In-medium properties of nuclear fragments at the liquid-gas phase coexistence

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the properties of nuclear fragments change during the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition, emphasizing the importance of in-medium modifications for understanding nuclear multifragmentation.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that primary nuclear fragments exhibit altered symmetry and surface energies in the nuclear liquid-gas coexistence phase, impacting their de-excitation processes.

Findings

Evidence of modified symmetry energies in primary fragments

Significant changes in surface energies during phase coexistence

Implications for modeling nuclear de-excitation processes

Abstract

Reactions of nuclear multifragmentation of excited finite nuclei can be interpreted as manifestation of the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition. During this process the matter at subnuclear density clusterizes into hot primary fragments, which are located in the vicinity of other nuclear species. In recent experiments there were found evidences that the symmetry and surface energies of primary fragments change considerably as compared to isolated cold or low-excited nuclei. The new modified properties of primary fragments should be taken into account during their secondary de-excitation.