Mass Parameterizations and Predictions of Isotopic Observables

We discuss the accuracy of mass models for extrapolating to very asymmetric nuclei and the impact of such extrapolations on the predictions of isotopic observables in multifragmentation. We obtain improved mass predictions by incorporating measured masses and extrapolating to unmeasured masses with a mass formula that includes surface symmetry and Coulomb terms. We find that using accurate masses has a significant impact on the predicted isotopic observables.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure