Nonlinear Nuclear Response Through Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock

Time-dependent mean field methods can give a microscopic (at the level of nucleon wave functions) description of nuclear dynamics over short time-scales. Such dynamics can include compound nuclear states in which each nucleon carries a significant fraction of the internal motion. In this work, we concentrate on the example of nuclear response to the dipole field, as suitable for e.g. level density studies, looking in the present case to large-amplitude non-linear excitations that could lead to photo-fission. We give sample (non- fissioning) calculations in Th-232 motivated by recent experimental work, and suggest next steps for a more realistic approach.