Equilibration between projectile and target in heavy-ion nuclear collisions

Understanding equilibration in heavy-ion collisions is of significant importance to nuclear physics. Since nuclei are composed of neutrons and protons, the difference in the number of neutrons and protons, or asymmetry, can be used to study equilibration processes in the nucleus. We can study the equilibration occurring between two nuclei with differing asymmetry compositions in Fermi energy heavy-ion collisions by using the ratios of the yields of fragments, as well as the reconstructed asymmetry of quasi-projectiles. Studying the asymmetry difference of fragments produced in reactions of Zn and Ni at 35MeV/nucleon will allow us to examine the equilibration that occurs in these systems.