The NATO Advanced Study Institute on Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields was held at Lahnstein on the Rhine from 15-26 June, 1981. The school was devoted to the advances, theoretical and exper­ imental, in the physics of strong fields made during the past decade. The topic of the first week was almost exclusively quantum electrodynamics, with discussions of symmetry breaking in the ground state, of the physics of heavy ion collisions and of precision tests of perturbative quantum electrodynamics. This was followed in the second week by the presentation of a broad range of other areas where strong fields occur, reaching from nuclear physics over quantum chromodynamics to gravitation theory and astrophysics. We were fortunate to be able to call on a body of lecturers who not only have made considerable personal contributions to these advances but who are also noted for their lecturing skills. Their dedication for their subject was readily transmitted to the stu­ dents resulting in a very successful school. This enthusiasm is also reflected in their contributions to these Proceedings which, as I believe, will in time become a standard source of reference for future work on the physics of strong fields and will help to spread the benefits of the school to a larger audience than those who were able to attend. I regret that the Soviet colleagues Ya. B. Zeldovich and V. S. Popov were unable to participate.

Inhalt

Opening Remarks.- The States of Quantum Electrodynamical Precision - Theoretical Points of View.- Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields.- Atomic Collisions with Sticky Nuclei.- Positrons from Heavy Ion Collisions-Experiments at the UNILAC.- Heavy Ion Collision Induced Characteristic X-Ray Production - Cross Section Experiments.- Experiments on the Excitation of the Innermost Electrons in Extremely Strong Fields.- Systematics and Discussion of Ionization Probability Measurements.- Theory of Positron Creation in Supercritical Quasimolecules.- Spectroscopy of Superheavy Quasimolecules.- Search for Spontaneous Positron Production in Heavy Ion Collisions.- Pair Creation in Heavy Ion-Atom Collisions.- ?-Ray Spectroscopy of Quasi-Atoms.- 2p? Molecular Orbital Radiation of Colliding Atoms: Dynamical Model Predictions Versus Experimental Data.- Continuum X-Ray Emission in Adiabatic Heavy Ion-Atom Collisions.- Density Functional Approach to the Relativistic Many Body Problem.- Experimental Tests of QED and Electroweak Theories in e+e? Annihilation at PETRA.- The Muon (g-2) Experiments at CERN.- Electron-Electron Correlation in Highly Charged Atoms.- Variational Method for the Time-Dependent Dirac Equation.- Radiative Corrections in Strong Fields.- The Description of Excitation Processes in Ion-Atom Collisions.- Particle Condensates in Strongly Coupled Quantum Field Theory.- Non-Perturbative Approach to the Long Distance Behavior of Yang-Mills Theory and the Problem of Quark Confinement in QCD.- Pion Condensation.- Classical Solutions of Yang-Mills-Theory.- Particles in Strong Periodic Fields.- Precision Laser Spectroscopy of Hydrogen.- Non-Linear Vacuum Polarization in Strong Fields.- Does Pion Condensation Prevent Pion Condensation?.- Short-Range Nucleon-Nucleon Interaction and QCD Potential Models.- Quark Interchange in Bag-Model QCD.- Nonperturbative Treatment of Magnetic Interactions at Short Distances and a Simple Magnetic Model of Matter.- Strong Magnetic Fields.- Particle Production by the Gravitational Field.- Confining the Aether.- Early Germs of Quantum Field Theory in the History of Quantum Physics.- Summary Talk: Theoretical.- Summary: Experimental Aspects.- Contributors.