Fragment formation in central heavy ion collisions at relativistic energies

We perform a systematic study of the fragmentation path of excited nuclear matter in central heavy ion collisions at the intermediate energy of 0.4 A GeV. The theoretical calculations are based on a relativistic Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (RBUU) transport equation including stochastic effects. A relativistic mean field (RMF) approach is used, based on a non-linear Lagrangian, with coupling constants tuned to reproduce the high density results of calculations with correlations. At variance with the case at Fermi energies, a new fast clusterization mechanism is revealed in the early compression stage of the reaction dynamics. Fragments appear directly produced from phase space fluctuations due to two-body correlations. In-medium effects of the elastic nucleon-nucleon cross sections on the fragmentation dynamics are particularly discussed. The subsequent evolution of the primordial clusters is treated using a simple phenomenological phase space coalescence algorithm. The reliability of the approach, formation and recognition, is investigated in detail by comparing fragment momentum space distributions and simultaneously their yields with recent experimental data of the FOPI Collaboration by varying the system size of the colliding system, i.e., its compressional energy (pressure, radial flow). We find an excellent agreement between theory and experiment in almost all the cases and, on the other hand, some limitations of the simple coalescence model. Furthermore, the temporal evolution of the fragment structure is explored with a clear evidence of an earlier formation of the heavier clusters, that will appear as interesting relics of the high density phase of the nuclear equation of state (EoS). (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.