Study of the multifragmentation in central collisions of the system: ¹²⁹Xe + ^natSn between 32 and 50 MeV/A: measurement of collective expansion energy and of freeze-out volume

The multifragmentation of the nuclear system formed in the central collisions of the Xe+Sn reaction between 32 and 50 MeV/A has been studied with the INDRA detector. A tensorial analyse is used to select central collisions. An important part of the charge (about 85 %) is isotropically emitted. The charge partitions have the characteristics of a simultaneous multiple fragment emission. The shape of the fragment kinetic energy distributions together with the reduced velocity correlation functions indicate that the fragmentation is a simultaneous process that occurs at low density. A comparison between the experimental data and predictions of the statistical multifragmentation model of Copenhagen (SMM) shows that charge partitions agree with the hypothesis of a thermodynamical equilibrium, whereas, kinetic observables are more constraining to the model and difficult to reproduce. However, fragments correlation functions are used in order to extract the freeze-out volume and the collective radial energy. At 50 MeV/A, the freeze-out volume is estimated to be 2.7 times the normal volume. It decreases with incident energy to be nearly twice the normal volume at 32 MeV/S. The collective energy evolves from 0 to 1.3 MeV/A with the bombarding energy. This expansion is not purely thermal and originates probably from a dynamical compression developed in the early stage of the collision. (author)