Observables in nuclear fragmentation: finite size scaling

The method of moments correlations is studied as a tool to discriminate between different fragmentation mechanisms. Various methods of characterizing the distribution and their ability to differentiate between various fragmentation mechanisms are considered. It is shown, using simple models, that the variance of the fragment distribution, the size of the heaviest residue and the scaling of these quantities with the size of the fragmenting system give significant insight into the nature of the fragmentation mechanism. (authors) 28 refs., 5 figs