Transport theory of dissipative heavy-ion collisions. Pt. 1

The non-perturbative quantum-statistical theory of dissipative heavy-ion collisions introduced earlier, is generalized by including explicitly the relative motion of the colliding nuclei. We start from the Liouville equation in the Wigner representation which allows for useful and illustrative interpretations of the resulting quantities and equations. Using the randomness of the coupling matrix elements and the semi-classical approximation for the relative motion we derive a general time-dependent transport equation for the macroscopic Wigner functions (phase-space distribution functions). The limits of weak and strong coupling are discussed. (orig.)