Theoretical comparison of different thermometers for the determination of the nuclear caloric curve

The problem of the experimental determination of a nuclear temperature in heavy ion collisions is addressed within an extended Quantum Statistical Model which includes secondary evaporation from continuum states and an effective excluded volume interaction in the freeze-out configuration. The comparison to experimental data from the INDRA Collaboration suggests that thermodynamical equilibration can actually be reached even at excitation energies as high as 25 MeV/u, however final state interactions and side feeding can strongly deform the response of the different thermometers. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.