Temperature dependence of symmetry energy

The fact that the equation of state (EoS) of nuclear matter contains a symmetry energy term is known since very early days of nuclear physics but the properties of the EoS due to differing neutron (ρn) and proton (ρp) number densities remain more elusive to date. The best possible means of studying experimentally the nuclear EoS at subnormal density is through heavy-ion reactions because in this kind of reaction, an excited nucleus (the composite of projectile and target nuclei) expands to a subnuclear density and disintegrates into various light and heavy fragments in a process called multifragmentation. The isospin effects observed in these reactions are believed to be a probe for the nuclear symmetry energy (NSE) and its density dependence, studies of which are not only important in the context of nuclear physics but also for the astrophysical processes such as neutron stars and supernova explosions