  We propose a configuration-interaction (CI) representation to calculate
induced nuclear fission with explicit inclusion of nucleon-nucleon interactions
in the Hamiltonian. The framework is designed for easy modeling of schematic
interactions but still permits a straightforward extension to realistic ones.
As a first application, the model is applied to branching ratios between
fission and capture in the decay modes of excited fissile nuclei. The ratios
are compared with the Bohr-Wheeler transition-state theory to explore its
domain of validity. The Bohr-Wheeler theory assumes that the rates are
insensitive to the final-state scission dynamics; the insensitivity is rather
easily achieved in the CI parameterizations. The CI modeling is also capable of
reproducing the branching ratios of the transition-state hypothesis which is
one of the key ingredients in the present-day theory of induced fission.
