Evaluation of the curvature-correction term from the equation of state of nuclear matter

Based on the nuclear equation of state, the curvature correction term to the surface tension coefficient is calculated. Tolman's $\delta$ correction is shown to be sensitive to the Skyrme force parametrization. The temperature dependence of the Tolman length, important in heavy ion collision experiments, is derived. In the present approach the curvature term is related to the bulk properties of the nuclear matter through the equation of state. The results are compared with the existing theoretical calculations based on the Gibbs-Tolman formalism and with the theoretical predictions concerning its dependence on the interparticle distance.

Figure 1

Schematic picture of the gedanken experiment.

Figure 2

Temperature dependence of the Tolman length $\delta$. Panels (a), (b), and (c) show the nuclear matter with the parametrizations SkM*, SLy6, and SV-min respectively. The initial values ${\rho }_0$ correspond to the equilibrium condition $P({\rho }_0,T)=0$. (d) The same for the ordinary liquid Ar [23].