Multifragmentation at Intermediate Energy: Dynamics or Statistics?

Abstract

To make a statement about the nature and mechanism of fragmentation, it is necessary to probe directly any competition, or lack thereof, between the emission of various particle species as a function of excitation energy. The task is then to find a global observable that best follows the increase in excitation energy or dissipated energy. In the following, we will consider two contradictory claims that have been advanced recently: 1) the claim for a predominantly dynamical fragment production mechanism; and 2) the claim for a dominant statistical and thermal process. We will present a new analysis in terms of Poissonian reducibility and thermal scaling, which addresses some of the criticisms of the binomial analysis.

10 pages, 6 figures. Presented the 14th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Snowbird, Utah, January 31- February 7, 1998 (Also available at http://csa5.lbl.gov/moretto/)