EQUILIBRIUM IN NUCLEAR MULTIFRAGMENTATION AND PERCOLATION, AND THE BEHAVIOR OF THE MACROSCOPIC ENTROPY NEAR THE PHASE-TRANSITION

In this paper we attempt to explain the success of equilibrium statist ical models in the analysis of products of small impact parameter heav y ion collisions. Our argument is based on an examination of restricti ons on the space of microscopic states due to the dynamics of the coll ision process. We then proceed to consider the example of a simple cub ic bond breaking percolation process. We show that slow convergence of certain physical observables near the phase transition is related to the fact that all partitions of the total number of sites have small p robabilities (entropy maximum). We discuss the importance of similar b ehaviour for decay of highly excited nuclei.