Experimental studies have obtained the caloric curve of nuclear matter from heavy ion collisions as well as its dependence on the size of the fragmenting source. In particular it has been determined that smaller systems have caloric curves with higher plateau temperatures than larger systems. This work uses molecular dynamics simulations to study the thermodynamics of heavy ion collisions and to identify the main factors that determine the caloric curve. The simulations indicate that the reaction is composed of three stages: 1) an initial collision that transforms the nuclei from normal density and zero temperature and entropy, to a hot and dense blob of matter with higher values of density, temperature and entropy; 2) this is followed by a constant-entropy expansion that takes the system to the spinodal of the phase diagram; 3) where the system rapidly disassembles into fragments by the process of spinodal decomposition, and not by nucleation. These findings indicate that the plateau temperature of the caloric curve is nothing more than the temperature of the phase change and it is set by the intersection of the isentropic expansion and the spinodal. In other words, the plateau temperature is simply the temperature at which the system breaks as it enters the spinodal. This transition temperature is thus set by the entropy generated during the initial part of the collision.
