NUCLEAR-MATTER INCOMPRESSIBILITY COEFFICIENT AND GIANT MONOPOLE RESONANCE

We examine the current status of nuclear matter incompressibility coefficient, K(nm), deduced from experimental data on the strength function of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) in nuclei. We review the results obtained by using a microscopic (continuum) random phase approximation (RPA) calculation and by using a semi-empirical expansion of the nucleus incompressibility coefficient K(A) in A-1/3. We discuss the accuracy of the semi-empirical expansion and present arguments indicating that all the coefficients in this expansion must be determined by a fit to the data. Contrary to recent claims, the present complete data set is not adequate to limit the range of K(nm) to better than 200-350 MeV when employing the semi-empirical approach.