Self-consistent calculations for highly excited compound nuclei

A method for self-consistently calculating average nuclear properties at high excitation energies is derived. Calculations using this formalism have been performed for a double-magic and a deformed nucleus employing the Skyrme force for the nucleon-nucleon interaction. The effects of excitation energy on the nuclear structure are discussed and a comparison of self-consistently calculated level densities with those obtained in the usual statistical method is made. The calculations for the deformed nucleus show the transition from the deformed to a spherical shape with increasing excitation.