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Abstract This review article takes stock of the progress made in understanding the phase transition in hot nuclei and highlights the coherence of observed signatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Isotopic effects in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies have been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the ratio of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Consequences for the proposed interpretation of chemical breakup temperatures as representing the limiting temperatures predicted by microscopic models are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This review article is focused on the tremendous progress realized during the last fifteen years in the understanding of multifragmentation and its relationship to the liquid–gas phase diagram of nuclei and nuclear matter. The explosion of the whole nucleus, early predicted by Bohr [N. Bohr, Nature 137 (1936) 351], is a very complex and rich subject which continues to fascinate nuclear physicists as well as theoreticians who extend the thermodynamics of phase transitions to finite systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The difficulties encountered with Coulomb and finite size effects in generalizing to the infinite system phase diagram are considered. Methods to correct for the Coulomb effect exactly and to eliminate finite size effects are described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]