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Experimental nuclear level densities at excitation energies below the neutron threshold follow closely a constant-temperature shape. This dependence is unexpected and poorly understood. In this work, a fundamental explanation of the observed constant-temperature behavior in atomic nuclei is presented for the first time. It is shown that the experimental data portray a first-order phase transition from a superfluid to an ideal gas of non-interacting quasiparticles. Even-even, odd-$A$, and odd-odd level densities show in detail the behavior of gap- and gapless superconductors also observed in solid-state physics. These results and analysis should find a direct application to mesoscopic systems such as superconducting clusters., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Infinite, neutron-proton symmetric, neutral nuclear matter has a critical temperature of 17.9+-0.4 MeV, a critical density of 0.06+-0.01 nucleons per cubic fermi and a critical pressure of 0.31+-0.07 MeV per cubic fermi. These values have been obtained from our analysis of data from six different reactions studied in three different experiments: two "compound nuclear" reactions: 58Ni+12C-->70Se and 64Ni+12C-->76Se (both performed at the LBNL 88" Cyclotron) and four "multifragmentation" reactions: 1 GeV/c pi+197Au (performed by the ISiS collaboration), 1 AGeV 197Au+C, 1 AGeV 139La+12C and 1 AGeV 84Kr+12C (all performed by the EOS collaboration). The charge yields of all reactions as a function of excitation energy were fit with a version of Fisher's droplet model modified to account for the dual components of the fluid (i.e. protons and neutrons), Coulomb effects, finite size effects and angular momentum arising from the nuclear collisions., Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, 2 tables, 92 references, submitted to Physical Review C

This is a note intended to complement our paper (nucl-th/0504010) and addressed to the attention of QGP workers interested in bag models, Hagedorn spectra, and the like. It tries to show that with a Hagedorn-like experimental spectrum the partition function can not be calculated and that a canonical description derived for the microcanonical ensemble exists only for a single, fixed temperature., Comment: 4 pages

A system H with a Hagedorn-like mass spectrum imparts its unique temperature TH to any other system coupled to it. An H system radiates particles in preexisting physical and chemical equilibrium. These particles form a saturated vapor at temperature TH. This coexistence describes a first order phase transition. An H system is nearly indifferent to fragmentation into smaller H systems. A lower mass cut-off in the spectrum does not significantly alter the general picture, Comment: Four pages, one figure

The effects of the finite size of a liquid drop undergoing a phase transition are described in terms of the complement, the largest (but still mesoscopic) drop representing the liquid in equilibrium with the vapor. Vapor cluster concentrations, pressure and density from fixed mean density lattice gas (Ising) model calculations are explained in terms of the complement. Accounting for this finite size effect is key to determining the infinite nuclear matter phase diagram from experimental data., Comment: Four two column pages, four figures, two tables; accepted for publication in PRL

The surface partition of large fragments is derived analytically within a simple statistical model by the Laplace-Fourier transformation method. In the limit of small amplitude deformations, a suggested Hills and Dales Model reproduces the leading term of the famous Fisher result for the surface entropy with an accuracy of a few percent. The surface partition of finite fragments is discussed as well., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

A detailed study of the lattice gas (Ising) model shows that the correct definition of cluster concentration in the vapor at coexistence with the liquid leads to Fisher plots that are unique, independent of fixed particle number density $\rho_{\text{fixed}}$, and completely reliable for the characterization of the liquid-vapor phase diagram of any van der Waals systems including nuclear matter., Comment: Five pages, two columns, six figures, one table, submitted to Phys. Rev. C

We explore the effects of Coulomb interaction upon the nuclear liquid vapor phase transition. Because large nuclei (A>60) are metastable objects, phases, phase coexistence, and phase transitions cannot be defined with any generality and the analogy to liquid vapor is ill-posed for these heavy systems. However, it is possible to account for the Coulomb interaction in the decay rates and obtain the coexistence phase diagram for the corresponding uncharged system., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Anomalous negative heat capacities have been claimed as indicators of first order phase transitions in finite systems in general, and fornuclear systems in particular. A thermodynamic approach allowing for all Q value terms is used to evaluate heat capacities in finitevan der Waals fluids and finite lattice systems in the coexistence region. Fictitious large effects and negative heat capacities are observed in lattice systems when periodic boundary conditions are introduced. Small anomalous effects are predicted for small drops and for finite lattice systems. A straightforward application of the analysis to nuclei shows that negative heat capacities cannot be observed for A>60., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C

Clusters in the three-dimensional Ising model rigorously obey reducibility and thermal scaling up to the critical temperature. The barriers extracted from Arrhenius plots depend on the cluster size as $B \propto A^{\sigma}$ where $\sigma$ is a critical exponent relating the cluster size to the cluster surface. All the Arrhenius plots collapse into a single Fisher-like scaling function indicating liquid-vapor-like phase coexistence and the univariant equilibrium between percolating clusters and finite clusters. The compelling similarity with nuclear multifragmentation is discussed., Comment: (4 pages, 4 figures)

The origin of predicted and observed anomalies in caloric curves of nuclei and other mesoscopic systems is investigated. It is shown that a straightforward thermodynamical treatment of an evaporating liquid drop leads to a backbending in the caloric curve and to negative specific heats in the two phase coexistence region. The cause is found not in the generation of additional surface, but in the progressive reduction of the drop's radius, and surface, with evaporation., Comment: five pages, two columns, four figures, added references