Exactly soluble model for nuclear liquid-gas phase transition - art. no. 044320

Thermodynamical properties of nuclear matter undergoing multifragmentation are studied within a simplified version of the statistical model. An exact analytical solution has been found for the grand canonical ensemble. Exclud ed volume effects are taken into account in the thermodynamically self-cons istent way. In the thermodynamic limit the model exhibits a first order liq uid-gas phase transition with specific mixed phase properties. An extension of the model including the Fisher's term is also studied. The possibility of the second order phase transition at or above the critical point is demo nstrated. The fragment mass distributions in different regions of the phase diagram are discussed.