  In order to provide a microscopic description of levels and E2 transitions in
rapidly rotating nuclei with internal excitation energy up to a few MeV, use is
made of a shell model which combines the cranked Nilsson mean-field and the
residual surface delta two-body force. The damping of collective rotational
motion is investigated in the case of a typical rare-earth nucleus, namely \Yb.
It is found that rotational damping sets in at around 0.8 MeV above the yrast
line, and the levels which form rotational band structures are thus limited. We
predict at a given rotational frequency existence of about 30 rotational bands
of various lengths, in overall agreement with the experimental findings. The
onset of the rotational damping proceeds quite gradually as a function of the
internal excitation energy. The transition region extends up to around 2 MeV
above yrast and it is characterized by the presence of scars of discrete
rotational bands which extend over few spin values and stand out among the
damped transitions, and by a two-component profile in the $E_\gamma -E_\gamma$
correlation. The important role played by the high-multipole components of the
two-body residual interaction is emphasized.
