Probing the nuclear equation of state in high energy heavy ion collisions

We investigate the influence of the nuclear equation of state on the dynamics of fast nuclear collisions within the nuclear fluid dunamical model. Possible phase transitions in nuclear matter (pion condensates, density isomers) and from nuclear - into quark matter are discussed and their influence on the experimental observations are studied. The azimuthally symmetric sidewards emission of fragments in nearly head-on collisions of equal and unequal nuclei (Mach shoch waves) as well as the bounce-off of the projectile from the target for intermediate impact parameters can serve as signals for strong compression effects. Several experiments are presented which seem to indicate the existence of these phenomena. (author)