Finite-size corrections in the spatial contribution to the density of states in nuclear multifragmentation

The density of states in statistical approaches to nuclear multifragmentation includes a contribution from permutations of fragment positions in the physical space (the volume V{sub F}) occupied by the fragments. For N pointlike noninteracting particles (perfect gas) this factor is simply proportional to V{sub F}{sup N}. We propose a correction due to the finite size of fragments which is based on an evaluation of the two-body overlap probability. The correction exhibits an approximate exponential dependence on the multiplicity N. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}