Excitation energy dependence of symmetry energy of finite nuclei

A finite range density and momentum dependent effective interaction is used to calculate the density and temperature dependence of the symmetry energy coefficient Csym(rho,T) of infinite nuclear matter. This symmetry energy is then used in the local density approximation to evaluate the excitation energy dependence of the symmetry energy coefficient of finite nuclei in a microcanonical formulation that accounts for thermal and expansion effects. The results are in good harmony with the recently reported experimental data from energetic nucleus-nucleus collisions.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, revtex4; minor changes in text, axis label in figure 1 correcte

Density reorganization in hot nuclei

The density profile of a hot nuclear system produced in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions is studied in a microcanonical formulation with a momentum and density dependent finite range interaction. The caloric curve and the density evolution with excitation are calculated for a number of systems for the equilibrium mononuclear configuration; they compare favorably with the recent experimental data. The studied density fluctuations are seen to build up rapidly beyond an excitation energy of 8 MeV/u indicating the instability of the system towards nuclear disassembly. Explicit introduction of deformation in the expansion path of the heated nucleus, however, shows that the system might fragment even earlier. We also explore the effects of the nuclear equation of state and of the mass and isospin asymmetry on the nuclear equilibrium configuration and the relevant experimental observables.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, revtex

The effects of medium on nuclear properties in multifragmentation

In multifragmentation of hot nuclear matter, properties of fragments embedded in a soup of nucleonic gas and other fragments should be modified as compared with isolated nuclei. Such modifications are studied within a simple model where only nucleons and one kind of heavy nuclei are considered. The interaction between different species is described with a momentum-dependent two-body potential whose parameters are fitted to reproduce properties of cold isolated nuclei. The internal energy of heavy fragments is parametrized according to a liquid-drop model with density and temperature dependent parameters. Calculations are carried out for several subnuclear densities and moderate temperatures, for isospin-symmetric and asymmetric systems. We find that the fragments get stretched due to interactions with the medium and their binding energies decrease with increasing temperature and density of nuclear matter.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, Phys. Rev.C (in press

Symmetry energy of warm nuclear systems

The temperature dependence of the symmetry energy and symmetry free energy coefficients of infinite nuclear matter and of finite nuclei is investigated. For infinite matter, both these coefficients are found to have a weaker dependence on temperature at densities close to saturation; at low but homogeneous densities, the temperature dependence becomes stronger. For finite systems, different definitions of symmetry energy coefficients are encountered in the literature yielding different values. A resolution to this problem is suggested from a global liquid-drop-inspired fit of the energies and free energies of a host of nuclei covering the entire periodic table. The hot nucleus is modeled in a subtracted finite-temperature-Thomas-Fermi framework, with dynamical surface phonon coupling to nucleonic motion plugged in. Contrary to infinite nuclear matter, a substantial change in the symmetry energy coefficients is observed for finite nuclei with temperature.Comment: 12 pages, including 11 figures, appearing in special issue of EPJ-A on Nuclear Symmetry Energ

Thermodynamics of a finite system of classical particles with short and long range interactions and nuclear fragmentation

We describe a finite inhomogeneous three dimensional system of classical particles which interact through short and (or) long range interactions by means of a simple analytic spin model. The thermodynamic properties of the system are worked out in the framework of the grand canonical ensemble. It is shown that the system experiences a phase transition at fixed average density in the thermodynamic limit. The phase diagram and the caloric curve are constructed and compared with numerical simulations. The implications of our results concerning the caloric curve are discussed in connection with the interpretation of corresponding experimental data.Comment: 11pages, LaTeX, 6 figures. Major change : A new section dealing with numerical simulations in the framework of a cellular model has been adde

The three-dimensional Ising model: A paradigm of liquid-vapor coexistence in nuclear multifragmentation

Clusters in the three-dimensional Ising model rigorously obey reducibility and thermal scaling up to the critical temperature. The barriers extracted from Arrhenius plots depend on the cluster size as $B \propto A^{\sigma}$ where $\sigma$ is a critical exponent relating the cluster size to the cluster surface. All the Arrhenius plots collapse into a single Fisher-like scaling function indicating liquid-vapor-like phase coexistence and the univariant equilibrium between percolating clusters and finite clusters. The compelling similarity with nuclear multifragmentation is discussed.Comment: (4 pages, 4 figures

Isospin-rich nuclei in neutron star matter

Stability of nuclei beyond the drip lines in the presence of an enveloping gas of nucleons and electrons, as prevailing in the inner crust of a neutron star, is studied in the temperature-dependent Thomas-Fermi framework. A limiting asymmetry in the isospin space beyond which nuclei cannot exist emerges from the calculations. The ambient conditions like temperature, baryon density and neutrino concentration under which these exotic nuclear systems can be formed are studied in some detail.Comment: Submitted to Phy. Rev. C: Revtex version of manuscript 22 pages and 10 PS-files for figure

Nuclear expansion with excitation

The expansion of an isolated hot spherical nucleus with excitation energy and its caloric curve are studied in a thermodynamic model with the SkM* force as the nuclear effective two-body interaction. The calculated results are shown to compare well with the recent experimental data from energetic nuclear collisions. The fluctuations in temperature and density are also studied. They are seen to build up very rapidly beyond an excitation energy of 9 MeV/u. Volume-conserving quadrupole deformation in addition to expansion indicates, however, nuclear disassembly above an excitation energy of 4 MeV/uComment: 17 pages, 5 figures, revtex4; calculations with deformation adde

Anatomy of nuclear shape transition in the relativistic mean field theory

A detailed microscopic study of the temperature dependence of the shapes of some rare-earth nuclei is made in the relativistic mean field theory. Analyses of the thermal evolution of the single-particle orbitals and their occupancies leading to the collapse of the deformation are presented. The role of the non-linear $\sigma-$field on the shape transition in different nuclei is also investigated; in its absence the shape transition is found to be sharper.Comment: REVTEX file (13pages), 12 figures, Phys. Rev. C(in press), \documentstyle[aps,preprint]{revtex