Investigation of the nuclear phase transition using the Landau free-energy approach Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Fragment yield data have been analyzed using the Landau free energy approach to investigate the critical phenomena of fragmenting quasi-projectiles formed in 64Zn+64Zn, 64Ni+64Ni, and 70Zn+70Zn reactions at beam energy of 35 MeV/nucleon. Pairing coefficients normalized to the temperature of the fragmenting source (ap/T) were extracted from yield data of N=Z fragments in order to correct for odd-even effects in free energy calculations. Plots of fragment free energy (F/T) versus the neutron-proton asymmetry show three minima, indicating the system to be in a first-order phase transition regime. Values of fitting parameters to the Landau free energy equation as well as ap/T, which are related to thermodynamic properties of the fragmenting systems, exhibit a dependence on the neutron-proton asymmetry in addition to their dependence on the excitation energy of the fragmenting source. 2013 American Physical Society.

published proceedings

  • PHYSICAL REVIEW C

author list (cited authors)

  • Mabiala, J., Bonasera, A., Zheng, H., McIntosh, A. B., May, L. W., Cammarata, P., ... Yennello, S. J.

citation count

  • 10

complete list of authors

  • Mabiala, J||Bonasera, A||Zheng, H||McIntosh, AB||May, LW||Cammarata, P||Kohley, Z||Hagel, K||Heilborn, L||Raphelt, A||Souliotis, GA||Zarrella, A||Yennello, SJ

publication date

  • January 2013