A study is made of the scattering of two large composite projectiles, such as
heavy ions, which are initially prepared in a pure quantum state. It is shown
that the quantum field theoretic evolution equation for this system, under
certain conditions, goes over in form to the master equation of classical
statistical mechanics. Thus, the statistical mechanical description of heavy
ion collision is viewed as an implied outcome of the Correspondence Principle,
which states that in the limit of large quantum number, quantum dynamics goes
over to classical dynamics. This hypothesis is explored within the master
equation transcription with particular focus on the quark-gluon formation
scenario.Comment: 28 pages, In Press Nuclear Physics A 200