Book Description:
A timely book about a new area of nuclear science exploration, written by 50 scientists active in the field, a book for researchers and graduate students in nuclear physics and chemistry.

Isospin physics entails the exploration of novel phenomena associated with the mass-to-charge, or neutron-to-proton, asymmetry of finite nuclei and nuclear matter. These properties influence the response of nuclei in energetic nuclear collisions, the dynamics of supernovae, as well as the structure and evolution of neutron stars. The ultimate goal of this new field of study is to generate an understanding of the nuclear many-body system in terms of an isospin-dependent nuclear equation of state and in-medium nucleonic interactions.

In the 19 individual chapters of this book, active workers in the field present their respective views on important aspects of nuclear interactions relevant for a better understanding of nuclear isospin degrees of freedom and their applications. Aspects covered include

„h microscopic many-body theories for asymmetric nuclear matter,
„h transport theories for nuclear reactions involving neutron-rich nuclei,
„h phenomenological and thermal models for phase transitions in asymmetric matter,
„h first experimental results on reactions at intermediate energies involving strongly asymmetric nuclear systems.

The book reviews current knowledge, recent progress, and open problems in isospin physics. Significantly, it poses important questions to be addressed by future explorations. This book provides motivation for new experimental and theoretical nuclear research and presents valuable assistance to researchers and graduate students in the emerging field of isospin physics.

Table of Contents:
Preface (P.J. Siemens); 1.Equation of State of Isospin-Asymmetric Nuclear Matter (U. Lombardo and Wei Zuo); 2. Equation of State for Dense Isospin Asymmetric Nuclear Matter for Astrophysical Applications (Ignazio Bombaci); 3. Phase Transitions in Warm, Isospin-Asymmetric Nuclear Matter (H. Müller and B. Serot); 4. Isospin-Dependent Lattice Gas Models for Nuclear Multifragmentation (S. Das Gupta and S.K. Samaddar); 5. Phase Transition with an Isospin Dependent Lattice Gas Model (Ph. Chomaz, F. Gulminelli and V. Duflot); 6. Chemical Versus Mechanical Instability and Isospin Fractionation in Asymmetric Nuclear Matter (Bao-An Li and Che Ming Ko); 7. Collective Modes in Isospin-Asymmetric Nuclei (Klaus Morawetz, U. Fuhrmann and Rainer Walke); 8. Pre-equilibrium Hot GDR Excitation in N/Z Asymmetric Nuclear Reactions (V. Baran, Ph. Chomaz, M. Colonna and M.Di Toro); 9. Nuclear Transport Models and Effects of Isospin-Dependent Equation of State on Dissipative Heavy-Ion Collisions (M. Colonna and M.Di Toro); 10. Isospin-Dependent Quantum Molecular Dynamics Model and Its Applications in Isospin Studies (Feng-Shou Zhang, Lie-Wen Chen, Gen-Ming Jin, Jian-Ye Liu and Zhi-Yuan Zhu); 11. The Use of Coalescence Models to Probe Dynamic Evolution in Nuclear Collisions (J. Cibor, A. Bonasera, J.B. Natowitz, K. Hagel, R. Wada, M. Murray, T. Keutgen, N. Marie, R. Alfaro, W. Shen, Z. Majka and P. Staszel); 12. Dynamics of Heavy-Ion Collisions at Fermi Energies: Challenges and Opportunities (W.Udo Schröder and Jan Tõke); 13. Isospin and Clusterization at Mid-Rapidity (L.G. Sobotka, R.J. Charity and J. Dempsey); 14. Chemical Equilibrium and Isotope Temperatures (J. Pochodzalla and W. Trautmann); 15. The Evaporation Attractor Line (R.J. Charity); 16. Isospin Effects in Fragmentation Production (M. B. Tsang, W. A. Friedman and W.G. Lynch); 17. Isospin Dependence of Total Reaction Cross Sections and Nuclear Radii (W.Q. Shen); 18. Effects of Isospin Asymmetry and In-Medium Corrections on Directed Transverse Flow and the Balance Energy (Wolfgang Bauer, Frank Daffin and Gary D. Westfall); 19. Isospin Equilibration as a Probe of Nuclear Stopping Power (Bao-An Li and S.J. Yennello)