Composition and thermodynamics of nuclear matter with light clusters

We investigate nuclear matter at a finite temperature and density, including the formation of light clusters up to the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particle ($1\ensuremath{\leqslant}A\ensuremath{\leqslant}4$). The novel feature of this work is to include the formation of clusters as well as their dissolution due to medium effects in a systematic way using two many-body theories: a microscopic quantum statistical (QS) approach and a generalized relativistic mean-field (RMF) model. Nucleons and clusters are modified by medium effects. While the nucleon quasiparticle properties are determined within the RMF model from the scalar and vector self-energies, the cluster binding energies are reduced because of Pauli blocking…