Calculations predict a connection between the isotopic composition of particles emitted during an energetic nucleus-nucleus collision and the density dependence of the asymmetry term of the nuclear equation of state (EOS). This connection is investigated for central 112Sn+112Sn and 124Sn+124Sn collisions at E/A=50 MeV in the limit of an equilibrated freezeout condition. Comparisons between measured isotopic yields ratios and theoretical predictions in the equilibrium limit are used to assess the sensitivity to the density dependence of the asymmetry term of the EOS. This analysis suggests that such comparisons may provide an opportunity to constrain the asymmetry term of the EOS.
The isoscaling parameter $alpha$, from the fragments produced in the multifragmentation of $^{58}$Ni + $^{58}$Ni, $^{58}$Fe + $^{58}$Ni and $^{58}$Fe + $^{58}$Fe reactions at 30, 40 and 47 MeV/nucleon, was compared with that predicted by the antisymmetrized molecular dynamic (AMD) calculation based on two different nucleon-nucleon effective forces, namely the Gogny and Gogny-AS interaction. The results show that the data agrees better with the choice of Gogny-AS effective interaction, resulting in a symmetry energy of $sim$ 18-20 MeV. The observed value indicate that the fragments are formed at a reduced density of $sim$ 0.08 fm$^{-3}$.
We show that the large sequential decay corrections obtained by Ono {it et al} [nucl-ex/0507018], is in contradiction with both the other dynamical and statistical model calculations carried out for the same systems and energy. On the other hand, the conclusion of Shetty {it {et al.}} $[$Phys. Rev. C 70, 011601R (2004)$]$, that the experimental data favors Gogny$-$AS interaction (obtained assuming a significantly smaller sequential decay effects), is consistent with several other independent studies.
The energy spectra of light charged particles and intermediate mass fragments from 112Sn+112Sn and 124Sn+124Sn collisions at an incident energy of E/A=50 MeV have been measured with a large array of Silicon strip detectors. We used charged particle multiplicities detected in an array with nearly 4-pi coverage to select data from the central collision events. We study isospin observables analogous to ratios of neutron and proton spectra, including double ratios and yield ratios of t/3He and of asymmetries constructed from fragments with Z=3 to Z=8. Using the energy spectra, we can construct these observables as functions of kinetic energy. Most of the fragment asymmetry observables have a large sensitivity to sequential decays.
We discuss experimental evidence for a nuclear phase transition driven by the different concentration of neutrons to protons. Different ratios of the neutron to proton concentrations lead to different critical points for the phase transition. This is analogous to the phase transitions occurring in 4He-3He liquid mixtures. We present experimental results which reveal the N/A (or Z/A) dependence of the phase transition and discuss possible implications of these observations in terms of the Landau Free Energy description of critical phenomena.
Isotope ratios of fragments produced at mid-rapidity in peripheral and central collisions of 114Cd ions with 92Mo and 98Mo target nuclei at E/A = 50 MeV are compared. Neutron-rich isotopes are preferentially produced in central collisions as compared to peripheral collisions. The influence of the size (A), density, N/Z, E*/A, and Eflow/A of the emitting source on the measured isotope ratios was explored by comparison with a statistical model (SMM). The mid-rapidity region associated with peripheral collisions does not appear to be neutron-enriched relative to central collisions.