An approach describing the thermal damping width of the giant dipole resonance ͑GDR͒ in hot nuclei is presented. The GDR is generated by the ph excitations within the finite-temperature random-phase approximation ͑FTRPA͒, while its damping at finite temperature arises from irreversible coupling of ph configurations to the thermal pp and hh ones beyond the FTRPA. A semimicroscopic unification of the quantal spreading and thermal damping widths is undertaken within the framework of motional

more »

... g. The numerical calculations are performed, using a schematic model with equally degenerate equidistant shells for a hot nucleus of mass Aϭ112 carrying no angular momentum. The results show that the total width of the GDR increases strongly as a function of the excitation energy up to E*ϳ120 -130 MeV, where it reaches a saturation value. The limiting temperature for the GDR in very hot nuclei is discussed.