Hot nuclear matter and thermodynamical equilibrium

Quasi-complete events from collisions between 36Ar and 58Ni corresponding to vaporized sources have been detected with the multidetector INDRA over the excitation energy range 10 - 28 AMeV. For the first time complete information concerning kinematical properties of emitted particles and chemical composition (mean values but also variances) are derived. Despite the very extreme conditions in which such sources are produced (binary collisions with short reaction times and source life-times), their properties are in agreement with the results of a statistical model including a final state excluded volume interaction and describing a gas of fermions and bosons in thermodynamical equilibrium. (authors)