Yield scalings of clusters with fewer than 100 nucleons

Abstract

This document gives a historical review of the scaling of particles yields emitted from excited nuclei. The focus will be on what scaling is, what can be learned from scaling, the underlying theory of why one might expect particle yields to scale, how experimental particle yields have been observed to scale, model systems where particle (cluster) yields do scale and finally scaling observed in the particle yields of various low and medium energy nuclear reaction experiments. The document begins with a basic introduction to scaling in the study of critical phenomena and then reviews Fisher's theory which has all the aspects of scaling and can be directly applied to the counting of clusters, the most reliable measurement accessible to the experimental study of nuclear reactions. Also this document gives a history of the various scalings observed in nuclear reaction experiments and culminates with an estimate of the nuclear liquid-vapor phase boundary based upon measured particle yields.