The use of experimental data based on IMF kinetic energy spectra to determine the breakup density as a function of excitation energy was discussed. The breakup densities were deduced from the systematic trends in the Coloumb observables for IMF spectra produced in light-ion induced reactions on 197 Au. It was found that the temperatures derived from density information were independent of those derived from isotope ratios. The results show that the evolution of nuclear density as a function of excitation energy and caloric curve behavior could be accounted for by a mechanism in which the fragmentation process was driven by thermal pressure and Coulomb effects.
