Fragment Charge Correlations and Spinodal Decomposition in Finite Nuclear Systems

Abstract

Enhanced production of events with almost equal-sized fragments is experimentally revealed by charge correlations in the multifragmentation of a finite nuclear system selected in $^{129}$Xe central collisions on $^{nat}$Sn. The evolution of their weight with the incident energy: 32, 39, 45, 50 AMeV, is measured.Dynamical stochastic mean field simulations performed at 32 AMeV, in which spinodal instabilities are responsible for multifragmentation, exhibit a similar enhancement of this kind of events. The above experimental observation evidences the spinodal decomposition of hot finite nuclear matter as the origin of multifragmentation in the Fermi energy regime.

14 pages, 12 figures; to appear in European Physics Journal A. modified figures 7,8; added appendix and figures 11,12