New scalings in nuclear fragmentation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how fragment partitions in nuclear collisions depend on excitation energy and collective expansion, revealing that scaled fragment multiplicity and freeze-out volumes govern the observed patterns.

Contribution

It introduces new scalings in nuclear fragmentation, linking fragment multiplicity and freeze-out volumes to excitation energy in hot nuclei.

Findings

Radial collective energy determines mean fragment multiplicity.

Fragment properties are governed by reduced fragment multiplicity.

Freeze-out volumes influence the observed scalings.

Abstract

Fragment partitions of fragmenting hot nuclei produced in central and semiperipheral collisions have been compared in the excitation energy region 4-10 MeV per nucleon where radial collective expansion takes place. It is shown that, for a given total excitation energy per nucleon, the amount of radial collective energy fixes the mean fragment multiplicity. It is also shown that, at a given total excitation energy per nucleon, the different properties of fragment partitions are completely determined by the reduced fragment multiplicity (fragment multiplicity normalized to the source size). Freeze-out volumes seem to play a role in the scalings observed.