Quarks and Nuclear Structure

K. Bleuler3540129227, 9783540129226

Since 1980 most of the work ott QCD has involved Monte Carlo simulations of lattice gauge theories. In this report I will review these works, emphasizing the most recent and/or the most accurate ones. The basic concepts of QCD, as well as a description of prior developments can be found (with all modesty) in my review. This talk will be divided into three parts.- Results from theories with no dynamical quarks. These include a determination of the string tension and the spectra of quarkless mesons (glueballs).- Inclusion of quarks in the quenched approximation. The topics discussed include chiral symmetry breaking, hadronic spectra and static properties of hadrons.- Caveats. Some of the studies on the validity of the quenched approximation and the problems brought on by the practical restrictions on lattice sizes are presented.