Can we really measure the internal energy of hot nuclei with a 4π detection array? Original Research Article

The second generation of high-quality detection arrays gave hope to nuclear physicists to finally obtain an experimental equation of state of nuclear matter. In spite of this progress, the measurement of the internal energy of a hot nucleus remains a very difficult task. This paper illustrates this difficulty by a methodological study of a classical technique of excitation energy measurement used in the Fermi energy range. The aim of this study is to verify the validity, the accuracy and the experimental limits of these measurements. It is shown that it is difficult to have a real experimental mastery of the source reconstruction and calorimetry at least for limited bombarding energies and violent collisions.