Self-consistent theory of large amplitude collective motion at finite excitation energy

We formulate a theory for the transfer of energy from collective degrees of freedom to internal degrees of freedom when the former belong to the adiabatic large-amplitude regime. The framework is that of an extended mean-held theory including dissipation, with the following salient features: (i) The Born-Oppenheimer approximation is extended to finite excitation energy by the introduction of the concept of thermal state, that is pure with respect to collective coordinates and a (square root of a) density matrix with respect to internal coordinates. (ii) By assuming that these states form an approximate complete set for application of the Kerman-Klein method, the self-consistent theory of large amplitude collective motion is extended to finite excitation energy. (iii) The mean-field limit is taken, and further study is carried out in the basis of natural orbitals that diagonalizes the one-particle density matrix. In the approximation maintained uniformly in this work, the equations of motion for the orbitals are shown to be of Hamiltonian form; to these are conjoined the master equations for the time rate of change of the occupation numbers. The latter are studied in two extreme limits. In the collisionless limit, dissipation still arises from the response of the mean field to the collective motion tone-body friction). At the opposite extreme, collisions an assumed to be so effective as to force the system always to be in a state of local (constrained) equilibrium. (iv) We review a procedure by which the noncollective variables in the Hamiltonian may be eliminated, leading to equations of motion for the collective variables with dissipative terms that in general depend on the history of the system. The limit of instantaneous friction can be justified in an adiabatic approximation. (v) A decoupling procedure is developed for deriving the form of these equations of motion from the mean-field theory, with the ultimate aim of obtaining the macroscopic parameters that appear in the classical equations of motion for the collective variables. This procedure generalizes that developed in extensive previous work on large amplitude collective motion at zero temperature. (vi) Associating the dissipative equations of motion for the collective variables with one of the assumptions concerning the rates of change of the occupation numbers provides a description of the relaxation of a system initially perturbed from a state of dynamic equilibrium. [S0556-2813(99)05204-8].