No Arabic abstract
This paper reports the first observation of the Jacobi shape transition in $^{31}$P using high energy $gamma$-rays from the decay of giant dipole resonance (GDR) as a probe. The measured GDR spectrum in the decay of $^{31}$P shows a distinct low energy component around 10 MeV, which is a clear signature of Coriolis splitting in a highly deformed rotating nucleus. Interestingly, a self-conjugate $alpha$-cluster nucleus $^{28}$Si, populated at similar initial excitation energy and angular momentum, exhibits a vastly different GDR line shape. Even though the angular momentum of the compound nucleus $^{28}$Si is higher than the critical angular momentum required for the Jacobi shape transition, the GDR lineshape is akin to a prolate deformed nucleus. Considering the present results for $^{28}$Si and similar observation recently reported in $^{32}$S, it is proposed that the nuclear orbiting phenomenon exhibited by $alpha$-cluster nuclei hinders the Jacobi shape transition. The present experimental results suggest a possibility to investigate the nuclear orbiting phenomenon using high energy $gamma$-rays as a probe.
The gamma-rays following the reaction 105 MeV 18O + 28Si have been measured using the EUROBALL IV, HECTOR and EUCLIDES arrays in order to investigate the predicted Jacobi shape transition. The high-energy gamma-ray spectrum from the GDR decay indicates a presence of large deformations in hot 46Ti nucleus, in agreement with new theoretical calculations based on the Rotating Liquid Drop model.
The gamma-rays from the decay of the GDR in 46Ti compound nucleus formed in the 18O+28Si reaction at bombarding energy 105 MeV have been measured in an experiment using a setup consisting of the combined EUROBALL IV, HECTOR and EUCLIDES arrays. A comparison of the extracted GDR lineshape data with the predictions of the thermal shape fluctuation model shows evidence for the Jacobi shape transition in hot 46Ti. In addition to the previously found broad structure in the GDR lineshape region at 18-27 MeV caused by large deformations, the presence of a low energy component (around 10 MeV), due to the Coriolis splitting in prolate well deformed shape, has been identified for the first time.
The possible existence of Jacobi shape transition in hot 46Ti at high angular momenta was investigated with the Giant Dipole Resonance exclusive experiments. The GDR spectra and the angular distributions are consistent with predictions of the thermal shape fluctuation model indicating elongated nuclear shapes.
An abnormal production of events with almost equal-sized fragments was theoretically proposed as a signature of spinodal instabilities responsible for nuclear multifragmentation in the Fermi energy domain. On the other hand finite size effects are predicted to strongly reduce this abnormal production. High statistics quasifusion hot nuclei produced in central collisions between Xe and Sn isotopes at 32 and 45 AMeV incident energies have been used to definitively establish, through the experimental measurement of charge correlations, the presence of spinodal instabilities. N/Z influence was also studied.
Recent important progress on the knowledge of multifragmentation and phase transition for hot nuclei, thanks to the high detection quality of the INDRA array, is reported. It concerns i) the radial collective energies involved in hot fragmenting nuclei/sources produced in central and semi- peripheral collisions and their influence on the observed fragment partitions, ii) a better knowledge of freeze-out properties obtained by means of a simulation based on all the available experimental information and iii) the quantitative study of the bimodal behaviour of the heaviest fragment distribution for fragmenting hot heavy quasi-projectiles which allows the extraction, for the first time, of an estimate of the latent heat of the phase transition.