Extraction of the multifragmentation time scale in intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions

The spatial and temporal extent of a system decaying by multifragment emission is deduced. Two-particle intermediate mass fragment correlation functions measured for central ³⁶Ar{+}¹⁹⁷$Au collisions at E/A=50--110 MeV indicate a rapid decay, 75 fm/c, of the highly excited system. Furthermore, the behavior of the correlation function at large relative velocities suggests that considerable charge loss occurs prior to fragment emission.