We model the disassembly of an excited nuclear system formed as a result of a heavy ion collision. We find that, as the beam energy in central collisions in varied, the dissociating system crosses a liquid-gas coexistence curve, resulting in a first-order phase transition. Accessible experimental signatures are identified: a peak in the specific heat, a power-law yield for composites, and a maximum in the second moment of the yield distribution.

• Received 5 May 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.1182