Pseudo-Particle Models for Nuclear Reactions with Heavy Ions

Abstract

For ten years, the Boltzmann equation (with some modifications to take into account some quantum effects) has been the basis of models for the description of heavy ion reactions; these models have the common feature that they simulate the Boltzmann equation (under various names as: Landau-Vlasov, Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck, Boltzmann-Nordheim...) rather than they solve it explicitly. This report presents the basic numerical principles of the Boltzmann models in Heavy Ion Physics and their links with other modelizations of the N -Body Problem used in other fields of Physics. It discusses their validity and some applications arbitrarily chosen among the most relevant ones.