Detailed characterization of neutron-proton equilibration in dynamically deformed nuclear systems.

We study neutron-proton equilibration in dynamically deformed nuclear systems by investigating the correlations between the two largest fragments produced in collisions of 70Zn + 70Zn, 64Zn + 64Zn, 64Ni + 64Ni and 64Zn + 64Ni at 35 MeV per nucleon. The extent of equilibration is investigated using the rotation angle as a clock for the equilibration. The initially dissimilar fragments converge exponentially with consistent rate constants across a wide variety of reaction partners and systems, indicating that the equilibration follows first-order kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]