Probing the Degrees of Freedom in Hot Composite Nuclei Via Charged Particle Emission Studies

There are many experimental observables whose measurement can provide information on evaporative particle emission from highly excited composite nuclei. Simultaneous observations of several degrees of freedom in such hot systems allows a stringent test of theoretical models by requiring that the calculations reproduce the multiple characteristics with a unique set of model input parameters. We make such comparisons for two data sets, one involving a relatively heavy (high Z) system and the other referring to a relatively light (low Z) system. For the former case, reasonably good agreement is achieved between statistical model calculations and experimental data, whereas for the latter example, significant inconsistencies are found.