Fragment multiplicity dependent charge distributions in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies

The dependence of the intermediate-mass-fragment (IMF) charge distribution on the multiplicity N{sub IMF} of detected fragments has been investigated in projectile fragmentation ALADIN data from E/A = 600, 800, and 1000 MeV {sup 197}Au + {sup 197}Au collisions. The observed dependence can be parametrized as P{sub N{sub IMF}}(Z){proportional_to}{tilde P}(Z) exp({minus}cN{sub IMF}Z) where c is an excitation-energy-dependent parameter whose value evolves from near zero to a positive quantity as a function of Z{sub bound}. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}