Experimental evidence for a liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear systems

Journal Article · Mon Feb 13 00:00:00 EST 1984 · Phys. Rev. Lett.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.52.496· OSTI ID:6583525

Panagiotou, A D; Curtin, M W; Toki, H; Scott, D K; Siemens, P J

At certain combinations of temperature and density, nuclear matter may exist as a liquid-gas mixture exhibiting phase instabilities, a characteristic signature of which may be found in the emission of intermediate-mass fragments in nuclear collisions. The present analysis of fragment distributions from proton-- and heavy-ion--induced reactions, in the framework of a theory of condensation, is suggestive of the occurrence of such phase transitions with a critical exponent kapprox.1.7 and a critical temperature T/sub C/approx.12 MeV.

• Research Organization: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 and Department of Physics, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
• OSTI ID: 6583525
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. Lett.; (United States), Vol. 52:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
NUCLEAR MATTER
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
ENERGY SPECTRA
FRAGMENTATION
GASES
GEV RANGE 01-10
GLUONS
GOLD
KRYPTON
LIQUIDS
MEV RANGE 100-1000
NEUTRON STARS
PROBABILITY
PROTON REACTIONS
QUARKS
SILVER
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
URANIUM
XENON
ACTINIDES
BARYON REACTIONS
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY RANGE
FLUIDS
GEV RANGE
HADRON REACTIONS
MATTER
METALS
MEV RANGE
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEON REACTIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POSTULATED PARTICLES
RARE GASES
SPECTRA
STARS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
653002* - Nuclear Theory- Nuclear Matter
640102 - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources