RELAXATION PHENOMENA IN AND MICROSCOPIC TRANSPORT THEORIES OF DEEPLY INELASTIC COLLISIONS BETWEEN HEAVY IONS

Abstract

Relaxation phenomena in deeply inelastic collisions are qualitatively discussed and compared with precompound reactions. Different approaches for describing these processes are reviewed, in particular the microscopic transport theories, which can be understood from a generalized master equation for macroscopic variables. The Markoff approximation and the classical limit for the relative motion lead to two coupled equations, the classical equation of relative motion with friction and a Pauli master equation for the internal degrees of freedom. The master equation approximated by the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation for mass transfer and energy dissipation is discussed in detail. Simple analytic expressions are derived for the transport coefficients as functions of excitation energy, total mass, mass fragmentation and relative angular momentum. Calculated transport coefficients are compared with experimental values. Problems and future developments in microscopic transport theories are outlined