Nuclear Response from the Vlasov Equation

Abstract

The Vlasov equation can be used to study the response of small quantum systems like (heavy) nuclei, atoms, and atomic clusters in which the finite size of the system plays a crucial role. However, in finite systems, the problem of choosing appropriate boundary conditions for the fluctuations of the phase-space density is nontrivial. We review here some calculations of the isoscalar response in heavy nuclei and discuss the solutions obtained with two different boundary conditions, corresponding, respectively, to fixed and moving nuclear surface.