Deep inelastic reactions: a probe of the collective properties of nuclear matter

Abstract

The general features of deep inelastic heavy-ion reactions are reviewed. The most prominent collective degrees of freedom excited in these reactions are discussed within the framework provided by the natural hierarchy of their characteristic relaxation times. Both the quantal and classical aspects of these modes are described. The limitations of the Lagrangian treatment of heavy-ion reactions are pointed out, and a more general approach using transport theory is outlined. This latter approach is illustrated by the Langevin, Master and Fokker-Planck equations. The four most widely studied collective modes are then described in detail: the damping of the relative motion; the mass asymmetry degree of freedom; the isobaric charge distribution with isospin fluctuations and giant isovector modes; rotational degrees of freedom.