau of the caloric curve joining the liquid-like and the gas-like regions is suggestive of a first-order phase transition with a substantial latent heat and is reminiscent of the paradigm of a phase transition, the first-order phase transition of water. However, for such a finite system, the shape of the caloric curve is also consistent with a transition in close proximity to the critical point, which is the sine qua non for the determination of critical-point properties.
Paper:	Postscript 20 pages with 14 embedded figures TeX Sources (only KP3 use)
Figures:	Fig. cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 By filename

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