Determination of critical exponents from the multifragmentation of gold nuclei
Abstract
Using reverse kinematics, we have studied the breakup of 1.0A GeV gold nuclei incident on a carbon target. The detector system permitted exclusive event reconstruction of nearly all charged reaction products. The moments of the resulting charged fragment distribution provide strong evidence that nuclear matter possesses a critical point observable in finite nuclei. We have determined values for the critical exponents γ, β, and τ. These values are close to those for liquid-gas systems and clearly different than those for 3D percolation and the liquid-gas mean field limit.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- September 1994
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.1590
- Bibcode:
- 1994PhRvL..73.1590G
- Keywords:
-
- 25.70.Pq;
- 05.70.Jk;
- 21.65.+f;
- Multifragment emission and correlations;
- Critical point phenomena;
- Nuclear matter