BEYOND LINEAR-RESPONSE THEORY IN MULTIFRAGMENTATION

Within the framework of the Vlasov equation, we discuss the validity o f linear response theory in the dynamics of fragment formation. Consid ering a hot piece of nuclear matter inside the spinodal zone, we demon strate by numerical simulations that after the first stages of the tim e evolution, nonlinear terms become important and cannot be neglected. Nonlinear and chaotic dynamics seems to characterize multifragmentati on occurring in heavy-ion collisions.