Mass dependence of the onset of multifragmentation in low energy heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

Based on the quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) picture, we calculate the energy and mass dependence of fragment production. For the present study, we simulated the reactions of 20Ne + 20Ne, 40Ar + 45Sc, 58Ni + 58Ni, 86Kr + 93Nb,129Xe + 124Sn and 197Au + 197Au at central geometry. Our findings clearly show a linear mass dependence for the peak center-of-mass energy at which the maximal IMF production occurs. Such a linear dependence for peak center-of-mass energy on the system size has also been observed in recent experimental studies. We also predict a similar behavior for the multiplicities of different kinds of fragments. Experiments are called for to verify this prediction.