Multifragmentation of charge asymmetric nuclear systems

The multifragmentation of excited spherical nuclear sources with various N/ Z ratios and fixed mass number is studied within dynamical and statistical models. The dynamical model treats the multifragmentation process as a fina l stage of growth of density fluctuations in unstable expanding nuclear mat ter. The statistical model makes a choice of the final multifragment config uration according to its statistical weight at a global thermal equilibrium . Similarities and differences in the predictions of the two models on the isotopic composition of the produced fragments are presented and the most s ensitive observable characteristics are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.