Slow cross-symmetry phase relaxation in complex collisions

Abstract

We discuss the effect of slow phase relaxation and the spin off-diagonal $S$-matrix correlations on the cross section energy oscillations and the time evolution of the highly excited intermediate systems formed in complex collisions. Such deformed intermediate complexes with strongly overlapping resonances can be formed in heavy ion collisions, bimolecular chemical reactions and atomic cluster collisions. The effects of quasiperiodic energy dependence of the cross sections, coherent rotation of the hyperdeformed $\simeq (3:1)$ intermediate complex, Schrödinger cat states and quantum-classical transition are studied for ${}^{24}$Mg+${}^{28}$Si heavy ion scattering.

10 pages including 2 color ps figures. To be published in Physics of Atomic Nuclei (Yadernaya fizika)