Splintering central collisions: Systematics of momentum and energy deposition for $(17\mathrm{}–115)A\mathrm{MeV}$ ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ar}$

Measurements are reported for fragment masses and velocities from the reactions $(17\mathrm{}–115)A\mathrm{MeV}$ ${}^{40}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{r}+\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u},$ Ag, and Au. Charged particle multiplicities were used to select the most violent reactions, and systematics are reported for the momentum and energy deposition. These reactions are fusionlike for $\lesssim 44A\mathrm{MeV}$ ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ar}$ with a large fraction of momentum and energy deposition in the heavy nuclear system. However, for $\gtrsim 44A\mathrm{MeV}$ ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ar},$ a majority of the projectile energy and momentum is carried away by a multibody spray of light ejectiles and only a minority is deposited in the heavy nucleus. Nevertheless heavy composite systems are formed with up to 9–12 MeV per source nucleon for $115A\mathrm{MeV}$ ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ar}.$