ANGULAR AND VELOCITY ANALYSIS OF THE 3-FOLD EVENTS IN THE XE+CU REACTION AT 45 MEV U/

An analysis of the angular and velocity distributions of the intermedi ate mass fragments produced in the reaction Xe + Cu at 45 MeV/u is pre sented. Events coming from central collisions are selected and compare d with predictions of different models based on a statistical deexcita tion of an equilibrated source. The angular and velocity correlations show that the experimental production of three nearly-equal mass fragm ents cannot be explained by a sequential binary decay and is compatibl e with a multifragmentation mechanism.