This work draws an analogy between a heated nucleus breaking up into clusters and a liquid undergoing a phase transition to a gas in which droplets appear. The critical temperature and density in the nucleus are investigated using a Skyrme effective interaction and finite temperature Hartree-Fock theory. The energy and pressure as a function of density are calculated. The effects of compressibility, effective mass, and binding energy per particle on the critical temperature and critical density of nuclear systems is developed. In some cases, analytic expressions for these quantities can be obtained.

NUCLEAR REACTIONS Phase transitions in hot nuclear matter.

• Received 20 December 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.27.2782