a Study of Nuclear Fragmentation at Intermediate Energies.

The model of nuclear dynamics according to the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) equation which incorporates fluctuations is presented. This model is employed to calculate heavy-ion reactions in the intermediate energy regime (20 <=q E_{lab}/A <=q 200MeV). Using a local (Skyrme-type) interaction, the model is capable of reproducing diverse features of spectator and participant observables. A finite range interaction is introduced to generate diffuse nuclear surfaces in the Vlasov approach. The peripheral reaction of ^{40}Ar on ^{27 }Al is calculated with this interaction. Characteristic features of the angular distribution of the projectile -like fragments and its correlation with the target-like fragments are in agreement with experiments. The stability condition of self-consistent Vlasov solutions with a finite range interaction is derived. This condition is cast into an eigenvalue equation. The lowest eigenmodes correspond closely to giant vibration modes. The relationship of these eigenmodes to the time-dependent Vlasov equation is explored.