TRUNCATION OF TIME-DEPENDENT MANY-BODY THEORIES

We investigate truncation schemes for the many-body dynamics of finite fermion systems beyond the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) approximation. One approach starts from the quantum Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon (BBGKY-)hierarchy of equations of motion for density matrices. It is shown that simple truncation of higher correlations within this scheme is inconsistent because essential exchange correlations are lost. As an alternative, we study the (extended) exp(S) or coupled-cluster formalism. It provides a wider range of applicability. But it also runs into problems with non-unitary propagation after truncation. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.