  We consider deuteron formation in hot and dense nuclear matter close to
equilibrium and evaluate the life-time of the deuteron fluctuations within the
linear response theory. To this end we derive a generalized linear Boltzmann
equation where the collision integral is related to equilibrium correlation
functions. In this framework we then utilize finite temperature Green functions
to evaluate the collision integrals. The elementary reaction cross section is
evaluated within the Faddeev approach that is suitably modified to reflect the
properties of the surrounding hot and dense matter.
