Semiclassical theory of large amplitude collective excitations

We develop a semiclassical approach to large amplitude collective oscillations, which contains the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) approximation as classical limit. From the path integral representation of the partition function the TDHF equation is derived as classical equation of motion. A modified perturbation theory is developed which, in principle, allows one to evaluate any quantum correction to the classical TDHF approximation. The quantum fluctuations around the classical TDHF solution are explicitly calculated to leading order in h/2π. This yields a semiclassical quantization rule for periodic TDHF orbits. (orig.)