Mean-field theory of prompt, high-energy nucleon emission

A time-dependent mean-field theory is developed for fast nucleon emission in nuclear heavy-ion reactions. The essence of the model is to treat the relative motion of the ions classically while treating the internal excitations quantum mechanically. General properties of the model are calculated by assuming a phenomenological external field. The model is applied to study fast neutron emission from the reaction ${}_{}{}^{16}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{O}$ + ${}_{}{}^{93}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Nb}$.